JSONPath Tester Online — Evaluate Expressions, Filters & Recursive Descent

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What is JSONPath?

JSONPath is a query language for picking values out of a JSON document. A path starts at the root $ and walks down through keys, indexes, wildcards, and filters. Think of it as XPath for JSON: instead of looping and null-checking in code, you describe what you want in one short string. It was proposed by Stefan Goessner and is now standardized as RFC 9535.

Try it on this document

{
  "store": {
    "book": [
      { "category": "reference", "title": "Sayings of the Century", "price": 8.95 },
      { "category": "fiction", "title": "Sword of Honour", "price": 12.99 },
      { "category": "fiction", "title": "Moby Dick", "isbn": "0-553-21311-3", "price": 8.99 }
    ],
    "bicycle": { "color": "red", "price": 399.99 }
  }
}

Syntax cheat sheet

Filters in depth

A filter [?(…)] is evaluated for every child of the node before it. Inside, @ is the child under test and $ is still the document root. You can compare with ==, !=, <, <=, >, >=; combine with &&, ||, and !; test existence with a bare path like [?(@.isbn)]; and match text with =~ /regex/.

Recursive descent: powerful, but broad

$..price finds every price key at any depth, including the bicycle in the sample. That is convenient for exploration but can pick up unrelated keys in large documents. Once you understand the structure, switch to an explicit path such as $.store.book[*].price.

Where JSONPath is used

• API testing — Postman, REST Assured, Karate, k6, and Cypress plugins assert on response fields with JSONPath.
• Kubernetes — kubectl -o jsonpath extracts fields from resources (with its own dialect).
• Workflows & pipelines — AWS Step Functions, Logstash, and many ETL tools select fields with path expressions.
• Config & policy — Tools use paths to point at the exact value a rule applies to.

Dialect differences

JSONPath existed for years before RFC 9535, so libraries disagree on details: filter regex syntax, how missing keys behave in comparisons, whether length is a property or a function, and whether results are lists or single values. Use this tester to design the expression, then verify it in the exact library you ship (Jayway, JSONPath-Plus, Python jsonpath-ng, Go libraries, and so on).

How to test on Spoold

1. Open /tools/json/path.
2. Paste your JSON (or press Sample) and enter a path or click a sample chip.
3. Read the result and match count; toggle Values / Paths / Both.
4. Copy the result. The query is saved to History for later.
5. Turn the extracted data into types with JSON → Types.

Related guides

• JSON to TypeScript, Zod & Go guide

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Frequently asked questions