sort by element in array using jq

Question

Given

[3,4]
[5,2]

I'd like to produce:

[5,2]
[3,4]

I tried this but it fails:

echo '[3,4] [5,2]' | jq 'sort_by(.[1])'

jq: error (at <stdin>:1): Cannot index number with number
jq: error (at <stdin>:1): Cannot index number with number

pmf · Accepted Answer · 2022-07-28 08:01:20Z

6

Use -n with inputs to access the stream's items. [‌...] collects them into an outer array, sort_by(...) sorts by criteria, ...[] decomposes the outer array again, and -c makes the output compact

jq -nc '[inputs] | sort_by(.[1])[]'

[5,2]
[3,4]

Demo

edited Jul 28, 2022 at 8:01

answered Jul 28, 2022 at 7:23

pmf

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3 Comments

tekumara Over a year ago

Oh whoops sorry my example was incorrect, I actually want to sort on the second element in the array... I've updated it to make this clearer. Is there a way to adapt your solution to the updated question?

pmf Over a year ago

@tekumara Sure, just change sort to sort_by(.[1]). Updated.

ikegami Over a year ago

You can replace -n + [inputs] with -s aka --slurp: jq -sc 'sort_by(.[1])[]'

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