The exact question was asked here:
Using jq within pipe chain produces no output
but the answser provided there did not solve my problem. Also, I read the following:
- Turn off buffering in pipe
- https://stackoverflow.com/questions/62809196/how-do-i-keep-colors-when-piping-jq-output-to-less
None of these solved my problem. OK, the above info is to let you know that I have done my homework, and please do not downvote or close this question, before you read on :-)
I use the following command to pretty print a json file:
cat a-json-file.json |jq|less
But the screen shows an (END) at the bottom, nothing is displayed. I then googled the problem, found the above info, tried:
cat a-json-file.json |jq --unbuffered|less
nothing happens. Then I installed expect, try:
cat a-json-file.json |unbuffer jq|less
It does not work either, jq simply output its command line usage info!
Finally, I got the problem solved by this:
jq "." a-json-file.json |less
Now, the question is, WHY pipe chain does not work with jq, and what's the difference between the above non-working and working commands?
My system info: Debian 10 buster, jq-1.5-1-a5b5cbe.
cat a-json-file.json |jq '.'|less? This seems to have been a known issue with jq 1.5 - see for example Redirecting or piping output has different behaviour #1028 and the Bug fixes section of the jq 1.6 release notes – steeldriver Apr 18 '23 at 01:38