---
sidebar_position: 5
title: JSON Selection
description: Traverse response JSON with Hen's explicit selector syntax.
---
Use JSON selectors anywhere Hen expects a response-body operand, including captures, assertions,
redaction rules, and dependency reads.
## Common Selectors
```hen
& body.user.id -> $USER_ID
^ & body.items[0].name == "first"
^ & body.[0].id == 123
^ & body.jobs[? (recipient == $RECIPIENT || recipient == "fallback@example.com") && status != "failed"].status == "succeeded"
^ & json(body.result.content[0].text).items[0].id == "123"
^ &[Create Job].body.result.state == "completed"
```
## Selector Rules
- `body` starts from the current response JSON value.
- Use dot access for object fields such as `body.user.id`.
- Use `[index]` for arrays nested under an object key, such as `body.items[0].name`.
- Use `body.[index]` when the root value is an array.
- Use `[? ...]` to query an array and continue from the matching element.
## Filter Queries
Filter queries:
- evaluate paths relative to each array item
- support `==` and `!=`
- accept scalar literals or `$VARIABLE` values
- may combine clauses with `&&`, `||`, and parentheses
- must resolve to exactly one element
Zero or multiple matches are failures.
## Decoded JSON
Use `json(...)` when a selected value contains stringified JSON and you want another traversal pass.
Use `&[Request Name].body...` when selecting from a declared dependency response instead of the
current response.
Hen intentionally stays narrower than full JSONPath or jq. There are no wildcards, slices,
projections, recursive descent, nested filters, regex filters, or structural filter RHS values.