pick

pick-cli.pages.dev

Extract values from anything — JSON, YAML, TOML, .env, HTTP headers, logfmt, CSV, and more.

cargo install pick-cli

pick auto-detects the input format and lets you extract values using a simple selector syntax. No more juggling jq, yq, grep, awk, and cut for different formats.

Usage

# JSON
curl -s https://api.github.com/users/octocat | pick login
# octocat

# .env
cat .env | pick DATABASE_URL
# postgres://localhost:5432/mydb

# YAML
cat config.yaml | pick server.port
# 8080

# TOML
cat Cargo.toml | pick package.version
# 0.1.0

# HTTP headers
curl -sI https://example.com | pick content-type
# text/html; charset=UTF-8

# logfmt
echo 'level=info msg="request handled" status=200' | pick status
# 200

# CSV
cat data.csv | pick '[0].name'
# Alice

Selectors

Syntax	Description
`foo`	Top-level key
`foo.bar`	Nested key
`foo[0]`	Array index
`foo[-1]`	Last element
`foo[*].name`	All elements, pluck field
`[0]`	Index into root array
`"dotted.key".sub`	Quoted key (for keys containing dots)

Flags

Flag	Description
`-i, --input <format>`	Force input format (`json`, `yaml`, `toml`, `env`, `headers`, `logfmt`, `csv`, `text`)
`-f, --file <path>`	Read from file instead of stdin
`--json`	Output result as JSON
`--raw`	Output without trailing newline
`-1, --first`	Only output first result
`--lines`	Output array elements one per line
`-d, --default <value>`	Default value if selector doesn't match
`-q, --quiet`	Suppress error messages
`-e, --exists`	Check if selector matches (exit code only)
`-c, --count`	Output count of matches

Examples

Pipe-friendly

# Get the current git user's repos
curl -s https://api.github.com/users/octocat/repos | pick '[*].name' --lines

# Check if a key exists before using it
if cat config.json | pick database.host --exists; then
  DB_HOST=$(cat config.json | pick database.host)
fi

# Extract with a fallback
cat config.yaml | pick server.port --default 3000

# Count results
echo '[1,2,3,4,5]' | pick '[*]' --count
# 5

Format override

# Force YAML parsing on ambiguous input
cat data.txt | pick -i yaml server.host

# Parse a file directly
pick -f config.toml database.url

Real-world

# Docker container status
docker inspect mycontainer | pick '[0].State.Status'

# Kubernetes pod IPs
kubectl get pods -o yaml | pick 'items[*].status.podIP' --lines

# Cargo.toml dependencies
pick -f Cargo.toml dependencies.serde.version

# .env database URL for a script
export DB=$(cat .env | pick DATABASE_URL)

Supported Formats

Format	Auto-detected	Example
JSON	Yes	`{"key": "value"}`
YAML	Yes	`key: value`
TOML	Yes	`[section]` / `key = "value"`
.env	Yes	`KEY=value`
HTTP headers	Yes	`Content-Type: text/html`
logfmt	Yes	`level=info msg="hello"`
CSV/TSV	Yes	`name,age\nAlice,30`
Plain text	Fallback	Key-value extraction and substring search

Auto-detection works in most cases. Use -i to override when the input is ambiguous.

Install

Cargo (Rust)

cargo install pick-cli

Homebrew (macOS/Linux)

brew install aryanbhosale/pick/pick

npm

npm install -g @aryanbhosale/pick

Snap (Linux)

snap install pick

Chocolatey (Windows)

choco install pick

WinGet (Windows)

winget install aryanbhosale.pick

Docker

echo '{"foo":"bar"}' | docker run -i ghcr.io/aryanbhosale/pick foo

GitHub Releases

Download pre-built binaries from Releases — macOS (ARM/x64), Linux (x64/ARM64), and Windows (x64).

From source

Requires Rust 1.85+:

git clone https://github.com/aryanbhosale/pick.git
cd pick
cargo install --path .

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here's how to get started:

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch: git checkout -b my-feature
Make your changes
Run the tests: cargo test
Commit and push: git push origin my-feature
Open a pull request

Development

# Run all tests (259 unit + integration)
cargo test

# Run a specific test
cargo test test_name

# Build release binary
cargo build --release

# The binary will be at target/release/pick

Project Structure

src/
  main.rs          Entry point, stdin/file reading
  lib.rs           Orchestration and format routing
  cli.rs           CLI argument definitions
  error.rs         Error types
  selector.rs      Selector parser and extraction engine
  detector.rs      Format auto-detection heuristics
  output.rs        Output formatting
  formats/         Per-format parsers
    json.rs, yaml.rs, toml_format.rs, env.rs,
    headers.rs, logfmt.rs, csv_format.rs, text.rs
tests/
  integration.rs   CLI integration tests

Issues

Found a bug or have a feature request? Open an issue.

License

MIT

pick-cli 0.1.17