Is It Possible to Execute JQ Commands Within n8n Workflows?

Below is an approach that’s more in line with n8n’s design.

Instead of running JQ directly (for example via bash commands), n8n recommends using the built-in JMESPath support. n8n provides a custom method, jmespath(), which lets you query and transform JSON data in a way similar to what you might do in JQ.

For instance, if you wanted to extract an array of first names from a JSON structure, you can use an expression like the following in a Code node:

JSCopied
let firstNames = $jmespath($json.body.people, "[*].first");
return { firstNames };

This approach works both in Code nodes and inline expressions. It’s especially useful because:

• It doesn’t require executing external commands (keeping everything within the n8n environment).
• It’s optimized and integrated with n8n’s workflow design.

If you’re coming from a JQ background, you’ll find JMESPath has its own syntax and capabilities that cover many common data filtering and transformation tasks. You can refer to the JMESPath documentation (https://jmespath.org/tutorial.html) for more details on the syntax and capabilities.

This built-in method is usually sufficient for the majority of data filtering and transformation needs within n8n, making it an ideal alternative to JQ in this environment.