Which JSONPath features are supported?

It supports the root $, dot and bracket member access, quoted keys like ["title"], numeric array indices including negative ones, and the * wildcard for all array elements or object values. Recursive descent and filter expressions are not included.

How do I select every item in an array?

Use the wildcard: $.books[*] returns every element, and $.books[*].title returns the title of each. The wildcard also matches every value of an object.

How do negative array indices work?

A negative index counts from the end, so $.books[-1] is the last element and $.books[-2] is the second to last — the same convention as Python slicing.

How do I access a key with a space or special character?

Use bracket notation with quotes, for example $["full name"] or $.store["book title"]. This works for any key that is awkward to write with a dot.

Are filters and recursive descent supported?

No. This tester covers the root, member access, array indices and the wildcard. Filter expressions like [?(@.price < 10)] and recursive descent (..) are intentionally not included.

Is my JSON sent to a server?

No. Parsing and evaluation happen entirely in your browser using JavaScript — your data never leaves the page.

Why do I get no matches?

Check that the path matches the structure exactly. Keys are case-sensitive, and a wildcard or index only matches arrays or objects of the right shape. The tool returns an empty list rather than an error when nothing matches.

What is the JSONPath Tester?

Free JSONPath tester — paste JSON, type an expression like $.store.books[*].title, and see the matched values instantly. Supports dot and bracket notation, array indices and wildcards. Runs entirely in your browser, nothing uploaded. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

JSONPath Tester — Gera Tools

Name: JSONPath Tester
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Test JSONPath without leaving your browser

JSONPath is a query language for pulling specific values out of a JSON document — the JSON equivalent of XPath for XML. Paste a document, type an expression, and instantly see which values it selects. It is useful for building API integrations, debugging config files, or learning how JSONPath traversal works.

How it works

The expression is evaluated left to right against your parsed JSON, starting from the root $. Each segment narrows the set of matches, and the final values are shown as a JSON array that updates as you type.

Syntax	Meaning
`$`	the root document
`.key` / `["key"]`	a member by name
`[0]`	an array element by index
`[-1]`	last element (negative counts from the end)
`[*]`	every element of an array or value of an object

Recursive descent (..) and filter expressions are not included.

Example

Given this JSON:

{ "store": { "books": [
  { "title": "A", "price": 5 },
  { "title": "B", "price": 8 }
] } }

the expression $.store.books[*].title matches both titles and returns:

["A", "B"]

$.store.books[-1].price returns [8]. All evaluation runs client-side — your JSON is never uploaded anywhere.

Where JSONPath is used in practice

JSONPath originated in a 2007 paper by Stefan Goessner and has since been standardised by RFC 9535 (2024). It appears in:

API testing tools — Postman and similar tools use JSONPath in test assertions to extract and verify values from API responses.
AWS Step Functions — the state machine language uses JSONPath to select fields from event inputs and pass them to subsequent steps.
Kubernetes — kubectl uses JSONPath expressions in --jsonpath flags to extract specific fields from resource output, for example {.status.phase} to read a pod’s phase.
JSON Schema — the $ref mechanism is built on JSON Pointer (a close relative), and filter assertions in some implementations use JSONPath syntax.
Log aggregators — tools like Grafana Loki support JSONPath to extract fields from structured log lines for dashboards and alerts.

Common expressions you can try

Expression	What it selects
`$`	the entire document
`$.name`	the top-level `name` field
`$.users[0]`	the first element of the `users` array
`$.users[-1]`	the last element of the `users` array
`$.users[*].email`	every `email` field in the `users` array
`$.["full name"]`	a top-level key that has a space in it

Debugging when nothing matches

If the result is an empty array, check these common causes:

Typo in the key name. JSONPath keys are case-sensitive — $.Name and $.name are different.
Wrong level. Use $ to start from the root and build the path one level at a time to find where you go wrong.
Bracket vs dot notation mismatch. $.store.books and $.store["books"] are equivalent — but $.["store"]["books"] is also valid. Try bracket notation for any key that has a hyphen or other special character.
Array not where you think. The wildcard [*] only expands arrays. If books is an object, not an array, books[*] will not match its keys — use books.* instead.