fq

fq Plugin

jq for binary formats. A tool, language, and decoders for working with binary and text formats. Query, decode, and transform binary data with a jq-like syntax.

Commands

Data Query

• fq data query — Query binary data with jq-like syntax

Utility

• fq _ _ — Passthrough to fq CLI

Usage Examples

• "Query this binary file"
• "Decode pcap data"
• "Inspect file structure"
• "Extract data from binary format"

Installation

brew install fq

Or download pre-built binaries from releases.

Examples

# Query binary file
fq data query file.bin

# Output as JSON
fq data query file.bin --output json

# Compact output
fq data query file.bin --output compact

# Limit depth
fq data query file.bin --depth 3

# Start REPL mode
fq data query --repl

# Query specific path
fq data query file.bin '.data[0]'

# Any fq command with passthrough
fq _ _ file.bin --output json
fq _ _ --repl pcap.pcap

Key Features

• Multiple formats - pcap, mp4, png, jpeg, pdf, and many more
• jq-like syntax - Familiar query language
• REPL mode - Interactive exploration
• JSON output - Convert binary to JSON
• Depth control - Limit query depth
• Binary decoding - Decode complex binary structures
• Transform - Modify and re-encode data
• Cross-platform - Linux, macOS, Windows
• Fast - Efficient binary processing
• Extensible - Custom decoders support

Notes

• Supports many file formats out of the box
• REPL mode is great for exploration
• Can handle large binary files efficiently
• Perfect for reverse engineering
• Useful for debugging file formats