This is a text-only version of the following page on https://raymii.org:
---
Title       : 	Get a JSON value with bash and sed
Author      : 	Remy van Elst
Date        : 	26-02-2019
URL         : 	https://raymii.org/s/snippets/Get_json_value_with_sed.html
Format      : 	Markdown/HTML
---



Recently I was asked to get one value from a json object using only shell tools.
The json in question is from a [dutch radio station][1] and it lists the current
song that is played. Using this together with a few shell commands and `notify-
send` we can show the current song when it changes as a desktop notification.
I'd rather use Python or `jq` if it has to be shell. In this case the co-worker
asked to just use simple shell tools and no external dependencies.

<p class="ad"> <b>Recently I removed all Google Ads from this site due to their invasive tracking, as well as Google Analytics. Please, if you found this content useful, consider a small donation using any of the options below:</b><br><br> <a href="https://leafnode.nl">I'm developing an open source monitoring app called  Leaf Node Monitoring, for windows, linux & android. Go check it out!</a><br><br> <a href="https://github.com/sponsors/RaymiiOrg/">Consider sponsoring me on Github. It means the world to me if you show your appreciation and you'll help pay the server costs.</a><br><br> <a href="https://www.digitalocean.com/?refcode=7435ae6b8212">You can also sponsor me by getting a Digital Ocean VPS. With this referral link you'll get $100 credit for 60 days. </a><br><br> </p>


This is the `json` file, formatted:

    
    
    # curl -s 'https://api.grootnieuwsradio.nl/playing.json'
    {
        "Stream_information":{
            "Name":"grootnieuws_ipad",
            "NameByClient":"grootnieuwsradio_website_aac",
            "Limit":"2000",
            "Account":"calculation",
            "IncomingSignal":"offline",
            "SecureTokenSharedSecret":"",
            "SecureTokenQueryParametersPrefix":"",
            "SecureTokenIncludeClientIPInHash":"false",
            "MultiBitrateEnable":"false",
            "DVREnable":"false",
            "PlayIPWhiteList":"",
            "PublishIPWhitelist":"",
            "SimultaneousConnections":"1729",
            "Auto_recording":"off",
            "PlayingNow":"Joke Buis - Welk Een Vriend Is Onze Jezus",
            "Encoder_visitors_statistics":{
                "REST_URI":"https:\/\/api.streampartner.nl\/grootnieuws_ipad\/stream_information\/encoder_visitors_statistics",
                "Options":[
                    "GET"
                ]
            }
        }
    }
    

The field we want is the `PlayingNow` field. Using `sed`, a regular expression
with a backreference (`\1`) it can be shown:

    
    
    sed -n 's|.*"PlayingNow":"\([^"]*\)".*|\1|p'
    

Example output:

    
    
    curl -s 'https://api.grootnieuwsradio.nl/playing.json' | sed -n 's|.*"PlayingNow":"\([^"]*\)".*|\1|p'
    
    Joke Buis - Welk Een Vriend Is Onze Jezus
    

The full script to send the desktop notifications:

    
    
    #!/bin/bash
    PATH="/usr/local/bin:/bin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/usr/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/sbin:$PATH"
    if [[ ! -f /tmp/gnr-prev.txt ]]; then touch /tmp/gnr-prev.txt; fi
    PREVSONG="$(cat /tmp/gnr-prev.txt)"
    curl -s 'https://api.grootnieuwsradio.nl/playing.json' | sed -n 's|.*"PlayingNow":"\([^"]*\)".*|\1|p' > /tmp/gnr-cur.txt
    CURSONG="$(cat /tmp/gnr-cur.txt)"
    if [[ "$PREVSONG" != "$CURSONG" ]]; then
        mv /tmp/gnr-prev.txt /tmp/gnr.$(date +%s).txt;
        mv /tmp/gnr-cur.txt /tmp/gnr-prev.txt;
        notify-send "GNR: $CURSONG";
    fi
    

Put it in `cron` for regular execution. Add this to your crontab as well if you
use KDE:

    
    
    DISPLAY=:0.0
    XAUTHORITY=/home/remy/.Xauthority
    

Replace `remy` with your username.

   [1]: https://www.grootnieuwsradio.nl/
   [2]: https://www.digitalocean.com/?refcode=7435ae6b8212

---

License:
All the text on this website is free as in freedom unless stated otherwise. 
This means you can use it in any way you want, you can copy it, change it 
the way you like and republish it, as long as you release the (modified) 
content under the same license to give others the same freedoms you've got 
and place my name and a link to this site with the article as source.

This site uses Google Analytics for statistics and Google Adwords for 
advertisements. You are tracked and Google knows everything about you. 
Use an adblocker like ublock-origin if you don't want it.

All the code on this website is licensed under the GNU GPL v3 license 
unless already licensed under a license which does not allows this form 
of licensing or if another license is stated on that page / in that software:

    This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
    the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
    (at your option) any later version.

    This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
    but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
    MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
    GNU General Public License for more details.

    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
    along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

Just to be clear, the information on this website is for meant for educational 
purposes and you use it at your own risk. I do not take responsibility if you 
screw something up. Use common sense, do not 'rm -rf /' as root for example. 
If you have any questions then do not hesitate to contact me.

See https://raymii.org/s/static/About.html for details.