How to Filter a JSON Query for Specific Attributes in Nested Lists Using json_query

Learn how to effectively filter JSON data to retrieve specific values based on nested attributes using Ansible's `json_query` functionality.
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How to Filter a JSON Query for Specific Attributes in Nested Lists Using json_query

When working with JSON data, especially in complex nested structures, it can sometimes become challenging to extract the specific information you need. In this article, we’ll address a common problem faced by users querying JSON data: filtering a nested list to extract specific values based on certain attributes. We will provide a detailed solution using Ansible's powerful json_query feature.

The Problem

Let’s say you have a JSON structure consisting of various records containing nested lists. Here’s a simplified version of the structure you might encounter:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

In this case, our goal is to filter the JSON data to extract the "id" values only when there is an attribute "type" equal to "floor".

The Solution

To achieve this filtering, we need to use Ansible's json_query to process the data effectively. Below, we'll break down the steps needed to filter the JSON data as desired.

Step 1: Create a Dictionary Combining IDs and Attributes

First, we will create a dictionary that maps each id to its respective type from additionalInfo.

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This command will yield a dictionary that looks something like this:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Step 2: Select IDs with a Specific Type

Next, we need to filter out the IDs where the associated type contains the value "floor".

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Executing this will provide us with:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

This list now includes just the IDs corresponding to the entries where the type is "floor".

Example Playbook

Below is a complete example playbook that you can use to test this functionality:

[[See Video to Reveal this Text or Code Snippet]]

Conclusion

By leveraging Ansible’s json_query capability, we can effectively filter complex nested JSON structures to obtain the specific pieces of data that we require. In our example, we successfully isolated the IDs that correspond to entities labeled as "floor".

Feel free to adapt this methodology to suit your unique data structures and filtering needs. Remember, with complex nested data, clear and concise queries can save you a significant amount of time and effort!