# Install hjson with Homebrew, Nix, scoop Convert JSON to HJSON and vice versa. Version 4.6.0 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:hjson ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install hjson ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#hjson ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: hjson from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix ### Windows - Scoop (92%): ```sh scoop install main/hjson ``` Evidence: Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/hjson.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:hjson - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 4.6.0 - **Source summary:** Convert JSON to HJSON and vice versa - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** MIT - **Source archive:** - **Generated:** 2026-07-09T07:20:21+00:00 ## Executables - hjson (cli) - hjson (alias) ## Build dependencies - go ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-09 - Package-manager version: 4.6.0 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://github.com/hjson/hjson-go - Upstream latest detected: v4.6.0 (current) - info: No package-manager update timestamp was available. ## Project history and usage Hjson is a human-editable configuration format and related CLI/library ecosystem that keeps JSON compatibility while relaxing syntax for comments, unquoted keys, optional commas, root-brace omission, and multiline strings. ### Project history The Hjson site presents the format as a user interface for JSON rather than a replacement for JSON. The stated goal is to make data easier for humans to read and edit before converting it back to ordinary JSON for machines. The Hjson Internet-Draft dated May 23, 2016 formalized the format as Human JSON, a configuration file format based on JSON whose design goals were readability, editability, backward compatibility with JSON, and suitability for human-viewed configuration, resource files, and debug data dumps. The Homebrew package points at hjson-go, the Go implementation. Its README says the Go implementation is based on hjson-js, documents both library and hjson-cli use, and positions the CLI as a converter between JSON and Hjson. ### Adoption history Hjson adoption has been implementation-led rather than standards-body-led. The official developer page lists implementations for JavaScript, C#, C++, Go, Java, Lua, PHP, Python, Rust, Ruby, and other partial ports, plus tools with native support. The input package facts show the Go CLI packaged by Homebrew, Nix, and Scoop. That is a modest but useful packaging footprint for developers who want a command-line converter without adopting a language-specific library. ### How it is used The hjson-go CLI reads JSON or Hjson from a file or stdin and emits JSON, formatted JSON, or Hjson. Typical package use is converting existing JSON into a friendlier editable form, validating Hjson, or embedding Hjson parsing into Go programs. The format is intentionally scoped. The Internet-Draft recommends it for data primarily viewed or edited by humans and advises against protocol use. ### Why package nerds care Hjson sits in the long-running package-nerd debate over configuration formats: strict JSON is universal but hostile to comments and hand editing; YAML is powerful but complex; Hjson offers a smaller relaxed-JSON compromise. The Go CLI matters because it turns the format into a portable command-line filter, making Hjson useful in shell scripts, editors, config migrations, and package-manager installs without committing to a JavaScript runtime. ### Timeline - 2014: The hjson/hjson repository was created for the format project. - 2016-05-23: The Hjson Internet-Draft was dated May 23, 2016. - 2016-08-05: The hjson-go repository was created. - 2016-08-08: hjson-go v0.1.0 was published on GitHub releases. ### Related projects - hjson-js: the JavaScript implementation that hjson-go names as its base. - JSON: the strict data format that Hjson extends for human-editable configuration. - YAML, TOML, JSON5: adjacent human-editable configuration formats often considered for similar use cases. ### Sources - - - - - - - input: source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** hjson - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Head Version:** HEAD - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** head, stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - hjson: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: hjson from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix - Scoop - main/hjson: normalized package name match | Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/hjson.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [Source-control packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/source-control-tools/) - Belongs to a source-control command family. - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Text processing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata. - [Developer build packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/developer-build-tools/) - Matched build, compiler, generator, or developer workflow metadata. - [go](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/go/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [json5](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/json5/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, data-format, developer-tools, json. - [xmq](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/xmq/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, data-format, developer-tools, json. - [yajl](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/yajl/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, data-format, developer-tools, json. - [config-file-validator](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/config-file-validator/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, developer-tools, json. - [dhall-json](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/dhall-json/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, developer-tools, json. - [dyff](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/dyff/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, developer-tools, json. - [go-jsonnet](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/go-jsonnet/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, developer-tools, json. - [jrsonnet](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/jrsonnet/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, configuration, developer-tools, json. - [hjson](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/npm/hjson/) - Same normalized package name appears in another local ecosystem. Shared terms: cli, data, hjson, json. - [hjson](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/npm/hjson/) - Same normalized package name in another local ecosystem. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/hjson.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/hjson.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph