JSONPath Benchmark

This project benchmarks multiple JSONPath libraries written in Go. It evaluates performance in specific scenarios and offers guidance for selecting an appropriate library.

Contents

• Overview
• Libraries Benchmarked
• Simple Query Performance
• Complex Query Performance
• Support Matrix
• Conclusion
• Reproduce Locally
• License

Overview

Results are generated via GitHub Actions for consistency and automation.

The benchmark focuses on the per-operation cost after initial setup is complete. Preparatory steps, such as parsing or preloading data, are excluded from the measurements. Instead, it emphasizes scenarios with intensive looping or query execution within the main operation.

Results may vary with factors such as input structure, query complexity, and runtime environment. Treat these benchmarks as a general reference and re-evaluate them periodically.

Notes on metrics:

• Time: ns/op (lower is better)
• Memory: B/op (lower is better)
• Allocations: allocs/op (lower is better)

Libraries Benchmarked

The following libraries are included in this benchmark:

• AsaiYusuke/JSONPath
• PaesslerAG/JSONPath
• bhmj/JSONSlice
• ohler55/OjG (jp)
• oliveagle/JsonPath
• Spyzhov/Abstract JSON
• theory/RFC 9535 JSONPath in Go
• vmware-labs/YAML JSONPath
• Yalp/JSONPath

Simple Query Performance

JSONPath:

$.store.book[*].price

Summary:

• Query features:
  • root selector ($)
  • child segments (name selectors)
  • wildcard selector ([*])
• Compatibility: 10/10 (all libraries)
• Fastest: AsaiYusuke/JSONPath

Performance Detail:

Rank	Library	Time (ns/op)	Memory (B/op)	Allocations (allocs/op)	Relative speed (fastest = 1x)
1	AsaiYusuke/JSONPath (reuse)	121.40	0	0	1.00x
2	AsaiYusuke/JSONPath	171.70	64	1	1.41x
3	Yalp/JSONPath	281.50	160	5	2.32x
4	oliveagle/JsonPath	367.10	160	5	3.02x
5	ohler55/OjG (jp)	546.30	1264	4	4.50x
6	theory/RFC 9535 JSONPath in Go	794.90	480	20	6.55x
7	PaesslerAG/JSONPath	1339.00	816	29	11.03x
8	vmware-labs/YAML JSONPath	2025.00	1240	67	16.68x
9	Spyzhov/Abstract JSON	2465.00	968	30	20.30x
10	bhmj/JSONSlice	4116.00	312	13	33.90x

Complex Query Performance

JSONPath:

$..book[?(@.price > $.store.bicycle.price)]

Summary:

• Query features:
  • root selector ($)
  • descendant segment (..)
  • filter selector (?()) with comparison expression
  • path references (@ and $)
  • child segments (name selectors)
• Compatibility: 6/10 (see Support Matrix)
• Fastest: AsaiYusuke/JSONPath

Performance Detail:

Rank	Library	Time (ns/op)	Memory (B/op)	Allocations (allocs/op)	Relative speed (fastest = 1x)
1	AsaiYusuke/JSONPath (reuse)	1146.00	80	2	1.00x
2	AsaiYusuke/JSONPath	1171.00	96	3	1.02x
3	theory/RFC 9535 JSONPath in Go	2281.00	528	33	1.99x
4	ohler55/OjG (jp)	3946.00	6200	37	3.44x
5	Spyzhov/Abstract JSON	15321.00	5464	222	13.37x
6	bhmj/JSONSlice	15586.00	1728	35	13.60x

Support Matrix

Library	Simple query	Complex query
AsaiYusuke/JSONPath (reuse)	✅	✅
AsaiYusuke/JSONPath	✅	✅
PaesslerAG/JSONPath	✅	❌
bhmj/JSONSlice	✅	✅
ohler55/OjG (jp)	✅	✅
oliveagle/JsonPath	✅	❌
Spyzhov/Abstract JSON	✅	✅
theory/RFC 9535 JSONPath in Go	✅	✅
vmware-labs/YAML JSONPath	✅	❌
Yalp/JSONPath	✅	❌

Conclusion

This benchmark compared several popular JSONPath libraries in Go and highlighted notable performance differences. Interestingly, the simple query showed a wider performance spread than the complex one, suggesting that implementation details and variations in query syntax handling can directly impact execution speed. Therefore, a practical evaluation should consider both feature support and raw performance. For selecting a library in production, we strongly recommend running benchmarks tailored to your own datasets and query patterns.

Reproduce Locally

Benchmarks are executed in GitHub Actions for consistency. For the exact steps and current outputs, check the Actions tab and the workflow logs. If you prefer to run locally, follow the same sequence defined in the workflow file (see .github/workflows/build.yml).

License

This project is distributed under the terms of the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.