Improved handling of numeric keys

When there is no match at a given path, numeric keys are assumed to be strings.
To create an array '+' must be used.

e.g: yq n thing[+].cat fred
will create an array under thing, whereas
yq n thing[0].cat fred
will create a map under thing, with a key '0'

README.md

@@ -8,21 +8,40 @@ a lightweight and portable command-line YAML processor
 The aim of the project is to be the [jq](https://github.com/stedolan/jq) or sed of yaml files.
 
 ## Install
-On MacOS:
+### On MacOS:
 ```
 brew install yq
 ```
-On Ubuntu and other Linux distros supporting `snap` packages:
+### On Ubuntu and other Linux distros supporting `snap` packages:
 ```
 snap install yq
 ```
-On Ubuntu 16.04 or higher from Debian package:
+
+#### Snap notes
+`yq` installs with with [_strict confinement_](https://docs.snapcraft.io/snap-confinement/6233) in snap, this means it doesn't have direct access to root files. To read root files you can:
+
+```
+sudo cat /etc/myfile | yq -r - somecommand
+```
+
+And to write to a root file you can either use [sponge](https://linux.die.net/man/1/sponge):
+```
+sudo cat /etc/myfile | yq -r - somecommand | sudo sponge /etc/myfile
+```
+or write to a temporary file:
+```
+sudo cat /etc/myfile | yq -r - somecommand | sudo tee /etc/myfile.tmp
+sudo mv /etc/myfile.tmp /etc/myfile
+rm /etc/myfile.tmp
+```
+
+### On Ubuntu 16.04 or higher from Debian package:
 ```
 sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rmescandon/yq
 sudo apt update
 sudo apt install yq -y
 ```
-or, [Download latest binary](https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/releases/latest) or alternatively:
+### or, [Download latest binary](https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/releases/latest) or alternatively:
 ```
 go get gopkg.in/mikefarah/yq.v2
 ```
@@ -63,6 +82,8 @@ docker run -it -v ${PWD}:/workdir mikefarah/yq sh
 Check out the [documentation](http://mikefarah.github.io/yq/) for more detailed and advanced usage.
 
 ```
+yq is a lightweight and portable command-line YAML processor. It aims to be the jq or sed of yaml files.
+
 Usage:
   yq [flags]
   yq [command]
@@ -72,9 +93,9 @@ Available Commands:
   help        Help about any command
   merge       yq m [--inplace/-i] [--doc/-d index] [--overwrite/-x] [--append/-a] sample.yaml sample2.yaml
   new         yq n [--script/-s script_file] a.b.c newValue
+  prefix      yq p [--inplace/-i] [--doc/-d index] sample.yaml a.b.c
   read        yq r [--doc/-d index] sample.yaml a.b.c
   write       yq w [--inplace/-i] [--script/-s script_file] [--doc/-d index] sample.yaml a.b.c newValue
-  prefix      yq p [--inplace/-i] [--doc/-d index] sample.yaml a.b.c
 
 Flags:
   -h, --help      help for yq

commands_test.go

@@ -24,7 +24,18 @@ func TestRootCmd(t *testing.T) {
 	if !strings.Contains(result.Output, "Usage:") {
 		t.Error("Expected usage message to be printed out, but the usage message was not found.")
 	}
+}
 
+func TestRootCmd_Help(t *testing.T) {
+	cmd := getRootCommand()
+	result := runCmd(cmd, "--help")
+	if result.Error != nil {
+		t.Error(result.Error)
+	}
+
+	if !strings.Contains(result.Output, "yq is a lightweight and portable command-line YAML processor. It aims to be the jq or sed of yaml files.") {
+		t.Error("Expected usage message to be printed out, but the usage message was not found.")
+	}
 }
 
 func TestRootCmd_VerboseLong(t *testing.T) {
@@ -374,12 +385,11 @@ func TestPrefixCmdArray(t *testing.T) {
 	defer removeTempYamlFile(filename)
 
 	cmd := getRootCommand()
-	result := runCmd(cmd, fmt.Sprintf("prefix %s [0].d.[1]", filename))
+	result := runCmd(cmd, fmt.Sprintf("prefix %s [+].d.[+]", filename))
 	if result.Error != nil {
 		t.Error(result.Error)
 	}
 	expectedOutput := `- d:
-  - null
   - b:
       c: 3
 `
@@ -775,7 +785,7 @@ func TestWriteCmd_AppendEmptyArray(t *testing.T) {
 	defer removeTempYamlFile(filename)
 
 	cmd := getRootCommand()
-	result := runCmd(cmd, fmt.Sprintf("write %s b[+] v", filename))
+	result := runCmd(cmd, fmt.Sprintf("write -v %s b[+] v", filename))
 	if result.Error != nil {
 		t.Error(result.Error)
 	}
@@ -786,6 +796,66 @@ b:
 	assertResult(t, expectedOutput, result.Output)
 }
 
+func TestWriteCmd_SplatArray(t *testing.T) {
+	content := `b:
+- c: thing
+- c: another thing
+`
+	filename := writeTempYamlFile(content)
+	defer removeTempYamlFile(filename)
+
+	cmd := getRootCommand()
+	result := runCmd(cmd, fmt.Sprintf("write -v %s b[*].c new", filename))
+	if result.Error != nil {
+		t.Error(result.Error)
+	}
+	expectedOutput := `b:
+- c: new
+- c: new
+`
+	assertResult(t, expectedOutput, result.Output)
+}
+
+func TestWriteCmd_SplatMap(t *testing.T) {
+	content := `b:
+  c: thing
+  d: another thing
+`
+	filename := writeTempYamlFile(content)
+	defer removeTempYamlFile(filename)
+
+	cmd := getRootCommand()
+	result := runCmd(cmd, fmt.Sprintf("write -v %s b.* new", filename))
+	if result.Error != nil {
+		t.Error(result.Error)
+	}
+	expectedOutput := `b:
+  c: new
+  d: new
+`
+	assertResult(t, expectedOutput, result.Output)
+}
+
+func TestWriteCmd_SplatMapEmpty(t *testing.T) {
+	content := `b:
+  c: thing
+  d: another thing
+`
+	filename := writeTempYamlFile(content)
+	defer removeTempYamlFile(filename)
+
+	cmd := getRootCommand()
+	result := runCmd(cmd, fmt.Sprintf("write -v %s b.c.* new", filename))
+	if result.Error != nil {
+		t.Error(result.Error)
+	}
+	expectedOutput := `b:
+  c: thing
+  d: another thing
+`
+	assertResult(t, expectedOutput, result.Output)
+}
+
 func TestDeleteYaml(t *testing.T) {
 	content := `a: 2
 b:
@@ -808,6 +878,102 @@ b:
 	assertResult(t, expectedOutput, result.Output)
 }
 
+func TestDeleteSplatYaml(t *testing.T) {
+	content := `a: 2
+b:
+ hi:
+   c: things
+   d: something else
+ hello:
+   c: things2
+   d: something else2
+ there:
+   c: more things
+   d: more something else
+`
+	filename := writeTempYamlFile(content)
+	defer removeTempYamlFile(filename)
+
+	cmd := getRootCommand()
+	result := runCmd(cmd, fmt.Sprintf("delete -v %s b.*.c", filename))
+	if result.Error != nil {
+		t.Error(result.Error)
+	}
+
+	expectedOutput := `a: 2
+b:
+  hi:
+    d: something else
+  hello:
+    d: something else2
+  there:
+    d: more something else
+`
+	assertResult(t, expectedOutput, result.Output)
+}
+
+func TestDeleteSplatArrayYaml(t *testing.T) {
+	content := `a: 2
+b:
+ hi:
+  - thing: item1
+    name: fred
+  - thing: item2
+    name: sam
+`
+	filename := writeTempYamlFile(content)
+	defer removeTempYamlFile(filename)
+
+	cmd := getRootCommand()
+	result := runCmd(cmd, fmt.Sprintf("delete -v %s b.hi[*].thing", filename))
+	if result.Error != nil {
+		t.Error(result.Error)
+	}
+
+	expectedOutput := `a: 2
+b:
+  hi:
+  - name: fred
+  - name: sam
+`
+	assertResult(t, expectedOutput, result.Output)
+}
+
+func TestDeleteSplatPrefixYaml(t *testing.T) {
+	content := `a: 2
+b:
+ hi:
+   c: things
+   d: something else
+ there:
+   c: more things
+   d: more something else
+ there2:
+   c: more things also
+   d: more something else also
+`
+	filename := writeTempYamlFile(content)
+	defer removeTempYamlFile(filename)
+
+	cmd := getRootCommand()
+	result := runCmd(cmd, fmt.Sprintf("delete -v %s b.there*.c", filename))
+	if result.Error != nil {
+		t.Error(result.Error)
+	}
+
+	expectedOutput := `a: 2
+b:
+  hi:
+    c: things
+    d: something else
+  there:
+    d: more something else
+  there2:
+    d: more something else also
+`
+	assertResult(t, expectedOutput, result.Output)
+}
+
 func TestDeleteYamlArray(t *testing.T) {
 	content := `- 1
 - 2

data_navigator.go

@@ -2,19 +2,31 @@ package main
 
 import (
 	"fmt"
+	"reflect"
 	"strconv"
+	"strings"
 
 	yaml "gopkg.in/mikefarah/yaml.v2"
 )
 
-func entryInSlice(context yaml.MapSlice, key interface{}) *yaml.MapItem {
+func matchesKey(key string, actual interface{}) bool {
+	var actualString = fmt.Sprintf("%v", actual)
+	var prefixMatch = strings.TrimSuffix(key, "*")
+	if prefixMatch != key {
+		return strings.HasPrefix(actualString, prefixMatch)
+	}
+	return actualString == key
+}
+
+func entriesInSlice(context yaml.MapSlice, key string) []*yaml.MapItem {
+	var matches = make([]*yaml.MapItem, 0)
 	for idx := range context {
 		var entry = &context[idx]
-		if entry.Key == key {
-			return entry
+		if matchesKey(key, entry.Key) {
+			matches = append(matches, entry)
 		}
 	}
-	return nil
+	return matches
 }
 
 func getMapSlice(context interface{}) yaml.MapSlice {
@@ -40,27 +52,33 @@ func getArray(context interface{}) (array []interface{}, ok bool) {
 	return
 }
 
-func writeMap(context interface{}, paths []string, value interface{}) yaml.MapSlice {
-	log.Debugf("writeMap for %v for %v with value %v\n", paths, context, value)
+func writeMap(context interface{}, paths []string, value interface{}) interface{} {
+	log.Debugf("writeMap with path %v for %v to set value %v\n", paths, context, value)
 
 	mapSlice := getMapSlice(context)
 
 	if len(paths) == 0 {
-		return mapSlice
+		return context
 	}
 
-	child := entryInSlice(mapSlice, paths[0])
-	if child == nil {
+	children := entriesInSlice(mapSlice, paths[0])
+
+	if len(children) == 0 && paths[0] == "*" {
+		log.Debugf("\tNo matches, return map as is")
+		return context
+	}
+
+	if len(children) == 0 {
 		newChild := yaml.MapItem{Key: paths[0]}
 		mapSlice = append(mapSlice, newChild)
-		child = entryInSlice(mapSlice, paths[0])
+		children = entriesInSlice(mapSlice, paths[0])
 		log.Debugf("\tAppended child at %v for mapSlice %v\n", paths[0], mapSlice)
 	}
 
-	log.Debugf("\tchild.Value %v\n", child.Value)
-
 	remainingPaths := paths[1:]
+	for _, child := range children {
 		child.Value = updatedChildValue(child.Value, remainingPaths, value)
+	}
 	log.Debugf("\tReturning mapSlice %v\n", mapSlice)
 	return mapSlice
 }
@@ -69,19 +87,26 @@ func updatedChildValue(child interface{}, remainingPaths []string, value interfa
 	if len(remainingPaths) == 0 {
 		return value
 	}
+	log.Debugf("updatedChildValue for child %v with path %v to set value %v", child, remainingPaths, value)
+	log.Debugf("type of child is %v", reflect.TypeOf(child))
 
-	_, nextIndexErr := strconv.ParseInt(remainingPaths[0], 10, 64)
-	if nextIndexErr != nil && remainingPaths[0] != "+" {
-		// must be a map
-		return writeMap(child, remainingPaths, value)
-	}
-
-	// must be an array
+	switch child := child.(type) {
+	case nil:
+		if remainingPaths[0] == "+" || remainingPaths[0] == "*" {
 			return writeArray(child, remainingPaths, value)
+		}
+	case []interface{}:
+		_, nextIndexErr := strconv.ParseInt(remainingPaths[0], 10, 64)
+		arrayCommand := nextIndexErr == nil || remainingPaths[0] == "+" || remainingPaths[0] == "*"
+		if arrayCommand {
+			return writeArray(child, remainingPaths, value)
+		}
+	}
+	return writeMap(child, remainingPaths, value)
 }
 
 func writeArray(context interface{}, paths []string, value interface{}) []interface{} {
-	log.Debugf("writeArray for %v for %v with value %v\n", paths, context, value)
+	log.Debugf("writeArray with path %v for %v to set value %v\n", paths, context, value)
 	array, _ := getArray(context)
 
 	if len(paths) == 0 {
@@ -91,10 +116,16 @@ func writeArray(context interface{}, paths []string, value interface{}) []interf
 	log.Debugf("\tarray %v\n", array)
 
 	rawIndex := paths[0]
+	remainingPaths := paths[1:]
 	var index int64
 	// the append array indicator
 	if rawIndex == "+" {
 		index = int64(len(array))
+	} else if rawIndex == "*" {
+		for index, oldChild := range array {
+			array[index] = updatedChildValue(oldChild, remainingPaths, value)
+		}
+		return array
 	} else {
 		index, _ = strconv.ParseInt(rawIndex, 10, 64) // nolint
 		// writeArray is only called by updatedChildValue which handles parsing the
@@ -108,23 +139,34 @@ func writeArray(context interface{}, paths []string, value interface{}) []interf
 
 	log.Debugf("\tcurrentChild %v\n", currentChild)
 
-	remainingPaths := paths[1:]
 	array[index] = updatedChildValue(currentChild, remainingPaths, value)
 	log.Debugf("\tReturning array %v\n", array)
 	return array
 }
 
 func readMap(context yaml.MapSlice, head string, tail []string) (interface{}, error) {
+	log.Debugf("readingMap %v with key %v\n", context, head)
 	if head == "*" {
 		return readMapSplat(context, tail)
 	}
-	var value interface{}
 
-	entry := entryInSlice(context, head)
-	if entry != nil {
-		value = entry.Value
+	entries := entriesInSlice(context, head)
+	if len(entries) == 1 {
+		return calculateValue(entries[0].Value, tail)
+	} else if len(entries) == 0 {
+		return nil, nil
 	}
-	return calculateValue(value, tail)
+	var errInIdx error
+	values := make([]interface{}, len(entries))
+	for idx, entry := range entries {
+		values[idx], errInIdx = calculateValue(entry.Value, tail)
+		if errInIdx != nil {
+			log.Errorf("Error updating index %v in %v", idx, context)
+			return nil, errInIdx
+		}
+
+	}
+	return values, nil
 }
 
 func readMapSplat(context yaml.MapSlice, tail []string) (interface{}, error) {
@@ -191,39 +233,47 @@ func calculateValue(value interface{}, tail []string) (interface{}, error) {
 	return value, nil
 }
 
-func deleteMap(context interface{}, paths []string) yaml.MapSlice {
+func deleteMap(context interface{}, paths []string) (yaml.MapSlice, error) {
 	log.Debugf("deleteMap for %v for %v\n", paths, context)
 
 	mapSlice := getMapSlice(context)
 
 	if len(paths) == 0 {
-		return mapSlice
+		return mapSlice, nil
 	}
 
-	var found bool
 	var index int
 	var child yaml.MapItem
 	for index, child = range mapSlice {
-		if child.Key == paths[0] {
-			found = true
-			break
+		if matchesKey(paths[0], child.Key) {
+			log.Debugf("\tMatched [%v] with [%v] at index %v", paths[0], child.Key, index)
+			var badDelete error
+			mapSlice, badDelete = deleteEntryInMap(mapSlice, child, index, paths)
+			if badDelete != nil {
+				return nil, badDelete
+			}
 		}
 	}
 
-	if !found {
-		return mapSlice
-	}
+	return mapSlice, nil
 
+}
+
+func deleteEntryInMap(original yaml.MapSlice, child yaml.MapItem, index int, paths []string) (yaml.MapSlice, error) {
 	remainingPaths := paths[1:]
 
 	var newSlice yaml.MapSlice
 	if len(remainingPaths) > 0 {
 		newChild := yaml.MapItem{Key: child.Key}
-		newChild.Value = deleteChildValue(child.Value, remainingPaths)
+		var errorDeleting error
+		newChild.Value, errorDeleting = deleteChildValue(child.Value, remainingPaths)
+		if errorDeleting != nil {
+			return nil, errorDeleting
+		}
 
-		newSlice = make(yaml.MapSlice, len(mapSlice))
-		for i := range mapSlice {
-			item := mapSlice[i]
+		newSlice = make(yaml.MapSlice, len(original))
+		for i := range original {
+			item := original[i]
 			if i == index {
 				item = newChild
 			}
@@ -231,32 +281,43 @@ func deleteMap(context interface{}, paths []string) yaml.MapSlice {
 		}
 	} else {
 		// Delete item from slice at index
-		newSlice = append(mapSlice[:index], mapSlice[index+1:]...)
-		log.Debugf("\tDeleted item index %d from mapSlice", index)
+		newSlice = append(original[:index], original[index+1:]...)
+		log.Debugf("\tDeleted item index %d from original", index)
 	}
 
-	log.Debugf("\t\tlen: %d\tcap: %d\tslice: %v", len(mapSlice), cap(mapSlice), mapSlice)
-	log.Debugf("\tReturning mapSlice %v\n", mapSlice)
-	return newSlice
+	log.Debugf("\tReturning original %v\n", original)
+	return newSlice, nil
 }
 
-func deleteArray(context interface{}, paths []string, index int64) interface{} {
-	log.Debugf("deleteArray for %v for %v\n", paths, context)
-
-	array, ok := getArray(context)
-	if !ok {
-		// did not get an array
-		return context
+func deleteArraySplat(array []interface{}, tail []string) (interface{}, error) {
+	log.Debugf("deleteArraySplat for %v for %v\n", tail, array)
+	var newArray = make([]interface{}, len(array))
+	for index, value := range array {
+		val, err := deleteChildValue(value, tail)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
 		}
+		newArray[index] = val
+	}
+	return newArray, nil
+}
+
+func deleteArray(array []interface{}, paths []string, index int64) (interface{}, error) {
+	log.Debugf("deleteArray for %v for %v\n", paths, array)
 
 	if index >= int64(len(array)) {
-		return array
+		return array, nil
 	}
 
 	remainingPaths := paths[1:]
 	if len(remainingPaths) > 0 {
 		// Recurse into the array element at index
-		array[index] = deleteMap(array[index], remainingPaths)
+		var errorDeleting error
+		array[index], errorDeleting = deleteMap(array[index], remainingPaths)
+		if errorDeleting != nil {
+			return nil, errorDeleting
+		}
+
 	} else {
 		// Delete the array element at index
 		array = append(array[:index], array[index+1:]...)
@@ -264,19 +325,25 @@ func deleteArray(context interface{}, paths []string, index int64) interface{} {
 	}
 
 	log.Debugf("\tReturning array: %v\n", array)
-	return array
+	return array, nil
 }
 
-func deleteChildValue(child interface{}, remainingPaths []string) interface{} {
+func deleteChildValue(child interface{}, remainingPaths []string) (interface{}, error) {
 	log.Debugf("deleteChildValue for %v for %v\n", remainingPaths, child)
-
-	idx, nextIndexErr := strconv.ParseInt(remainingPaths[0], 10, 64)
-	if nextIndexErr != nil {
-		// must be a map
-		log.Debugf("\tdetected a map, invoking deleteMap\n")
+	var head = remainingPaths[0]
+	var tail = remainingPaths[1:]
+	switch child := child.(type) {
+	case yaml.MapSlice:
 		return deleteMap(child, remainingPaths)
+	case []interface{}:
+		if head == "*" {
+			return deleteArraySplat(child, tail)
 		}
-
-	log.Debugf("\tdetected an array, so traversing element with index %d\n", idx)
-	return deleteArray(child, remainingPaths, idx)
+		index, err := strconv.ParseInt(head, 10, 64)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("error accessing array: %v", err)
+		}
+		return deleteArray(child, remainingPaths, index)
+	}
+	return child, nil
 }

data_navigator_test.go

@@ -4,8 +4,6 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"sort"
 	"testing"
-
-	yaml "gopkg.in/mikefarah/yaml.v2"
 )
 
 func TestReadMap_simple(t *testing.T) {
@@ -18,18 +16,37 @@ b:
 	assertResult(t, 2, got)
 }
 
+func TestReadMap_numberKey(t *testing.T) {
+	var data = parseData(`
+---
+200: things
+`)
+	got, _ := readMap(data, "200", []string{})
+	assertResult(t, "things", got)
+}
+
 func TestReadMap_splat(t *testing.T) {
 	var data = parseData(`
 ---
 mapSplat:
   item1: things
   item2: whatever
+  otherThing: cat
 `)
 	res, _ := readMap(data, "mapSplat", []string{"*"})
-	result := res.([]interface{})
-	var actual = []string{result[0].(string), result[1].(string)}
-	sort.Strings(actual)
-	assertResult(t, "[things whatever]", fmt.Sprintf("%v", actual))
+	assertResult(t, "[things whatever cat]", fmt.Sprintf("%v", res))
+}
+
+func TestReadMap_prefixSplat(t *testing.T) {
+	var data = parseData(`
+---
+mapSplat:
+  item1: things
+  item2: whatever
+  otherThing: cat
+`)
+	res, _ := readMap(data, "mapSplat", []string{"item*"})
+	assertResult(t, "[things whatever]", fmt.Sprintf("%v", res))
 }
 
 func TestReadMap_deep_splat(t *testing.T) {
@@ -180,8 +197,7 @@ func TestWrite_really_simple(t *testing.T) {
 `)
 
 	updated := writeMap(data, []string{"b"}, "4")
-	b := entryInSlice(updated, "b").Value
-	assertResult(t, "4", b)
+	assertResult(t, "[{b 4}]", fmt.Sprintf("%v", updated))
 }
 
 func TestWrite_simple(t *testing.T) {
@@ -191,9 +207,7 @@ b:
 `)
 
 	updated := writeMap(data, []string{"b", "c"}, "4")
-	b := entryInSlice(updated, "b").Value.(yaml.MapSlice)
-	c := entryInSlice(b, "c").Value
-	assertResult(t, "4", c)
+	assertResult(t, "[{b [{c 4}]}]", fmt.Sprintf("%v", updated))
 }
 
 func TestWrite_new(t *testing.T) {
@@ -203,9 +217,7 @@ b:
 `)
 
 	updated := writeMap(data, []string{"b", "d"}, "4")
-	b := entryInSlice(updated, "b").Value.(yaml.MapSlice)
-	d := entryInSlice(b, "d").Value
-	assertResult(t, "4", d)
+	assertResult(t, "[{b [{c 2} {d 4}]}]", fmt.Sprintf("%v", updated))
 }
 
 func TestWrite_new_deep(t *testing.T) {
@@ -215,8 +227,7 @@ b:
 `)
 
 	updated := writeMap(data, []string{"b", "d", "f"}, "4")
-	got, _ := readMap(updated, "b", []string{"d", "f"})
-	assertResult(t, "4", got)
+	assertResult(t, "[{b [{c 2} {d [{f 4}]}]}]", fmt.Sprintf("%v", updated))
 }
 
 func TestWrite_array(t *testing.T) {
@@ -227,8 +238,7 @@ b:
 
 	updated := writeMap(data, []string{"b", "0"}, "bb")
 
-	b := entryInSlice(updated, "b").Value.([]interface{})
-	assertResult(t, "bb", b[0].(string))
+	assertResult(t, "[{b [bb]}]", fmt.Sprintf("%v", updated))
 }
 
 func TestWrite_new_array(t *testing.T) {
@@ -238,20 +248,19 @@ b:
 `)
 
 	updated := writeMap(data, []string{"b", "0"}, "4")
-	got, _ := readMap(updated, "b", []string{"0"})
-	assertResult(t, "4", got)
+	assertResult(t, "[{b [{c 2} {0 4}]}]", fmt.Sprintf("%v", updated))
 }
 
 func TestWrite_new_array_deep(t *testing.T) {
 	var data = parseData(`
-b:
-  c: 2
+a: apple
 `)
 
-	var expected = `b:
+	var expected = `a: apple
+b:
 - c: "4"`
 
-	updated := writeMap(data, []string{"b", "0", "c"}, "4")
+	updated := writeMap(data, []string{"b", "+", "c"}, "4")
 	got, _ := yamlToString(updated)
 	assertResult(t, expected, got)
 }
@@ -261,10 +270,14 @@ func TestWrite_new_map_array_deep(t *testing.T) {
 b:
   c: 2
 `)
+	var expected = `b:
+  c: 2
+  d:
+  - "4"`
 
-	updated := writeMap(data, []string{"b", "d", "0"}, "4")
-	got, _ := readMap(updated, "b", []string{"d", "0"})
-	assertResult(t, "4", got)
+	updated := writeMap(data, []string{"b", "d", "+"}, "4")
+	got, _ := yamlToString(updated)
+	assertResult(t, expected, got)
 }
 
 func TestWrite_add_to_array(t *testing.T) {
@@ -289,8 +302,7 @@ b:
 `)
 	updated := writeMap(data, []string{"b"}, "4")
 
-	b := entryInSlice(updated, "b").Value
-	assertResult(t, "4", fmt.Sprintf("%v", b))
+	assertResult(t, "[{b 4}]", fmt.Sprintf("%v", updated))
 }
 
 func TestWriteMap_no_paths(t *testing.T) {
@@ -318,7 +330,7 @@ b: 456
 b: 456
 `)
 
-	result := deleteMap(data, []string{"a"})
+	result, _ := deleteMap(data, []string{"a"})
 	assertResult(t, fmt.Sprintf("%v", expected), fmt.Sprintf("%v", result))
 }
 
@@ -327,7 +339,7 @@ func TestDelete_index_to_string(t *testing.T) {
 	var data = parseData(`
 a: mystring
 `)
-	result := deleteMap(data, []string{"a", "0"})
+	result, _ := deleteMap(data, []string{"a", "0"})
 	assertResult(t, fmt.Sprintf("%v", data), fmt.Sprintf("%v", result))
 }
 
@@ -338,7 +350,7 @@ a: [3, 4]
 	var expected = parseData(`
 a: [3]
 `)
-	result := deleteMap(data, []string{"a", "1"})
+	result, _ := deleteMap(data, []string{"a", "1"})
 	assertResult(t, fmt.Sprintf("%v", expected), fmt.Sprintf("%v", result))
 }
 
@@ -346,7 +358,7 @@ func TestDelete_list_index_beyond_bounds(t *testing.T) {
 	var data = parseData(`
 a: [3, 4]
 `)
-	result := deleteMap(data, []string{"a", "5"})
+	result, _ := deleteMap(data, []string{"a", "5"})
 	assertResult(t, fmt.Sprintf("%v", data), fmt.Sprintf("%v", result))
 }
 
@@ -354,7 +366,7 @@ func TestDelete_list_index_out_of_bounds_by_1(t *testing.T) {
 	var data = parseData(`
 a: [3, 4]
 `)
-	result := deleteMap(data, []string{"a", "2"})
+	result, _ := deleteMap(data, []string{"a", "2"})
 	assertResult(t, fmt.Sprintf("%v", data), fmt.Sprintf("%v", result))
 }
 
@@ -364,7 +376,7 @@ a: [3, 4]
 b:
   - name: test
 `)
-	result := deleteMap(data, []string{})
+	result, _ := deleteMap(data, []string{})
 	assertResult(t, fmt.Sprintf("%v", data), fmt.Sprintf("%v", result))
 }
 
@@ -382,6 +394,6 @@ b:
 - name: john
   value: test
 `)
-	result := deleteMap(data, []string{"b", "0", "name"})
+	result, _ := deleteMap(data, []string{"b", "0", "name"})
 	assertResult(t, fmt.Sprintf("%v", expected), fmt.Sprintf("%v", result))
 }

docs/404.html

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 
 
-<!DOCTYPE html>
+<!doctype html>
 <html lang="en" class="no-js">
   <head>
     
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
         <meta name="lang:search.tokenizer" content="[\s\-]+">
       
       <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/assets/images/favicon.png">
-      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-3.1.0">
+      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-4.2.0">
     
     
       
@@ -40,12 +40,12 @@
       
     
     
-      <link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/stylesheets/application.11e41852.css">
+      <link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/stylesheets/application.750b69bd.css">
       
       
     
     
-      <script src="/assets/javascripts/modernizr.20ef595d.js"></script>
+      <script src="/assets/javascripts/modernizr.74668098.js"></script>
     
     
       
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@
     
     
     
+      
+    
+    
   </head>
   
     <body dir="ltr">
@@ -108,7 +111,6 @@
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--stretch">
         <div class="md-flex__ellipsis md-header-nav__title" data-md-component="title">
           
-            
             <span class="md-header-nav__topic">
               Yq
             </span>
@@ -116,12 +118,10 @@
               
             </span>
           
-          
         </div>
       </div>
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
         
-          
           <label class="md-icon md-icon--search md-header-nav__button" for="__search"></label>
           
 <div class="md-search" data-md-component="search" role="dialog">
@@ -147,7 +147,6 @@
   </div>
 </div>
         
-        
       </div>
       
         <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
@@ -157,8 +156,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -169,8 +167,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
           </div>
         </div>
       
@@ -206,8 +203,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -218,8 +214,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
     </div>
   
   <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix>
@@ -357,7 +352,6 @@
           Material for MkDocs</a>
       </div>
       
-        
   <div class="md-footer-social">
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/fonts/font-awesome.css">
     
@@ -367,20 +361,16 @@
     
   </div>
 
-      
     </div>
   </div>
 </footer>
       
     </div>
     
-      <script src="/assets/javascripts/application.9e1f3b71.js"></script>
+      <script src="/assets/javascripts/application.39abc4af.js"></script>
       
       <script>app.initialize({version:"1.0.4",url:{base:"/"}})</script>
       
     
-    
-      
-    
   </body>
 </html>

docs/assets/javascripts/lunr/lunr.ja.js

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+!function(e,r){"function"==typeof define&&define.amd?define(r):"object"==typeof exports?module.exports=r():r()(e.lunr)}(this,function(){return function(m){if(void 0===m)throw new Error("Lunr is not present. Please include / require Lunr before this script.");if(void 0===m.stemmerSupport)throw new Error("Lunr stemmer support is not present. Please include / require Lunr stemmer support before this script.");var l="2"==m.version[0];m.ja=function(){this.pipeline.reset(),this.pipeline.add(m.ja.trimmer,m.ja.stopWordFilter,m.ja.stemmer),l?this.tokenizer=m.ja.tokenizer:(m.tokenizer&&(m.tokenizer=m.ja.tokenizer),this.tokenizerFn&&(this.tokenizerFn=m.ja.tokenizer))};var j=new m.TinySegmenter;m.ja.tokenizer=function(e){var r,t,i,n,o,s,p,a,u;if(!arguments.length||null==e||null==e)return[];if(Array.isArray(e))return e.map(function(e){return l?new m.Token(e.toLowerCase()):e.toLowerCase()});for(r=(t=e.toString().toLowerCase().replace(/^\s+/,"")).length-1;0<=r;r--)if(/\S/.test(t.charAt(r))){t=t.substring(0,r+1);break}for(o=[],i=t.length,p=a=0;a<=i;a++)if(s=a-p,t.charAt(a).match(/\s/)||a==i){if(0<s)for(n=j.segment(t.slice(p,a)).filter(function(e){return!!e}),u=p,r=0;r<n.length;r++)l?o.push(new m.Token(n[r],{position:[u,n[r].length],index:o.length})):o.push(n[r]),u+=n[r].length;p=a+1}return o},m.ja.stemmer=function(e){return e},m.Pipeline.registerFunction(m.ja.stemmer,"stemmer-ja"),m.ja.wordCharacters="一二三四五六七八九十百千万億兆一-龠々〆ヵヶぁ-んァ-ヴーｱ-ﾝﾞa-zA-Zａ-ｚＡ-Ｚ0-9０-９",m.ja.trimmer=m.trimmerSupport.generateTrimmer(m.ja.wordCharacters),m.Pipeline.registerFunction(m.ja.trimmer,"trimmer-ja"),m.ja.stopWordFilter=m.generateStopWordFilter("これ それ あれ この その あの ここ そこ あそこ こちら どこ だれ なに なん 何 私 貴方 貴方方 我々 私達 あの人 あのかた 彼女 彼 です あります おります います は が の に を で え から まで より も どの と し それで しかし".split(" ")),m.Pipeline.registerFunction(m.ja.stopWordFilter,"stopWordFilter-ja"),m.jp=m.ja,m.Pipeline.registerFunction(m.jp.stemmer,"stemmer-jp"),m.Pipeline.registerFunction(m.jp.trimmer,"trimmer-jp"),m.Pipeline.registerFunction(m.jp.stopWordFilter,"stopWordFilter-jp")}});

docs/assets/javascripts/lunr/lunr.jp.js

@@ -1 +1 @@
-!function(e,r){"function"==typeof define&&define.amd?define(r):"object"==typeof exports?module.exports=r():r()(e.lunr)}(this,function(){return function(n){if(void 0===n)throw new Error("Lunr is not present. Please include / require Lunr before this script.");if(void 0===n.stemmerSupport)throw new Error("Lunr stemmer support is not present. Please include / require Lunr stemmer support before this script.");var i="2"==n.version[0];n.jp=function(){this.pipeline.reset(),this.pipeline.add(n.jp.stopWordFilter,n.jp.stemmer),i?this.tokenizer=n.jp.tokenizer:(n.tokenizer&&(n.tokenizer=n.jp.tokenizer),this.tokenizerFn&&(this.tokenizerFn=n.jp.tokenizer))};var o=new n.TinySegmenter;n.jp.tokenizer=function(e){if(!arguments.length||null==e||null==e)return[];if(Array.isArray(e))return e.map(function(e){return i?new n.Token(e.toLowerCase()):e.toLowerCase()});for(var r=e.toString().toLowerCase().replace(/^\s+/,""),t=r.length-1;0<=t;t--)if(/\S/.test(r.charAt(t))){r=r.substring(0,t+1);break}return o.segment(r).filter(function(e){return!!e}).map(function(e){return i?new n.Token(e):e})},n.jp.stemmer=function(e){return e},n.Pipeline.registerFunction(n.jp.stemmer,"stemmer-jp"),n.jp.wordCharacters="一二三四五六七八九十百千万億兆一-龠々〆ヵヶぁ-んァ-ヴーｱ-ﾝﾞa-zA-Zａ-ｚＡ-Ｚ0-9０-９",n.jp.stopWordFilter=function(e){if(-1===n.jp.stopWordFilter.stopWords.indexOf(i?e.toString():e))return e},n.jp.stopWordFilter=n.generateStopWordFilter("これ それ あれ この その あの ここ そこ あそこ こちら どこ だれ なに なん 何 私 貴方 貴方方 我々 私達 あの人 あのかた 彼女 彼 です あります おります います は が の に を で え から まで より も どの と し それで しかし".split(" ")),n.Pipeline.registerFunction(n.jp.stopWordFilter,"stopWordFilter-jp")}});
+module.exports=require("./lunr.ja");

docs/assets/javascripts/lunr/lunr.th.js

@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+!function(e,r){"function"==typeof define&&define.amd?define(r):"object"==typeof exports?module.exports=r():r()(e.lunr)}(this,function(){return function(t){if(void 0===t)throw new Error("Lunr is not present. Please include / require Lunr before this script.");if(void 0===t.stemmerSupport)throw new Error("Lunr stemmer support is not present. Please include / require Lunr stemmer support before this script.");var i="2"==t.version[0];t.th=function(){this.pipeline.reset(),this.pipeline.add(t.th.trimmer),i?this.tokenizer=t.th.tokenizer:(t.tokenizer&&(t.tokenizer=t.th.tokenizer),this.tokenizerFn&&(this.tokenizerFn=t.th.tokenizer))},t.th.wordCharacters="[฀-๿]",t.th.trimmer=t.trimmerSupport.generateTrimmer(t.th.wordCharacters),t.Pipeline.registerFunction(t.th.trimmer,"trimmer-th");var n=t.wordcut;n.init(),t.th.tokenizer=function(e){if(!arguments.length||null==e||null==e)return[];if(Array.isArray(e))return e.map(function(e){return i?new t.Token(e):e});var r=e.toString().replace(/^\s+/,"");return n.cut(r).split("|")}}});

docs/convert/index.html

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 
 
-<!DOCTYPE html>
+<!doctype html>
 <html lang="en" class="no-js">
   <head>
     
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
         <meta name="lang:search.tokenizer" content="[\s\-]+">
       
       <link rel="shortcut icon" href="../assets/images/favicon.png">
-      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-3.1.0">
+      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-4.2.0">
     
     
       
@@ -40,12 +40,12 @@
       
     
     
-      <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/stylesheets/application.11e41852.css">
+      <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/stylesheets/application.750b69bd.css">
       
       
     
     
-      <script src="../assets/javascripts/modernizr.20ef595d.js"></script>
+      <script src="../assets/javascripts/modernizr.74668098.js"></script>
     
     
       
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@
     
     
     
+      
+    
+    
   </head>
   
     <body dir="ltr">
@@ -112,7 +115,6 @@
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--stretch">
         <div class="md-flex__ellipsis md-header-nav__title" data-md-component="title">
           
-            
             <span class="md-header-nav__topic">
               Yq
             </span>
@@ -120,12 +122,10 @@
               Convert
             </span>
           
-          
         </div>
       </div>
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
         
-          
           <label class="md-icon md-icon--search md-header-nav__button" for="__search"></label>
           
 <div class="md-search" data-md-component="search" role="dialog">
@@ -151,7 +151,6 @@
   </div>
 </div>
         
-        
       </div>
       
         <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
@@ -161,8 +160,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -173,8 +171,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
           </div>
         </div>
       
@@ -210,8 +207,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -222,8 +218,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
     </div>
   
   <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix>
@@ -514,7 +509,6 @@ b:
           Material for MkDocs</a>
       </div>
       
-        
   <div class="md-footer-social">
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/fonts/font-awesome.css">
     
@@ -524,20 +518,16 @@ b:
     
   </div>
 
-      
     </div>
   </div>
 </footer>
       
     </div>
     
-      <script src="../assets/javascripts/application.9e1f3b71.js"></script>
+      <script src="../assets/javascripts/application.39abc4af.js"></script>
       
       <script>app.initialize({version:"1.0.4",url:{base:".."}})</script>
       
     
-    
-      
-    
   </body>
 </html>

docs/create/index.html

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 
 
-<!DOCTYPE html>
+<!doctype html>
 <html lang="en" class="no-js">
   <head>
     
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
         <meta name="lang:search.tokenizer" content="[\s\-]+">
       
       <link rel="shortcut icon" href="../assets/images/favicon.png">
-      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-3.1.0">
+      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-4.2.0">
     
     
       
@@ -40,12 +40,12 @@
       
     
     
-      <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/stylesheets/application.11e41852.css">
+      <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/stylesheets/application.750b69bd.css">
       
       
     
     
-      <script src="../assets/javascripts/modernizr.20ef595d.js"></script>
+      <script src="../assets/javascripts/modernizr.74668098.js"></script>
     
     
       
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@
     
     
     
+      
+    
+    
   </head>
   
     <body dir="ltr">
@@ -112,7 +115,6 @@
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--stretch">
         <div class="md-flex__ellipsis md-header-nav__title" data-md-component="title">
           
-            
             <span class="md-header-nav__topic">
               Yq
             </span>
@@ -120,12 +122,10 @@
               Create
             </span>
           
-          
         </div>
       </div>
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
         
-          
           <label class="md-icon md-icon--search md-header-nav__button" for="__search"></label>
           
 <div class="md-search" data-md-component="search" role="dialog">
@@ -151,7 +151,6 @@
   </div>
 </div>
         
-        
       </div>
       
         <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
@@ -161,8 +160,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -173,8 +171,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
           </div>
         </div>
       
@@ -210,8 +207,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -222,8 +218,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
     </div>
   
   <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix>
@@ -337,6 +332,13 @@
   
 </li>
       
+        <li class="md-nav__item">
+  <a href="#keys-and-values-with-leading-dashes" title="Keys (and values) with leading dashes" class="md-nav__link">
+    Keys (and values) with leading dashes
+  </a>
+  
+</li>
+      
       
       
       
@@ -411,6 +413,13 @@
   
 </li>
       
+        <li class="md-nav__item">
+  <a href="#keys-and-values-with-leading-dashes" title="Keys (and values) with leading dashes" class="md-nav__link">
+    Keys (and values) with leading dashes
+  </a>
+  
+</li>
+      
       
       
       
@@ -481,6 +490,15 @@ b.e[0].name: Howdy Partner
 
 <p>Any valid yaml key can be specified as part of a key lookup.</p>
 <p>Note that the path is in quotes to avoid the square brackets being interpreted by your shell.</p>
+<h3 id="keys-and-values-with-leading-dashes">Keys (and values) with leading dashes<a class="headerlink" href="#keys-and-values-with-leading-dashes" title="Permanent link">&para;</a></h3>
+<p>If a key or value has leading dashes, yq won't know that you are passing a value as opposed to a flag (and you will get a 'bad flag syntax' error).</p>
+<p>To fix that, you will need to tell it to stop processing flags by adding '--' after the last flag like so:</p>
+<pre><code class="bash">yq n -t -- --key --value
+</code></pre>
+
+<p>Will result in</p>
+<p><code>`
+--key: --value</code></p>
                 
                   
                 
@@ -544,7 +562,6 @@ b.e[0].name: Howdy Partner
           Material for MkDocs</a>
       </div>
       
-        
   <div class="md-footer-social">
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/fonts/font-awesome.css">
     
@@ -554,20 +571,16 @@ b.e[0].name: Howdy Partner
     
   </div>
 
-      
     </div>
   </div>
 </footer>
       
     </div>
     
-      <script src="../assets/javascripts/application.9e1f3b71.js"></script>
+      <script src="../assets/javascripts/application.39abc4af.js"></script>
       
       <script>app.initialize({version:"1.0.4",url:{base:".."}})</script>
       
     
-    
-      
-    
   </body>
 </html>

docs/delete/index.html

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 
 
-<!DOCTYPE html>
+<!doctype html>
 <html lang="en" class="no-js">
   <head>
     
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
         <meta name="lang:search.tokenizer" content="[\s\-]+">
       
       <link rel="shortcut icon" href="../assets/images/favicon.png">
-      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-3.1.0">
+      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-4.2.0">
     
     
       
@@ -40,12 +40,12 @@
       
     
     
-      <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/stylesheets/application.11e41852.css">
+      <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/stylesheets/application.750b69bd.css">
       
       
     
     
-      <script src="../assets/javascripts/modernizr.20ef595d.js"></script>
+      <script src="../assets/javascripts/modernizr.74668098.js"></script>
     
     
       
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@
     
     
     
+      
+    
+    
   </head>
   
     <body dir="ltr">
@@ -112,7 +115,6 @@
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--stretch">
         <div class="md-flex__ellipsis md-header-nav__title" data-md-component="title">
           
-            
             <span class="md-header-nav__topic">
               Yq
             </span>
@@ -120,12 +122,10 @@
               Delete
             </span>
           
-          
         </div>
       </div>
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
         
-          
           <label class="md-icon md-icon--search md-header-nav__button" for="__search"></label>
           
 <div class="md-search" data-md-component="search" role="dialog">
@@ -151,7 +151,6 @@
   </div>
 </div>
         
-        
       </div>
       
         <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
@@ -161,8 +160,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -173,8 +171,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
           </div>
         </div>
       
@@ -210,8 +207,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -222,8 +218,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
     </div>
   
   <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix>
@@ -353,6 +348,13 @@
   
 </li>
       
+        <li class="md-nav__item">
+  <a href="#keys-and-values-with-leading-dashes" title="Keys (and values) with leading dashes" class="md-nav__link">
+    Keys (and values) with leading dashes
+  </a>
+  
+</li>
+      
       
       
       
@@ -467,6 +469,13 @@
   
 </li>
       
+        <li class="md-nav__item">
+  <a href="#keys-and-values-with-leading-dashes" title="Keys (and values) with leading dashes" class="md-nav__link">
+    Keys (and values) with leading dashes
+  </a>
+  
+</li>
+      
       
       
       
@@ -601,6 +610,15 @@ b:
 
 <p>Any valid yaml key can be specified as part of a key lookup.</p>
 <p>Note that the path is in quotes to avoid the square brackets being interpreted by your shell.</p>
+<h3 id="keys-and-values-with-leading-dashes">Keys (and values) with leading dashes<a class="headerlink" href="#keys-and-values-with-leading-dashes" title="Permanent link">&para;</a></h3>
+<p>If a key or value has leading dashes, yq won't know that you are passing a value as opposed to a flag (and you will get a 'bad flag syntax' error).</p>
+<p>To fix that, you will need to tell it to stop processing flags by adding '--' after the last flag like so:</p>
+<pre><code class="bash">yq n -t -- --key --value
+</code></pre>
+
+<p>Will result in</p>
+<p><code>`
+--key: --value</code></p>
                 
                   
                 
@@ -664,7 +682,6 @@ b:
           Material for MkDocs</a>
       </div>
       
-        
   <div class="md-footer-social">
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/fonts/font-awesome.css">
     
@@ -674,20 +691,16 @@ b:
     
   </div>
 
-      
     </div>
   </div>
 </footer>
       
     </div>
     
-      <script src="../assets/javascripts/application.9e1f3b71.js"></script>
+      <script src="../assets/javascripts/application.39abc4af.js"></script>
       
       <script>app.initialize({version:"1.0.4",url:{base:".."}})</script>
       
     
-    
-      
-    
   </body>
 </html>

docs/index.html

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 
 
-<!DOCTYPE html>
+<!doctype html>
 <html lang="en" class="no-js">
   <head>
     
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
         <meta name="lang:search.tokenizer" content="[\s\-]+">
       
       <link rel="shortcut icon" href="assets/images/favicon.png">
-      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-3.1.0">
+      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-4.2.0">
     
     
       
@@ -40,12 +40,12 @@
       
     
     
-      <link rel="stylesheet" href="assets/stylesheets/application.11e41852.css">
+      <link rel="stylesheet" href="assets/stylesheets/application.750b69bd.css">
       
       
     
     
-      <script src="assets/javascripts/modernizr.20ef595d.js"></script>
+      <script src="assets/javascripts/modernizr.74668098.js"></script>
     
     
       
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@
     
     
     
+      
+    
+    
   </head>
   
     <body dir="ltr">
@@ -112,7 +115,6 @@
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--stretch">
         <div class="md-flex__ellipsis md-header-nav__title" data-md-component="title">
           
-            
             <span class="md-header-nav__topic">
               Yq
             </span>
@@ -120,12 +122,10 @@
               Install
             </span>
           
-          
         </div>
       </div>
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
         
-          
           <label class="md-icon md-icon--search md-header-nav__button" for="__search"></label>
           
 <div class="md-search" data-md-component="search" role="dialog">
@@ -151,7 +151,6 @@
   </div>
 </div>
         
-        
       </div>
       
         <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
@@ -161,8 +160,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -173,8 +171,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
           </div>
         </div>
       
@@ -210,8 +207,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -222,8 +218,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
     </div>
   
   <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix>
@@ -480,7 +475,6 @@ sudo apt install yq -y
           Material for MkDocs</a>
       </div>
       
-        
   <div class="md-footer-social">
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="assets/fonts/font-awesome.css">
     
@@ -490,20 +484,16 @@ sudo apt install yq -y
     
   </div>
 
-      
     </div>
   </div>
 </footer>
       
     </div>
     
-      <script src="assets/javascripts/application.9e1f3b71.js"></script>
+      <script src="assets/javascripts/application.39abc4af.js"></script>
       
       <script>app.initialize({version:"1.0.4",url:{base:"."}})</script>
       
     
-    
-      
-    
   </body>
 </html>

docs/merge/index.html

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 
 
-<!DOCTYPE html>
+<!doctype html>
 <html lang="en" class="no-js">
   <head>
     
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
         <meta name="lang:search.tokenizer" content="[\s\-]+">
       
       <link rel="shortcut icon" href="../assets/images/favicon.png">
-      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-3.1.0">
+      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-4.2.0">
     
     
       
@@ -40,12 +40,12 @@
       
     
     
-      <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/stylesheets/application.11e41852.css">
+      <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/stylesheets/application.750b69bd.css">
       
       
     
     
-      <script src="../assets/javascripts/modernizr.20ef595d.js"></script>
+      <script src="../assets/javascripts/modernizr.74668098.js"></script>
     
     
       
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@
     
     
     
+      
+    
+    
   </head>
   
     <body dir="ltr">
@@ -112,7 +115,6 @@
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--stretch">
         <div class="md-flex__ellipsis md-header-nav__title" data-md-component="title">
           
-            
             <span class="md-header-nav__topic">
               Yq
             </span>
@@ -120,12 +122,10 @@
               Merge
             </span>
           
-          
         </div>
       </div>
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
         
-          
           <label class="md-icon md-icon--search md-header-nav__button" for="__search"></label>
           
 <div class="md-search" data-md-component="search" role="dialog">
@@ -151,7 +151,6 @@
   </div>
 </div>
         
-        
       </div>
       
         <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
@@ -161,8 +160,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -173,8 +171,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
           </div>
         </div>
       
@@ -210,8 +207,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -222,8 +218,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
     </div>
   
   <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix>
@@ -711,7 +706,6 @@ b: dog
           Material for MkDocs</a>
       </div>
       
-        
   <div class="md-footer-social">
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/fonts/font-awesome.css">
     
@@ -721,20 +715,16 @@ b: dog
     
   </div>
 
-      
     </div>
   </div>
 </footer>
       
     </div>
     
-      <script src="../assets/javascripts/application.9e1f3b71.js"></script>
+      <script src="../assets/javascripts/application.39abc4af.js"></script>
       
       <script>app.initialize({version:"1.0.4",url:{base:".."}})</script>
       
     
-    
-      
-    
   </body>
 </html>

docs/prefix/index.html

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 
 
-<!DOCTYPE html>
+<!doctype html>
 <html lang="en" class="no-js">
   <head>
     
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
         <meta name="lang:search.tokenizer" content="[\s\-]+">
       
       <link rel="shortcut icon" href="../assets/images/favicon.png">
-      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-3.1.0">
+      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-4.2.0">
     
     
       
@@ -40,12 +40,12 @@
       
     
     
-      <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/stylesheets/application.11e41852.css">
+      <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/stylesheets/application.750b69bd.css">
       
       
     
     
-      <script src="../assets/javascripts/modernizr.20ef595d.js"></script>
+      <script src="../assets/javascripts/modernizr.74668098.js"></script>
     
     
       
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@
     
     
     
+      
+    
+    
   </head>
   
     <body dir="ltr">
@@ -112,7 +115,6 @@
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--stretch">
         <div class="md-flex__ellipsis md-header-nav__title" data-md-component="title">
           
-            
             <span class="md-header-nav__topic">
               Yq
             </span>
@@ -120,12 +122,10 @@
               Prefix
             </span>
           
-          
         </div>
       </div>
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
         
-          
           <label class="md-icon md-icon--search md-header-nav__button" for="__search"></label>
           
 <div class="md-search" data-md-component="search" role="dialog">
@@ -151,7 +151,6 @@
   </div>
 </div>
         
-        
       </div>
       
         <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
@@ -161,8 +160,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -173,8 +171,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
           </div>
         </div>
       
@@ -210,8 +207,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -222,8 +218,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
     </div>
   
   <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix>
@@ -612,7 +607,6 @@ c:
           Material for MkDocs</a>
       </div>
       
-        
   <div class="md-footer-social">
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/fonts/font-awesome.css">
     
@@ -622,20 +616,16 @@ c:
     
   </div>
 
-      
     </div>
   </div>
 </footer>
       
     </div>
     
-      <script src="../assets/javascripts/application.9e1f3b71.js"></script>
+      <script src="../assets/javascripts/application.39abc4af.js"></script>
       
       <script>app.initialize({version:"1.0.4",url:{base:".."}})</script>
       
     
-    
-      
-    
   </body>
 </html>

docs/read/index.html

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 
 
-<!DOCTYPE html>
+<!doctype html>
 <html lang="en" class="no-js">
   <head>
     
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
         <meta name="lang:search.tokenizer" content="[\s\-]+">
       
       <link rel="shortcut icon" href="../assets/images/favicon.png">
-      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-3.1.0">
+      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-4.2.0">
     
     
       
@@ -40,12 +40,12 @@
       
     
     
-      <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/stylesheets/application.11e41852.css">
+      <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/stylesheets/application.750b69bd.css">
       
       
     
     
-      <script src="../assets/javascripts/modernizr.20ef595d.js"></script>
+      <script src="../assets/javascripts/modernizr.74668098.js"></script>
     
     
       
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@
     
     
     
+      
+    
+    
   </head>
   
     <body dir="ltr">
@@ -112,7 +115,6 @@
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--stretch">
         <div class="md-flex__ellipsis md-header-nav__title" data-md-component="title">
           
-            
             <span class="md-header-nav__topic">
               Yq
             </span>
@@ -120,12 +122,10 @@
               Read
             </span>
           
-          
         </div>
       </div>
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
         
-          
           <label class="md-icon md-icon--search md-header-nav__button" for="__search"></label>
           
 <div class="md-search" data-md-component="search" role="dialog">
@@ -151,7 +151,6 @@
   </div>
 </div>
         
-        
       </div>
       
         <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
@@ -161,8 +160,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -173,8 +171,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
           </div>
         </div>
       
@@ -210,8 +207,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -222,8 +218,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
     </div>
   
   <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix>
@@ -324,6 +319,13 @@
   
 </li>
       
+        <li class="md-nav__item">
+  <a href="#keys-and-values-with-leading-dashes" title="Keys (and values) with leading dashes" class="md-nav__link">
+    Keys (and values) with leading dashes
+  </a>
+  
+</li>
+      
       
       
       
@@ -481,6 +483,13 @@
   
 </li>
       
+        <li class="md-nav__item">
+  <a href="#keys-and-values-with-leading-dashes" title="Keys (and values) with leading dashes" class="md-nav__link">
+    Keys (and values) with leading dashes
+  </a>
+  
+</li>
+      
       
       
       
@@ -629,6 +638,15 @@ e.g.: given a sample file of</p>
 
 <p>Any valid yaml key can be specified as part of a key lookup.</p>
 <p>Note that the path is in quotes to avoid the square brackets being interpreted by your shell.</p>
+<h3 id="keys-and-values-with-leading-dashes">Keys (and values) with leading dashes<a class="headerlink" href="#keys-and-values-with-leading-dashes" title="Permanent link">&para;</a></h3>
+<p>If a key or value has leading dashes, yq won't know that you are passing a value as opposed to a flag (and you will get a 'bad flag syntax' error).</p>
+<p>To fix that, you will need to tell it to stop processing flags by adding '--' after the last flag like so:</p>
+<pre><code class="bash">yq n -t -- --key --value
+</code></pre>
+
+<p>Will result in</p>
+<p><code>`
+--key: --value</code></p>
                 
                   
                 
@@ -692,7 +710,6 @@ e.g.: given a sample file of</p>
           Material for MkDocs</a>
       </div>
       
-        
   <div class="md-footer-social">
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/fonts/font-awesome.css">
     
@@ -702,20 +719,16 @@ e.g.: given a sample file of</p>
     
   </div>
 
-      
     </div>
   </div>
 </footer>
       
     </div>
     
-      <script src="../assets/javascripts/application.9e1f3b71.js"></script>
+      <script src="../assets/javascripts/application.39abc4af.js"></script>
       
       <script>app.initialize({version:"1.0.4",url:{base:".."}})</script>
       
     
-    
-      
-    
   </body>
 </html>

docs/sitemap.xml

@@ -2,42 +2,42 @@
 <urlset xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9">
     <url>
      <loc>None</loc>
-     <lastmod>2018-11-19</lastmod>
+     <lastmod>2019-05-14</lastmod>
      <changefreq>daily</changefreq>
     </url>
     <url>
      <loc>None</loc>
-     <lastmod>2018-11-19</lastmod>
+     <lastmod>2019-05-14</lastmod>
      <changefreq>daily</changefreq>
     </url>
     <url>
      <loc>None</loc>
-     <lastmod>2018-11-19</lastmod>
+     <lastmod>2019-05-14</lastmod>
      <changefreq>daily</changefreq>
     </url>
     <url>
      <loc>None</loc>
-     <lastmod>2018-11-19</lastmod>
+     <lastmod>2019-05-14</lastmod>
      <changefreq>daily</changefreq>
     </url>
     <url>
      <loc>None</loc>
-     <lastmod>2018-11-19</lastmod>
+     <lastmod>2019-05-14</lastmod>
      <changefreq>daily</changefreq>
     </url>
     <url>
      <loc>None</loc>
-     <lastmod>2018-11-19</lastmod>
+     <lastmod>2019-05-14</lastmod>
      <changefreq>daily</changefreq>
     </url>
     <url>
      <loc>None</loc>
-     <lastmod>2018-11-19</lastmod>
+     <lastmod>2019-05-14</lastmod>
      <changefreq>daily</changefreq>
     </url>
     <url>
      <loc>None</loc>
-     <lastmod>2018-11-19</lastmod>
+     <lastmod>2019-05-14</lastmod>
      <changefreq>daily</changefreq>
     </url>
 </urlset>

docs/snippets/niche/index.html

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 
 
-<!DOCTYPE html>
+<!doctype html>
 <html lang="en" class="no-js">
   <head>
     
@@ -32,20 +32,20 @@
         <meta name="lang:search.tokenizer" content="[\s\-]+">
       
       <link rel="shortcut icon" href="../../assets/images/favicon.png">
-      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-3.1.0">
+      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-4.2.0">
     
     
       
-        <title>Keys with dots - Yq</title>
+        <title>Niche - Yq</title>
       
     
     
-      <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../assets/stylesheets/application.11e41852.css">
+      <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../assets/stylesheets/application.750b69bd.css">
       
       
     
     
-      <script src="../../assets/javascripts/modernizr.20ef595d.js"></script>
+      <script src="../../assets/javascripts/modernizr.74668098.js"></script>
     
     
       
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@
     
     
     
+      
+    
+    
   </head>
   
     <body dir="ltr">
@@ -112,20 +115,17 @@
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--stretch">
         <div class="md-flex__ellipsis md-header-nav__title" data-md-component="title">
           
-            
             <span class="md-header-nav__topic">
               Yq
             </span>
             <span class="md-header-nav__topic">
-                Keys with dots
+              Niche
             </span>
           
-          
         </div>
       </div>
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
         
-          
           <label class="md-icon md-icon--search md-header-nav__button" for="__search"></label>
           
 <div class="md-search" data-md-component="search" role="dialog">
@@ -151,7 +151,6 @@
   </div>
 </div>
         
-        
       </div>
       
         <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
@@ -161,8 +160,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -173,8 +171,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
           </div>
         </div>
       
@@ -210,8 +207,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -222,8 +218,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
     </div>
   
   <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix>
@@ -349,6 +344,13 @@
   
 </li>
       
+        <li class="md-nav__item">
+  <a href="#keys-and-values-with-leading-dashes" title="Keys (and values) with leading dashes" class="md-nav__link">
+    Keys (and values) with leading dashes
+  </a>
+  
+</li>
+      
       
       
       
@@ -365,10 +367,10 @@
             <article class="md-content__inner md-typeset">
               
                 
-                  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/edit/master/docs/snippets/keys_with_dots.md" title="Edit this page" class="md-icon md-content__icon">&#xE3C9;</a>
+                  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/edit/master/docs/snippets/niche.md" title="Edit this page" class="md-icon md-content__icon">&#xE3C9;</a>
                 
                 
-                  <h1>Keys with dots</h1>
+                  <h1>Niche</h1>
                 
                 <h3 id="keys-with-dots">Keys with dots<a class="headerlink" href="#keys-with-dots" title="Permanent link">&para;</a></h3>
 <p>When specifying a key that has a dot use key lookup indicator.</p>
@@ -384,6 +386,15 @@
 
 <p>Any valid yaml key can be specified as part of a key lookup.</p>
 <p>Note that the path is in quotes to avoid the square brackets being interpreted by your shell.</p>
+<h3 id="keys-and-values-with-leading-dashes">Keys (and values) with leading dashes<a class="headerlink" href="#keys-and-values-with-leading-dashes" title="Permanent link">&para;</a></h3>
+<p>If a key or value has leading dashes, yq won't know that you are passing a value as opposed to a flag (and you will get a 'bad flag syntax' error).</p>
+<p>To fix that, you will need to tell it to stop processing flags by adding '--' after the last flag like so:</p>
+<pre><code class="bash">yq n -t -- --key --value
+</code></pre>
+
+<p>Will result in</p>
+<pre><code>--key: --value
+</code></pre>
                 
                   
                 
@@ -412,7 +423,6 @@
           Material for MkDocs</a>
       </div>
       
-        
   <div class="md-footer-social">
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../assets/fonts/font-awesome.css">
     
@@ -422,20 +432,16 @@
     
   </div>
 
-      
     </div>
   </div>
 </footer>
       
     </div>
     
-      <script src="../../assets/javascripts/application.9e1f3b71.js"></script>
+      <script src="../../assets/javascripts/application.39abc4af.js"></script>
       
       <script>app.initialize({version:"1.0.4",url:{base:"../.."}})</script>
       
     
-    
-      
-    
   </body>
 </html>

docs/snippets/works_with_json/index.html

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 
 
-<!DOCTYPE html>
+<!doctype html>
 <html lang="en" class="no-js">
   <head>
     
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
         <meta name="lang:search.tokenizer" content="[\s\-]+">
       
       <link rel="shortcut icon" href="../../assets/images/favicon.png">
-      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-3.1.0">
+      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-4.2.0">
     
     
       
@@ -40,12 +40,12 @@
       
     
     
-      <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../assets/stylesheets/application.11e41852.css">
+      <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../assets/stylesheets/application.750b69bd.css">
       
       
     
     
-      <script src="../../assets/javascripts/modernizr.20ef595d.js"></script>
+      <script src="../../assets/javascripts/modernizr.74668098.js"></script>
     
     
       
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@
     
     
     
+      
+    
+    
   </head>
   
     <body dir="ltr">
@@ -108,7 +111,6 @@
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--stretch">
         <div class="md-flex__ellipsis md-header-nav__title" data-md-component="title">
           
-            
             <span class="md-header-nav__topic">
               Yq
             </span>
@@ -116,12 +118,10 @@
               Works with json
             </span>
           
-          
         </div>
       </div>
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
         
-          
           <label class="md-icon md-icon--search md-header-nav__button" for="__search"></label>
           
 <div class="md-search" data-md-component="search" role="dialog">
@@ -147,7 +147,6 @@
   </div>
 </div>
         
-        
       </div>
       
         <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
@@ -157,8 +156,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -169,8 +167,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
           </div>
         </div>
       
@@ -206,8 +203,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -218,8 +214,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
     </div>
   
   <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix>
@@ -366,7 +361,6 @@
           Material for MkDocs</a>
       </div>
       
-        
   <div class="md-footer-social">
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="../../assets/fonts/font-awesome.css">
     
@@ -376,20 +370,16 @@
     
   </div>
 
-      
     </div>
   </div>
 </footer>
       
     </div>
     
-      <script src="../../assets/javascripts/application.9e1f3b71.js"></script>
+      <script src="../../assets/javascripts/application.39abc4af.js"></script>
       
       <script>app.initialize({version:"1.0.4",url:{base:"../.."}})</script>
       
     
-    
-      
-    
   </body>
 </html>

docs/write/index.html

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 
 
-<!DOCTYPE html>
+<!doctype html>
 <html lang="en" class="no-js">
   <head>
     
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@
         <meta name="lang:search.tokenizer" content="[\s\-]+">
       
       <link rel="shortcut icon" href="../assets/images/favicon.png">
-      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-3.1.0">
+      <meta name="generator" content="mkdocs-1.0.4, mkdocs-material-4.2.0">
     
     
       
@@ -40,12 +40,12 @@
       
     
     
-      <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/stylesheets/application.11e41852.css">
+      <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/stylesheets/application.750b69bd.css">
       
       
     
     
-      <script src="../assets/javascripts/modernizr.20ef595d.js"></script>
+      <script src="../assets/javascripts/modernizr.74668098.js"></script>
     
     
       
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@
     
     
     
+      
+    
+    
   </head>
   
     <body dir="ltr">
@@ -112,7 +115,6 @@
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--stretch">
         <div class="md-flex__ellipsis md-header-nav__title" data-md-component="title">
           
-            
             <span class="md-header-nav__topic">
               Yq
             </span>
@@ -120,12 +122,10 @@
               Write/Update
             </span>
           
-          
         </div>
       </div>
       <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
         
-          
           <label class="md-icon md-icon--search md-header-nav__button" for="__search"></label>
           
 <div class="md-search" data-md-component="search" role="dialog">
@@ -151,7 +151,6 @@
   </div>
 </div>
         
-        
       </div>
       
         <div class="md-flex__cell md-flex__cell--shrink">
@@ -161,8 +160,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -173,8 +171,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
           </div>
         </div>
       
@@ -210,8 +207,7 @@
 
   
 
-
-  <a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
+<a href="https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/" title="Go to repository" class="md-source" data-md-source="github">
   
     <div class="md-source__icon">
       <svg viewBox="0 0 24 24" width="24" height="24">
@@ -222,8 +218,7 @@
   <div class="md-source__repository">
     mikefarah/yq
   </div>
-  </a>
-
+</a>
     </div>
   
   <ul class="md-nav__list" data-md-scrollfix>
@@ -350,6 +345,13 @@
   
 </li>
       
+        <li class="md-nav__item">
+  <a href="#keys-and-values-with-leading-dashes" title="Keys (and values) with leading dashes" class="md-nav__link">
+    Keys (and values) with leading dashes
+  </a>
+  
+</li>
+      
       
       
       
@@ -509,6 +511,13 @@
   
 </li>
       
+        <li class="md-nav__item">
+  <a href="#keys-and-values-with-leading-dashes" title="Keys (and values) with leading dashes" class="md-nav__link">
+    Keys (and values) with leading dashes
+  </a>
+  
+</li>
+      
       
       
       
@@ -697,6 +706,15 @@ b.e[0].name: Howdy Partner
 
 <p>Any valid yaml key can be specified as part of a key lookup.</p>
 <p>Note that the path is in quotes to avoid the square brackets being interpreted by your shell.</p>
+<h3 id="keys-and-values-with-leading-dashes">Keys (and values) with leading dashes<a class="headerlink" href="#keys-and-values-with-leading-dashes" title="Permanent link">&para;</a></h3>
+<p>If a key or value has leading dashes, yq won't know that you are passing a value as opposed to a flag (and you will get a 'bad flag syntax' error).</p>
+<p>To fix that, you will need to tell it to stop processing flags by adding '--' after the last flag like so:</p>
+<pre><code class="bash">yq n -t -- --key --value
+</code></pre>
+
+<p>Will result in</p>
+<p><code>`
+--key: --value</code></p>
                 
                   
                 
@@ -760,7 +778,6 @@ b.e[0].name: Howdy Partner
           Material for MkDocs</a>
       </div>
       
-        
   <div class="md-footer-social">
     <link rel="stylesheet" href="../assets/fonts/font-awesome.css">
     
@@ -770,20 +787,16 @@ b.e[0].name: Howdy Partner
     
   </div>
 
-      
     </div>
   </div>
 </footer>
       
     </div>
     
-      <script src="../assets/javascripts/application.9e1f3b71.js"></script>
+      <script src="../assets/javascripts/application.39abc4af.js"></script>
       
       <script>app.initialize({version:"1.0.4",url:{base:".."}})</script>
       
     
-    
-      
-    
   </body>
 </html>

examples/data3.yaml

@@ -1 +1,14 @@
-b: dog
+deep1:
+   hostA:
+      value: 1234
+   notRelevant:
+      value: bananas
+   hostB:
+      value: 5678
+deep2:
+   hostC:
+      value: 1234
+   notRelevant:
+      value: bananas
+   hostD:
+      value: 5678

examples/instruction_sample.yaml

@@ -1,2 +1,2 @@
 b.c: cat
-b.e[0].name: Mike Farah
+b.e[+].name: Mike Farah

examples/numbered_keys.yml

@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+5:
+  6: camel!

mkdocs/create.md

@@ -41,4 +41,4 @@ You can also pipe the instructions in:
 cat create_instructions.yaml | yq n -s -
 ```
 
-{!snippets/keys_with_dots.md!}
+{!snippets/niche.md!}

mkdocs/delete.md

@@ -107,4 +107,4 @@ b:
 
 Note that '*' is in quotes to avoid being interpreted by your shell.
 
-{!snippets/keys_with_dots.md!}
+{!snippets/niche.md!}

mkdocs/read.md

@@ -122,4 +122,4 @@ will output:
 ```
 Note that the path is in quotes to avoid the square brackets being interpreted by your shell.
 
-{!snippets/keys_with_dots.md!}
+{!snippets/niche.md!}

mkdocs/snippets/keys_with_dots.md

@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-### Keys with dots
-When specifying a key that has a dot use key lookup indicator.
-
-```yaml
-b:
-  foo.bar: 7
-```
-
-```bash
-yaml r sample.yaml 'b[foo.bar]'
-```
-
-```bash
-yaml w sample.yaml 'b[foo.bar]' 9
-```
-
-Any valid yaml key can be specified as part of a key lookup.
-
-Note that the path is in quotes to avoid the square brackets being interpreted by your shell.

mkdocs/snippets/niche.md

@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+### Keys with dots
+When specifying a key that has a dot use key lookup indicator.
+
+```yaml
+b:
+  foo.bar: 7
+```
+
+```bash
+yaml r sample.yaml 'b[foo.bar]'
+```
+
+```bash
+yaml w sample.yaml 'b[foo.bar]' 9
+```
+
+Any valid yaml key can be specified as part of a key lookup.
+
+Note that the path is in quotes to avoid the square brackets being interpreted by your shell.
+
+### Keys (and values) with leading dashes
+If a key or value has leading dashes, yq won't know that you are passing a value as opposed to a flag (and you will get a 'bad flag syntax' error).
+
+To fix that, you will need to tell it to stop processing flags by adding '--' after the last flag like so:
+
+
+```bash
+yq n -t -- --key --value
+```
+
+Will result in
+
+```
+--key: --value
+```

mkdocs/write.md

@@ -169,4 +169,4 @@ my:
   path: -3
 ```
 
-{!snippets/keys_with_dots.md!}
+{!snippets/niche.md!}

release_instructions.txt

@@ -23,6 +23,9 @@
 
 - brew
   - brew bump-formula-pr --url=https://github.com/mikefarah/yq/archive/2.2.0.tar.gz yq
+  - if that fails with random ruby errors try:
+    - clearing out the gems rm -rf .gem/ruby/2.3.0
+    - export HOMEBREW_FORCE_VENDOR_RUBY=1
 
 - docker
   - build and push latest and new version tag

scripts/doctools.sh

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-#!/bin.bash
+#!/bin/bash
 
 brew install mkdocs libyaml
 pip3 install markdown-include

scripts/publish.sh

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ REPO="yq"
 release() {
     github-release release \
         --user "$OWNER" \
+        --draft \
         --repo "$REPO" \
         --tag "$CURRENT"
 }

snap/snapcraft.yaml

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 name: yq
-version: '2.3.0'
+version: '2.4.0'
 summary: A lightweight and portable command-line YAML processor
 description: |
   The aim of the project is to be the jq or sed of yaml files.
@@ -19,4 +19,4 @@ parts:
     go-importpath: github.com/mikefarah/yq
     after: [go]
   go:
-    source-tag: go1.9.4
+    source-tag: go1.11

version.go

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ var (
 	GitDescribe string
 
 	// Version is main version number that is being run at the moment.
-	Version = "2.3.0"
+	Version = "2.4.0"
 
 	// VersionPrerelease is a pre-release marker for the version. If this is "" (empty string)
 	// then it means that it is a final release. Otherwise, this is a pre-release

yq.go

@@ -41,6 +41,8 @@ func newCommandCLI() *cobra.Command {
 	yaml.DefaultMapType = reflect.TypeOf(yaml.MapSlice{})
 	var rootCmd = &cobra.Command{
 		Use:   "yq",
+		Short: "yq is a lightweight and portable command-line YAML processor.",
+		Long:  `yq is a lightweight and portable command-line YAML processor. It aims to be the jq or sed of yaml files.`,
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 			if version {
 				cmd.Print(GetVersionDisplay())
@@ -95,6 +97,7 @@ yq r - a.b.c (reads from stdin)
 yq r things.yaml a.*.c
 yq r -d1 things.yaml a.array[0].blah
 yq r things.yaml a.array[*].blah
+yq r -- things.yaml --key-starting-with-dashes
       `,
 		Long: "Outputs the value of the given path in the yaml file to STDOUT",
 		RunE: readProperty,
@@ -111,7 +114,7 @@ func createWriteCmd() *cobra.Command {
 		Short:   "yq w [--inplace/-i] [--script/-s script_file] [--doc/-d index] sample.yaml a.b.c newValue",
 		Example: `
 yq write things.yaml a.b.c cat
-yq write --inplace things.yaml a.b.c cat
+yq write --inplace -- things.yaml a.b.c --cat
 yq w -i things.yaml a.b.c cat
 yq w --script update_script.yaml things.yaml
 yq w -i -s update_script.yaml things.yaml
@@ -147,6 +150,7 @@ func createPrefixCmd() *cobra.Command {
 		Example: `
 yq prefix things.yaml a.b.c
 yq prefix --inplace things.yaml a.b.c
+yq prefix --inplace -- things.yaml --key-starting-with-dash
 yq p -i things.yaml a.b.c
 yq p --doc 2 things.yaml a.b.d
 yq p -d2 things.yaml a.b.d
@@ -169,6 +173,7 @@ func createDeleteCmd() *cobra.Command {
 		Example: `
 yq delete things.yaml a.b.c
 yq delete --inplace things.yaml a.b.c
+yq delete --inplace -- things.yaml --key-starting-with-dash
 yq d -i things.yaml a.b.c
 yq d things.yaml a.b.c
 	`,
@@ -190,6 +195,7 @@ func createNewCmd() *cobra.Command {
 		Example: `
 yq new a.b.c cat
 yq n a.b.c cat
+yq n -- --key-starting-with-dash cat
 yq n --script create_script.yaml
       `,
 		Long: `Creates a new yaml w.r.t the given path and value.
@@ -499,7 +505,7 @@ func deleteProperty(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 	var updateData = func(dataBucket interface{}, currentIndex int) (interface{}, error) {
 		if updateAll || currentIndex == docIndexInt {
 			log.Debugf("Deleting path in doc %v", currentIndex)
-			return deleteChildValue(dataBucket, paths), nil
+			return deleteChildValue(dataBucket, paths)
 		}
 		return dataBucket, nil
 	}