Linux Logs to JSON Tutorial Goes Viral, jq Maintainers Whisper

In a tutorial published in January 2026, Ben Santora outlined a step-by-step process for converting raw Linux application logs to structured JSON data. The guide begins with generating log data using the echo command, creating a log file named myapp.log containing three entries, including an INFO message indicating system initialization and an ERROR message warning of low disk space. The logs are then parsed into a CSV format using shell utilities like sed or awk. A Python script, csv_to_json.py, is used to convert the CSV file to JSON, utilizing the csv and json libraries. The script, run using python3, produces a JSON file named myapp.json, containing structured data ready for consumption by web dashboards or analysis tools. This process has significant implications for the tech industry, as it enables easier log data analysis and visualization, facilitating improved system monitoring and maintenance. The tutorial provides a valuable resource for developers and system administrators seeking to streamline log data management.