object-grep

A javascript tool for searching inside objects, inspired by linux grep. The tool performs a deep search in javascript objects, returning back lists of keys and values that fit the search parameters, this is especially useful when debugging. Regular expressions are used under the hood, so you can customize your search queries very flexibly.

installation

npm i object-grep

or

yarn add object-grep

arguments

targetObject: [object | array | function | string] - a target object where all keys and property contents will be recursively checked for matching searchExpr

searchExpr: [string | regexp] - expression for checking for compliance

depth limit?: [number] - the number of levels to check. objectGrep works synchronously, which can cause the browser to freeze if the object being checked is very large. The default value is 20

usage

const target = {
  foo: {
    bar: {
      baz: {
        foo: {
          bar: {
            baz: 'zab'
          }
        }
      }
    }
  },
  oof: {
    rab: {
      zab: ['foo', 'bar', 'baz', 'zab', 'rab', 'oof']
    }
  }
}

objectGrep(target, 'baz') // => {inKeys: {'foo.bar.baz':  {foo: {…}}, 'foo.bar.baz.foo.bar.baz': 'zab'}, inValues: {'oof.rab.zab.2': 'baz'}}

// or regexp

objectGrep(target, /b.z/) // => {inKeys: {'foo.bar.baz':  {foo: {…}}, 'foo.bar.baz.foo.bar.baz': 'zab'}, inValues: {'oof.rab.zab.2': 'baz'}}

// or with depth limit

objectGrep(target, /b.z/, 4) // => {inKeys: {'foo.bar.baz':  {foo: {…} }}, inValues: {'oof.rab.zab.2': 'baz'}}

short view

You can also use a short output format. To do this, call the short() method on the result. This way you will only see paths to keys and values with no data stored on those paths

const target = {
  foo: {
    bar: {
      baz: {
        foo: {
          bar: {
            baz: 'zab'
          }
        }
      }
    }
  },
  oof: {
    rab: {
      zab: ['foo', 'bar', 'baz', 'zab', 'rab', 'oof']
    }
  }
}

objectGrep(target, 'baz').short() // => {inKeys: ['foo.bar.baz', 'foo.bar.baz.foo.bar.baz'], inValues: ['oof.rab.zab.2']}

// or regexp

objectGrep(target, /b.z/).short() // => {inKeys: ['foo.bar.baz', 'foo.bar.baz.foo.bar.baz'], inValues: ['oof.rab.zab.2']}

// or with depth limit

objectGrep(target, /b.z/, 4).short() // => {inKeys: ['foo.bar.baz'], inValues: ['oof.rab.zab.2']}

inject

It can be added to the object prototype. This way it will be possible to call grep from any object

objectGrep.inject()

const target = {a: {b: {c: 'd'}}}

target.grep('b') // => {inKeys: {a.b: {c: 'd'}}, inValues: {}}

You can set any name for the method if you don't like grep

objectGrep.inject('deepSearch')

const target = {a: {b: {c: 'd'}}}

target.deepSearch('b') // => {inKeys: {a.b: {c: 'd'}}, inValues: {}}

revoke

To cancel injection use the revoke method. Calling revoke will return the object prototype to its original form

objectGrep.inject()

Object.prototype.grep // => ƒ (regex, depth) {...}

objectGrep.revoke()

Object.prototype.grep // => undefined

chrome extension

You can also install a browser extension and use object-grep on any site without any extra effort