A terminal user interface (TUI) tool for visualizing messy JSON, XML, YAML, and CSV files directly in your console.
Bender helps you quickly inspect and navigate structured data files without leaving your terminal. It provides:
- Tree-based visualization - Expand and collapse nested structures
- Syntax highlighting - Color-coded source view for easy reading
- Auto-format detection - Automatically detects JSON, XML, YAML, or CSV
- Stdin support - Pipe data directly from other commands
- Cross-platform - Works on Windows, Linux, and macOS
Bender is distributed as a .NET global tool. Requires .NET 10 SDK or later.
dotnet tool install -g Bender.TUITo update to the latest version:
dotnet tool update -g Bender.TUITo uninstall:
dotnet tool uninstall -g Bender.TUI# Open a file
Bender -f data.json
# Or specify the file path directly
Bender --file config.xml# Pipe JSON from curl
curl -s https://api.example.com/data | Bender
# Pipe from another command
cat data.yml | Bender
# Pipe from clipboard (Windows)
powershell Get-Clipboard | BenderWhen auto-detection doesn't work (e.g., piping data without file extension):
# Force JSON format
cat data.txt | Bender -j
# Force XML format
Bender -f config.txt -x
# Force YAML format
Bender -f settings.txt -y
# Force CSV format
Bender -f export.txt -c| Option | Description |
|---|---|
-f, --file <path> |
Path to the input file to read |
-x, --xml |
Force XML format |
-y, --yml |
Force YAML format |
-j, --json |
Force JSON format |
-c, --csv |
Force CSV format |
-h, --help |
Show help message |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+O |
Open file |
Ctrl+W |
Close window |
↑/↓ |
Navigate tree |
←/→ |
Collapse/Expand nodes |
Enter/Space |
Toggle expand/collapse |
# View a JSON API response
curl -s https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/posts/1 | Bender
# Inspect a package.json
Bender -f package.json
# View XML configuration
Bender -f app.config -x
# Examine CSV data
Bender -f export.csvMIT License - see LICENSE for details.