# Help with complex json\_query

**URL:** <https://forum.ansible.com/t/help-with-complex-json-query/36944>\
**Category:** Ansible Project\
**Created:** [August 3, 2022, 9:29pm UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/help-with-complex-json-query/36944 "2022-08-03T21:29:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![utoddl](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/ansible/user_avatar/forum.ansible.com/utoddl/32/249_2.png) [@utoddl](https://forum.ansible.com/u/utoddl)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2022, 4:26am UTC](https://forum.ansible.com/t/help-with-complex-json-query/36944/2 "2022-08-04T04:26:30Z")

</div>

If you have to resort to json\_query, you might as well create real loops. Below is the playbook I used to explore your data. I left in some experiments that helped me along the way. Perhaps something here will be useful to you. I added another element to your epg\_bd\_list to cover the single element case.

```auto
---
- name: json_query playground
  hosts: localhost
  gather_facts: no
  vars:
    application_profiles:
      - app_desc: ""
        app_name: NCS_Net_inf
        epg_name:
           - SPAN-destination-analysis
           - infra_auth_servers
           - netinf_test_servers
           - paaa-infra-mgt
           - vl2003
      - app_desc: "dept: MedIT"
        app_name: faculty_of_medicine
        epg_name:
           - medit_jump_server
      - app_desc: ""
        app_name: dc_qa_app_fe
        epg_name:
           - vl3800
    epg_bd_list:
      - fvAEPg:
          attributes:
            name: SPAN-destination-analysis
            nameAlias: vl2022
      - fvAEPg:
          attributes:
            name: vl72
            nameAlias: Bone_Centre
      - fvAEPg:
          attributes:
            name: medit_jump_server
            nameAlias: Jumpin_Jiminy
  tasks:
    - name: Explorations of ways to examine epg_bd_list
      debug:
        msg:
         - "aaa {{ epg_bd_list | map(attribute='fvAEPg') }}"
         - "bbb {{ epg_bd_list | map(attribute='fvAEPg.attributes.name') }}"
         - "ccc {{ epg_bd_list | map('dict2items') }}"
         - "ddd {{ epg_bd_list | map('dict2items') | flatten | map(attribute='value.attributes.name') }}"

    - name: isolate the app_name from application_profiles
      debug:
        msg:
         - "aaa {{ application_profiles | map(attribute='app_name') }}"

    - name: Uses product of epg_bd_lst.attributes.name and application_profiles to get matching app_names
      debug:
        msg:
         - |
          {% set app_names=[] %}
          {% for app in application_profiles | product(epg_bd_list| map('dict2items') | flatten | map(attribute='value.attributes.name')) %}
          {% if app[1] in app[0]['epg_name'] %}
          {% set _ = app_names.append( app[0]['app_name'] ) %}
          {% endif %}
          {% endfor %}
          {{ app_names }}

# - name: Would this ever be handy? Maybe
# debug:
# msg: "{{ item }}: {{ application_profiles | map(attribute='epg_name') }}"
# loop: "{{ epg_bd_list | map('dict2items') | flatten | map(attribute='value.attributes.name') }}"
#
# - name: How about this?
# debug:
# msg: "{{ application_profiles | map(attribute='epg_name') | map('select', 'in', item) }}"
# loop: "{{ epg_bd_list | map('dict2items') | flatten | map(attribute='value.attributes.name') }}"

```

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