diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d72003b0..c73c8a21 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ As with most Node projects, major development scripts can be found in the `packa
 
 #### Dependencies
 
-The build toolchain requires `npm` and `jq` to be installed. You can use the `scripts/setup-dev.sh` script to install these prerequisites.
+The build toolchain requires `npm` to be installed. You can install it using `scripts/setup-dev.sh`.
 
 #### Enabling Sandboxing
 
diff --git a/package-lock.json b/package-lock.json
index e7ca807f..0c3d8427 100644
--- a/package-lock.json
+++ b/package-lock.json
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@
         "eslint-plugin-react": "^7.37.5",
         "eslint-plugin-react-hooks": "^5.2.0",
         "globals": "^16.0.0",
+        "json": "^11.0.0",
         "lodash": "^4.17.21",
         "memfs": "^4.17.2",
         "prettier": "^3.5.3",
@@ -5920,6 +5921,18 @@
         }
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/json": {
+      "version": "11.0.0",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/json/-/json-11.0.0.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-N/ITv3Yw9Za8cGxuQqSqrq6RHnlaHWZkAFavcfpH/R52522c26EbihMxnY7A1chxfXJ4d+cEFIsyTgfi9GihrA==",
+      "dev": true,
+      "bin": {
+        "json": "lib/json.js"
+      },
+      "engines": {
+        "node": ">=0.10.0"
+      }
+    },
     "node_modules/json-bigint": {
       "version": "1.0.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/json-bigint/-/json-bigint-1.0.0.tgz",
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 33cb916a..d9037bbb 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@
     "prettier": "^3.5.3",
     "react-devtools-core": "^4.28.5",
     "typescript-eslint": "^8.30.1",
-    "yargs": "^17.7.2"
+    "yargs": "^17.7.2",
+    "json": "^11.0.0"
   }
 }
diff --git a/scripts/sandbox_command.sh b/scripts/sandbox_command.sh
index 61dd3178..7c140c61 100755
--- a/scripts/sandbox_command.sh
+++ b/scripts/sandbox_command.sh
@@ -32,11 +32,11 @@ done
 shift $((OPTIND - 1))
 
 # if GEMINI_SANDBOX is not set, see if it is set in user settings
-# note it can be string or boolean, and if missing jq will return null
+# note it can be string or boolean, and if missing `npx json` will return empty string
 USER_SETTINGS_FILE="$HOME/.gemini/settings.json"
 if [ -z "${GEMINI_SANDBOX:-}" ] && [ -f "$USER_SETTINGS_FILE" ]; then
-    USER_SANDBOX_SETTING=$(sed -e 's/\/\/.*//' -e 's/\/\*.*\*\///g' -e '/^[[:space:]]*\/\//d' "$USER_SETTINGS_FILE" | jq -r '.sandbox')
-    if [ "$USER_SANDBOX_SETTING" != null ]; then
+    USER_SANDBOX_SETTING=$(sed -e 's/\/\/.*//' -e 's/\/\*.*\*\///g' -e '/^[[:space:]]*\/\//d' "$USER_SETTINGS_FILE" | npx json 'sandbox')
+    if [ -n "$USER_SANDBOX_SETTING" ]; then
         GEMINI_SANDBOX=$USER_SANDBOX_SETTING
     fi
 fi
diff --git a/scripts/setup-dev.sh b/scripts/setup-dev.sh
index f8d0bf13..de2ae336 100755
--- a/scripts/setup-dev.sh
+++ b/scripts/setup-dev.sh
@@ -16,8 +16,7 @@
 set -euo pipefail
 
 # Check if npm is installed
-if ! command -v npm &> /dev/null
-then
+if ! command -v npm &>/dev/null; then
     echo "npm not found. Installing npm via nvm..."
     # Download and install nvm:
     curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.3/install.sh | bash
@@ -26,19 +25,10 @@ then
     # Download and install Node.js:
     nvm install 22
     # Verify the Node.js version:
-    node -v # Should print "v22.15.0".
+    node -v     # Should print "v22.15.0".
     nvm current # Should print "v22.15.0".
     # Verify npm version:
     npm -v # Should print "10.9.2".
 fi
 
-# Check if jq is installed
-if ! command -v jq &> /dev/null
-then
-    echo "jq not found. Installing jq..."
-    # This assumes a Debian/Ubuntu based system. Adjust for other distributions.
-    sudo apt-get update
-    sudo apt-get install -y jq
-fi
-
 echo "Development environment setup complete."