# Parent Parent simply returns the parent nodes of the matching nodes. ## Simple example Given a sample.yml file of: ```yaml a: nested: cat ``` then ```bash yq '.a.nested | parent' sample.yml ``` will output ```yaml nested: cat ``` ## Parent of nested matches Given a sample.yml file of: ```yaml a: fruit: apple name: bob b: fruit: banana name: sam ``` then ```bash yq '.. | select(. == "banana") | parent' sample.yml ``` will output ```yaml fruit: banana name: sam ``` ## No parent Given a sample.yml file of: ```yaml {} ``` then ```bash yq 'parent' sample.yml ``` will output ```yaml ```