terminal-output

name

terminal-output

description

Terminal output design system for swamp CLI commands. Use when creating or modifying any CLI command output, render function, or presentation layer code. Ensures consistent formatting, coloring, and structure across all swamp commands in both "log" (human-readable) and "json" (structured) output modes. Triggers on output files in src/presentation/output/, render functions, writeOutput usage, OutputMode handling, or any CLI command that produces terminal output.

Terminal Output Design System

Consistent, human-readable terminal output for the swamp CLI.

Two Output Modes

Every command must support both modes, controlled by --json flag:

• "log" (default) - Clean, colored, human-readable plain text
• "json" - Structured JSON for scripting and automation

The mode is available as ctx.outputMode from createContext() in src/cli/context.ts.

Architecture

src/cli/commands/<command>.ts     → Command logic, builds data object
src/presentation/output/<name>_output.ts → Render function, formats output
src/infrastructure/logging/logger.ts     → writeOutput() + LogTape loggers

Output File Pattern

Each command has a dedicated output file that exports:

1. A data interface describing the output shape
2. A render function that branches on OutputMode

import { bold, cyan, dim } from "@std/fmt/colors";
import { writeOutput } from "../../infrastructure/logging/logger.ts";
import type { OutputMode } from "./output.ts";

export interface ExampleData {
  name: string;
  type: string;
}

export function renderExample(data: ExampleData, mode: OutputMode): void {
  if (mode === "json") {
    console.log(JSON.stringify(data, null, 2));
  } else {
    const lines = [
      `${bold(cyan("Name:"))} ${bold(data.name)} ${dim(`(${data.type})`)}`,
    ];
    writeOutput(lines.join("\n"));
  }
}

Log Mode vs LogTape

See references/logtape.md for details on how LogTape and writeOutput() coexist and when to use each.

Key rule: Render functions use writeOutput() for user-facing output, never LogTape. LogTape is for debug/operational logging only.

Color Scheme

Import from @std/fmt/colors. Colors auto-respect NO_COLOR env var and the --no-color flag (handled in src/cli/mod.ts via setColorEnabled(false)).

Element	Style	Example
Section headers/keys	bold(cyan(...))	Created: Path:
Primary values	bold(...)	my-model
Sub-section headers	cyan(...)	Input Attributes:
Metadata/types	dim(...)	(string) *required
Enum values	dim(...)	[a, b, c]
Type annotations	dim(...)	(command/shell)
Pass indicator	green(...)	PASSED, checkmark
Fail indicator	red(...)	FAILED, cross
Separators	dim("-")	method - description

Layout Rules

Lines Array Pattern

Always build output as a string[] and join at the end:

const lines: string[] = [];
lines.push(`${bold(cyan("Header:"))} ${value}`);
// ...
writeOutput(lines.join("\n"));

Spacing

• Blank line before each new section (Input Attributes, Methods, Jobs)
• Blank line between entries in "validate all" / list-style output
• Blank line before summary/result lines in multi-entry output
• No blank lines between items within a section (e.g., between methods)

Indentation Hierarchy

Top-level key: value                    ← no indent
  Second level (attributes, items)      ← 2 spaces
    Third level (sub-sections)          ← 4 spaces
      Fourth level (sub-items)          ← 6 spaces

Shared Formatters

Reuse these exported functions from type_describe_output.ts:

• formatSchemaAttributes(schema, indent) - JSON Schema to attribute lines
• formatMethodLines(methods) - Method descriptions with attributes and data outputs

Reuse toMethodDescribeData() and zodToJsonSchema() from src/cli/commands/type_describe.ts to convert domain objects to presentation data.

Validation Output Pattern

For pass/fail validation results:

const checkmark = "\u2713"; // ✓
const cross = "\u2717"; // ✗
const arrow = "\u2192"; // →

// Passing
lines.push(`  ${green(checkmark)} ${name}`);

// Failing
lines.push(`  ${red(cross)} ${name}`);
lines.push(`    ${red(arrow)} ${errorMessage}`);

// Result
lines.push(
  passed
    ? `${bold(cyan("Result:"))} ${green("PASSED")}`
    : `${bold(cyan("Result:"))} ${red("FAILED")}`,
);

JSON Mode Rules

• Use console.log(JSON.stringify(data, null, 2)) directly
• The data interface defines the JSON shape - keep it clean and consistent
• Include all fields (even optional ones when present) for scripting consumers
• No colors, no formatting - just the data

Testing

• Test file: <name>_output_test.ts next to the output file
• Capture console.log output by stubbing it
• Use stripAnsiCode from @std/fmt/colors for color-aware assertions
• Test both "json" and "log" modes
• For JSON mode: parse output and assert field values
• For log mode: assert key strings are present in stripped output

import { assertStringIncludes } from "@std/assert";
import { stripAnsiCode } from "@std/fmt/colors";

Deno.test("log mode shows expected content", () => {
  const logs: string[] = [];
  const originalLog = console.log;
  console.log = (msg: string) => logs.push(msg);
  try {
    renderExample(testData, "log");
    const combined = stripAnsiCode(logs.join("\n"));
    assertStringIncludes(combined, "Expected:");
  } finally {
    console.log = originalLog;
  }
});