Output Formats

The cratis CLI currently provides four output formats controlled by the -o / --output flag. Select the format that matches the exact human or tool workflow, and bind automation to the CLI version being used.

Formats

table

Rich terminal output with borders, column alignment, and ANSI colors. This is the default when running interactively in a terminal.

cratis chronicle event-types list -o table

Use table when you are reading output yourself and want terminal-oriented formatting. Select plain or a JSON format explicitly when a tool needs a different current representation.

plain

Tab-separated rows with no borders, no color, and no decoration. Column headers appear on the first row.

cratis chronicle event-types list -o plain

Use plain when:

Piping output to awk, grep, cut, or similar tools.
Writing shell scripts that parse individual fields.
Sending output to an AI assistant where token count matters but you do not need structured data.

Plain output avoids repeated JSON field names and formatting, but its size depends on the command and returned data. Measure the exact version and workload before making a size or token assumption.

json

Pretty-printed JSON with indentation and newlines.

cratis chronicle event-types list -o json

Use json when:

You need structured, machine-readable data.
You are writing a tool that calls cratis as a subprocess and parses its output with a JSON library.
Human readability of the JSON matters (for debugging, for example).

json-compact

Compact JSON with no extra whitespace. A recognized tool-environment marker may select it as the current default.

cratis chronicle event-types list -o json-compact

Use json-compact when:

You need structured data in an AI prompt or context window.
You are piping JSON to another tool that does not care about formatting.
You want to minimize token usage while still having parseable structure.

json-compact removes pretty-printing whitespace while retaining the current named JSON structure. Use --output json-compact explicitly and review the exact CLI version before relying on that structure.

The —quiet Flag

The -q / --quiet flag outputs the primary identifier of each current result, one per line, with no headers or decoration. Use it for bounded selection and inspection.

cratis chronicle observers list -q

Bounded read-only example:

cratis chronicle observers list -q | head -n 5

Before passing an identifier to a state-changing command, confirm the event store, namespace, target, authorization, current state, and documented operational procedure.

Format Selection Summary

Situation	Recommended format
Reading output in a terminal	`table` (default)
Shell scripting and parsing	`plain`
Structured data with human readability	`json`
AI assistants and token-sensitive contexts	`json-compact` (default in AI environments)
Piping identifiers to another command	`--quiet`