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Feature: Dual Output (Rich Terminal + JSON)

Overview

Every command in the CLI supports two output modes: rich Spectre.Console rendering for human use, and clean JSON for AI agents, scripts, and piping.

Summary

By default, commands render data using Spectre.Console tables, panels, and color-coded statuses. When --json is passed (or APPVEYOR_OUTPUT=json is set), commands emit structured JSON to stdout with no ANSI escape codes.

Decisions

Context Choice Alternatives considered
Output format for AI agents JSON via --json flag or env var YAML (adds complexity), plain text (hard to parse)
How to toggle Per-command flag + global env var Config file setting (less convenient for scripts)
Implementation IOutputRenderer abstraction Per-command if/else (doesn't scale)

Behavior

  • appveyor project list renders a Spectre table with rounded borders and column headers
  • appveyor project list --json emits a JSON array to stdout
  • APPVEYOR_OUTPUT=json makes JSON the default for all commands (AI agents set this once)
  • Color-coded statuses: green for success, red for failed, blue for running, yellow for queued
  • Detail views use key-value panels (e.g. project get shows project metadata + last build)

Verification

  • Table output shows all columns with proper alignment
  • JSON output is valid JSON parseable by jq and System.Text.Json
  • --json flag works on every command
  • APPVEYOR_OUTPUT=json env var forces JSON output
  • No ANSI codes in JSON output

Key Files

src/AppVeyorCli/Output/
  IOutputRenderer.cs           # Abstraction (RenderTable, RenderDetail, RenderJson, etc.)
  ConsoleRenderer.cs           # Spectre.Console implementation
  JsonRenderer.cs              # System.Text.Json implementation
  OutputRendererFactory.cs     # Selects renderer based on --json flag or env var

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