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Output Format - User Guide

The Fabric CLI provides flexible output formatting options to support both human-readable and machine-parseable results. This guide covers how to configure and use output formats effectively.

Overview

The output format feature allows you to control how command results are displayed. The CLI supports two primary output formats: - Text Format (default): Human-readable, formatted output optimized for terminal viewing - JSON Format: Structured, machine-parseable output suitable for scripting and automation

Supported Output Formats

Text Format (text)

The default format that provides human-readable output with: - Clean, formatted display - Headers for tabular data when using -l or -q flags - Color-coded status indicators - Progress indicators and informational messages - Unix-style listings for directory-like commands

JSON Format (json)

Structured output format that provides: - Consistent JSON schema across all commands - Machine-parseable results - Standardized error reporting - Timestamp and command metadata

Configuration

Command-Line Flag

Override the output format for any command using the global --output_format flag:

# Use JSON format for a single command
fab ls --output_format json

# Use text format explicitly
fab auth status --output_format text

Available Values: - json - JSON structured output - text - Human-readable text output (default)

Configuration File

Set the default output format using the fab config set command:

# Set JSON as default format
fab config set output_format json

# Set text as default format (default)
fab config set output_format text

# View current setting
fab config get output_format

The configuration is stored in your Fabric CLI configuration file and applies to all subsequent commands unless overridden by the --output_format flag.

JSON Output Schema

Success Response Structure

{
    "timestamp": "2026-01-06T08:00:00.000Z",
    "status": "Success",
    "command": "command_name",
    "result": {
        "data": [
            {
                "id": "example-id",
                "name": "example-name",
                "type": "example-type"
            }
        ],
        "hidden_data": [
            ".capacities",
            ".gateways"
        ],
        "message": "Operation completed successfully"
    }
}

Error Response Structure

{
    "timestamp": "2026-01-06T08:00:00.000Z",
    "status": "Failure",
    "command": "command_name",
    "result": {
        "message": "Unable to find workspace: workspace1",
        "error_code": "ERROR_WORKSPACE_NOT_FOUND"
    }
}

JSON Schema Fields

Root Level

  • timestamp (string): ISO 8601 UTC timestamp when the command completed
  • status (string): Either "Success" or "Failure"
  • command (string, optional): The primary command that was executed
  • result (object): Contains the actual command results

Result Object

  • data (array, optional): Primary output data when available
  • hidden_data (array, optional): Virtual workspace items like capacities, gateways, managed private endpoints etc...
  • message (string, optional): Success message or operation description
  • error_code (string, optional): Standardized error code (only present on failures)

Text Output Behavior

Success Output

Text format provides context-aware formatting:

# Basic directory listing (names only)
$ fab ls
workspace1
workspace2

# Directory listing with details (-l flag)
$ fab ls -l
name         id                                   capacityName  capacityId                             capacityRegion
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
workspace1   12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012  MyCapacity    87654321-4321-4321-4321-210987654321  East US
workspace2   12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789013  MyCapacity    87654321-4321-4321-4321-210987654321  East US

# Simple success message
$ fab auth logout
* Logged out of Fabric account

# Data with message (mkdir shows table by default)
$ fab mkdir workspace1
* 'workspace1' created

Error Output

Error messages include the error code in brackets followed by the message:

$ fab ls invalid-workspace
x ls: [NotFound] The Workspace 'invalid-workspace.Workspace' could not be found

Informational Output

Informational messages (warnings, progress, debug info) are always sent to stderr regardless of output format:

$ fab mv ws1.Workspace/r1.Report ws1.Workspace/
Moving '/ws.Workspace/r1.Report' → '/ws1.Workspace/r1.Report'...
* Move completed

Stream Behavior

Standard Output (stdout)

  • All command results (both success and error responses)
  • JSON format: All JSON responses
  • Text format: Command results, data, and final status messages

Standard Error (stderr)

  • Warning messages
  • Informational messages
  • Debug messages
  • Progress indicators

This separation allows you to: - Redirect command results to files while preserving interactive feedback - Filter informational messages separately from actual data - Pipe JSON output to processing tools without interference

Usage Examples

Basic Usage

# List workspaces in text format (names only)
$ fab ls
workspace1
workspace2

# Same command with JSON output
$ fab ls --output_format json
{
    "timestamp": "2026-01-06T08:00:00.000Z",
    "status": "Success",
    "command": "ls", 
    "result": {
        "data": [
            {
                "name": "workspace1"
            },
            {
                "name": "workspace2"
            }
        ]
    }
}

Configuration Examples

# Check current output format
$ fab config get output_format
text

# Change to JSON as default
$ fab config set output_format json
* Configuration 'output_format' set to 'json'

# All subsequent commands use JSON
$ fab auth status
{
    "timestamp": "2026-01-06T08:00:00.000Z",
    "status": "Success",
    "command": "auth",
    "result": {
        "data": [
            {
                "logged_in": "true",
                "account": "user@example.com",
                "tenant_id": "12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012"
            }
        ]
    }
}

# Override for single command
$ fab auth status --output_format text
Logged In: true
Account: user@example.com
Tenant ID: 12345678-1234-1234-1234-123456789012

Automation and Scripting Examples

Redirecting Output

# Save results to file while seeing progress
$ fab ls --output_format json > workspaces.json
Processing workspace list...

# Save only errors for logging
$ fab command 2> error.log

Best Practices

Interactive Use

  • Keep the default text format for better readability
  • Use -l flag with text format to see detailed information in tables
  • Progress and status messages will appear regardless of output format

Automation and Scripting

  • Set output_format json in config for scripts and automation
  • Use --output_format json for specific commands that need machine parsing
  • Always check the status field in JSON responses for error handling

Command-Specific Tips

  • Use --output_format text override when you need human-readable output from a JSON-configured CLI
  • Combine with other flags like --all to include hidden data in JSON output
  • Use shell redirection to separate data output from informational messages