[Kewe63]

Summary

• handle Clap parse and validation failures before they terminate the process
• emit one JSON error object on stdout when JSON output was requested
• preserve Clap's normal table-mode, help, version, and exit-code behavior

Problem

Cli::parse() exited before the application error formatter ran. As a result, malformed commands passed with --output json produced plain text on stderr instead of the documented machine-readable JSON response.

Approach

The entrypoint now uses Cli::try_parse_from and detects the requested output format from the raw arguments. Parse failures use the existing JSON error shape when appropriate, while help/version requests and table-mode failures retain standard Clap rendering.

Tests

• cargo +1.91.1 fmt --check
• cargo +1.91.1 test --locked --test cli_integration — 54 passed
• cargo +1.91.1 clippy --locked --all-targets -- -D warnings
• git diff --check
• RED/GREEN regression check: the JSON parse-error test fails against the old entrypoint and passes with this change

Risk

Low. The change is limited to initial argument parsing and preserves exit code 2 for invalid CLI input. Help and version output continue to use Clap's native behavior.

Fixes #99

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Note

Low Risk
Scope is limited to startup argument parsing and error formatting; help, version, table-mode errors, and exit codes stay aligned with Clap.

Overview
Clap parse/validation failures now honor --output json instead of always printing plain-text errors to stderr before the app runs.

The entrypoint switches from Cli::parse() to Cli::try_parse_from, with a small requested_output_format scan of raw args_os (including -ojson, --output=json, and flags after invalid commands). When JSON was requested, parse errors print a single {"error": "..."} object on stdout with Clap’s exit code (typically 2) and empty stderr; help/version and default table mode still use Clap’s normal rendering.

Integration tests cover unknown commands, flag ordering, short -ojson validation errors, unchanged help with --output json, and preserved table-mode stderr behavior.

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Cursor Bugbot has reviewed your changes using default effort and found 1 potential issue.

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Equals short output flag ignored

Low Severity

requested_output_format recognizes -ojson and --output=json but not clap's valid short equals form -o=json. Parse failures using that flag still go through clap's plain-text stderr path instead of the JSON error object.

 

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