# Results an agent can read

> Print a results table that is a grid on a terminal, header-and-value lines in a log, and plain JSON rows under --json.

Source: https://flagstaff.interlace.tools/docs/recipes/results-for-agents

A coding agent that runs your CLI reads its output back. A grid of box characters costs it
tokens and parsing; `--json` should hand it the data. One component does all three.

```js title="report.mjs"
import { hoist } from 'flagstaff/loop';
import { tableComponent } from 'flagstaff/table';

import { json, rt } from './rt.mjs';

const results = [
  { suite: 'api', result: 'passed', tests: 112 },
  { suite: 'web', result: 'failed', tests: 3 },
];

const rows = results.map((r) => [r.suite, r.result, String(r.tests)]);
const report = tableComponent({ head: ['suite', 'result', 'tests'], align: ['left', 'left', 'right'] });
hoist(report, rt, { rows }, { json }).lower();

if (json) process.stdout.write(`${JSON.stringify({ ok: true, data: results })}\n`);
```

In a log, each row is a line a person can grep and an agent can read:

```text title="node report.mjs"
suite: api, result: passed, tests: 112
suite: web, result: failed, tests: 3
```

Under `--json` the table's events go to stderr and stdout carries only the program's own
result, so `node report.mjs --json | jq .data` gets exactly the data:

```text title="node report.mjs --json"
{"ok":true,"data":[{"suite":"api","result":"passed","tests":112},{"suite":"web","result":"failed","tests":3}]}
{"event":"table","state":{"rows":[["api","passed","112"],["web","failed","3"]]}}
{"event":"table","state":{"rows":[["api","passed","112"],["web","failed","3"]]}}
```

(The page shows stdout, then stderr.) A CLI built on [burgee](https://burgee.interlace.tools/docs)
writes that `{ ok, data }` envelope for you.