CLI Output Modes

CLI output modes control how Skylos displays scan results in the terminal. Each mode is designed for a different workflow such as human review, automation, CI pipelines, or AI-assisted processing.

If you're unsure which mode to use, the table below provides a quick reference. Most entries are --format values; the TUI is a separate --tui mode because it opens an interactive screen instead of printing a report.

Skylos keeps the default terminal output stable for existing scripts and copy/paste workflows, then offers opt-in formats for more focused use cases.

Choosing an Output Mode

Need	Command	Best For
Full terminal report	skylos . or skylos . --format rich	Deep inspection and existing terminal workflows
Compact human report	skylos . --format pretty	Quick local review and PR discussion
Copyable plain output	skylos . --format concise	CI logs, scripts, editors, and automation
Machine-readable results	skylos . --format json	Programmatic use and external integrations
AI-ready report	skylos . --format llm	Agent workflows and structured reasoning systems
GitHub Actions annotations	skylos . --format github	Inline workflow annotations in GitHub checks
Interactive terminal triage	skylos . --tui	Keyboard-driven exploration of findings

Human Terminal Output

Use the default rich format when you want the existing full report:

skylos .
skylos . -a

Use pretty when you want a compact, file-grouped terminal report:

skylos . --format pretty
skylos . -a --format pretty --limit 20

--format pretty groups findings by file, shows severity badges and rails, keeps file:line locations copyable, includes source snippets when available, and suppresses the large banner and follow-up prompts. It is intended for interactive terminal review, PR comments, and quick local triage.

Example shape:

Skylos static analysis  3 issues  1 file analyzed
  unused functions: 2  unused variables: 1

  src/app.py · 3 issues

    █  LOW  dead-code/function  Unused function: old_handler
      Dead Code  src/app.py:42
      def old_handler() -> None:
      Fix: Remove the unused function if it is not public API.

Write the same pretty report to a file with --output:

skylos . --format pretty --output skylos-report.txt

Copyable And Machine Output

Use concise when an editor, test script, or agent needs plain file:line findings and a non-zero exit code when findings exist:

skylos . --format concise

Use json, llm, or github for structured consumers:

skylos . --format json
skylos . --format llm
skylos . --format github

The legacy flags still work:

skylos . --json
skylos . --llm
skylos . --github

Selectable Terminal UI

Use the TUI when you want keyboard-driven triage:

skylos . --tui
skylos . -a --tui

The TUI uses a category sidebar plus a selectable finding list and detail pane. Common controls:

Key	Action
j / k	Move through findings
/	Search current findings
f	Cycle severity filter
Tab / Shift+Tab	Move between categories
o	Open the selected finding in $EDITOR
q	Quit

--tui requires an interactive terminal and is screen-only, so it cannot be combined with --output. For saved reports, CI, scripts, and logs, prefer --format concise, --format json, or --format pretty.

Common Workflows

• Local development review: skylos . --format pretty
• CI logs and scripts: skylos . --format concise
• Debugging full scan results: skylos .
• Tooling and integrations: skylos . --format json
• AI-assisted workflows: skylos . --format llm
• GitHub Actions annotations: skylos . --format github
• Deep interactive investigation: skylos . --tui