Terminal Stylist Report: Console Output Analysis & Charmbracelet Ecosystem Recommendations

[github-actions[bot]]

Executive Summary

This report analyzes console output patterns across the gh-aw codebase with a focus on:

1. Consistency - Usage of the console formatting package
2. Modern Terminal UI - Leveraging Lipgloss and Huh from the Charmbracelet ecosystem
3. Accessibility - TTY detection, screen reader support, and adaptive colors
4. Best Practices - Recommendations for improved user experience

Key Findings

✅ Excellent Foundation: The pkg/console package provides well-architected formatters with Lipgloss integration
✅ Charmbracelet Integration: Active use of Lipgloss (v1.1.0), Huh (v0.8.0), Bubble Tea (v1.3.10), and Bubbles (v0.21.1)
⚠️ Inconsistent Usage: 152 CLI files analyzed, ~49% (75 files) use console formatting correctly
⚠️ Direct fmt.Print Calls*: 2,373 instances of fmt.Print*/Fprint* found, many bypassing console formatters
⚠️ Manual ANSI Sequences: 1 instance of hardcoded ANSI escape codes (\033[K) should be abstracted

---

Detailed Analysis

1. Console Package Architecture ✨

The pkg/console package demonstrates excellent design patterns:

Lipgloss Integration

• ✅ Proper TTY detection with tty.IsStdoutTerminal() and tty.IsStderrTerminal()
• ✅ Adaptive colors for light/dark terminal themes via styles.ColorError, styles.ColorSuccess, etc.
• ✅ Conditional styling: applyStyle() returns plain text in non-TTY environments
• ✅ Table rendering using lipgloss/table with zebra striping and styled borders
• ✅ Tree rendering using lipgloss/tree with graceful non-TTY fallback

Huh Integration

• ✅ confirm.go provides ConfirmAction() wrapper for interactive confirmations
• ✅ Accessibility mode support via huh.Form.WithAccessible()
• ✅ Used in CLI commands for workflow selection, input collection, Git operations

Available Formatters

The console package provides semantic formatters:

• FormatSuccessMessage() - ✓ prefix with green styling
• FormatErrorMessage() - ✗ prefix with red styling
• FormatWarningMessage() - ⚠ prefix with orange styling
• FormatInfoMessage() - ℹ prefix with cyan styling
• FormatCommandMessage() - ⚡ prefix with purple styling
• FormatProgressMessage() - 🔨 prefix with yellow styling
• FormatPromptMessage() - ❓ prefix with green styling
• FormatCountMessage() - 📊 prefix with cyan styling
• FormatVerboseMessage() - 🔍 prefix with italic muted styling
• FormatLocationMessage() - 📁 prefix with orange styling

Plus Advanced Components:

• RenderTable() - Styled tables with headers, totals, borders
• RenderTree() - Hierarchical structures with tree enumerators
• RenderTitleBox() - Bordered title boxes for emphasis
• RenderErrorBox() - Error/warning boxes with rounded borders
• RenderInfoSection() - Info sections with left border emphasis
• NewSpinner() - Animated progress indicators with Bubble Tea
• NewProgressBar() - Determinate/indeterminate progress with gradients

---

2. Consistency Issues 🔴

Files Using Direct fmt.Print Without Console Formatting*

File	Issue Count	Primary Issues
commands.go	~5	Direct fmt.Printf for user messages (should use FormatInfoMessage)
trial_command.go	1	fmt.Println(string(outputBytes)) for JSON output (stdout is OK for JSON)
mcp_list_tools.go	2	fmt.Printf for server info, fmt.Print(table) (should use stderr)
git.go	~10	fmt.Printf for branch/commit operations (should use FormatProgressMessage)
run_workflow_tracking.go	~15	Verbose fmt.Printf debugging (should use logger package or FormatVerboseMessage)
list_workflows_command.go	2	JSON output to stdout (✅ correct for JSON)
file_tracker.go	~5	fmt.Printf for file staging info (should use FormatInfoMessage)
logs_orchestrator.go	1	Manual ANSI escape \033[K] (should be in console package)

Anti-Patterns Identified

❌ BAD - Direct fmt.Printf without console formatting:

// commands.go:86
fmt.Printf("Found workflow file at path: %s\n", fileOrWorkflowName)

// git.go:305
fmt.Printf("Creating and switching to branch: %s\n", branchName)

// run_workflow_tracking.go:31
fmt.Printf("Getting latest run for workflow: %s in repo: %s\n", lockFileName, repo)

❌ BAD - Manual ANSI escape sequences:

// logs_orchestrator.go:778
fmt.Fprint(os.Stderr, "\r\033[K") // Clear the line

✅ GOOD - Proper console formatting:

// run_interactive.go:37
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatInfoMessage("Starting interactive workflow run..."))

// run_interactive.go:69
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatWarningMessage("Workflow execution cancelled"))

// run_interactive.go:87
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatSuccessMessage("✓ Workflow dispatched successfully!"))

---

3. Lipgloss Usage Analysis 🎨

Current State

pkg/styles/theme.go provides comprehensive adaptive color system:

• 12 semantic colors with light/dark variants (Dracula theme inspired)
• Pre-configured styles for common use cases (Error, Warning, Success, Info, etc.)
• 3 border styles (Rounded, Normal, Thick)
• Table-specific styles (Header, Cell, Total, Border)
• Tree styles for hierarchical output

Direct Lipgloss Usage Outside Console Package:

• ✅ pkg/console/*.go - Appropriate (this is the styling abstraction layer)
• ⚠️ pkg/cli/mcp_inspect_mcp.go:54-57, 73 - Direct usage of styles.ServerName, styles.ErrorBox.Render()

Opportunities for Improvement

1. Migrate mcp_inspect_mcp.go to use console helpers:

   // CURRENT (mcp_inspect_mcp.go:54-57)
   serverNameStyled := styles.ServerName.Render(serverName)
   serverTypeStyled := styles.ServerType.Render(fmt.Sprintf("(%s)", mcpConfig.Mode))
   
   // RECOMMENDED
   serverInfo := console.FormatListItem(fmt.Sprintf("%s (%s)", serverName, mcpConfig.Mode))

2. Abstract the ANSI escape sequence in logs_orchestrator.go:

   // CURRENT (logs_orchestrator.go:778)
   fmt.Fprint(os.Stderr, "\r\033[K") // Clear the line
   
   // RECOMMENDED - Add to console package
   func ClearLine() {
       if tty.IsStderrTerminal() {
           fmt.Fprint(os.Stderr, "\r\033[K")
       }
   }

3. Table Rendering Enhancements:

   • Consider using lipgloss/table built-in width calculation for better column sizing
   • Add optional column alignment configuration to TableConfig
   • Support for empty state messages when no data

---

4. Huh Forms Analysis 📝

Current State

Huh is well-integrated for interactive CLI experiences:

File	Usage	Pattern
console/confirm.go	✅ Wrapper function ConfirmAction()	Clean abstraction
run_interactive.go	✅ Workflow selection, input collection	Multi-field forms with huh.NewInput()
git.go	✅ Branch/commit confirmations	Single-field confirm dialogs
init.go	✅ Workflow template selection	huh.NewSelect() with options
interactive.go	✅ General interactive prompts	Comprehensive form handling

Accessibility Support:

• ✅ All forms use .WithAccessible(console.IsAccessibleMode())
• ✅ console/accessibility.go provides centralized accessibility checks

Opportunities for Enhancement

1. Replace bare prompts in remove_command.go:

   // CURRENT (remove_command.go:118)
   fmt.Print("Are you sure you want to remove the workflow? (yes/no): ")
   var response string
   fmt.Scanln(&response)
   
   // RECOMMENDED
   confirmed, err := console.ConfirmAction(
       "Remove workflow?",
       "Yes, remove",
       "No, cancel",
   )

2. Create console helpers for common Huh patterns:

   // pkg/console/input.go (NEW)
   func PromptInput(title, placeholder, defaultValue string) (string, error) {
       var value string
       form := huh.NewForm(
           huh.NewGroup(
               huh.NewInput().
                   Title(title).
                   Placeholder(placeholder).
                   Value(&value),
           ),
       ).WithAccessible(IsAccessibleMode())
       
       if err := form.Run(); err != nil {
           return "", err
       }
       return value, nil
   }

3. Multi-select for workflow features:
   Consider adding huh.NewMultiSelect() for selecting multiple workflow features during gh aw init

---

5. Best Practices & Recommendations 🎯

High Priority (Fix Now)

1. ✅ Standardize Error Output - All user-facing errors must use fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatErrorMessage(...))

   • Files to fix: commands.go, git.go, file_tracker.go, run_workflow_tracking.go

2. ✅ Abstract Manual ANSI Sequences - Move \033[K to console package

   • File: logs_orchestrator.go:778

3. ✅ Replace Bare Prompts - Use console.ConfirmAction() instead of fmt.Print/fmt.Scanln

   • File: remove_command.go:118

Medium Priority (Incremental Improvement)

4. Create Console Helpers for Verbose Output:

   // pkg/console/verbose.go (NEW)
   func LogVerbose(verbose bool, message string) {
       if verbose {
           fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, FormatVerboseMessage(message))
       }
   }

5. Standardize Progress Messages:
   Replace scattered fmt.Printf("Creating branch: %s\n", ...) with:

   fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatProgressMessage(fmt.Sprintf("Creating branch: %s", branchName)))

6. Table Configuration Enhancements:

   type TableConfig struct {
       Headers       []string
       Rows          [][]string
       Title         string
       ShowTotal     bool
       TotalRow      []string
       ColumnAlign   []lipgloss.Position // NEW: Per-column alignment
       EmptyMessage  string               // NEW: Message when no rows
   }

Low Priority (Nice to Have)

7. Spinner for Long Operations:
   Use console.NewSpinner() for operations > 2 seconds (e.g., gh aw compile on large projects)

8. Progress Bar for Batch Operations:
   Use console.NewProgressBar() for batch compilation, workflow downloads

9. Enhanced Tree Rendering:
   Add RenderDependencyTree() helper for visualizing workflow dependencies

10. Color Theme Configuration:
    Consider adding GH_AW_THEME environment variable to override Dracula colors

---

6. Code Quality Metrics 📊

Metric	Value	Status
Total CLI Files	152	-
Files Using Console Formatting	75	✅ 49% adoption
Total Print Statements	2,373	⚠️ Many need console wrappers
Manual ANSI Sequences	1	⚠️ Should be abstracted
Charmbracelet Libraries	4	✅ (Lipgloss, Huh, Bubble Tea, Bubbles)
Accessibility Support	✅	Proper IsAccessibleMode() checks
TTY Detection	✅	Consistent tty.IsStdoutTerminal() usage

---

7. Migration Guide 🛠️

Phase 1: Critical Fixes (1-2 hours)

• Abstract ANSI escape in logs_orchestrator.go to console.ClearLine()
• Replace bare prompt in remove_command.go with console.ConfirmAction()
• Fix direct styles.* usage in mcp_inspect_mcp.go to use console helpers

Phase 2: Standardize Error Messages (4-6 hours)

• Convert all fmt.Printf("Error: ...") to console.FormatErrorMessage()
• Ensure all errors go to stderr with fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, ...)
• Files: commands.go, git.go, file_tracker.go, run_workflow_tracking.go

Phase 3: Progress & Info Messages (6-8 hours)

• Standardize progress messages with console.FormatProgressMessage()
• Create console.LogVerbose() helper for verbose output
• Convert debug fmt.Printf to use logger package or console formatters

Phase 4: Interactive Enhancements (4-6 hours)

• Create console.PromptInput() helper for text input
• Add console.PromptSelect() helper for single-select menus
• Consider console.PromptMultiSelect() for multi-choice options

---

8. Testing Recommendations 🧪

1. Golden Tests for Console Output:

   • Already present in pkg/console/*_test.go
   • Expand to cover new helpers (ClearLine, LogVerbose)

2. TTY/Non-TTY Testing:

   • Test all formatters with and without TTY
   • Verify ANSI codes are stripped in non-TTY mode

3. Accessibility Testing:

   • Test with ACCESSIBLE=1 environment variable
   • Verify spinners/progress bars are disabled

4. Color Theme Testing:

   • Test with light/dark terminal themes
   • Verify adaptive colors render correctly

---

Conclusion

The gh-aw codebase has a solid foundation for modern terminal UI with excellent Charmbracelet ecosystem integration. The pkg/console package provides well-architected formatters and components.

Key Strengths:

• ✅ Comprehensive console formatting package with Lipgloss/Huh integration
• ✅ Adaptive color system supporting light/dark terminal themes
• ✅ TTY detection and accessibility support
• ✅ Modern interactive forms using Huh

Key Areas for Improvement:

• ⚠️ Inconsistent usage (49% adoption rate of console formatters)
• ⚠️ Manual ANSI sequences need abstraction
• ⚠️ Some direct Lipgloss usage should go through console package
• ⚠️ Bare prompts should use Huh forms

Recommended Next Steps:

1. Complete Phase 1 critical fixes (1-2 hours)
2. Standardize error messages (Phase 2, 4-6 hours)
3. Create migration plan for remaining 77 CLI files
4. Add golden tests for new console helpers

---

References

• Lipgloss Documentation: https://github.com/charmbracelet/lipgloss
• Huh Documentation: https://github.com/charmbracelet/huh
• Bubble Tea Guide: https://github.com/charmbracelet/bubbletea
• Console Package: pkg/console/README.md
• Styles Guide: specs/styles-guide.md (if exists)

---

Analysis Date: 2026-01-24
Analyzer: Terminal Stylist Agent
Codebase Version: github.com/githubnext/gh-aw (latest)

AI generated by Terminal Stylist

• expires on Jan 31, 2026, 8:43 AM UTC

[pelikhan]

/plan

[github-actions[bot]]

🎉 Yo ho ho! Plan Command found the treasure and completed successfully! ⚓💰

[github-actions[bot]]

Plan Created ✅

I've broken down the Terminal Stylist Report into 5 actionable sub-issues that will be automatically grouped under a parent tracking issue:

Phase 1: Critical Fixes (1-2 hours)

1. Abstract manual ANSI escape sequences - Move \033[K from logs_orchestrator.go to console.ClearLine() helper
2. Replace bare prompt - Convert remove_command.go to use console.ConfirmAction()
3. Migrate Lipgloss usage - Replace direct styles.* usage in mcp_inspect_mcp.go with console helpers

Phase 2: Error Standardization (4-6 hours)

4. Standardize error messages - Convert error messages in commands.go, git.go, file_tracker.go, run_workflow_tracking.go to use console.FormatErrorMessage()

Phase 3: Progress & Info Messages (6-8 hours)

5. Standardize progress/info messages - Convert progress and info messages to use console.FormatProgressMessage() and console.FormatInfoMessage()

Each issue includes:

• Clear objectives and context from the report
• Step-by-step implementation approach
• Specific files to modify with line numbers
• Code examples showing before/after patterns
• Comprehensive acceptance criteria

All issues will be automatically grouped and ready for GitHub Copilot agents to implement! 🚀