[WIP] Standardize stderr usage for console output in workflow package

[Copilot]

Plan: Standardize stderr usage for console output in workflow package

• Identify all occurrences of fmt.Println(console.Format...) in workflow package (12 occurrences found)
• Fix pkg/workflow/stop_after.go - 8 occurrences (lines 81, 83, 90, 103, 105, 332, 334, 352, 354)
• Fix pkg/workflow/engine_firewall_support.go - 2 occurrences (lines 72, 100)
• Fix pkg/workflow/mcp-config-custom.go - 1 occurrence (line 125)
• Run unit tests to validate changes (make test-unit)
• Run full test suite to ensure no regressions (make test)
• Run make agent-finish for complete validation

Total: 12 occurrences across 3 files that need to be changed from fmt.Println(console.Format...) to fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.Format...)

Original prompt

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This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>[Code Quality] Standardize stderr usage for console output in workflow package</issue_title>
<issue_description>### Description

Standardize console output to use fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, ...) instead of fmt.Println(...) in the workflow package (~15 occurrences) to ensure consistent output handling and prevent issues with piped/redirected output.

Problem

Current State:

• ~15 occurrences of fmt.Println(console.Format...) in workflow package
• Output goes to stdout instead of stderr
• Inconsistent with codebase guidelines in AGENTS.md
• Can break when output is piped or redirected

Why it's problematic:

• All user-facing output should go to stderr (except JSON output)
• Current pattern: fmt.Println(console.FormatInfoMessage(...))
• Correct pattern: fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatInfoMessage(...))
• Breaks piping and redirection expectations

Suggested Changes

Update all console output calls to use stderr:

// ❌ CURRENT - Output to stdout
fmt.Println(console.FormatInfoMessage("Refreshed stop-after time"))

// ✅ CORRECT - Output to stderr
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatInfoMessage("Refreshed stop-after time"))

Files Affected

Approximately 15 occurrences across:

• pkg/workflow/stop_after.go (lines 81-354)
• pkg/workflow/engine_firewall_support.go (line 72)
• pkg/workflow/mcp-config-custom.go
• Other workflow package files

Success Criteria

• All fmt.Println(console.Format...) calls changed to fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.Format...)
• Consistent stderr usage across workflow package
• All existing tests pass: make test
• Output correctly appears in stderr (not stdout)
• Follows guidelines documented in AGENTS.md

Implementation Strategy

1. Identify all occurrences: grep -r "fmt.Println(console\\.Format" pkg/workflow/
2. Replace pattern systematically file by file
3. Test each file after changes
4. Run full test suite to ensure no regressions

Source

Extracted from Terminal UI Analysis: Console Output Patterns discussion githubnext/gh-aw#10958

Priority

Medium - Improves output consistency and prevents piping issues

Estimated Effort

Medium - 1-2 hours to fix ~15 occurrences and test

AI generated by Discussion Task Miner - Code Quality Improvement Agent

• expires on Feb 4, 2026, 2:09 PM UTC

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

• Fixes [Code Quality] Standardize stderr usage for console output in workflow package #10993

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