Terminal Stylist Report: Console Output Pattern Analysis

[github-actions[bot]]

Executive Summary

This analysis examined 487 Go source files in the gh-aw codebase to assess console output patterns, terminal UI library usage, and adherence to modern CLI styling best practices.

Key Findings

✅ Excellent Console Package Architecture

• Comprehensive pkg/console/ package with well-designed formatters and components
• Strong adherence to Charmbracelet ecosystem best practices
• Lipgloss v1.1.0 and Huh v0.8.0 properly integrated
• Adaptive color system with light/dark theme support

⚠️ Areas for Improvement

• 16 files still use bare fmt.Println/Printf for JSON output (acceptable pattern)
• 1 hardcoded ANSI escape sequence in add_interactive_orchestrator.go
• Limited Huh forms usage (9 files) - opportunity for richer interactions
• Manual table formatting could leverage lipgloss/table more consistently

📊 Usage Statistics

• 1,233 instances of console formatters (FormatSuccessMessage, FormatErrorMessage, etc.)
• 111/171 CLI command files use console formatting (65% adoption)
• 8 files implement Lipgloss styling (console package + styles package)
• 9 files use Huh interactive forms

---

Detailed Analysis

1. Console Package Architecture

The pkg/console/ package demonstrates excellent design following Charmbracelet best practices:

✅ Strengths

Adaptive Color System (pkg/styles/theme.go)

// Light/dark adaptive colors throughout
ColorError = lipgloss.AdaptiveColor{
    Light: "#D73737", // Darker red for light backgrounds
    Dark:  "#FF5555", // Bright red (Dracula theme)
}

• All 10 semantic colors use adaptive colors
• Dracula-inspired dark theme palette
• High contrast ratios for accessibility

TTY Detection (pkg/console/console.go)

func applyStyle(style lipgloss.Style, text string) string {
    if isTTY() {
        return style.Render(text)
    }
    return text
}

• Automatic styling disable for pipes/redirects
• Uses pkg/tty package for consistent detection
• Applied throughout console package

Message Formatters

FormatSuccessMessage("✓ " + message)  // Green with checkmark
FormatErrorMessage(message)            // Red, no duplicate "error:" prefix
FormatWarningMessage("⚠ " + message)   // Orange with warning symbol
FormatInfoMessage("ℹ " + message)      // Cyan with info symbol

• Consistent emoji/symbol usage
• Proper styling with adaptive colors
• Used in 1,233 locations across codebase

Table Rendering (console.RenderTable)

• Rounded borders (╭╮╰╯) for polished appearance
• Zebra striping for readability
• Configurable headers, totals, titles
• Proper TTY detection and fallback

Interactive Components

• Spinner: MiniDot animation, TTY-aware, accessibility support
• ProgressBar: Scaled gradient (purple→cyan), determinate/indeterminate modes
• ConfirmAction: Huh-based confirmation dialogs with accessibility mode

📐 Design Philosophy

From pkg/console/README.md:

• ✅ Rounded borders for modern appearance
• ✅ Consistent padding (1-2 chars horizontal, 0-1 vertical)
• ✅ Visual hierarchy with borders and spacing
• ✅ Zebra striping in tables
• ✅ TTY detection for adaptive output

---

2. Lipgloss Usage Patterns

Files Using Lipgloss (8 files, excluding tests):

1. pkg/styles/theme.go - Centralized color/style definitions
2. pkg/console/console.go - Core rendering with Rust-like error formatting
3. pkg/console/list.go - Bubble Tea list component with Lipgloss styling
4. pkg/console/layout.go - Box layouts and emphasis boxes
5. pkg/console/banner.go - ASCII art banner rendering
6. pkg/console/spinner.go - Spinner component with adaptive colors
7. pkg/console/progress.go - Progress bar with scaled gradients
8. pkg/console/render.go - Struct rendering with reflection

✅ Best Practices Observed

1. Centralized Styles

// pkg/styles/theme.go - Single source of truth
var Error = lipgloss.NewStyle().Bold(true).Foreground(ColorError)
var Success = lipgloss.NewStyle().Bold(true).Foreground(ColorSuccess)

2. Border Consistency

// Always use RoundedBorder for tables/boxes
box := lipgloss.NewStyle().
    Border(lipgloss.RoundedBorder()).
    BorderForeground(ColorError).
    Padding(1)

3. TTY-Aware Rendering

// Check TTY before applying styles
if !isTTY() {
    return plainText // No ANSI codes in pipes
}
return style.Render(text)

4. Gradient Progress Bars

// pkg/console/progress.go - Uses scaled gradients (v0.21.0+)
gradient := bubbles.NewModel().
    WithScaledGradient("#BD93F9", "#8BE9FD")

⚠️ Anti-Pattern Found

Hardcoded ANSI Escape Sequence

// pkg/cli/add_interactive_orchestrator.go:65
fmt.Fprint(os.Stderr, "\033[H\033[2J")  // Clear screen

Recommendation: Use Lipgloss constant or console package function:

// Better: Define in console package
const clearScreenSequence = "\033[2J\033[H"

// Or use Lipgloss helper if available
func ClearScreen() {
    if isTTY() {
        fmt.Fprint(os.Stderr, clearScreenSequence)
    }
}

---

3. Huh Interactive Forms

Files Using Huh (9 files):

1. pkg/console/confirm.go - Reusable confirmation dialog
2. pkg/cli/run_interactive.go - Interactive workflow inputs
3. pkg/cli/add_interactive_workflow.go - Workflow creation wizard
4. pkg/cli/add_interactive_engine.go - Engine selection
5. pkg/cli/add_interactive_orchestrator.go - Orchestrator setup
6. pkg/cli/add_interactive_auth.go - Authentication setup
7. pkg/cli/interactive.go - Core interactive utilities
8. pkg/cli/init.go - Repository initialization
9. pkg/cli/git.go - Git operations

✅ Best Practices Observed

1. Accessibility Support

// pkg/console/confirm.go - Always includes accessibility mode
confirmForm := huh.NewForm(
    huh.NewGroup(
        huh.NewConfirm().
            Title(title).
            Affirmative(affirmative).
            Negative(negative).
            Value(&confirmed),
    ),
).WithAccessible(IsAccessibleMode())

2. Reusable Components

// Centralized confirmation dialog
func ConfirmAction(title, affirmative, negative string) (bool, error)

3. Form Groups for Organization

// pkg/cli/run_interactive.go - Structured input collection
var formGroups []*huh.Group
for _, input := range inputs {
    field := huh.NewInput().
        Title(input.Name).
        Description(input.Description).
        Value(&inputValues[input.Name])
    group := huh.NewGroup(field)
    formGroups = append(formGroups, group)
}
form := huh.NewForm(formGroups...).WithAccessible(console.IsAccessibleMode())

💡 Opportunities for Enhancement

1. More Field Types
Current usage primarily uses:

• huh.NewConfirm() - Yes/No confirmations
• huh.NewInput() - Single-line text input

Underutilized Huh features:

• huh.NewSelect() - Single selection from list
• huh.NewMultiSelect() - Multiple selections
• huh.NewText() - Multi-line text input
• huh.NewNote() - Informational messages
• huh.NewFilePicker() - File/directory selection

Example Enhancement:

// Current: Manual workflow file selection with filepath.Walk
// Better: Use Huh FilePicker
field := huh.NewFilePicker().
    Title("Select workflow file").
    FileAllowed(true).
    DirAllowed(false).
    Value(&selectedFile)

2. Validation Integration

// Add inline validation to forms
huh.NewInput().
    Title("Repository URL").
    Validate(func(s string) error {
        if !strings.HasPrefix(s, "https://") {
            return errors.New("must be HTTPS URL")
        }
        return nil
    })

3. Themed Forms

// Apply Lipgloss theming to Huh forms
theme := huh.ThemeBase16()
theme.Focused.Base = lipgloss.AdaptiveColor{Light: "#BD93F9", Dark: "#BD93F9"}
form.WithTheme(theme)

---

4. Console Output Consistency

✅ Excellent Patterns

1. Stderr for User Messages

// Correct: All user-facing output to stderr
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatSuccessMessage("✓ Workflow compiled"))
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatErrorMessage(err.Error()))

Adoption: 111/171 CLI files (65%) use this pattern consistently

2. Stdout for Structured Data

// Correct: JSON/data output to stdout
fmt.Println(string(jsonBytes))  // 16 files follow this pattern

Files using stdout for JSON:

• health_command.go, trial_command.go, hash_command.go
• tool_graph.go, list_workflows_command.go
• deps_report.go, compile_orchestration.go, status_command.go

This is correct behavior - keeps logs/messages separate from structured output.

3. Console Formatter Coverage

// Widespread adoption across codebase
FormatSuccessMessage() // ✓ symbol, green
FormatErrorMessage()   // No prefix, red (error context clear from usage)
FormatWarningMessage() // ⚠ symbol, orange
FormatInfoMessage()    // ℹ symbol, cyan

1,233 usages across pkg/cli files demonstrate strong adoption.

⚠️ Minor Concerns

1. Hardcoded ANSI Sequences in Logger

// pkg/logger/logger.go - Acceptable for debug logger
var colors = []string{
    "\033[38;5;33m",  // Blue
    "\033[38;5;35m",  // Green
    // ... more colors
}
```
**Status**: Acceptable - logger is internal debug tool with TTY detection

**2. Limited Table Rendering**
Only `pkg/console/console.go` uses `lipgloss/table` package.

**Opportunity**: More CLI commands could benefit from table rendering:
- `mcp list` output
- `logs` command summaries
- `audit` report tables
- `status` command output

---

### 5. Error Message Formatting

#### ✅ Rust-like Error Rendering

**Example from `pkg/console/console.go`**:
```
example.md:5:12: error: Invalid engine name
    4 | ---
    5 | engine: unknownEngine
      |            ^^^^^^^^^^^^
    6 | ---

hint: Valid engines are: copilot, claude, codex

Features:

• IDE-parseable format: file:line:column: type: message
• Syntax highlighting with adaptive colors
• Context lines with line numbers
• Pointer indicators (^^^) for precise error location
• Optional hints for fixing errors

Implementation Quality: Excellent - follows modern compiler error UX

---

Recommendations

🎯 High Priority

1. Replace Hardcoded ANSI Sequence

   • File: pkg/cli/add_interactive_orchestrator.go:65
   • Replace \033[H\033[2J with console package function
   • Ensure TTY detection before clearing screen

2. Document Console Package Patterns

   • Create scratchpad/console-patterns.md guide
   • Include examples of Lipgloss styling
   • Document when to use Huh forms vs simple prompts

💡 Medium Priority

3. Enhance Huh Usage

   • Add huh.NewSelect() for engine/toolset selection
   • Use huh.NewFilePicker() for workflow file selection
   • Apply Lipgloss theming to forms for consistency

4. Expand Table Rendering

   • Migrate manual table formatting to console.RenderTable()
   • Add table support for:
     • mcp list tool listings
     • logs command summaries
     • status command output

5. Accessibility Documentation

   • Document ACCESSIBLE environment variable usage
   • Create testing guide for screen reader compatibility
   • Add accessibility section to CLI user guide

📚 Low Priority

6. Lipgloss Layout Features

   • Explore lipgloss.JoinVertical() for complex layouts
   • Consider lipgloss.Place() for centered content
   • Use lipgloss.Width() for dynamic sizing

7. Progress Indicators

   • Add progress bars for multi-workflow compilation
   • Use spinners for long-running API calls
   • Implement indeterminate progress for unknown durations

---

Code Examples

✅ Excellent Patterns to Replicate

1. Console Formatter Usage

// pkg/cli/compile_orchestrator.go
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatSuccessMessage(
    fmt.Sprintf("✓ Compiled %d workflow(s)", count)))
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatWarningMessage(
    fmt.Sprintf("Skipped %d file(s)", skipped)))

2. TTY-Aware Table Rendering

// pkg/console/console.go
func RenderTable(config TableConfig) string {
    if !isTTY() {
        return renderPlainTable(config)
    }
    // ... Lipgloss table rendering
}

3. Accessibility-First Forms

// pkg/console/confirm.go
confirmForm := huh.NewForm(/* ... */).
    WithAccessible(IsAccessibleMode())

❌ Anti-Patterns to Avoid

1. Hardcoded ANSI Codes

// ❌ BAD
fmt.Fprint(os.Stderr, "\033[H\033[2J")

// ✅ GOOD
console.ClearScreen()  // With TTY detection

2. Mixing Stdout/Stderr Incorrectly

// ❌ BAD
fmt.Println(console.FormatSuccessMessage("Done"))  // User message to stdout

// ✅ GOOD
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatSuccessMessage("Done"))
fmt.Println(jsonOutput)  // Only data to stdout

3. Manual ANSI Color Codes

// ❌ BAD
fmt.Printf("\033[31mError:\033[0m %s\n", err)

// ✅ GOOD
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatErrorMessage(err.Error()))

---

Conclusion

The gh-aw codebase demonstrates excellent console output practices with a well-architected pkg/console/ package following Charmbracelet ecosystem best practices. The adoption of Lipgloss adaptive colors, TTY detection, and Huh interactive forms shows strong commitment to modern CLI UX.

Strengths Summary

✅ Comprehensive console package with formatters, tables, spinners, progress bars
✅ Adaptive color system (light/dark themes)
✅ Consistent TTY detection throughout
✅ 65% CLI file adoption of console formatters (1,233 usages)
✅ Rust-like error formatting with context and hints
✅ Accessibility support via ACCESSIBLE environment variable

Improvement Opportunities

⚠️ 1 hardcoded ANSI escape sequence to fix
💡 Expand Huh usage for richer interactive experiences
💡 More table rendering with lipgloss/table
💡 Enhanced progress indicators for long operations

Overall assessment: Strong foundation, minor refinements recommended 🌟

---

References

• Lipgloss: https://github.com/charmbracelet/lipgloss (v1.1.0 used)
• Huh: https://github.com/charmbracelet/huh (v0.8.0 used)
• Console Package README: pkg/console/README.md
• Styles Package: pkg/styles/theme.go
• Custom Instructions: AGENTS.md console formatting guidelines

AI generated by Terminal Stylist

• expires on Feb 6, 2026, 8:49 AM UTC

[github-actions[bot]]

This discussion was automatically closed because it expired on 2026-02-06T08:49:27.917Z.