diff --git a/src/ComposerRequireChecker/Cli/CheckCommand.php b/src/ComposerRequireChecker/Cli/CheckCommand.php
index be14c207..7eee6d27 100644
--- a/src/ComposerRequireChecker/Cli/CheckCommand.php
+++ b/src/ComposerRequireChecker/Cli/CheckCommand.php
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
 namespace ComposerRequireChecker\Cli;
 
 use ComposerRequireChecker\ASTLocator\LocateASTFromFiles;
+use ComposerRequireChecker\Cli\ResultsWriter\CliJson;
+use ComposerRequireChecker\Cli\ResultsWriter\CliText;
 use ComposerRequireChecker\DefinedExtensionsResolver\DefinedExtensionsResolver;
 use ComposerRequireChecker\DefinedSymbolsLocator\LocateDefinedSymbolsFromASTRoots;
 use ComposerRequireChecker\DefinedSymbolsLocator\LocateDefinedSymbolsFromComposerRuntimeApi;
@@ -18,25 +20,28 @@
 use ComposerRequireChecker\GeneratorUtil\ComposeGenerators;
 use ComposerRequireChecker\JsonLoader;
 use ComposerRequireChecker\UsedSymbolsLocator\LocateUsedSymbolsFromASTRoots;
+use DateTimeImmutable;
 use InvalidArgumentException;
 use LogicException;
 use PhpParser\ErrorHandler\Collecting as CollectingErrorHandler;
 use PhpParser\Lexer;
 use PhpParser\ParserFactory;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Command\Command;
-use Symfony\Component\Console\Helper\Table;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputArgument;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputInterface;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Input\InputOption;
 use Symfony\Component\Console\Output\OutputInterface;
 use Webmozart\Assert\Assert;
 
+use function array_combine;
 use function array_diff;
+use function array_map;
 use function array_merge;
+use function assert;
 use function count;
 use function dirname;
 use function gettype;
-use function implode;
+use function in_array;
 use function is_string;
 use function realpath;
 use function sprintf;
@@ -68,11 +73,37 @@ protected function configure(): void
                 InputOption::VALUE_NONE,
                 'this will cause ComposerRequireChecker to ignore errors when files cannot be parsed, otherwise'
                 . ' errors will be thrown'
+            )
+            ->addOption(
+                'output',
+                null,
+                InputOption::VALUE_REQUIRED,
+                'generate output either as "text" or as "json", if specified, "quiet mode" is implied'
             );
     }
 
+    protected function initialize(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): void
+    {
+        if ($input->getOption('output') === null) {
+            return;
+        }
+
+        $optionValue = $input->getOption('output');
+        assert(is_string($optionValue));
+
+        if (! in_array($optionValue, ['text', 'json'])) {
+            throw new InvalidArgumentException(
+                'Option "output" must be either of value "json", "text" or omitted altogether'
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
     protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): int
     {
+        if ($input->getOption('output') !== null) {
+            $output->setVerbosity(OutputInterface::VERBOSITY_QUIET);
+        }
+
         if (! $output->isQuiet()) {
             $application = $this->getApplication();
             $output->writeln($application !== null ? $application->getLongVersion() : 'Unknown version');
@@ -147,26 +178,43 @@ protected function execute(InputInterface $input, OutputInterface $output): int
             $options->getSymbolWhitelist()
         );
 
-        if (! $unknownSymbols) {
-            $output->writeln('There were no unknown symbols found.');
-
-            return 0;
+        switch ($input->getOption('output')) {
+            case 'json':
+                $application   = $this->getApplication();
+                $resultsWriter = new CliJson(
+                    static function (string $string) use ($output): void {
+                        $output->write($string, false, OutputInterface::VERBOSITY_QUIET | OutputInterface::OUTPUT_RAW);
+                    },
+                    $application !== null ? $application->getVersion() : 'Unknown version',
+                    static fn () => new DateTimeImmutable()
+                );
+                break;
+            case 'text':
+                $resultsWriter = new CliText(
+                    $output,
+                    static function (string $string) use ($output): void {
+                        $output->write($string, false, OutputInterface::VERBOSITY_QUIET | OutputInterface::OUTPUT_RAW);
+                    }
+                );
+                break;
+            default:
+                $resultsWriter = new CliText($output);
         }
 
-        $output->writeln('The following ' . count($unknownSymbols) . ' unknown symbols were found:');
-        $table = new Table($output);
-        $table->setHeaders(['Unknown Symbol', 'Guessed Dependency']);
         $guesser = new DependencyGuesser($options);
-        foreach ($unknownSymbols as $unknownSymbol) {
-            $guessedDependencies = [];
-            foreach ($guesser($unknownSymbol) as $guessedDependency) {
-                $guessedDependencies[] = $guessedDependency;
-            }
-
-            $table->addRow([$unknownSymbol, implode("\n", $guessedDependencies)]);
-        }
-
-        $table->render();
+        $resultsWriter->write(
+            array_map(
+                static function (string $unknownSymbol) use ($guesser): array {
+                    $guessedDependencies = [];
+                    foreach ($guesser($unknownSymbol) as $guessedDependency) {
+                        $guessedDependencies[] = $guessedDependency;
+                    }
+
+                    return $guessedDependencies;
+                },
+                array_combine($unknownSymbols, $unknownSymbols)
+            ),
+        );
 
         return (int) (bool) $unknownSymbols;
     }
diff --git a/src/ComposerRequireChecker/Cli/ResultsWriter/CliJson.php b/src/ComposerRequireChecker/Cli/ResultsWriter/CliJson.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..dc28dd80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ComposerRequireChecker/Cli/ResultsWriter/CliJson.php
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace ComposerRequireChecker\Cli\ResultsWriter;
+
+use DateTimeImmutable;
+
+use function json_encode;
+
+use const JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR;
+
+final class CliJson implements ResultsWriter
+{
+    /** @var callable(string): void */
+    private $writeCallable;
+    private string $applicationVersion;
+    /** @var callable(): DateTimeImmutable */
+    private $nowCallable;
+
+    /**
+     * @param callable(string): void        $write
+     * @param callable(): DateTimeImmutable $now
+     */
+    public function __construct(callable $write, string $applicationVersion, callable $now)
+    {
+        $this->writeCallable      = $write;
+        $this->applicationVersion = $applicationVersion;
+        $this->nowCallable        = $now;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function write(array $unknownSymbols): void
+    {
+        $write = $this->writeCallable;
+        $now   = $this->nowCallable;
+
+        $write(
+            json_encode(
+                [
+                    '_meta' => [
+                        'composer-require-checker' => [
+                            'version' => $this->applicationVersion,
+                        ],
+                        'date' => $now()->format(DateTimeImmutable::ATOM),
+                    ],
+                    'unknown-symbols' => $unknownSymbols,
+                ],
+                JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR
+            )
+        );
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/ComposerRequireChecker/Cli/ResultsWriter/CliText.php b/src/ComposerRequireChecker/Cli/ResultsWriter/CliText.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ede7c791
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ComposerRequireChecker/Cli/ResultsWriter/CliText.php
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace ComposerRequireChecker\Cli\ResultsWriter;
+
+use Symfony\Component\Console\Helper\Table;
+use Symfony\Component\Console\Output\BufferedOutput;
+use Symfony\Component\Console\Output\OutputInterface;
+
+use function count;
+use function implode;
+
+final class CliText implements ResultsWriter
+{
+    private OutputInterface $output;
+    /** @var callable */
+    private $writeCallable;
+
+    public function __construct(OutputInterface $output, ?callable $write = null)
+    {
+        $this->output = $output;
+        if ($write === null) {
+            $write = static function (string $string) use ($output): void {
+                $output->write($string);
+            };
+        }
+
+        $this->writeCallable = $write;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * {@inheritdoc}
+     */
+    public function write(array $unknownSymbols): void
+    {
+        if (! $unknownSymbols) {
+            $this->output->writeln('There were no unknown symbols found.');
+
+            return;
+        }
+
+        $this->output->writeln('The following ' . count($unknownSymbols) . ' unknown symbols were found:');
+
+        $tableOutput = new BufferedOutput();
+        $table       = new Table($tableOutput);
+        $table->setHeaders(['Unknown Symbol', 'Guessed Dependency']);
+        foreach ($unknownSymbols as $unknownSymbol => $guessedDependencies) {
+            $table->addRow([$unknownSymbol, implode("\n", $guessedDependencies)]);
+        }
+
+        $table->render();
+
+        $write = $this->writeCallable;
+        $write($tableOutput->fetch());
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/ComposerRequireChecker/Cli/ResultsWriter/ResultsWriter.php b/src/ComposerRequireChecker/Cli/ResultsWriter/ResultsWriter.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e45d7e78
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/ComposerRequireChecker/Cli/ResultsWriter/ResultsWriter.php
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace ComposerRequireChecker\Cli\ResultsWriter;
+
+interface ResultsWriter
+{
+    /**
+     * @param array<array-key, list<string>> $unknownSymbols the unknown symbols found
+     */
+    public function write(array $unknownSymbols): void;
+}
diff --git a/test/ComposerRequireCheckerTest/Cli/CheckCommandTest.php b/test/ComposerRequireCheckerTest/Cli/CheckCommandTest.php
index ec9a4249..15be1368 100644
--- a/test/ComposerRequireCheckerTest/Cli/CheckCommandTest.php
+++ b/test/ComposerRequireCheckerTest/Cli/CheckCommandTest.php
@@ -15,9 +15,11 @@
 
 use function dirname;
 use function file_put_contents;
+use function json_decode;
 use function unlink;
 use function version_compare;
 
+use const JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR;
 use const PHP_VERSION;
 
 final class CheckCommandTest extends TestCase
@@ -75,6 +77,62 @@ public function testUnknownSymbolsFound(): void
         $this->assertStringContainsString('libxml_clear_errors', $display);
     }
 
+    public function testInvalidOutputOptionValue(): void
+    {
+        $this->expectException(InvalidArgumentException::class);
+        $this->expectExceptionMessage('Option "output" must be either of value "json", "text" or omitted altogether');
+
+        $this->commandTester->execute([
+            'composer-json' => dirname(__DIR__, 2) . '/fixtures/unknownSymbols/composer.json',
+            '--output' => '__invalid__',
+        ]);
+    }
+
+    public function testUnknownSymbolsFoundJsonReport(): void
+    {
+        $this->commandTester->execute([
+            'composer-json' => dirname(__DIR__, 2) . '/fixtures/unknownSymbols/composer.json',
+            '--output' => 'json',
+        ]);
+
+        $this->assertSame(Command::FAILURE, $this->commandTester->getStatusCode());
+        $display = $this->commandTester->getDisplay();
+
+        /** @var array{'unknown-symbols': array<array-key, list<string>>} $actual */
+        $actual = json_decode($display, true, JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR);
+
+        $this->assertSame(
+            [
+                'Doctrine\Common\Collections\ArrayCollection' => [],
+                'Example\Library\Dependency' => [],
+                'FILTER_VALIDATE_URL' => ['ext-filter'],
+                'filter_var' => ['ext-filter'],
+                'Foo\Bar\Baz' => [],
+                'libxml_clear_errors' => ['ext-libxml'],
+            ],
+            $actual['unknown-symbols']
+        );
+    }
+
+    public function testUnknownSymbolsFoundTextReport(): void
+    {
+        $this->commandTester->execute([
+            'composer-json' => dirname(__DIR__, 2) . '/fixtures/unknownSymbols/composer.json',
+            '--output' => 'text',
+        ]);
+
+        $this->assertSame(Command::FAILURE, $this->commandTester->getStatusCode());
+        $display = $this->commandTester->getDisplay();
+
+        $this->assertStringNotContainsString('The following 6 unknown symbols were found:', $display);
+        $this->assertStringContainsString('Doctrine\Common\Collections\ArrayCollection', $display);
+        $this->assertStringContainsString('Example\Library\Dependency', $display);
+        $this->assertStringContainsString('FILTER_VALIDATE_URL', $display);
+        $this->assertStringContainsString('filter_var', $display);
+        $this->assertStringContainsString('Foo\Bar\Baz', $display);
+        $this->assertStringContainsString('libxml_clear_errors', $display);
+    }
+
     public function testSelfCheckShowsNoErrors(): void
     {
         $this->commandTester->execute([
diff --git a/test/ComposerRequireCheckerTest/Cli/ResultsWriter/CliJsonTest.php b/test/ComposerRequireCheckerTest/Cli/ResultsWriter/CliJsonTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..107a27fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/ComposerRequireCheckerTest/Cli/ResultsWriter/CliJsonTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace ComposerRequireCheckerTest\Cli\ResultsWriter;
+
+use ComposerRequireChecker\Cli\ResultsWriter\CliJson;
+use DateTimeImmutable;
+use PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase;
+
+use function json_decode;
+
+use const JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR;
+
+final class CliJsonTest extends TestCase
+{
+    private CliJson $writer;
+    private string $output = '';
+
+    protected function setUp(): void
+    {
+        parent::setUp();
+
+        $this->writer = new CliJson(
+            function (string $string): void {
+                $this->output .= $string;
+            },
+            '0.0.1',
+            static fn () => new DateTimeImmutable('@0')
+        );
+    }
+
+    public function testWriteReport(): void
+    {
+        $this->writer->write([
+            'Foo' => [],
+            'opcache_get_status' => ['ext-opcache'],
+            'dummy' => ['ext-dummy', 'ext-other'],
+        ]);
+
+        $actual = json_decode($this->output, true, JSON_THROW_ON_ERROR);
+
+        self::assertSame(
+            [
+                '_meta' => [
+                    'composer-require-checker' => ['version' => '0.0.1'],
+                    'date' => '1970-01-01T00:00:00+00:00',
+                ],
+                'unknown-symbols' => [
+                    'Foo' => [],
+                    'opcache_get_status' => ['ext-opcache'],
+                    'dummy' => ['ext-dummy', 'ext-other'],
+                ],
+            ],
+            $actual
+        );
+    }
+}
diff --git a/test/ComposerRequireCheckerTest/Cli/ResultsWriter/CliTextTest.php b/test/ComposerRequireCheckerTest/Cli/ResultsWriter/CliTextTest.php
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1399c480
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/ComposerRequireCheckerTest/Cli/ResultsWriter/CliTextTest.php
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+<?php
+
+declare(strict_types=1);
+
+namespace ComposerRequireCheckerTest\Cli\ResultsWriter;
+
+use ComposerRequireChecker\Cli\ResultsWriter\CliText;
+use PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase;
+use Symfony\Component\Console\Output\BufferedOutput;
+use Symfony\Component\Console\Output\OutputInterface;
+
+use const PHP_EOL;
+
+final class CliTextTest extends TestCase
+{
+    private CliText $writer;
+    private BufferedOutput $output;
+
+    protected function setUp(): void
+    {
+        parent::setUp();
+
+        $this->output = new BufferedOutput();
+        $this->writer = new CliText($this->output);
+    }
+
+    public function testWriteReportNoUnknownSymbolsFound(): void
+    {
+        $this->writer->write([]);
+
+        self::assertSame('There were no unknown symbols found.' . PHP_EOL, $this->output->fetch());
+    }
+
+    public function testWriteReportWithUnknownSymbols(): void
+    {
+        $this->writer->write([
+            'Foo' => [],
+            'opcache_get_status' => ['ext-opcache'],
+            'dummy' => ['ext-dummy', 'ext-other'],
+        ]);
+
+        $buffer = $this->output->fetch();
+        self::assertStringContainsString('The following 3 unknown symbols were found:', $buffer);
+        self::assertStringContainsString('Foo', $buffer);
+        self::assertStringContainsString('| opcache_get_status', $buffer);
+        self::assertStringContainsString('| ext-opcache', $buffer);
+        self::assertStringContainsString('| dummy', $buffer);
+        self::assertStringContainsString('| ext-dummy', $buffer);
+        self::assertStringContainsString('| ext-other', $buffer);
+    }
+
+    public function testWriteReportQuiet(): void
+    {
+        $this->output->setVerbosity(OutputInterface::VERBOSITY_QUIET);
+
+        $this->writer->write([
+            'Foo' => [],
+            'opcache_get_status' => ['ext-opcache'],
+            'dummy' => ['ext-dummy', 'ext-other'],
+        ]);
+
+        $buffer = $this->output->fetch();
+        self::assertSame('', $buffer);
+    }
+
+    public function testWriteReportQuietWithWriteCallable(): void
+    {
+        $output = '';
+        $write  = static function (string $string) use (&$output): void {
+            $output .= $string;
+        };
+
+        $writer = new CliText($this->output, $write);
+        $writer->write([
+            'Foo' => [],
+            'opcache_get_status' => ['ext-opcache'],
+            'dummy' => ['ext-dummy', 'ext-other'],
+        ]);
+
+        $buffer = $this->output->fetch();
+        self::assertStringContainsString('The following 3 unknown symbols were found:', $buffer);
+        self::assertStringNotContainsString('Foo', $buffer);
+        self::assertStringContainsString('Foo', $output);
+        self::assertStringContainsString('| opcache_get_status', $output);
+        self::assertStringContainsString('| ext-opcache', $output);
+        self::assertStringContainsString('| dummy', $output);
+        self::assertStringContainsString('| ext-dummy', $output);
+        self::assertStringContainsString('| ext-other', $output);
+    }
+}