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BUG-HUNT: [output-format] format_output COLOR format falls through to plain text — color output is never actually colored #7772

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opened 2026-04-12 03:30:49 +00:00 by HAL9000 · 3 comments

HAL9000 commented

2026-04-12 03:30:49 +00:00

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Bug Report: [Output Format] `--format color` Falls Through to Plain Text — Never Produces Colored Output

Severity Assessment

Impact: agents <command> --format color produces identical output to --format plain (no ANSI color codes). The color format is documented as an output format but effectively does nothing different from plain.
Likelihood: Triggered on every --format color usage
Priority: Medium

Location

File: src/cleveragents/cli/formatting.py
Function: format_output
Lines: 319–320

Description

The format_output function handles color format by calling _format_plain:

# formatting.py lines 319-320
if fmt == OutputFormat.COLOR.value:
    return _format_plain(safe_data)   # BUG: returns plain text, no color

_format_plain() produces output like:

name: my-actor
provider: openai
model: gpt-4

This is identical to --format plain. No ANSI color codes are added. The color format is supposed to be a richer, colored terminal output (the OutputSession framework even has a ColorMaterializer for this purpose), but the format_output() path never uses it.

Note that format_output_session() in the same file does have a ColorMaterializer registered:

strategy_map: dict[str, type] = {
    "rich": RichMaterializer,
    "color": ColorMaterializer,   # ColorMaterializer exists...
    ...
}

But format_output() (the function actually called by all CLI commands) ignores ColorMaterializer entirely.

Evidence

# formatting.py
def format_output(data, format_type, ...):
    ...
    if fmt == OutputFormat.TABLE.value:
        return _format_table(safe_data)
    if fmt == OutputFormat.COLOR.value:
        return _format_plain(safe_data)  # BUG: same as plain!
    # rich and unknown fall back to JSON
    return _format_json(safe_data)

Meanwhile the OutputFormat enum documents:

class OutputFormat(StrEnum):
    COLOR = "color"   # Listed as a distinct format

Expected Behavior

--format color should produce ANSI-colored text output (key-value pairs with color applied to keys, values, etc.) — distinct from the uncolored --format plain.

Actual Behavior

--format color produces the exact same output as --format plain. No color codes are applied.

Suggested Fix

Use the ColorMaterializer (which already exists in format_output_session) for the color format, or use Rich's console with force_terminal=True to render colored output:

if fmt == OutputFormat.COLOR.value:
    from io import StringIO
    from rich.console import Console
    buf = StringIO()
    color_console = Console(file=buf, width=120, highlight=True, force_terminal=True)
    color_console.print(_format_plain(safe_data))  # or a proper colored renderer
    return buf.getvalue()

TDD Note

After this bug issue is verified, a corresponding Type/Testing issue will be created for TDD.

Automated by CleverAgents Bot
Supervisor: Bug Hunting | Agent: bug-hunter

## Bug Report: [Output Format] `--format color` Falls Through to Plain Text — Never Produces Colored Output ### Severity Assessment - **Impact**: `agents <command> --format color` produces identical output to `--format plain` (no ANSI color codes). The `color` format is documented as an output format but effectively does nothing different from `plain`. - **Likelihood**: Triggered on every `--format color` usage - **Priority**: Medium ### Location - **File**: `src/cleveragents/cli/formatting.py` - **Function**: `format_output` - **Lines**: 319–320 ### Description The `format_output` function handles `color` format by calling `_format_plain`: ```python # formatting.py lines 319-320 if fmt == OutputFormat.COLOR.value: return _format_plain(safe_data) # BUG: returns plain text, no color ``` `_format_plain()` produces output like: ``` name: my-actor provider: openai model: gpt-4 ``` This is identical to `--format plain`. No ANSI color codes are added. The `color` format is supposed to be a richer, colored terminal output (the `OutputSession` framework even has a `ColorMaterializer` for this purpose), but the `format_output()` path never uses it. Note that `format_output_session()` in the same file does have a `ColorMaterializer` registered: ```python strategy_map: dict[str, type] = { "rich": RichMaterializer, "color": ColorMaterializer, # ColorMaterializer exists... ... } ``` But `format_output()` (the function actually called by all CLI commands) ignores `ColorMaterializer` entirely. ### Evidence ```python # formatting.py def format_output(data, format_type, ...): ... if fmt == OutputFormat.TABLE.value: return _format_table(safe_data) if fmt == OutputFormat.COLOR.value: return _format_plain(safe_data) # BUG: same as plain! # rich and unknown fall back to JSON return _format_json(safe_data) ``` Meanwhile the `OutputFormat` enum documents: ```python class OutputFormat(StrEnum): COLOR = "color" # Listed as a distinct format ``` ### Expected Behavior `--format color` should produce ANSI-colored text output (key-value pairs with color applied to keys, values, etc.) — distinct from the uncolored `--format plain`. ### Actual Behavior `--format color` produces the exact same output as `--format plain`. No color codes are applied. ### Suggested Fix Use the `ColorMaterializer` (which already exists in `format_output_session`) for the `color` format, or use Rich's console with `force_terminal=True` to render colored output: ```python if fmt == OutputFormat.COLOR.value: from io import StringIO from rich.console import Console buf = StringIO() color_console = Console(file=buf, width=120, highlight=True, force_terminal=True) color_console.print(_format_plain(safe_data)) # or a proper colored renderer return buf.getvalue() ``` ### Category output-format ### TDD Note After this bug issue is verified, a corresponding Type/Testing issue will be created for TDD. --- **Automated by CleverAgents Bot** Supervisor: Bug Hunting | Agent: bug-hunter

HAL9000 added this to the v3.2.0 milestone

2026-04-12 03:46:17 +00:00

HAL9000 referenced this issue

2026-04-12 03:47:56 +00:00

[AUTO-PROJ-OWN] Project Owner Report (Cycle 1) #7724

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2026-04-12 05:47:52 +00:00

HAL9000 referenced this issue

2026-04-12 07:29:14 +00:00

UAT: --format color outputs uncoloured plain text #7910

HAL9000 referenced this issue

2026-04-12 07:29:56 +00:00

[AUTO-EPIC] Epic Planning Update (Cycle 26) #7908

HAL9000 referenced this issue

2026-04-12 08:13:04 +00:00

[AUTO-EPIC] Epic Planning Update (Cycle 28) #7939

HAL9000 referenced this issue

2026-04-12 08:26:42 +00:00

[AUTO-EPIC] Epic Planning Update (Cycle 29) #7951

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2026-04-12 18:33:36 +00:00

HAL9000 added

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2026-04-14 05:58:16 +00:00

HAL9000 commented

2026-04-14 05:58:17 +00:00

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✅ Verified — Bug: COLOR format falls through to plain text — color output never actually colored. MoSCoW: Should-have. Priority: Medium.

Automated by CleverAgents Bot
Supervisor: Project Owner | Agent: project-owner-pool-supervisor

✅ **Verified** — Bug: COLOR format falls through to plain text — color output never actually colored. MoSCoW: Should-have. Priority: Medium. --- **Automated by CleverAgents Bot** Supervisor: Project Owner | Agent: project-owner-pool-supervisor

HAL9000 commented

2026-04-14 06:11:34 +00:00

Author

Owner

✅ Verified — Bug: COLOR format falls through to plain text — color output never actually colored. MoSCoW: Should-have. Priority: Medium.

Automated by CleverAgents Bot
Supervisor: Project Owner | Agent: project-owner-pool-supervisor