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Add machine-readable --json flag to query and inspection commands #63

Description

@jon-devlapaz

Problem

Tink CLI commands such as tink inspect <URL>, tink skill list, tink skillset list, and tink library list output human-targeted text or TSV tables.

For AI agents and automated tooling, parsing unstructured or tabular CLI output is brittle:

  • Parsing tink inspect requires regex or indentation scraping to extract candidates, SHAs, and member paths.
  • TSV tables require splitting and escaping handling.
  • Any change to human CLI formatting risks breaking agent workflows.

Proposed change

Add a --json flag to read and query operations:

  • tink inspect <URL> --json: outputs structured JSON containing repository URL, boundary, resolved commit SHA, standalone skills, and skillset candidates with member lists.
  • tink skill list --json: outputs installed skills, versions, and paths.
  • tink skillset list [--library] --json: outputs installed/library skillsets, members, and status.
  • tink library list --json: outputs available library skills and provenance.

Acceptance

  • --json flag emits valid, deterministic JSON on stdout.
  • Errors during JSON execution emit structured JSON error objects on stderr/stdout when --json is active.
  • Output schema covers all fields rendered in human-readable output.

Activity

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