# Output formats

> Every command takes the same output flags, from the default table to JSON, an in-process jq filter, a Go template, CSV from the export commands, or nothing but an exit code.

Source: https://docs.levelfour.ai/cli/output-formats


Every command takes the same set of global output flags. With none of them you get a human-readable table, colored for the terminal.

| Flag               | Output                                             |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------- |
| (default)          | Human-readable, colored, table-formatted           |
| `--json`           | Pretty-printed JSON                                |
| `--jq <expr>`      | JSON filtered through a `jq` expression in-process |
| `--template <tpl>` | Output formatted with a Go `text/template`         |
| `--csv`            | CSV (only honored by `l4 export *` commands)       |
| `--quiet` / `-q`   | No output; the exit code is the signal             |
| `--no-color`       | Disable ANSI colors (also `NO_COLOR=1`)            |
| `--web` / `-w`     | Open the equivalent dashboard URL instead          |

> **Note**
>
> `--quiet` is mutually exclusive with `--json`, `--jq`, `--template` and `--csv`. Combining them is a usage error.

## `--json`

Use `--json` to pipe into another tool, or when you want a shape that will not move under you. The JSON envelope is the same shape returned by the underlying API:

```bash
l4 recommendations list --json
```

```json
{
  "data": {
    "success": true,
    "data": {
      "total_savings": 23545.31,
      "items": ["..."],
      "pagination": {
        "total_items": 204,
        "total_pages": 41,
        "current_page": 1,
        "page_size": 5,
        "has_next": true,
        "has_previous": false
      }
    },
    "timestamp": "2026-04-27T11:00:00Z"
  }
}
```

The values above are invented. The field names and their nesting are the ones the CLI emits, and [Pagination](/pagination) covers the envelope fields inside `data`.

JSON paths are stable across releases. Script against them.

## `--jq`

`--jq` filters the JSON output through an embedded `jq` expression in a single process. It runs faster than spawning `jq` separately, and it works where `jq` is not installed:

```bash
l4 recommendations list --jq '.data.data.items[] | {id: .recommendation_id, savings: .monthly_savings}'
```

Equivalent to:

```bash
l4 recommendations list --json | jq '.data.data.items[] | {id: .recommendation_id, savings: .monthly_savings}'
```

For complex multi-step pipelines (slurps, branches, table formatting), prefer the explicit pipe so each stage is debuggable. See [Recipes](/cli/recipes).

[Filtering and sorting](/guides/filtering-and-sorting) has the quirks worth knowing before you write one: what `--jq` will not do, and why the envelope path is not the same on every command.

## `--template`

Format the output with a Go `text/template` when a downstream tool wants a plain-text shape that is not quite CSV:

```bash
l4 costs summary --template '{{ range .data.providers }}{{ .provider_name }}: ${{ .monthly_spending }}/mo{{ "\n" }}{{ end }}'
```

## `--csv`

> **Warning**
>
> Only the `l4 export *` commands honor `--csv`. On other commands a warning is printed and the format falls back to the default, so redirecting one into a `.csv` leaves a table in the file.

Use `l4 export` for spreadsheet imports:

```bash
l4 export costs --period 90d --format csv > costs.csv
```

[`l4 export`](/cli/commands/export) has the rest, including `--out` and the recommendations export.

## `--quiet`

`--quiet` suppresses all stdout and stderr. Use it as a boolean check or as a CI guardrail:

```bash
l4 estimate --fail-above 500 -q ./infra/ && echo "Within budget" || echo "Over budget"
```

> **Note**
>
> `--quiet` prints nothing at all, on success and on failure alike, so read the result from `$?` against the [exit codes](/cli#exit-codes).

[`l4 estimate`](/cli/commands/estimate#ci-guardrail-pattern) has the CI guardrail this example comes from.

## `--web`

Skip the terminal output and open the equivalent page in the dashboard:

```bash
l4 recommendations view REC-001 --web
```

The CLI computes the dashboard URL by replacing `api.` with `dashboard.` in the active API base.

[`l4 recommendations view`](/cli/commands/recommendations) has the command this example comes from.

## `--no-color`

Either of these turns color off:

```bash
l4 costs summary --no-color
NO_COLOR=1 l4 costs summary
```

The CLI also drops color when stdout is not a TTY, piped or redirected, so neither case needs the flag.

## Next

* [Filtering and sorting](/guides/filtering-and-sorting) has the server-side filter flags, the TUI and the `--jq` surface in one place
* [Recipes](/cli/recipes) has the multi-step pipelines these flags feed
* [`l4 export`](/cli/commands/export) is where CSV comes from
* [CLI overview](/cli#exit-codes) has the exit codes `--quiet` leans on