fix(cli): keep json preflight stdout machine-readable

src/cli/program/config-guard.test.ts

@@ -34,10 +34,10 @@ describe("ensureConfigReady", () => {
     return await import("./config-guard.js");
   }
 
-  async function runEnsureConfigReady(commandPath: string[]) {
+  async function runEnsureConfigReady(commandPath: string[], suppressDoctorStdout = false) {
     const runtime = makeRuntime();
     const { ensureConfigReady } = await loadEnsureConfigReady();
-    await ensureConfigReady({ runtime: runtime as never, commandPath });
+    await ensureConfigReady({ runtime: runtime as never, commandPath, suppressDoctorStdout });
     return runtime;
   }
 
@@ -100,4 +100,43 @@ describe("ensureConfigReady", () => {
 
     expect(loadAndMaybeMigrateDoctorConfigMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
   });
+
+  it("still runs doctor flow when stdout suppression is enabled", async () => {
+    await runEnsureConfigReady(["message"], true);
+    expect(loadAndMaybeMigrateDoctorConfigMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it("prevents preflight stdout noise when suppression is enabled", async () => {
+    const stdoutWrites: string[] = [];
+    const writeSpy = vi.spyOn(process.stdout, "write").mockImplementation(((chunk: unknown) => {
+      stdoutWrites.push(String(chunk));
+      return true;
+    }) as typeof process.stdout.write);
+    loadAndMaybeMigrateDoctorConfigMock.mockImplementation(async () => {
+      process.stdout.write("Doctor warnings\n");
+    });
+    try {
+      await runEnsureConfigReady(["message"], true);
+      expect(stdoutWrites.join("")).not.toContain("Doctor warnings");
+    } finally {
+      writeSpy.mockRestore();
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("allows preflight stdout noise when suppression is not enabled", async () => {
+    const stdoutWrites: string[] = [];
+    const writeSpy = vi.spyOn(process.stdout, "write").mockImplementation(((chunk: unknown) => {
+      stdoutWrites.push(String(chunk));
+      return true;
+    }) as typeof process.stdout.write);
+    loadAndMaybeMigrateDoctorConfigMock.mockImplementation(async () => {
+      process.stdout.write("Doctor warnings\n");
+    });
+    try {
+      await runEnsureConfigReady(["message"], false);
+      expect(stdoutWrites.join("")).toContain("Doctor warnings");
+    } finally {
+      writeSpy.mockRestore();
+    }
+  });
 });

src/cli/program/config-guard.ts

@@ -39,14 +39,27 @@ async function getConfigSnapshot() {
 export async function ensureConfigReady(params: {
   runtime: RuntimeEnv;
   commandPath?: string[];
+  suppressDoctorStdout?: boolean;
 }): Promise<void> {
   const commandPath = params.commandPath ?? [];
   if (!didRunDoctorConfigFlow && shouldMigrateStateFromPath(commandPath)) {
     didRunDoctorConfigFlow = true;
-    await loadAndMaybeMigrateDoctorConfig({
+    const runDoctorConfigFlow = async () =>
+      loadAndMaybeMigrateDoctorConfig({
         options: { nonInteractive: true },
         confirm: async () => false,
       });
+    if (!params.suppressDoctorStdout) {
+      await runDoctorConfigFlow();
+    } else {
+      const originalStdoutWrite = process.stdout.write;
+      process.stdout.write = ((() => true) as unknown) as typeof process.stdout.write;
+      try {
+        await runDoctorConfigFlow();
+      } finally {
+        process.stdout.write = originalStdoutWrite;
+      }
+    }
   }
 
   const snapshot = await getConfigSnapshot();

src/cli/program/preaction.test.ts

@@ -78,7 +78,18 @@ describe("registerPreActionHooks", () => {
     program.command("doctor").action(async () => {});
     program.command("completion").action(async () => {});
     program.command("secrets").action(async () => {});
-    program.command("update").action(async () => {});
+    program
+      .command("update")
+      .command("status")
+      .option("--json")
+      .action(async () => {});
+    const config = program.command("config");
+    config
+      .command("set")
+      .argument("<path>")
+      .argument("<value>")
+      .option("--json")
+      .action(async () => {});
     program.command("channels").action(async () => {});
     program.command("directory").action(async () => {});
     program.command("agents").action(async () => {});
@@ -87,6 +98,7 @@ describe("registerPreActionHooks", () => {
     program
       .command("message")
       .command("send")
+      .option("--json")
       .action(async () => {});
     registerPreActionHooks(program, "9.9.9-test");
     return program;
@@ -194,4 +206,46 @@ describe("registerPreActionHooks", () => {
     expect(emitCliBannerMock).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
     expect(ensureConfigReadyMock).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
   });
+
+  it("suppresses doctor stdout for any --json output command", async () => {
+    await runCommand({
+      parseArgv: ["message", "send", "--json"],
+      processArgv: ["node", "openclaw", "message", "send", "--json"],
+    });
+
+    expect(ensureConfigReadyMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      runtime: runtimeMock,
+      commandPath: ["message", "send"],
+      suppressDoctorStdout: true,
+    });
+
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+
+    await runCommand({
+      parseArgv: ["update", "status", "--json"],
+      processArgv: ["node", "openclaw", "update", "status", "--json"],
+    });
+
+    expect(ensureConfigReadyMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      runtime: runtimeMock,
+      commandPath: ["update", "status"],
+      suppressDoctorStdout: true,
+    });
+  });
+
+  it("does not treat config set --json (strict-parse alias) as json output mode", async () => {
+    await runCommand({
+      parseArgv: ["config", "set", "gateway.auth.mode", "{bad", "--json"],
+      processArgv: ["node", "openclaw", "config", "set", "gateway.auth.mode", "{bad", "--json"],
+    });
+
+    const firstCall = ensureConfigReadyMock.mock.calls[0]?.[0] as
+      | { suppressDoctorStdout?: boolean }
+      | undefined;
+    expect(firstCall?.suppressDoctorStdout).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(ensureConfigReadyMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      runtime: runtimeMock,
+      commandPath: ["config", "set"],
+    });
+  });
 });

src/cli/program/preaction.ts

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { setVerbose } from "../../globals.js";
 import { isTruthyEnvValue } from "../../infra/env.js";
 import type { LogLevel } from "../../logging/levels.js";
 import { defaultRuntime } from "../../runtime.js";
-import { getCommandPath, getVerboseFlag, hasHelpOrVersion } from "../argv.js";
+import { getCommandPath, getVerboseFlag, hasFlag, hasHelpOrVersion } from "../argv.js";
 import { emitCliBanner } from "../banner.js";
 import { resolveCliName } from "../cli-name.js";
 
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ const PLUGIN_REQUIRED_COMMANDS = new Set([
   "onboard",
 ]);
 const CONFIG_GUARD_BYPASS_COMMANDS = new Set(["doctor", "completion", "secrets"]);
+const JSON_PARSE_ONLY_COMMANDS = new Set(["config set"]);
 
 function getRootCommand(command: Command): Command {
   let current = command;
@@ -51,6 +52,17 @@ function getCliLogLevel(actionCommand: Command): LogLevel | undefined {
   return typeof logLevel === "string" ? (logLevel as LogLevel) : undefined;
 }
 
+function isJsonOutputMode(commandPath: string[], argv: string[]): boolean {
+  if (!hasFlag(argv, "--json")) {
+    return false;
+  }
+  const key = `${commandPath[0] ?? ""} ${commandPath[1] ?? ""}`.trim();
+  if (JSON_PARSE_ONLY_COMMANDS.has(key)) {
+    return false;
+  }
+  return true;
+}
+
 export function registerPreActionHooks(program: Command, programVersion: string) {
   program.hook("preAction", async (_thisCommand, actionCommand) => {
     setProcessTitleForCommand(actionCommand);
@@ -79,8 +91,13 @@ export function registerPreActionHooks(program: Command, programVersion: string)
     if (CONFIG_GUARD_BYPASS_COMMANDS.has(commandPath[0])) {
       return;
     }
+    const suppressDoctorStdout = isJsonOutputMode(commandPath, argv);
     const { ensureConfigReady } = await import("./config-guard.js");
-    await ensureConfigReady({ runtime: defaultRuntime, commandPath });
+    await ensureConfigReady({
+      runtime: defaultRuntime,
+      commandPath,
+      ...(suppressDoctorStdout ? { suppressDoctorStdout: true } : {}),
+    });
     // Load plugins for commands that need channel access
     if (PLUGIN_REQUIRED_COMMANDS.has(commandPath[0])) {
       const { ensurePluginRegistryLoaded } = await import("../plugin-registry.js");

src/cli/route.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+const emitCliBannerMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn());
+const ensureConfigReadyMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn(async () => {}));
+const ensurePluginRegistryLoadedMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn());
+const findRoutedCommandMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn());
+const runRouteMock = vi.hoisted(() => vi.fn(async () => true));
+
+vi.mock("./banner.js", () => ({
+  emitCliBanner: emitCliBannerMock,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("./program/config-guard.js", () => ({
+  ensureConfigReady: ensureConfigReadyMock,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("./plugin-registry.js", () => ({
+  ensurePluginRegistryLoaded: ensurePluginRegistryLoadedMock,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("./program/routes.js", () => ({
+  findRoutedCommand: findRoutedCommandMock,
+}));
+
+vi.mock("../runtime.js", () => ({
+  defaultRuntime: { error: vi.fn(), log: vi.fn(), exit: vi.fn() },
+}));
+
+describe("tryRouteCli", () => {
+  let tryRouteCli: typeof import("./route.js").tryRouteCli;
+  let originalDisableRouteFirst: string | undefined;
+
+  beforeEach(async () => {
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+    originalDisableRouteFirst = process.env.OPENCLAW_DISABLE_ROUTE_FIRST;
+    delete process.env.OPENCLAW_DISABLE_ROUTE_FIRST;
+    vi.resetModules();
+    ({ tryRouteCli } = await import("./route.js"));
+    findRoutedCommandMock.mockReturnValue({
+      loadPlugins: false,
+      run: runRouteMock,
+    });
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    if (originalDisableRouteFirst === undefined) {
+      delete process.env.OPENCLAW_DISABLE_ROUTE_FIRST;
+    } else {
+      process.env.OPENCLAW_DISABLE_ROUTE_FIRST = originalDisableRouteFirst;
+    }
+  });
+
+  it("passes suppressDoctorStdout=true for routed --json commands", async () => {
+    await expect(tryRouteCli(["node", "openclaw", "status", "--json"])).resolves.toBe(true);
+
+    expect(ensureConfigReadyMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        commandPath: ["status"],
+        suppressDoctorStdout: true,
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("does not pass suppressDoctorStdout for routed non-json commands", async () => {
+    await expect(tryRouteCli(["node", "openclaw", "status"])).resolves.toBe(true);
+
+    expect(ensureConfigReadyMock).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        commandPath: ["status"],
+      }),
+    );
+    const firstCall = ensureConfigReadyMock.mock.calls[0]?.[0] as
+      | { suppressDoctorStdout?: boolean }
+      | undefined;
+    expect(firstCall?.suppressDoctorStdout).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+});

src/cli/route.ts

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 import { isTruthyEnvValue } from "../infra/env.js";
 import { defaultRuntime } from "../runtime.js";
 import { VERSION } from "../version.js";
-import { getCommandPath, hasHelpOrVersion } from "./argv.js";
+import { getCommandPath, hasFlag, hasHelpOrVersion } from "./argv.js";
 import { emitCliBanner } from "./banner.js";
 import { ensurePluginRegistryLoaded } from "./plugin-registry.js";
 import { ensureConfigReady } from "./program/config-guard.js";
@@ -12,8 +12,13 @@ async function prepareRoutedCommand(params: {
   commandPath: string[];
   loadPlugins?: boolean | ((argv: string[]) => boolean);
 }) {
+  const suppressDoctorStdout = hasFlag(params.argv, "--json");
   emitCliBanner(VERSION, { argv: params.argv });
-  await ensureConfigReady({ runtime: defaultRuntime, commandPath: params.commandPath });
+  await ensureConfigReady({
+    runtime: defaultRuntime,
+    commandPath: params.commandPath,
+    ...(suppressDoctorStdout ? { suppressDoctorStdout: true } : {}),
+  });
   const shouldLoadPlugins =
     typeof params.loadPlugins === "function" ? params.loadPlugins(params.argv) : params.loadPlugins;
   if (shouldLoadPlugins) {

test/cli-json-stdout.e2e.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import { spawnSync } from "node:child_process";
+import fs from "node:fs/promises";
+import path from "node:path";
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+import { withTempHome } from "./helpers/temp-home.ts";
+
+describe("cli json stdout contract", () => {
+  it("keeps `update status --json` stdout parseable even with legacy doctor preflight inputs", async () => {
+    await withTempHome(
+      async (tempHome) => {
+        const legacyDir = path.join(tempHome, ".clawdbot");
+        await fs.mkdir(legacyDir, { recursive: true });
+        await fs.writeFile(path.join(legacyDir, "clawdbot.json"), "{}", "utf8");
+
+        const env = {
+          ...process.env,
+          HOME: tempHome,
+          USERPROFILE: tempHome,
+          OPENCLAW_TEST_FAST: "1",
+        };
+        delete env.OPENCLAW_HOME;
+        delete env.OPENCLAW_STATE_DIR;
+        delete env.OPENCLAW_CONFIG_PATH;
+        delete env.VITEST;
+
+        const entry = path.resolve(process.cwd(), "openclaw.mjs");
+        const result = spawnSync(
+          process.execPath,
+          [entry, "update", "status", "--json", "--timeout", "1"],
+          { cwd: process.cwd(), env, encoding: "utf8" },
+        );
+
+        expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+        const stdout = result.stdout.trim();
+        expect(stdout.length).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+        expect(() => JSON.parse(stdout)).not.toThrow();
+        expect(stdout).not.toContain("Doctor warnings");
+        expect(stdout).not.toContain("Doctor changes");
+        expect(stdout).not.toContain("Config invalid");
+      },
+      { prefix: "openclaw-json-e2e-" },
+    );
+  });
+});