Max Columns

Max Columns

Honor the requested column budget.

• Use the argument or user-stated N as the layout budget; preserve meaning and machine syntax when an indivisible atom cannot fit.
• Keep wrappable lines at or below N display columns; account for wide Unicode and tabs when relevant.
• Wrap prose early and prefer short bullets.
• Prefer vertical layouts over side-by-side layouts or wide tables.
• Wrap code/commands only at syntactically valid boundaries. Never insert breaks into identifiers, URLs, string values or machine-consumed records that change their meaning.
• If something cannot fit without losing meaning, say so briefly and give the narrowest useful version.

Non-goals: changing content or adding a formatter dependency. Must not: corrupt syntax to meet width. Choose valid layouts autonomously; disclose an indivisible overlong atom and preserve it intact. Completion: readable output at the selected width except explicitly identified syntax/meaning-preserving exceptions.