Output Formats

Output formats — one model, many formats

Default Serialize(...) emits Markdown. Pass a formatter (and optional MarkoutWriterOptions) to get other formats. The anti-pattern is per-format string building (string.Join("\t", ...)); let Markout project the same model to each format so columns/headers stay consistent.

Formatters

MarkoutSerializer.Serialize(r, Console.Out, ctx);                              // Markdown (default)
MarkoutSerializer.Serialize(r, Console.Out, new MarkdownFormatter(), ctx);     // Markdown, explicit
MarkoutSerializer.Serialize(r, Console.Out, new PlainTextFormatter(), ctx);    // plain text / logs (ASCII, no pipes)
MarkoutSerializer.Serialize(r, Console.Out, new UnicodeFormatter(), ctx);      // Unicode box-drawing tables
MarkoutSerializer.Serialize(r, Console.Out, new TableFormatter(), ctx);        // compact pretty rows

using Markout.Ansi.Spectre;                                                    // extra package
MarkoutSerializer.Serialize(r, Console.Out, new SpectreFormatter(AnsiConsole.Console), ctx); // ANSI

Markout.Ansi.Spectre is a separate NuGet package; Markdown/plain/table/TSV/JSONL need only Markout.

TableFormatter modes + writer options

TableFormatter + MarkoutWriterOptions.TableMode selects the tabular shape:

var opts = new MarkoutWriterOptions
{
    TableMode = MarkoutTableMode.Tsv,          // Pretty | Tsv | Jsonl
    IncludeDescription = false,
    IncludeSections = new HashSet<string> { "Results" },
    JsonTypedValues = true,                    // JSONL/TSV: emit numbers as numbers, not quoted
    MaxItems = 3,                              // cap rows; appends a "... and {N} more" notice
};
MarkoutSerializer.Serialize(report, Console.Out, new TableFormatter(), ctx, opts);

• MarkoutTableMode.Pretty — columns aligned to a uniform start position.
• MarkoutTableMode.Tsv — stable snake_case headers; never emits embedded tabs/newlines in cells.
• MarkoutTableMode.Jsonl — one record per row (heterogeneous keys; see composite-cells-cards).
• MaxItems = N caps EVERY table to N rows and appends ... and {count} more; works with any formatter, so a Markdown view can show the first N rows while TSV/JSONL export them all. (Or per-property: [MarkoutMaxItems(3)], with an optional EllipsisFormat.)

Central multi-format dispatch (the CLI --format pattern)

Route one model through one method so every command gets every format for free:

static void Render<TView, TJson>(TView view, OutputFormat fmt, MarkoutSerializerContext ctx)
{
    switch (fmt)
    {
        case OutputFormat.Text:  MarkoutSerializer.Serialize(view, Console.Out, new PlainTextFormatter(), ctx); break;
        case OutputFormat.Md:    MarkoutSerializer.Serialize(view, Console.Out, new MarkdownFormatter(), ctx,
                                     new MarkoutWriterOptions { MaxItems = 3 }); break;   // first 3 rows + "... and N more"
        case OutputFormat.Table: MarkoutSerializer.Serialize(view, Console.Out, new TableFormatter(), ctx); break;
        case OutputFormat.Tsv:   MarkoutSerializer.Serialize(view, Console.Out, new TableFormatter(), ctx,
                                     new MarkoutWriterOptions { TableMode = MarkoutTableMode.Tsv }); break;
        case OutputFormat.Jsonl: MarkoutSerializer.Serialize(view, Console.Out, new TableFormatter(), ctx,
                                     new MarkoutWriterOptions { TableMode = MarkoutTableMode.Jsonl, JsonTypedValues = true }); break;
    }
}

If a format needs byte-exact output (e.g. a verbatim packet), bypass Markout for that one case and keep Markout for the structured formats — don't try to force it.

Format promises (rely on these)

• Markdown table cells normalize | to | (not \|).
• TSV uses stable snake_case headers and never embeds tabs/newlines in cells.
• Pretty renders the same projection as TSV, aligned.

Guardrails

• One model → many formats; never hand-assemble TSV/JSONL rows.
• Reach for IncludeSections/IncludeDescription to trim exports rather than a second model.
• Spectre/ANSI needs the Markout.Ansi.Spectre package; the rest do not.