feat(miner): respect --json on CLI error paths

packages/gittensory-miner/lib/attempt-cli.js

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 // query (attempt-log.js's schema has no repo+issue index, and reenqueue counts aren't tracked anywhere yet).
 
 import { resolveCodingAgentModeFromConfig } from "@jsonbored/gittensory-engine";
+import { argsWantJson, describeCliError, reportCliFailure } from "./cli-error.js";
 import { constructProductionCodingAgentDriver } from "./coding-agent-construction.js";
 import { runSlopAssessment } from "./slop-assessment.js";
 import { fetchLiveIssueSnapshot } from "./live-issue-snapshot.js";
@@ -139,8 +140,7 @@ export function buildAttemptDeps(env, ledgers) {
 export async function runAttempt(args, options = {}) {
   const parsed = parseAttemptArgs(args);
   if ("error" in parsed) {
-    console.error(parsed.error);
-    return 2;
+    return reportCliFailure(argsWantJson(args), parsed.error);
   }
 
   const env = options.env ?? process.env;
@@ -149,10 +149,11 @@ export async function runAttempt(args, options = {}) {
   const mode = resolveMode({ env, agentDryRun: !parsed.live });
 
   if (mode === "paused") {
-    console.error(
+    return reportCliFailure(
+      parsed.json,
       `Coding-agent execution is globally paused (MINER_CODING_AGENT_PAUSED). Not running attempt for ${parsed.repoFullName}#${parsed.issueNumber}.`,
+      3,
     );
-    return 3;
   }
 
   const attemptId = options.attemptId ?? `${parsed.repoFullName.replace("/", "_")}-${parsed.issueNumber}-${nowMs}`;
@@ -222,9 +223,12 @@ export async function runAttempt(args, options = {}) {
       const buildDeps = options.buildAttemptDeps ?? buildAttemptDeps;
       deps = buildDeps(env, { claimLedger, eventLedger, attemptLog, governorLedger, nowMs });
     } catch (error) {
-      const reason = error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
-      console.error(`Attempt for ${parsed.repoFullName}#${parsed.issueNumber} is blocked: ${reason}`);
-      return 3;
+      const reason = describeCliError(error);
+      return reportCliFailure(
+        parsed.json,
+        `Attempt for ${parsed.repoFullName}#${parsed.issueNumber} is blocked: ${reason}`,
+        3,
+      );
     }
 
     // Real worktree preparation (repo-clone.js + attempt-worktree.js, #5237): the allocator above only
@@ -461,8 +465,7 @@ export async function runAttempt(args, options = {}) {
         return 2;
     }
   } catch (error) {
-    console.error(error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
-    return 2;
+    return reportCliFailure(parsed.json, describeCliError(error));
   } finally {
     // worktreeResult.attemptOk is set to the REAL runMinerAttempt outcome (submitted = true) once that call
     // happens; every earlier blocked path (rejection/worktree-prep-failure/infeasible) never sets it, since

packages/gittensory-miner/lib/calibration-cli.js

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { buildCalibrationReport } from "./calibration.js";
 import { initEventLedger, resolveEventLedgerDbPath } from "./event-ledger.js";
 import { MINER_PR_OUTCOME_EVENT } from "./pr-outcome.js";
 import { initPredictionLedger, resolvePredictionLedgerDbPath } from "./prediction-ledger.js";
+import { reportCliFailure, describeCliError } from "./cli-error.js";
 
 const CALIBRATION_USAGE = "Usage: gittensory-miner calibration [--json]";
 
@@ -67,22 +68,25 @@ export function runCalibrationCli(args = [], env = process.env) {
   const json = args.includes("--json");
   const unknown = args.find((token) => token.startsWith("-") && token !== "--json");
   if (unknown) {
-    console.error(`Unknown option: ${unknown}. ${CALIBRATION_USAGE}`);
-    return 1;
+    return reportCliFailure(json, `Unknown option: ${unknown}. ${CALIBRATION_USAGE}`, 1);
   }
 
-  const predictionStore = initPredictionLedger(resolvePredictionLedgerDbPath(env));
-  const eventLedger = initEventLedger(resolveEventLedgerDbPath(env));
+  let predictionStore;
+  let eventLedger;
   try {
+    predictionStore = initPredictionLedger(resolvePredictionLedgerDbPath(env));
+    eventLedger = initEventLedger(resolveEventLedgerDbPath(env));
     const report = buildCalibrationReport(
       toPredictionRecords(predictionStore.readPredictions()),
       toOutcomeRecords(eventLedger.readEvents()),
     );
     if (json) console.log(JSON.stringify(report, null, 2));
     else renderReportText(report);
     return 0;
+  } catch (error) {
+    return reportCliFailure(json, describeCliError(error));
   } finally {
-    predictionStore.close();
-    eventLedger.close();
+    predictionStore?.close();
+    eventLedger?.close();
   }
 }

packages/gittensory-miner/lib/claim-ledger-cli.js

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { CLAIM_STATUSES, openClaimLedger } from "./claim-ledger.js";
+import { argsWantJson, describeCliError, reportCliFailure } from "./cli-error.js";
 
 const CLAIM_CLAIM_USAGE =
   "Usage: gittensory-miner claim claim <owner/repo> <issue#> [--note <text>] [--json]";
@@ -183,8 +184,7 @@ function withClaimLedger(options, run) {
 export function runClaimClaim(args, options = {}) {
   const parsed = parseClaimClaimArgs(args);
   if ("error" in parsed) {
-    console.error(parsed.error);
-    return 2;
+    return reportCliFailure(argsWantJson(args), parsed.error);
   }
 
   try {
@@ -202,24 +202,21 @@ export function runClaimClaim(args, options = {}) {
       return 0;
     });
   } catch (error) {
-    console.error(error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
-    return 2;
+    return reportCliFailure(parsed.json, describeCliError(error));
   }
 }
 
 export function runClaimRelease(args, options = {}) {
   const parsed = parseClaimReleaseArgs(args);
   if ("error" in parsed) {
-    console.error(parsed.error);
-    return 2;
+    return reportCliFailure(argsWantJson(args), parsed.error);
   }
 
   try {
     return withClaimLedger(options, (claimLedger) => {
       const claim = claimLedger.releaseClaim(parsed.repoFullName, parsed.issueNumber);
       if (!claim) {
-        console.error("claim_not_found");
-        return 2;
+        return reportCliFailure(parsed.json, "claim_not_found");
       }
       if (parsed.json) {
         console.log(JSON.stringify({ claim }, null, 2));
@@ -229,16 +226,14 @@ export function runClaimRelease(args, options = {}) {
       return 0;
     });
   } catch (error) {
-    console.error(error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
-    return 2;
+    return reportCliFailure(parsed.json, describeCliError(error));
   }
 }
 
 export function runClaimList(args, options = {}) {
   const parsed = parseClaimListArgs(args);
   if ("error" in parsed) {
-    console.error(parsed.error);
-    return 2;
+    return reportCliFailure(argsWantJson(args), parsed.error);
   }
 
   try {
@@ -255,15 +250,13 @@ export function runClaimList(args, options = {}) {
       return 0;
     });
   } catch (error) {
-    console.error(error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
-    return 2;
+    return reportCliFailure(parsed.json, describeCliError(error));
   }
 }
 
 export function runClaimCli(subcommand, args, options = {}) {
   if (subcommand === "claim") return runClaimClaim(args, options);
   if (subcommand === "release") return runClaimRelease(args, options);
   if (subcommand === "list") return runClaimList(args, options);
-  console.error(`Unknown claim subcommand: ${subcommand ?? ""}. ${CLAIM_LIST_USAGE}`);
-  return 2;
+  return reportCliFailure(argsWantJson(args), `Unknown claim subcommand: ${subcommand ?? ""}. ${CLAIM_LIST_USAGE}`);
 }

packages/gittensory-miner/lib/cli-error.d.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+export function reportCliFailure(wantsJson: boolean, message: string, exitCode?: number): number;
+export function argsWantJson(args: readonly string[]): boolean;
+export function describeCliError(error: unknown): string;

packages/gittensory-miner/lib/cli-error.js

@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+/** Shared CLI failure output (#4836): when `--json` is set, emit a parseable `{ ok: false, error }` object on
+ *  stdout (matching each command's success-path JSON stream); otherwise log plain text to stderr. */
+
+/**
+ * @param {boolean} wantsJson
+ * @param {string} message
+ * @param {number} [exitCode]
+ * @returns {number}
+ */
+export function reportCliFailure(wantsJson, message, exitCode = 2) {
+  if (wantsJson) {
+    console.log(JSON.stringify({ ok: false, error: message }, null, 2));
+  } else {
+    console.error(message);
+  }
+  return exitCode;
+}
+
+/** True when argv includes `--json` (used on parse-error paths before a full parse result exists). */
+export function argsWantJson(args) {
+  return args.includes("--json");
+}
+
+/** Normalize a thrown value to a safe error string for CLI output. */
+export function describeCliError(error) {
+  return error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error);
+}

packages/gittensory-miner/lib/cli.js

@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
+import { argsWantJson, reportCliFailure } from "./cli-error.js";
+
 export function printVersion(input) {
   console.log(`${input.packageName}/${input.packageVersion} (node ${process.version})`);
 }
@@ -56,6 +58,6 @@ export function printHelp(input) {
 
 export function runCli(cliArgs, input) {
   const command = cliArgs[0] ?? "";
-  console.error(`Unknown command: ${command}. Run ${input.packageName} --help.`);
-  return 1;
+  const message = `Unknown command: ${command}. Run ${input.packageName} --help.`;
+  return reportCliFailure(argsWantJson(cliArgs), message, 1);
 }

packages/gittensory-miner/lib/deny-check.js

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { evaluateDenyHooks } from "./deny-hooks.js";
+import { argsWantJson, reportCliFailure } from "./cli-error.js";
 
 const DENY_CHECK_USAGE =
   "Usage: gittensory-miner hooks check --tool <name> --input <json> [--json]";
@@ -59,8 +60,7 @@ export function parseDenyCheckArgs(args) {
 export function runDenyCheck(args) {
   const parsed = parseDenyCheckArgs(args);
   if ("error" in parsed) {
-    console.error(parsed.error);
-    return 2;
+    return reportCliFailure(argsWantJson(args), parsed.error);
   }
 
   const verdict = evaluateDenyHooks({ name: parsed.tool, input: parsed.input });

packages/gittensory-miner/lib/discover-cli.js

@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import { initPolicyDocCacheStore } from "./policy-doc-cache.js";
 import { initPolicyVerdictCacheStore } from "./policy-verdict-cache.js";
 import { enqueueRankedDiscovery } from "./portfolio-discovery.js";
 import { initPortfolioQueueStore } from "./portfolio-queue.js";
+import { argsWantJson, describeCliError, reportCliFailure } from "./cli-error.js";
 
 const DISCOVER_USAGE =
   "Usage: gittensory-miner discover <owner/repo> [<owner/repo>...] | --search <query> [--json] [--api-base-url <url>] [--token-env <VAR>]";
@@ -138,8 +139,7 @@ export function renderDiscoverSummary(result) {
 export async function runDiscover(args, options = {}) {
   const parsed = parseDiscoverArgs(args);
   if ("error" in parsed) {
-    console.error(parsed.error);
-    return 2;
+    return reportCliFailure(argsWantJson(args), parsed.error);
   }
 
   // Credential env var is per-tenant (#4784): a `--token-env FORGE_PAT` flag (or `options.tokenEnv`) reads a
@@ -157,7 +157,12 @@ export async function runDiscover(args, options = {}) {
   const enqueue = options.enqueueRankedDiscovery ?? enqueueRankedDiscovery;
 
   const ownsPortfolioQueue = options.initPortfolioQueue === undefined;
-  const portfolioQueue = (options.initPortfolioQueue ?? initPortfolioQueueStore)();
+  let portfolioQueue;
+  try {
+    portfolioQueue = (options.initPortfolioQueue ?? initPortfolioQueueStore)();
+  } catch (error) {
+    return reportCliFailure(parsed.json, describeCliError(error));
+  }
 
   // Local ETag cache so a repeated discover revalidates each repo's policy docs with a conditional GET instead of
   // re-downloading them (#4842). Opened inside its OWN try/catch, separate from the portfolio queue above: the
@@ -222,10 +227,9 @@ export async function runDiscover(args, options = {}) {
     }
     return 0;
   } catch (error) {
-    console.error(error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
-    return 2;
+    return reportCliFailure(parsed.json, describeCliError(error));
   } finally {
-    if (ownsPortfolioQueue) portfolioQueue.close();
+    if (ownsPortfolioQueue && portfolioQueue) portfolioQueue.close();
     if (ownsPolicyDocCache && policyDocCache) policyDocCache.close();
     if (ownsPolicyVerdictCache && policyVerdictCache) policyVerdictCache.close();
   }

packages/gittensory-miner/lib/event-ledger-cli.js

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { initEventLedger } from "./event-ledger.js";
+import { argsWantJson, describeCliError, reportCliFailure } from "./cli-error.js";
 
 const LEDGER_LIST_USAGE =
   "Usage: gittensory-miner ledger list [--repo <owner/repo>] [--since <seq>] [--type <eventType>] [--json]";
@@ -217,8 +218,7 @@ function withEventLedger(options, run) {
 export function runLedgerList(args, options = {}) {
   const parsed = parseLedgerListArgs(args);
   if ("error" in parsed) {
-    console.error(parsed.error);
-    return 2;
+    return reportCliFailure(argsWantJson(args), parsed.error);
   }
 
   try {
@@ -238,15 +238,13 @@ export function runLedgerList(args, options = {}) {
       return 0;
     });
   } catch (error) {
-    console.error(error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
-    return 2;
+    return reportCliFailure(parsed.json, describeCliError(error));
   }
 }
 
 export function runLedgerMetrics(args, options = {}) {
   if (args.length > 0) {
-    console.error(EVENT_LEDGER_METRICS_USAGE);
-    return 2;
+    return reportCliFailure(argsWantJson(args), EVENT_LEDGER_METRICS_USAGE);
   }
 
   try {
@@ -257,14 +255,12 @@ export function runLedgerMetrics(args, options = {}) {
       return 0;
     });
   } catch (error) {
-    console.error(error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
-    return 2;
+    return reportCliFailure(argsWantJson(args), describeCliError(error));
   }
 }
 
 export function runLedgerCli(subcommand, args, options = {}) {
   if (subcommand === "list") return runLedgerList(args, options);
   if (subcommand === "metrics") return runLedgerMetrics(args, options);
-  console.error(`Unknown ledger subcommand: ${subcommand ?? ""}. ${LEDGER_LIST_USAGE}`);
-  return 2;
+  return reportCliFailure(argsWantJson(args), `Unknown ledger subcommand: ${subcommand ?? ""}. ${LEDGER_LIST_USAGE}`);
 }

packages/gittensory-miner/lib/feasibility-cli.js

@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
  * `buildFeasibilityVerdict` composer. Purely local — no network, no filesystem — so it never needs the
  * npm-registry update check other subcommands opt into. */
 import { buildFeasibilityVerdict } from "@jsonbored/gittensory-engine";
+import { argsWantJson, reportCliFailure } from "./cli-error.js";
 
 const CLAIM_STATUSES = ["unclaimed", "claimed", "solved", "unknown"];
 const DUPLICATE_CLUSTER_RISKS = ["none", "low", "medium", "high"];
@@ -59,8 +60,7 @@ export function parseFeasibilityArgs(args) {
 export function runFeasibilityCli(args, options = {}) {
   const parsed = parseFeasibilityArgs(args);
   if ("error" in parsed) {
-    console.error(parsed.error);
-    return 2;
+    return reportCliFailure(argsWantJson(args), parsed.error);
   }
 
   const buildVerdict = options.buildFeasibilityVerdict ?? buildFeasibilityVerdict;

packages/gittensory-miner/lib/governor-ledger-cli.js

@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 /** Must match `GOVERNOR_LEDGER_EVENT_TYPES` in `@jsonbored/gittensory-engine`. */
+import { argsWantJson, describeCliError, reportCliFailure } from "./cli-error.js";
+
 const GOVERNOR_LEDGER_EVENT_TYPES = Object.freeze([
   "allowed",
   "denied",
@@ -109,8 +111,7 @@ async function withGovernorLedger(options, run) {
 export async function runGovernorList(args, options = {}) {
   const parsed = parseGovernorListArgs(args);
   if ("error" in parsed) {
-    console.error(parsed.error);
-    return 2;
+    return reportCliFailure(argsWantJson(args), parsed.error);
   }
 
   try {
@@ -129,13 +130,11 @@ export async function runGovernorList(args, options = {}) {
       return 0;
     });
   } catch (error) {
-    console.error(error instanceof Error ? error.message : String(error));
-    return 2;
+    return reportCliFailure(parsed.json, describeCliError(error));
   }
 }
 
 export async function runGovernorCli(subcommand, args, options = {}) {
   if (subcommand === "list") return runGovernorList(args, options);
-  console.error(`Unknown governor subcommand: ${subcommand ?? ""}. ${GOVERNOR_LIST_USAGE}`);
-  return 2;
+  return reportCliFailure(argsWantJson(args), `Unknown governor subcommand: ${subcommand ?? ""}. ${GOVERNOR_LIST_USAGE}`);
 }