Terminal table vs JSON output

Compare human-readable terminal tables with JSON output for vibestats reporting and automation.

Intent

Comparison

Focus

These outputs solve different downstream problems.

Next step

Open the command reference

Highlights

Terminal tables and JSON output solve different reporting jobs.
Choose terminal tables for operator speed and scanning. Choose JSON when the next step is another tool, not another human.
vibestats works best when you want local, repeatable reporting around actual AI coding usage.

Relevant commands

npx vibestats --totalnpx vibestats --json

Comparison

Dimension	Left side	Right side
Best for	Quick human review in the terminal.	Scripts, agents, dashboards, and pipelines.
Speed	Faster when you only need to inspect the result.	Better when another system consumes the result.
Tradeoff	Readable, but harder to automate.	Flexible, but less pleasant for eyeballing.

Where Terminal tables wins

Best for: Quick human review in the terminal. Speed: Faster when you only need to inspect the result. Tradeoff: Readable, but harder to automate.

Where JSON output wins

Best for: Scripts, agents, dashboards, and pipelines. Speed: Better when another system consumes the result. Tradeoff: Flexible, but less pleasant for eyeballing.

Decision rule

Choose terminal tables for operator speed and scanning. Choose JSON when the next step is another tool, not another human.

FAQ

Should I choose Terminal tables or JSON output?

Choose terminal tables for operator speed and scanning. Choose JSON when the next step is another tool, not another human.

Is this comparison about replacing everything with one report?

No. Most teams need more than one reporting view. The useful comparison is about which view answers which question, and when vibestats should be part of the stack.

Continue by intent

View all compare

features json-and-automation-exportsOpen the related vibestats page and continue the workflow from there.use-cases engineering-managersOpen the related vibestats page and continue the workflow from there.guides how-to-compare-model-usageOpen the related vibestats page and continue the workflow from there.