Provide a way to write machine-readable output to stdout for `pack`

Metadata

Project: craft-application
Number: #434
Type: issue
State: open
Author: lengau
Labels: —
Created: 2024-08-28 04:07 PM UTC
Updated: 2025-05-23 05:26 PM UTC
Closed: —

Current evaluation

Feature request for an opt-in machine-readable (JSON) output option for the pack command, plus docs so craft apps can expose the same for their own commands. Unimplemented at current HEAD; no labels or comments.

Suggested action: needs triage

Reason: The issue has no labels, no comments, and no assignee, showing no sign of categorisation or prioritisation despite being filed by a maintainer. The feature is confirmed unimplemented: PackCommand in craft_application/commands/lifecycle.py still only emits human-readable 'Packed ...' messages, and no commit or related issue addresses JSON output. The project remains active (recent commits #1168, #1164), so it is not stale enough to close, but it needs triage to be prioritised.

Impact: 40 Quick Win: 22.0 Staleness: 65 Complexity: 45 Confidence: 75 Support Request: 5

Issue body

### What needs to get done As an opt-in (probably CLI argument, but maybe also available by environment variable), allow the user to get a JSON output of the packed objects for `pack` rather than the human-readable final message. Document how this is done so applications can do the same thing for their own commands. ### Why it needs to get done Makes it easier to use craft apps within scripts.

Evaluation history

Date	Model	Scores	Action	Summary
2026-09-01 04:12 AM UTC	qwen/qwen3.8-27b	Impact: 40 Quick Win: 22.0 Staleness: 65 Complexity: 45 Confidence: 75 Support Request: 5	needs triage	Feature request for an opt-in machine-readable (JSON) output option for the pack command, plus docs so craft apps can expose the same for their own commands. Unimplemented at current HEAD; no labels or comments.
2026-07-22 12:16 PM UTC	qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b	Staleness: 90 Complexity: 35 Confidence: 80 Support Request: 10	needs triage	Request to add a JSON output flag to the pack command for scripting. Currently unlabelled with no maintainer comments or activity for over a year, awaiting triage.
2026-07-08 11:43 PM UTC	qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6	Staleness: 80 Complexity: 20 Confidence: 60 Support Request: 10	needs triage	Feature request to add a JSON output flag to the pack CLI command for easier scripting. The issue has no maintainer comments, labels, or assignee after 18 months of inactivity.
2026-06-17 08:09 AM UTC	qwen3.6-35b-a3b-mtp-q6	Staleness: 75 Complexity: 20 Confidence: 65 Support Request: 10	needs triage	Proposes adding an opt-in flag or environment variable to the pack command for machine-readable JSON output, enabling better script integration. Open, zero comments, inactive for 268 days. Requires triage and assignment.

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