fix: make piped output human-readable instead of raw CommonMark

[BYK]

Problem

When piping sentry output to less or other programs, the output was either:

1. Raw ANSI escape codes when FORCE_COLOR=1 is set (common in VS Code terminals)
2. Raw CommonMark syntax (| --- |, **bold**, [link](url)) — unreadable in a pager

Solution

FORCE_COLOR fix

isPlainOutput() now ignores FORCE_COLOR when stdout is piped (not a TTY). Users who want color in pipes can use SENTRY_PLAIN_OUTPUT=0.

Plain output is now human-readable

Instead of raw CommonMark, plain mode now renders structured, readable text:

• renderMarkdown() — parses markdown → renders with formatting (headings, aligned tables, lists) → strips ANSI
• formatTable() — uses renderTextTable() with box-drawing borders instead of CommonMark pipe syntax
• renderInlineMarkdown() — strips markdown syntax (**bold** → bold, [text](url) → text, \code`→code`)
• terminalLink() — returns plain text (no OSC 8 sequences) when piped
• Footer/hints — use plainSafeMuted() to skip ANSI when piped

Architecture

isPlainOutput() extracted to src/lib/formatters/plain-detect.ts to avoid circular dependency between markdown.ts and colors.ts. Re-exported from markdown.ts for backward compatibility.

Before / After

Before (piped to less):

| SHORT ID | ISSUE | SEEN | AGE |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [CLI-3B](https://sentry.io/...) | **ContextError: Org required.** |

After:

╭──────────┬───────────────────────────┬───────┬────────╮
│ SHORT ID │ ISSUE                     │ SEEN  │ AGE    │
├──────────┼───────────────────────────┼───────┼────────┤
│ CLI-3B   │ ContextError: Org required│ 3m    │ Feb 6  │
╰──────────┴───────────────────────────┴───────┴────────╯

[github-actions]

Semver Impact of This PR

🟢 Patch (bug fixes)

📋 Changelog Preview

This is how your changes will appear in the changelog.
Entries from this PR are highlighted with a left border (blockquote style).

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New Features ✨

• (span) Make span list dual-mode and add --period flag by BYK in #461
• Refactor SKILL.md into modular reference files by BYK in #458

Bug Fixes 🐛

• (test) Use os.tmpdir() for test temp directories by BYK in #457

• Make piped output human-readable instead of raw CommonMark by BYK in #462

• Clean up upgrade output and hide empty table headers by BYK in #459
• Improve error messages — fix ContextError/ResolutionError misuse by BYK in #456

Internal Changes 🔧

• (list) Align all list commands to issue list standards by BYK in #453

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_{🤖 This preview updates automatically when you update the PR.}

[github-actions]

Codecov Results 📊

✅ 116 passed | Total: 116 | Pass Rate: 100% | Execution Time: 0ms

📊 Comparison with Base Branch

Metric	Change
Total Tests	—
Passed Tests	—
Failed Tests	—
Skipped Tests	—

✨ No test changes detected

All tests are passing successfully.

✅ Patch coverage is 100.00%. Project has 1130 uncovered lines.
✅ Project coverage is 95.3%. Comparing base (base) to head (head).

Files with missing lines (4)

File	Patch %	Lines
human.ts	96.35%	⚠️ 46 Missing
markdown.ts	92.16%	⚠️ 25 Missing
trace.ts	93.18%	⚠️ 18 Missing
colors.ts	98.44%	⚠️ 1 Missing

Coverage diff

@@            Coverage Diff             @@
##          main       #PR       +/-##
==========================================
+ Coverage    95.20%    95.30%     +0.1%
==========================================
  Files          176       177        +1
  Lines        24063     24067        +4
  Branches         0         0         —
==========================================
+ Hits         22907     22937       +30
- Misses        1156      1130       -26
- Partials         0         0         —

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