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hitspec supports five output formats, each designed for a different use case. Set the format with the --output (or -o) flag: 
hitspec run tests/ --output <format>
To write the output to a file instead of stdout: 
hitspec run tests/ --output json --output-file results.json

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Console (default)

Human-readable output with colors, designed for local development. This is the default when no --output flag is specified. 
hitspec run tests/

Running: tests/api.http

  ✓ healthCheck (45ms)
  ✓ login (120ms)
  ✗ getProfile (89ms)
    → status ==
      Expected: 200
      Actual:   401
      expected 200, got 401

Tests: 2 passed, 1 failed, 3 total
Time:  254ms
When to use: Local development, debugging, interactive use. The colored output makes it easy to spot failures at a glance. Flags that affect console output:
FlagEffect
--verbose / -vShow request/response details (use -vv or -vvv for more)
--quiet / -qSuppress all output except errors
--no-colorDisable colored output (also set via HITSPEC_NO_COLOR=true)

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JSON

Machine-readable JSON output for scripting, custom dashboards, and programmatic analysis. 
hitspec run tests/ --output json

{
  "file": "tests/api.http",
  "passed": 2,
  "failed": 1,
  "skipped": 0,
  "duration": 254,
  "results": [
    {
      "name": "healthCheck",
      "passed": true,
      "duration": 45
    },
    {
      "name": "login",
      "passed": true,
      "duration": 120
    },
    {
      "name": "getProfile",
      "passed": false,
      "duration": 89,
      "errors": [
        {
          "assertion": "status ==",
          "expected": "200",
          "actual": "401",
          "message": "expected 200, got 401"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}
When to use: Scripting and automation. Pipe the output to jq for filtering, feed it into monitoring dashboards, or use hitspec diff to compare two JSON result files for regression detection. Examples: 
hitspec run tests/ -o json | jq '.results[] | select(.passed == false)'

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JUnit XML

Standard JUnit XML format understood by virtually all CI/CD systems. This is the recommended format for CI pipelines. 
hitspec run tests/ --output junit --output-file test-results.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<testsuites tests="3" failures="1" errors="0" time="0.254">
  <testsuite name="tests/api.http" tests="3" failures="1" errors="0" time="0.254">
    <testcase name="healthCheck" time="0.045" />
    <testcase name="login" time="0.120" />
    <testcase name="getProfile" time="0.089">
      <failure message="expected 200, got 401">
        Assertion: status ==
        Expected: 200
        Actual:   401
      </failure>
    </testcase>
  </testsuite>
</testsuites>
When to use: CI/CD pipelines. JUnit XML is the de facto standard for test reporting in GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, CircleCI, Azure DevOps, and other CI systems. Use --output-file to write to a file that your CI system can pick up as a test artifact. CI integration example: 
# GitHub Actions
- name: Run API tests
  run: hitspec run tests/ --output junit --output-file test-results.xml

- name: Publish results
  uses: dorny/test-reporter@v1
  if: always()
  with:
    name: API Tests
    path: test-results.xml
    reporter: java-junit

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TAP (Test Anything Protocol)

TAP is a text-based protocol for reporting test results. It works well with Unix tools and TAP consumers. 
hitspec run tests/ --output tap

TAP version 13
1..3
ok 1 - healthCheck
ok 2 - login
not ok 3 - getProfile
  ---
  message: expected 200, got 401
  ---
When to use: Unix pipelines and environments that already consume TAP output. TAP is a simple line-based format that works naturally with grep, awk, and other text-processing tools. It is also understood by TAP reporters in Node.js, Perl, and other ecosystems. Examples: 
hitspec run tests/ -o tap | grep -c "^not ok"

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HTML

Generate a self-contained HTML report for sharing test results with stakeholders who may not have terminal access. 
hitspec run tests/ --output html --output-file report.html
The HTML report includes:
  • Summary of passed, failed, and skipped tests
  • Duration for each request
  • Detailed assertion failure messages
  • Filterable and sortable results table
When to use: Sharing results with non-technical stakeholders, archiving test runs as artifacts, or generating reports for review meetings. Combine with actions/upload-artifact in CI to attach the report to each build. 
# GitHub Actions
- name: Run API tests
  run: hitspec run tests/ --output html --output-file report.html

- uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
  if: always()
  with:
    name: api-test-report
    path: report.html

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Format Comparison

FormatBest ForMachine ReadableHuman ReadableCI Support
consoleLocal developmentNoYes—
jsonScripting, dashboardsYesNo—
junitCI/CD pipelinesYesNoAll major CI systems
tapUnix pipelinesYesPartiallyTAP consumers
htmlReports, sharingNoYesUpload as artifact

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Setting a Default Format

Use the HITSPEC_OUTPUT environment variable to avoid passing --output on every invocation: 
export HITSPEC_OUTPUT=json
hitspec run tests/  # outputs JSON without --output flag
Similarly, HITSPEC_OUTPUT_FILE sets a default output file path: 
export HITSPEC_OUTPUT=junit
export HITSPEC_OUTPUT_FILE=test-results.xml
hitspec run tests/  # writes JUnit XML to test-results.xml