> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://hitspec.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Output Formats > hitspec supports five output formats: console, JSON, JUnit XML, TAP, and HTML. Choose the right format for your workflow. hitspec supports five output formats, each designed for a different use case. Set the format with the `--output` (or `-o`) flag: ```bash theme={null} hitspec run tests/ --output ``` To write the output to a file instead of stdout: ```bash theme={null} hitspec run tests/ --output json --output-file results.json ``` ## Console (default) Human-readable output with colors, designed for local development. This is the default when no `--output` flag is specified. ```bash theme={null} 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:** | Flag | Effect | | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------- | | `--verbose` / `-v` | Show request/response details (use `-vv` or `-vvv` for more) | | `--quiet` / `-q` | Suppress all output except errors | | `--no-color` | Disable colored output (also set via `HITSPEC_NO_COLOR=true`) | ## JSON Machine-readable JSON output for scripting, custom dashboards, and programmatic analysis. ```bash theme={null} hitspec run tests/ --output json ``` ```json theme={null} { "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:** ```bash Filter failures with jq theme={null} hitspec run tests/ -o json | jq '.results[] | select(.passed == false)' ``` ```bash Save and compare results theme={null} hitspec run tests/ -o json --output-file baseline.json # ... make changes ... hitspec run tests/ -o json --output-file current.json hitspec diff baseline.json current.json ``` ```bash Extract timing data theme={null} hitspec run tests/ -o json | jq '[.results[] | {name, duration}]' ``` ## JUnit XML Standard JUnit XML format understood by virtually all CI/CD systems. This is the recommended format for CI pipelines. ```bash theme={null} hitspec run tests/ --output junit --output-file test-results.xml ``` ```xml theme={null} Assertion: status == Expected: 200 Actual: 401 ``` **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:** ```yaml theme={null} # GitHub Actions - name: Run API tests run: hitspec run tests/ --output junit --output-file test-results.xml - name: Publish results uses: EnricoMi/publish-unit-test-result-action@v2 if: ${{ !cancelled() }} with: files: test-results.xml comment_mode: off ``` Grant the workflow or job token `checks: write` when publishing check runs. ## TAP (Test Anything Protocol) TAP is a text-based protocol for reporting test results. It works well with Unix tools and TAP consumers. ```bash theme={null} 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:** ```bash Count failures theme={null} hitspec run tests/ -o tap | grep -c "^not ok" ``` ```bash Show only failures theme={null} hitspec run tests/ -o tap | grep "^not ok" ``` ```bash Pipe to a TAP reporter theme={null} hitspec run tests/ -o tap | npx tap-spec ``` ## HTML Generate a self-contained HTML report for sharing test results with stakeholders who may not have terminal access. ```bash theme={null} 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. ```yaml theme={null} # GitHub Actions - name: Run API tests run: hitspec run tests/ --output html --output-file report.html - uses: actions/upload-artifact@v7 if: always() with: name: api-test-report path: report.html ``` ## Format Comparison | Format | Best For | Machine Readable | Human Readable | CI Support | | --------- | --------------------- | :--------------: | :------------: | :------------------: | | `console` | Local development | No | Yes | -- | | `json` | Scripting, dashboards | Yes | No | -- | | `junit` | CI/CD pipelines | Yes | No | All major CI systems | | `tap` | Unix pipelines | Yes | Partially | TAP consumers | | `html` | Reports, sharing | No | Yes | Upload as artifact | ## Setting a Default Format Use the `HITSPEC_OUTPUT` environment variable to avoid passing `--output` on every invocation: ```bash theme={null} export HITSPEC_OUTPUT=json hitspec run tests/ # outputs JSON without --output flag ``` Similarly, `HITSPEC_OUTPUT_FILE` sets a default output file path: ```bash theme={null} export HITSPEC_OUTPUT=junit export HITSPEC_OUTPUT_FILE=test-results.xml hitspec run tests/ # writes JUnit XML to test-results.xml ```