> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://tally.wharflab.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Output formats > Reference for all five tally output formats: text, json, sarif, github-actions, and markdown. tally supports five output formats so it fits into both terminals and automation pipelines. Select a format with `--format` or the `format` key in `.tally.toml`. ## Output options | Flag | Description | | --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `--format, -f` | Output format: `text`, `json`, `sarif`, `github-actions`, `markdown` | | `--output, -o` | Output destination: `stdout`, `stderr`, or a file path | | `--no-color` | Disable colored output (also respects the `NO_COLOR` env var) | | `--show-source` | Show source code snippets (default: `true`) | | `--hide-source` | Hide source code snippets | *** ## Invocation-aware output When you lint a Bake or Compose entrypoint, tally may run more than one invocation for the same Dockerfile. Output formats preserve that attribution: | Format | Invocation behavior | | ---------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `text` | Groups findings under labels such as `[bake target: api]` or `[compose service: worker]` and prints an invocation summary. | | `json` | Adds an `invocation` object to each orchestrator-derived violation and includes `invocations_scanned`. | | `sarif` | Stores invocation metadata in each result's properties. | | `github-actions` | Prefixes annotation messages with the invocation label. | | `markdown` | Adds an `Invocation` column when invocation metadata is present. | See [Build invocations](/guides/build-invocations) for CLI examples and supported entrypoints. *** ## text (default) Human-readable output with colors and source code snippets. Best for local development. ```bash theme={null} tally lint Dockerfile ``` Example output: ```text theme={null} WARNING: StageNameCasing - https://docs.docker.com/go/dockerfile/rule/stage-name-casing/ Stage name 'Builder' should be lowercase Dockerfile:2 ──────────────────── 1 │ FROM alpine >>>2 │ FROM ubuntu AS Builder 3 │ RUN echo "hello" ──────────────────── ``` ### Source snippets Source snippets are shown by default. Toggle them with flags: ```bash theme={null} # Hide source snippets (cleaner for long files) tally lint --hide-source Dockerfile # Explicitly show (useful when config sets show-source = false) tally lint --show-source Dockerfile ``` In `.tally.toml`: ```toml theme={null} [output] show-source = false ``` ## json Machine-readable format with full violation details, summary statistics, and scan metadata. Best for scripts, dashboards, and custom reporting. ```bash theme={null} tally lint --format json Dockerfile ``` Example output: ```json theme={null} { "files": [ { "file": "Dockerfile", "violations": [ { "location": { "file": "Dockerfile", "start": { "line": 2, "column": 0 } }, "rule": "buildkit/StageNameCasing", "message": "Stage name 'Builder' should be lowercase", "severity": "warning", "docUrl": "https://docs.docker.com/go/dockerfile/rule/stage-name-casing/" } ] } ], "summary": { "total": 1, "errors": 0, "warnings": 1, "info": 0, "style": 0, "files": 1 }, "files_scanned": 1, "rules_enabled": 41 } ``` Top-level fields: | Field | Description | | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `files` | Array of files with their violations | | `summary` | Aggregate counts: `total`, `errors`, `warnings`, `info`, `style`, `files` | | `files_scanned` | Total number of files scanned | | `invocations_scanned` | Total number of build invocations scanned; omitted or `0` for direct Dockerfile runs | | `rules_enabled` | Number of active rules with a non-`"off"` default severity | Orchestrator-derived violations also include: | Field | Description | | ----------------- | ----------------------------------------- | | `invocation.kind` | `bake` or `compose` | | `invocation.file` | Absolute path to the Bake or Compose file | | `invocation.name` | Target or service name | Write JSON to a file: ```bash theme={null} tally lint --format json --output results.json . ``` ## sarif [SARIF 2.1.0](https://docs.oasis-open.org/sarif/sarif/v2.1.0/) format for static analysis tools and CI code scanning integrations. Best for GitHub Code Scanning, Azure DevOps, and similar platforms. ```bash theme={null} tally lint --format sarif --output results.sarif . ``` Or redirect to a file: ```bash theme={null} tally lint --format sarif . > results.sarif ``` SARIF output includes rule metadata, help URIs, and per-result location data that code scanning tools use to render findings in pull requests and security dashboards. ### GitHub Code Scanning ```bash theme={null} # Generate SARIF (use --fail-level none so the step doesn't fail before upload) tally lint --format sarif --output tally.sarif --fail-level none . # Upload with the CodeQL action # uses: github/codeql-action/upload-sarif@v3 # with: # sarif_file: tally.sarif ``` See [CI/CD integration](/guides/ci-cd) for a complete GitHub Actions workflow example. ## github-actions Emits GitHub Actions [workflow commands](https://docs.github.com/en/actions/writing-workflows/choosing-what-your-workflow-does/workflow-commands-for-github-actions) (`::warning` and `::error`) for inline PR annotations. ```bash theme={null} tally lint --format github-actions . ``` Example output: ```text theme={null} ::warning file=Dockerfile,line=2,title=StageNameCasing::Stage name 'Builder' should be lowercase ``` GitHub renders these as inline annotations in the PR diff and in the Actions run summary. No upload step is needed — the annotations appear automatically when the format is used in a GitHub Actions workflow. Severity mapping: | tally severity | GitHub command | | -------------- | -------------- | | `error` | `::error` | | `warning` | `::warning` | | `info` | `::notice` | | `style` | `::notice` | ## markdown Concise Markdown tables optimized for AI agents, PR comments, and token-efficient reporting. ```bash theme={null} tally lint --format markdown Dockerfile ``` Example output: ```markdown theme={null} **2 issues** in `Dockerfile` | Line | Issue | | ---- | ------------------------------------------- | | 2 | ⚠️ Stage name 'Builder' should be lowercase | | 10 | ❌ Use absolute WORKDIR | ``` Features: * Summary line with total issue count upfront. * Violations sorted by invocation, file, line, column, and rule code. * Emoji severity indicators: ❌ error, ⚠️ warning, ℹ️ info, 💅 style. * No rule codes or doc URLs — optimized for token efficiency. * Adds a `File` column automatically when linting multiple files. * Adds an `Invocation` column automatically when linting Bake or Compose entrypoints. Pipe output into a file for use as a PR comment or report artifact: ```bash theme={null} tally lint --format markdown . > lint-report.md ```