Output Formats

redisctl supports multiple output formats to suit different use cases.

Available Formats

Auto (Default)

Automatically selects the best format based on context:

# Auto-detects format
redisctl cloud database list

JSON

Machine-readable JSON output:

redisctl cloud database list -o json

YAML

Human-readable structured format:

redisctl cloud database list -o yaml

Table

Formatted tables for human consumption:

redisctl cloud database list -o table

JMESPath Filtering

Use the -q flag for powerful JSON queries:

# Get all database names
redisctl cloud database list -q "[].name"

# Filter by status
redisctl cloud database list -q "[?status=='active']"

# Custom projections
redisctl cloud database list -q "[].{name: name, memory: planMemoryLimit}"

Advanced Queries

# Sort by memory
redisctl cloud database list -q "sort_by(@, &planMemoryLimit)"

# Find databases with specific modules
redisctl cloud database list -q "[?modules[?name=='RediSearch']]"

# Complex filtering (memory > 250MB)
redisctl cloud database list -q "[?planMemoryLimit > `250`].{name: name, region: region, memory: planMemoryLimit}"

Working with Other Tools

jq Integration

# Filter with jq
redisctl cloud database list -o json | jq '.[] | select(.name | contains("prod"))'

# Extract IDs
redisctl cloud database list -o json | jq -r '.[].databaseId'

yq for YAML

redisctl cloud database list -o yaml | yq '.[] | select(.status == "active")'

Scripting Examples

Batch Operations

# Get all database IDs
IDS=($(redisctl cloud database list -q "[].databaseId" -o json | jq -r '.[]'))

# Process each database
for ID in "${IDS[@]}"; do
  redisctl cloud database get $ID
done

Output Redirection

# Save to file
redisctl cloud database list -o json > databases.json

# Append to log
redisctl cloud database list >> operations.log

# Error handling
redisctl cloud database list 2> errors.log || echo "Failed"

Environment Detection

redisctl automatically detects the output environment:

• Terminal: Defaults to table format for readability
• Pipe: Defaults to JSON for processing
• Redirect: Defaults to JSON for storage

Override with -o flag when needed.

Format-Specific Features

Table Features

• Automatic column width adjustment
• Row highlighting for important data
• Pagination for large datasets
• Color support when terminal supports it

JSON Features

• Pretty-printed by default
• Compact mode available with --compact
• Proper escaping for special characters
• Null values handled correctly

YAML Features

• Comments for clarity
• Multi-line string support
• Proper indentation
• Type preservation

Error Handling

Different formats handle errors differently:

JSON Errors

{
  "error": "Authentication failed",
  "details": "Invalid API key"
}

Table Errors

Error: Authentication failed
Details: Invalid API key

YAML Errors

error: Authentication failed
details: Invalid API key

Performance Considerations

• JSON: Fastest parsing, smallest size
• YAML: Human-readable, larger size
• Table: Terminal rendering overhead

Examples

Save Configuration

redisctl cloud database get 12345 -o yaml > database-config.yaml

Generate Reports

# CSV-like output for spreadsheets
redisctl cloud database list -o json | \
  jq -r '.[] | [.name, .status, .memory] | @csv'

Monitor Changes

# Watch for inactive databases
watch -n 10 'redisctl cloud database list -o table -q "[?status!='"'"'active'"'"']"'

Tips and Tricks

1. Default Format: Set REDISCTL_OUTPUT environment variable

   export REDISCTL_OUTPUT=json
   

2. Raw Output: Use -r or --raw for unformatted output

   redisctl cloud database list -q "[].id" -r
   

3. Silent Mode: Suppress non-essential output

   redisctl cloud database create --data @db.json 2> errors.log
   

4. Pretty Print: Control JSON formatting

   redisctl cloud database list 2>/dev/null
   

Complex Workflows

Health Dashboard

#!/bin/bash
while true; do
  clear
  echo "=== Database Health ==="
  redisctl cloud database list -o table -q "[?status!='active']"
  echo ""
  echo "=== Resource Usage ==="
  redisctl cloud database list -o json | \
    jq -r '.[] | "\(.name): \(.usedMemoryInMb)MB / \(.memoryLimitInGb)GB"'
  sleep 60
done

Automated Reporting

#!/bin/bash
REPORT_DATE=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)
REPORT_FILE="database-report-${REPORT_DATE}.json"

# Collect all database information
{
  echo "{"
  echo "  \"report_date\": \"${REPORT_DATE}\","
  echo "  \"databases\": "
  redisctl cloud database list -o json | jq -r '
    map({
      name: .name,
      status: .status,
      region: .region,
      memory_gb: .memoryLimitInGb,
      throughput: .throughputMeasurement
    })
  '
  echo "}"
} > "$REPORT_FILE"

echo "Report saved to $REPORT_FILE"

Best Practices

1. Use JSON for automation - Most reliable for parsing
2. Use Table for human review - Easiest to read
3. Use YAML for configuration - Best for config files
4. Use JMESPath for filtering - More powerful than jq for simple queries
5. Combine tools - Use redisctl with jq, yq, awk for complex processing