console

Console Rendering Package

The console package provides utilities for rendering Go structs and data structures to formatted console output.

RenderStruct Function

The RenderStruct function uses reflection to automatically render Go structs based on struct tags.

Struct Tags

Use the console struct tag to control rendering behavior:

Available Tags

• header:"Column Name" - Sets the display name for the field (used in both structs and tables)
• title:"Section Title" - Sets the title for nested structs, slices, or maps
• omitempty - Skips the field if it has a zero value
• "-" - Always skips the field

Tag Examples

type Overview struct {
    RunID      int64  `console:"header:Run ID"`
    Workflow   string `console:"header:Workflow"`
    Status     string `console:"header:Status"`
    Duration   string `console:"header:Duration,omitempty"`
    Internal   string `console:"-"` // Never displayed
}

Rendering Behavior

Structs

Structs are rendered as key-value pairs with proper alignment:

  Run ID    : 12345
  Workflow  : my-workflow
  Status    : completed
  Duration  : 5m30s

Slices

Slices of structs are automatically rendered as tables using the console table renderer:

type Job struct {
    Name       string `console:"header:Name"`
    Status     string `console:"header:Status"`
    Conclusion string `console:"header:Conclusion,omitempty"`
}

jobs := []Job{
    {Name: "build", Status: "completed", Conclusion: "success"},
    {Name: "test", Status: "in_progress", Conclusion: ""},
}

fmt.Print(console.RenderStruct(jobs))

Renders as:

Name  | Status      | Conclusion
----- | ----------- | ----------
build | completed   | success
test  | in_progress | -

Maps

Maps are rendered as markdown-style headers with key-value pairs:

data := map[string]string{
    "Repository": "githubnext/gh-aw",
    "Author":     "test-user",
}

fmt.Print(console.RenderStruct(data))

Renders as:

  Repository: githubnext/gh-aw
  Author    : test-user

Special Type Handling

time.Time

time.Time fields are automatically formatted as "2006-01-02 15:04:05". Zero time values are considered empty when used with omitempty.

Unexported Fields

The rendering system safely handles unexported struct fields by checking CanInterface() before attempting to access field values.

Usage in Audit Command

The audit command uses the new rendering system for structured output:

// Render overview section
renderOverview(data.Overview)

// Render metrics with custom formatting
renderMetrics(data.Metrics)

// Render jobs as a table
renderJobsTable(data.Jobs)

This provides:

• Consistent formatting across all audit sections
• Automatic table generation for slice data
• Proper handling of optional/empty fields
• Type-safe reflection-based rendering

Migration Guide

To migrate existing rendering code to use the new system:

1. Add struct tags to your data types:

   type MyData struct {
       Field1 string `console:"header:Field 1"`
       Field2 int    `console:"header:Field 2,omitempty"`
   }
   

2. Use RenderStruct for simple structs:

   fmt.Print(console.RenderStruct(myData))
   

3. Use custom rendering for special formatting needs:

   func renderMyData(data MyData) {
       fmt.Printf("  %-15s %s\n", "Field 1:", formatCustom(data.Field1))
       // ... custom formatting logic
   }
   

4. Use console.RenderTable for tables with custom formatting:

   config := console.TableConfig{
       Headers: []string{"Name", "Value"},
       Rows: [][]string{
           {truncateString(item.Name, 40), formatNumber(item.Value)},
       },
   }
   fmt.Print(console.RenderTable(config))