JSON output

--json prints the tree, the detected projects and a summary as one document. It combines with every other flag, so sprout --diff main...HEAD --json or sprout --churn --json work as you’d expect.

{
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "name": "demo",
  "root": "/home/you/demo",
  "gitAware": true,
  "projects": [{ "manifest": "go.mod", "language": "Go", "packageManager": "go modules" }],
  "summary": { "directories": 1, "files": 2, "bytes": 30, "skipped": 1, "languages": { "Go": 1 } },
  "tree": {
    "name": "demo",
    "type": "directory",
    "children": [
      { "name": "go.mod", "path": "go.mod", "type": "file", "size": 12, "modified": "2026-09-20T10:00:00Z" },
      {
        "name": "src", "path": "src", "type": "directory", "changes": 1,
        "children": [{ "name": "main.go", "path": "src/main.go", "type": "file", "size": 18, "status": "M" }]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Node fields

Field	Notes
name, path, type	path is relative to the root and always uses /. type is "file" or "directory"
size, modified	Bytes, and an RFC 3339 UTC time. Folders get a total with --size, and their newest file’s time
truncated	A folder collapsed by --depth
moreFiles	Files left out by --max-files
error	A folder that couldn’t be read, e.g. "permission denied". The walk carries on past it
status, changes	From --git or --diff
added, deleted	--diff line counts, summed on folders
churn	--churn commit count

Empty fields are left out, and projects is always an array.

Commands

Each command’s --json has its own schemaVersion and a command field, and is documented with the command:

Command	Fields
tour	purpose, projects, layout, readingOrder, nextCommands, caveats…
deps, dependents	each linked file with its reason
impact	changed, affected, tests, goTestPackages, goTestRun, testCommands…
check	checked, violations, unmatched
context	dependencies, users, tests, declarations

Stability

schemaVersion only changes when an existing field changes meaning or is removed. New fields can appear in any release, so scripts should ignore fields they don’t know.