Plain output when an agent drives the terminal; init sends agents to --answers

package.json

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {
   "name": "@datacore-one/cli",
-  "version": "2.6.0",
+  "version": "2.6.1",
   "description": "CLI for setting up and managing Datacore installations",
   "type": "module",
   "main": "dist/index.js",

src/index.ts

@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import { createSnapshot, saveSnapshot, loadSnapshot, diffSnapshot, restoreFromSn
 import * as app from './lib/app'
 import { VERSION } from './version'
 import { maybeNotifyUpdate, selfUpdate } from './lib/selfupdate'
+import { richOutput } from './lib/output'
 import { homeDir } from './lib/exec'
 
 
@@ -148,7 +149,7 @@ async function handleMeta(
       // Update the CLI first and let the new version do the rest: otherwise the
       // update logic that runs is always the one being replaced.
       if (flags['skip-self-update'] !== true) {
-        const code = await selfUpdate(VERSION, process.argv.slice(2), format === 'human')
+        const code = await selfUpdate(VERSION, process.argv.slice(2), format === 'human' && richOutput(!!process.stdout.isTTY))
         if (code !== null) {
           process.exitCode = code
           break
@@ -404,7 +405,7 @@ async function handleResource(
           const visibility = (flags.visibility as string) === 'public' ? 'public' : 'private'
           let remote = flags.remote as string | undefined
           let remoteUrl = flags.url as string | undefined
-          const interactive = process.stdin.isTTY === true && format !== 'json' && flags.yes !== true
+          const interactive = richOutput(process.stdin.isTTY === true) && format !== 'json' && flags.yes !== true
 
           let space
           try {

src/lib/animation.ts

@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
  * Terminal animations for that hacker aesthetic.
  */
 
+import { richOutput } from './output'
+
 const SPINNER_FRAMES = ['⠋', '⠙', '⠹', '⠸', '⠼', '⠴', '⠦', '⠧', '⠇', '⠏']
 const MATRIX_CHARS = 'ｱｲｳｴｵｶｷｸｹｺｻｼｽｾｿﾀﾁﾂﾃﾄﾅﾆﾇﾈﾉﾊﾋﾌﾍﾎﾏﾐﾑﾒﾓﾔﾕﾖﾗﾘﾙﾚﾛﾜﾝ0123456789'
 
@@ -236,9 +238,8 @@ export async function completionSequence(
   opts: { enabled?: boolean } = {},
 ): Promise<void> {
   const enabled = opts.enabled ?? (
-    !!process.stdout.isTTY
+    richOutput(!!process.stdout.isTTY)
     && !process.env.DATACORE_NO_ANIMATION
-    && !process.env.CI
   )
 
   if (!enabled) {

src/lib/init.ts

@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 import { existsSync, mkdirSync, writeFileSync, symlinkSync, copyFileSync, readdirSync, readFileSync, statSync, cpSync } from 'fs'
 import { join, basename } from 'path'
 import { execFileSync, homeDir, npmBinCandidates, refreshWindowsPath, runShell } from './exec'
+import { agentDriving, richOutput } from './output'
 import { createInterface } from 'readline'
 import { detectPlatform, getInstallCommand, type Platform } from './platform'
 import { AVAILABLE_MODULES, installModule, listModules } from './module'
@@ -1107,7 +1108,8 @@ export function isInitialized(): boolean {
 export async function initDatacore(options: InitOptions = {}): Promise<InitResult> {
   const { nonInteractive = false, skipChecks = false, stream = false, verbose = false, force = false } = options
   const answers = options.answers
-  const isTTY = stream && process.stdout.isTTY
+  // Not merely isTTY: an agent's terminal is a real pseudo-terminal too. See output.ts.
+  const isTTY = stream && richOutput(!!process.stdout.isTTY)
 
   // Answers supplied => deliberately non-interactive, and legitimately so.
   const interactive = isTTY && !nonInteractive && !answers
@@ -1130,6 +1132,20 @@ export async function initDatacore(options: InitOptions = {}): Promise<InitResul
   // precisely what an agent does when it pipes output, so the quiet path was
   // the likeliest one in practice. Taking the defaults is fine; doing it
   // without anyone choosing to is not, so it now has to be asked for.
+  const agent = agentDriving()
+  if (!isTTY && !options.nonInteractive && !answers && agent) {
+    // The wizard's prompts cannot be answered by an agent, and its output is
+    // what the agent would store. Send it to the path built for it.
+    result.errors.push(
+      `${agent}'s agent is running this command, and it cannot answer the setup ` +
+      'wizard. Ask the user the questions yourself: run `datacore init ' +
+      '--print-questions`, ask them in conversation, write their answers to ' +
+      'answers.json, then run `datacore init --answers answers.json`. Do not use ' +
+      '--yes unless the user asked for every default. ' +
+      '(https://datacore.one/install.txt)',
+    )
+    return result
+  }
   if (!isTTY && !options.nonInteractive && !answers) {
     result.errors.push(
       'Not a terminal, so every prompt would be skipped and all defaults taken ' +

src/lib/output.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+/**
+ * Who is reading the output: a person at a terminal, or an agent.
+ *
+ * isTTY cannot tell them apart. Cursor's agent runs commands in a real
+ * pseudo-terminal, so the CLI animated for it — a spinner redrawing 12 times a
+ * second, streamed winget and npm progress, a 30-second ticker — and the agent
+ * kept all of it in its chat history, which Cursor stores in state.vscdb. On a
+ * user's machine that file grew too large for Cursor to open
+ * (docs/incidents/2026-09-27-windows-cursor-crash.md).
+ *
+ * Harnesses mark their agent terminals with an environment variable; that is
+ * the signal used here. A person typing into the same editor's terminal does
+ * not have it set, so they keep the full wizard.
+ */
+
+const AGENT_MARKERS: Array<[string, string]> = [
+  ['CURSOR_AGENT', 'Cursor'],       // https://cursor.com/docs/agent/tools/terminal
+  ['CLAUDECODE', 'Claude Code'],
+  ['CODEX_SANDBOX', 'Codex'],
+  ['GEMINI_CLI', 'Gemini CLI'],
+]
+
+/** The harness whose agent is driving this terminal, or null. */
+export function agentDriving(env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env): string | null {
+  for (const [key, name] of AGENT_MARKERS) {
+    if (env[key]) return name
+  }
+  return null
+}
+
+/**
+ * Animations, streamed installer output and interactive prompts: only for a
+ * real terminal that no agent is driving. DATACORE_PLAIN=1 forces plain output.
+ */
+export function richOutput(isTTY: boolean, env: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env): boolean {
+  return isTTY && !agentDriving(env) && !env.DATACORE_PLAIN && !env.CI
+}

src/lib/selfupdate.ts

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 import { existsSync, mkdirSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync } from 'fs'
 import { join } from 'path'
 import { execFileSync, homeDir, runShell } from './exec'
+import { richOutput } from './output'
 
 // ─── Versions ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
@@ -63,7 +64,7 @@ function checkStatePath(): string {
  * the 3 s fetch timeout (and only on the day it checks).
  */
 export async function maybeNotifyUpdate(current: string): Promise<void> {
-  if (!process.stdout.isTTY || process.env.CI || process.env.DATACORE_NO_UPDATE_CHECK) return
+  if (!richOutput(!!process.stdout.isTTY) || process.env.DATACORE_NO_UPDATE_CHECK) return
   try {
     const path = checkStatePath()
     let state: { checkedAt?: string; latest?: string } = {}

src/lib/upgrade.ts

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import { join } from 'path'
 import { execFileSync, homeDir, npmBinCandidates, runShell, which } from './exec'
 import { harnessConfigs, windowsMcpEntry, windowsScriptFor, wireHarnesses, type McpEntry } from './harness'
 import { mergeUpstream, upgradeMcpPackages } from './selfupdate'
+import { richOutput } from './output'
 import { createInterface } from 'readline'
 import { detectPlatform, getInstallCommand, type Platform } from './platform'
 import { updateModules, listModules } from './module'
@@ -704,7 +705,7 @@ function upgradeSnapshot(
 
 export async function updateDatacore(options: UpdateOptions = {}): Promise<UpdateResult> {
   const { stream = false, skipModules = false, skipDeps = false, yes = false } = options
-  const isTTY = stream && !!process.stdout.isTTY
+  const isTTY = stream && richOutput(!!process.stdout.isTTY)
   const interactive = isTTY && !yes
   const platform = detectPlatform()
 

tests/output.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,67 @@
+/**
+ * Plain output when an agent is driving the terminal.
+ *
+ * Cursor's agent runs commands in a real pseudo-terminal, so isTTY is true and
+ * the CLI animated for it: a spinner redrawing 12 times a second, streamed
+ * winget and npm progress bars, a ticker every 30 s. The agent keeps what it
+ * reads in its chat history, which Cursor stores in state.vscdb — the file that
+ * grew too large to open on a user's machine (docs/incidents/2026-09-27-...).
+ * An agent also cannot answer the wizard's prompts, so init must send it to the
+ * --answers path instead.
+ */
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'bun:test'
+import { spawnSync } from 'child_process'
+import { mkdtempSync, rmSync } from 'fs'
+import { tmpdir } from 'os'
+import { join } from 'path'
+import { agentDriving, richOutput } from '../src/lib/output'
+
+describe('agentDriving', () => {
+  it('recognises Cursor, Claude Code, Codex and Gemini CLI', () => {
+    expect(agentDriving({ CURSOR_AGENT: '1' })).toBe('Cursor')
+    expect(agentDriving({ CLAUDECODE: '1' })).toBe('Claude Code')
+    expect(agentDriving({ CODEX_SANDBOX: 'seatbelt' })).toBe('Codex')
+    expect(agentDriving({ GEMINI_CLI: '1' })).toBe('Gemini CLI')
+  })
+  it('is null for a person at a terminal', () => {
+    expect(agentDriving({ TERM_PROGRAM: 'vscode' })).toBeNull()
+    expect(agentDriving({})).toBeNull()
+  })
+})
+
+describe('richOutput', () => {
+  it('is on only for a real terminal with nobody else driving it', () => {
+    expect(richOutput(true, {})).toBe(true)
+    expect(richOutput(false, {})).toBe(false)
+    expect(richOutput(true, { CURSOR_AGENT: '1' })).toBe(false)
+    expect(richOutput(true, { DATACORE_PLAIN: '1' })).toBe(false)
+    expect(richOutput(true, { CI: 'true' })).toBe(false)
+  })
+})
+
+// A real pseudo-terminal, as Cursor gives its agent: isTTY is true here.
+const scriptArgs = (cmd: string[]) =>
+  process.platform === 'darwin' ? ['-q', '/dev/null', ...cmd]
+    : process.platform === 'linux' ? ['-qec', cmd.join(' '), '/dev/null']
+      : null
+
+describe('init under an agent, in a real pseudo-terminal', () => {
+  const args = scriptArgs(['bun', 'run', join(import.meta.dir, '..', 'src', 'index.ts'), 'init'])
+  it.skipIf(!args)('refuses the wizard, names the agent path, and does not animate', () => {
+    const root = mkdtempSync(join(tmpdir(), 'dc-cli-agent-'))
+    try {
+      const r = spawnSync('script', args!, {
+        encoding: 'utf-8', timeout: 30000,
+        env: { ...process.env, CURSOR_AGENT: '1', DATACORE_ROOT: join(root, 'Data'), DATACORE_NO_UPDATE_CHECK: '1' },
+      })
+      const out = `${r.stdout}${r.stderr}`
+      expect(out).toContain('--answers')
+      expect(out).toContain('Cursor')
+      expect(out).not.toContain('\x1b[?25l')      // spinner hides the cursor
+      expect(out).not.toContain('\x1b[2J')        // console.clear
+      expect(out.length).toBeLessThan(3000)
+    } finally {
+      rmSync(root, { recursive: true, force: true })
+    }
+  }, 40000)
+})