Apply console formatting to top 5 CLI error-heavy files

[Copilot]

Problem

Four CLI files contained 126 unformatted error and informational messages, representing 25% of all unformatted CLI output in the codebase. Raw fmt.Fprintf/fmt.Fprintln calls lack consistent styling and color coding.

Changes

Before:

fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "GitHub Actions is not enabled on this repository.")
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "To enable GitHub Actions:")
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, "  1. Go to your repository on GitHub")

After:

fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatErrorMessage("GitHub Actions is not enabled on this repository."))
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatInfoMessage("To enable GitHub Actions:"))
fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatInfoMessage("  1. Go to your repository on GitHub"))

Files Updated

• trial_command.go (4 lines): Workflow execution step descriptions
• add_command.go (5 lines): Help instructions and command examples
• audit_report_render.go (42 lines): Report sections (missing tools, MCP failures, errors/warnings, firewall analysis, findings, recommendations)
• add_interactive.go (28 lines): Interactive wizard messages (auth, repo setup, Actions enablement, API key instructions)
• init.go: Already formatted, no changes needed

Message Type Mapping

• Error messages → console.FormatErrorMessage()
• Warnings → console.FormatWarningMessage()
• Informational text → console.FormatInfoMessage()
• Success confirmations → console.FormatSuccessMessage()
• Command examples → console.FormatCommandMessage()

Blank spacing lines ("") left unformatted to preserve report structure readability.

Original prompt

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This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>[Code Quality] Apply console formatting to top 5 CLI error-heavy files</issue_title>
<issue_description>### Description

Apply console.FormatErrorMessage() formatting to the top 5 CLI files with highest unformatted error counts. These files contain 388 unformatted errors representing 25% of all unformatted errors in the codebase.

Files to Update (Priority Order)

File	Unformatted Errors	Impact
pkg/cli/add_interactive.go	107	Interactive wizard - critical UX
pkg/cli/init.go	100	First-time setup - critical onboarding
pkg/cli/add_command.go	72	Workflow creation - common operation
pkg/cli/audit_report_render.go	61	Audit reports - troubleshooting tool
pkg/cli/trial_command.go	48	Workflow testing - developer workflow

Pattern to Replace

// ❌ BEFORE - Raw error output
if err != nil {
    fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, err)
    return err
}

// ✅ AFTER - Console formatted error
if err != nil {
    fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatErrorMessage(err.Error()))
    return err
}

Success Criteria

• Update all error outputs in add_interactive.go (107 errors)
• Update all error outputs in init.go (100 errors)
• Update all error outputs in add_command.go (72 errors)
• Update all error outputs in audit_report_render.go (61 errors)
• Update all error outputs in trial_command.go (48 errors)
• All fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, err) → fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, console.FormatErrorMessage(err.Error()))
• Verify no stdout error outputs remain
• Test commands manually to verify formatting

Impact

High - 388 errors (25% of all unformatted errors) will have proper console formatting, providing immediate user experience improvement.

Source

Extracted from Error Experience Engineering Deep Dive discussion githubnext/gh-aw#12265

Analysis: Only 4.4% (69/1,581) of error output sites use proper console formatting. Top 5 files represent the highest-impact targets.

AI generated by Discussion Task Miner - Code Quality Improvement Agent

• expires on Feb 11, 2026, 5:12 PM UTC

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

• Fixes [Code Quality] Apply console formatting to top 5 CLI error-heavy files #12312

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