Add support for -t/--tuples-only option to print rows without extra output

[DiegoDAF]

Summary

This PR implements the -t/--tuples-only option, similar to psql's -t flag, which prints query results without status messages or timing information. This is useful for scripting and piping output to other commands.

Features

• Default csv-noheader: pgcli -t outputs rows in CSV format without headers
• Custom format: pgcli -t minimal allows specifying any table format
• Suppresses extra output:
  • No "SELECT X" status messages
  • No "Time: X.XXXs" timing information
• Clean for piping: Perfect for shell scripts and automation

Use Cases

# Get just the data, no headers or status
pgcli -t -c "SELECT oid FROM pg_roles WHERE rolname='postgres';"
# Output: 10

# Use with custom format
pgcli -t minimal -c "SELECT name, age FROM users LIMIT 3;"
# Output: aligned columns without headers

# Pipe to other commands
pgcli -t -c "SELECT email FROM users;" | while read email; do
  echo "Sending to $email"
done

Implementation Details

• Added tuples_only field to OutputSettings namedtuple
• Added tuples_only parameter to PGCli.__init__()
• Modified format_output() to skip status when tuples_only=True
• Modified timing output logic to respect tuples_only flag
• Click option configured as is_flag=False with flag_value="csv-noheader"
  • Using -t alone defaults to csv-noheader
  • Using -t <format> allows custom formats

Compatibility

• Does not affect existing functionality when flag is not used
• Works independently of other flags
• Compatible with all existing table formats
• Follows psql behavior

Made with ❤️ and 🤖 Claude Code

[j-bennet]

Thank you for the PR! I have some problems with it, for two reasons:

1. It's targeting a non-interactive use-case. Pgcli is a user-interactive tool, and if you want scripting / automation, psql is a better tool for that. We will never be able to keep up with psql in all the features it supports.
2. It's adding a new option to turn a knob that already exists. We already have \T to change table formats. Exposing -t as the startup flag to set format for just one session may be useful. Perhaps limit the PR to that.

This does not solve your header / status suppression requirement, but I think that should be a separate change. Perhaps pgcli should be aware of noheader output formats and suppress extra output on those. Or we need new flags for --no-timings and --no-status.

[DiegoDAF]

Thanks for the feedback, makes total sense!

I'll rework this PR so that -t [FORMAT] only sets the table format at startup (like a CLI shortcut for \T), defaulting to csv-noheader. No header/status suppression in this PR.

The --no-timings / --no-status flags sound like a good approach for a separate PR — I'll work on that next.

[j-bennet]

This has conflicts.

[DiegoDAF]

Reworked per your feedback: -t/--tuples-only is now just a startup shortcut for \T (sets the table format to csv-noheader), with no header/status suppression. Conflicts with main are resolved. Ready for another look, thanks!

[DiegoDAF]

Hey @j-bennet 👋 Friendly bump on this one. I rebased and fixed the ruff format on pgexecute.py, and now that #1596 restored the PG* env vars in CI things should be green again. Whenever you have a spare moment I'd love another look. No rush at all, and thanks a lot for keeping pgcli humming! 🙏

[DiegoDAF]

Hey @j-bennet! 🎉 Congrats on shipping 4.5.0, and thank you so much for merging #1559, really made my week! While you are in release mode, would you have a moment to peek at this one too? It is rebased and green now that the CI env vars are back. Totally understand if you are swamped, no pressure at all. Thanks again for everything you do for pgcli! 🙏

[DiegoDAF]

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[chatgpt-codex-connector]

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[chatgpt-codex-connector]

Honor tuples-only by suppressing extra output

When -t/--tuples-only is used, this branch only switches the formatter to csv-noheader; the output path still appends command status in format_output (pgcli/main.py:1968-1970) and prints timing whenever enabled (pgcli/main.py:901, with the default config setting timing = True). PostgreSQL documents --tuples-only as turning off column names and row-count footers, so with the default config a query still emits SELECT n and Time: ..., which breaks users relying on this option for rows-only output. Please carry the tuples-only state through to suppress status/timing, or avoid exposing it as psql-style tuples-only.

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[DiegoDAF]

Thanks @codex, fair point on the psql semantics. This is intentional for this PR: -t was deliberately narrowed during review to be a startup shortcut for the output format only (like a CLI \T), not psql's full tuples-only. Suppressing the status footer and timing is kept to separate, composable flags (--no-timings / --no-status) rather than bundled into -t, so each concern stays granular. So the scope here is "format shortcut", and rows-only-with-no-footers is achieved by combining flags. Open to revisiting the naming if -t/--tuples-only reads as too psql-flavored for that scope.

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