Quiet only the stdout UI under --json, not the log level (closes #112)

--json was folded into Quiet, which pinned the stderr log level to WARN.
So `prune --json` gave a machine consumer no record of the local index
rows it deleted, even under --verbose: the audit records were gated off
stdout and pinned below the level on stderr.

--json now quiets only the stdout UI, keeping the JSON document clean
(issue #108); the stderr log level follows --verbose/--debug again, since
diagnostics have gone to stderr since #82. The same coupling is removed
for `snapshot verify`, `snapshot remove`, and `remote info`, which
carried it for the same outdated reason.

A test asserts `--verbose prune --json` emits the cleanup record on
stderr while stdout stays exactly one document, and that --json alone
keeps it below the level.

model: claude-opus-4-8

TODO.md

@@ -25,6 +25,27 @@ release" is exactly the contradiction
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+- 2026-09-21: Stopped `prune` from reporting a failed row count as 0
+  ([issue #96](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/96)). The seven
+  `getTableCount` reads in `PruneDatabase` discarded their error, so a
+  query that could not run became a plausible `0` and the before/after
+  delta computed from it looked like real work. Each read now logs at
+  warn on failure and renders as `unknown`, never `0`, so an empty table
+  is distinguishable from one that could not be queried. The counts have
+  no `--json` representation — under `--json` the summary is suppressed
+  entirely — so nothing there can show a false `0`.
+
+- 2026-09-21: Stopped `--json` from silencing stderr diagnostics
+  ([issue #112](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/112)). `--json`
+  used to be folded into `Quiet`, which pinned the log level to `WARN`,
+  so `prune --json` gave a machine consumer no record of the local index
+  rows it deleted even under `--verbose`. `--json` now quiets only the
+  stdout UI (the JSON document must stay clean, per
+  [issue #108](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/108)); the stderr
+  log level follows `--verbose`/`--debug` again. The coupling was
+  removed the same way for `snapshot verify`, `snapshot remove`, and
+  `remote info`, which carried it for the same outdated reason.
+
 - 2026-09-21: Made the s3 storage backend report a missing object as
   `storage.ErrNotFound`, like the `file` and `rclone` backends and as the
   `Storer` interface documents. `S3Storer.Get` and `Stat` returned the raw
@@ -33,7 +54,6 @@ release" is exactly the contradiction
   helper (reused by `HeadObject`) and a test that a missing key maps to
   `ErrNotFound`
   ([issue #129](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/129)).
-
 - 2026-09-21: Fixed `verify --deep` reporting healthy snapshots as
   corrupt. Its final blob-integrity check hashed the encrypted
   downloaded bytes with a single SHA256 and compared that to the blob

internal/cli/app.go

@@ -48,6 +48,11 @@ type AppOptions struct {
 // silenced — per the documented convention that --quiet suppresses
 // non-error output only. The startup banner is printed by Entry
 // before cobra parses arguments, gated by the same arg-level check.
+//
+// --json quiets the UI here too, because stdout then carries a JSON
+// document and human narration would corrupt it. Unlike Quiet it does
+// not lower the stderr log level (issue #112), so --verbose/--debug
+// still surface diagnostics alongside the document.
 func setupGlobals(
 	lc fx.Lifecycle, g *globals.Globals, v *vaultik.Vaultik, opts log.Options,
 ) {
@@ -55,7 +60,7 @@ func setupGlobals(
 		OnStart: func(_ context.Context) error {
 			g.StartTime = time.Now().UTC()
 
-			if opts.Cron || opts.Quiet {
+			if opts.Cron || opts.Quiet || opts.JSON {
 				v.UI.SetQuiet(true)
 			}
 
@@ -202,9 +207,10 @@ func RunApp(ctx context.Context, app *fx.App) error {
 // instance in a goroutine, report a failure prefixed with failMsg
 // (suppressed while suppressErrors is true, e.g. under --json), then
 // trigger shutdown. The operation is cancelled when the app stops.
-// extraQuiet is OR-ed into LogOptions.Quiet (e.g. --json output modes).
+// jsonOutput marks a command whose stdout is a JSON document: it quiets
+// the UI but, unlike Quiet, leaves the stderr log level alone.
 func runVaultikApp(
-	cmd *cobra.Command, extraQuiet, suppressErrors bool,
+	cmd *cobra.Command, jsonOutput, suppressErrors bool,
 	failMsg string, op func(v *vaultik.Vaultik) error,
 ) error {
 	configPath, err := ResolveConfigPath()
@@ -219,7 +225,8 @@ func runVaultikApp(
 		LogOptions: log.Options{
 			Verbose: rootFlags.Verbose,
 			Debug:   rootFlags.Debug,
-			Quiet:   rootFlags.Quiet || extraQuiet,
+			Quiet:   rootFlags.Quiet,
+			JSON:    jsonOutput,
 		},
 		Modules: []fx.Option{},
 		Invokes: []fx.Option{

internal/cli/entry_prune_json_stderr_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,139 @@
+package cli //nolint:testpackage // shares the prune fixtures and capture helpers
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+// staleRecordLogMessage is the local-cleanup audit line CleanupLocalSnapshots
+// logs for each stale record. It is exactly the signal issue #112 says a
+// machine consumer lost under --json: gated off stdout, and pinned below
+// the log level on stderr because --json used to force Quiet.
+const staleRecordLogMessage = "Removing stale local snapshot record"
+
+// TestEntryPruneJSONStderrHonoursVerbosity is the end-to-end regression
+// guard for issue #112. Under --json the log level must still follow
+// --verbose/--debug rather than being pinned to WARN, so the
+// local-cleanup records reach stderr under --verbose while stdout stays
+// exactly one JSON document; without --verbose they stay below the
+// level, as they do without --json.
+//
+// Both halves are asserted together on the same run, because the fix has
+// to keep the document clean (issue #108) while freeing stderr.
+//
+// Not parallel: it replaces os.Args, os.Stdout, os.Stderr and the xdg
+// globals.
+//
+//nolint:paralleltest // replaces os.Args, os.Stdout, os.Stderr and the xdg globals
+func TestEntryPruneJSONStderrHonoursVerbosity(t *testing.T) {
+	for _, testCase := range []struct {
+		name         string
+		verbose      bool
+		wantOnStderr bool
+	}{
+		{
+			name:         "verbose json surfaces the cleanup record on stderr",
+			verbose:      true,
+			wantOnStderr: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:         "json alone keeps the cleanup record below the level",
+			verbose:      false,
+			wantOnStderr: false,
+		},
+	} {
+		t.Run(testCase.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			configPath := writeHermeticPruneConfig(t, true)
+
+			previousArgs := os.Args
+
+			t.Cleanup(func() {
+				os.Args = previousArgs
+				rootFlags = RootFlags{}
+			})
+
+			args := []string{
+				programName, flagConfig, configPath, cmdPrune, flagJSON,
+			}
+			if testCase.verbose {
+				args = append(args, "--verbose")
+			}
+
+			os.Args = args
+
+			stdout, stderr := captureProcessStdoutAndStderr(t, Entry)
+
+			// The document stays clean in both cases: freeing stderr must
+			// not regress issue #108.
+			requireExactlyOneJSONDocument(t, stdout)
+
+			if testCase.wantOnStderr {
+				assert.Contains(t, stderr, staleRecordLogMessage,
+					"--verbose --json must emit the cleanup record on stderr")
+				assert.Contains(t, stderr, stalePruneSnapshotID,
+					"the record must name the snapshot it removed")
+			} else {
+				assert.NotContains(t, stderr, staleRecordLogMessage,
+					"without --verbose the record stays below the log level")
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+// captureProcessStdoutAndStderr redirects both of the process's own
+// standard streams to pipes for the duration of fn and returns what was
+// written to each. The redirection is at the file-descriptor level
+// because the logger binds os.Stderr when it initializes inside fn, and
+// the JSON document reaches os.Stdout independently; the point is to see
+// where each actually lands.
+//
+// Not parallel-safe: os.Stdout and os.Stderr are process-global.
+func captureProcessStdoutAndStderr(t *testing.T, fn func()) (string, string) {
+	t.Helper()
+
+	outReader, outWriter, err := os.Pipe()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	errReader, errWriter, err := os.Pipe()
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	previousOut, previousErr := os.Stdout, os.Stderr
+	os.Stdout, os.Stderr = outWriter, errWriter
+
+	capturedOut := drain(outReader)
+	capturedErr := drain(errReader)
+
+	fn()
+
+	os.Stdout, os.Stderr = previousOut, previousErr
+
+	require.NoError(t, outWriter.Close())
+	require.NoError(t, errWriter.Close())
+
+	out, errOut := <-capturedOut, <-capturedErr
+
+	require.NoError(t, outReader.Close())
+	require.NoError(t, errReader.Close())
+
+	return out, errOut
+}
+
+// drain copies a reader to a string on a goroutine and delivers the
+// result once the writer end is closed.
+func drain(reader io.Reader) <-chan string {
+	captured := make(chan string, 1)
+
+	go func() {
+		var buf bytes.Buffer
+
+		_, _ = io.Copy(&buf, reader)
+		captured <- buf.String()
+	}()
+
+	return captured
+}

internal/cli/prune.go

@@ -46,7 +46,8 @@ work (e.g. after a crashed backup or to reclaim storage).`,
 				LogOptions: log.Options{
 					Verbose: rootFlags.Verbose,
 					Debug:   rootFlags.Debug,
-					Quiet:   rootFlags.Quiet || opts.JSON,
+					Quiet:   rootFlags.Quiet,
+					JSON:    opts.JSON,
 				},
 				Modules: []fx.Option{},
 				Invokes: []fx.Option{

internal/cli/remote.go

@@ -88,7 +88,8 @@ func newRemoteInfoCommand() *cobra.Command {
 				LogOptions: log.Options{
 					Verbose: rootFlags.Verbose,
 					Debug:   rootFlags.Debug,
-					Quiet:   rootFlags.Quiet || jsonOutput,
+					Quiet:   rootFlags.Quiet,
+					JSON:    jsonOutput,
 				},
 				Modules: []fx.Option{},
 				Invokes: []fx.Option{

internal/cli/snapshot.go

@@ -239,7 +239,8 @@ func newSnapshotVerifyCommand() *cobra.Command {
 				LogOptions: log.Options{
 					Verbose: rootFlags.Verbose,
 					Debug:   rootFlags.Debug,
-					Quiet:   rootFlags.Quiet || opts.JSON,
+					Quiet:   rootFlags.Quiet,
+					JSON:    opts.JSON,
 				},
 				Modules: []fx.Option{},
 				Invokes: []fx.Option{

internal/log/module.go

@@ -14,8 +14,18 @@ var Module = fx.Module("log",
 )
 
 // New creates a new logger configuration from provided options.
+//
+// JSON is intentionally not carried into Config: a command emitting a
+// JSON document on stdout must keep its stderr log level under
+// --verbose/--debug, so --json must not lower it (issue #112). JSON
+// silences the stdout UI in setupGlobals instead.
 func New(opts Options) Config {
-	return Config(opts)
+	return Config{
+		Verbose: opts.Verbose,
+		Debug:   opts.Debug,
+		Cron:    opts.Cron,
+		Quiet:   opts.Quiet,
+	}
 }
 
 // Options are provided by the CLI.
@@ -24,4 +34,8 @@ type Options struct {
 	Debug   bool
 	Cron    bool
 	Quiet   bool
+	// JSON marks a command whose stdout carries a machine-readable
+	// document. It silences the human UI on stdout (see setupGlobals),
+	// but unlike Quiet it leaves the stderr log level alone.
+	JSON bool
 }

internal/vaultik/prune_count_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+package vaultik //nolint:testpackage // exercises unexported count helpers
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/database"
+	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/log"
+)
+
+// TestTableCountForReportSurfacesReadFailure is the regression guard for
+// the discarded-error bug: getTableCount for a table its query cannot
+// resolve must not silently become 0. A count that could not be read is
+// reported as unknown, which a reader can tell apart from an empty table.
+//
+//nolint:paralleltest // installs the global logger via log.Initialize
+func TestTableCountForReportSurfacesReadFailure(t *testing.T) {
+	log.Initialize(log.Config{})
+
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	db, err := database.New(ctx, ":memory:")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	t.Cleanup(func() { _ = db.Close() })
+
+	v := &Vaultik{DB: db}
+	v.SetContext(ctx)
+
+	// A table present in the schema reads as a real count.
+	blobs := v.tableCountForReport("blobs")
+	require.NotNil(t, blobs, "an existing table must read as a real count")
+	assert.Equal(t, int64(0), *blobs)
+
+	// A syntactically valid name the sanitizer accepts but whose table
+	// the query cannot resolve is the exact shape #96 describes: a
+	// would-be loud failure that used to be discarded into a 0.
+	_, err = v.getTableCount("snapshots_missing")
+	require.Error(t, err, "a query against a nonexistent table must fail")
+
+	missing := v.tableCountForReport("snapshots_missing")
+	assert.Nil(t, missing, "a failed read is unknown, not a count")
+
+	// The rendered count for a failed read must say unknown, never 0.
+	assert.Equal(t, countUnknown, countText(missing))
+	assert.NotEqual(t, "0", countText(missing))
+}
+
+// TestCountTextDistinguishesEmptyFromUnknown pins the distinction the
+// output has to preserve: 0 means the table was empty, "unknown" means
+// the count could not be read.
+func TestCountTextDistinguishesEmptyFromUnknown(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	zero := int64(0)
+	seven := int64(7)
+
+	assert.Equal(t, "0", countText(&zero))
+	assert.Equal(t, "7", countText(&seven))
+	assert.Equal(t, countUnknown, countText(nil))
+}
+
+// TestCountDiffUnknownWhenEitherSideUnknown checks that a delta computed
+// from an unreadable count is itself unknown rather than a plausible
+// number.
+func TestCountDiffUnknownWhenEitherSideUnknown(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	before := int64(10)
+	after := int64(3)
+
+	require.NotNil(t, countDiff(&before, &after))
+	assert.Equal(t, int64(7), *countDiff(&before, &after))
+
+	assert.Nil(t, countDiff(nil, &after), "unknown before yields unknown delta")
+	assert.Nil(t, countDiff(&before, nil), "unknown after yields unknown delta")
+	assert.Nil(t, countDiff(nil, nil))
+}

internal/vaultik/snapshot.go

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"path/filepath"
 	"regexp"
 	"sort"
+	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -1540,12 +1541,17 @@ func (v *Vaultik) outputRemoveJSON(result *RemoveResult) error {
 	return encoder.Encode(result)
 }
 
-// PruneResult contains statistics about the prune operation
+// PruneResult contains statistics about the prune operation.
+// SnapshotsDeleted counts snapshots actually deleted. FilesDeleted,
+// ChunksDeleted, and BlobsDeleted are derived from before/after row
+// counts of the local index; each is nil when a count could not be read,
+// so an unreadable count is reported as unknown rather than silently
+// as 0.
 type PruneResult struct {
 	SnapshotsDeleted int64
-	FilesDeleted     int64
-	ChunksDeleted    int64
-	BlobsDeleted     int64
+	FilesDeleted     *int64
+	ChunksDeleted    *int64
+	BlobsDeleted     *int64
 }
 
 // PruneDatabase removes incomplete snapshots and orphaned files, chunks,
@@ -1560,7 +1566,7 @@ func (v *Vaultik) PruneDatabase() (*PruneResult, error) {
 	result := &PruneResult{}
 
 	// Snapshot counts before deletion of incompletes.
-	snapshotCountBefore, _ := v.getTableCount("snapshots")
+	snapshotCountBefore := v.tableCountForReport("snapshots")
 
 	// First, delete any incomplete snapshots
 	incompleteSnapshots, err := v.Repositories.Snapshots.GetIncompleteSnapshots(v.ctx)
@@ -1575,9 +1581,9 @@ func (v *Vaultik) PruneDatabase() (*PruneResult, error) {
 	}
 
 	// Get counts before cleanup for reporting
-	fileCountBefore, _ := v.getTableCount("files")
-	chunkCountBefore, _ := v.getTableCount("chunks")
-	blobCountBefore, _ := v.getTableCount("blobs")
+	fileCountBefore := v.tableCountForReport("files")
+	chunkCountBefore := v.tableCountForReport("chunks")
+	blobCountBefore := v.tableCountForReport("blobs")
 
 	// Run the cleanup
 	err = v.SnapshotManager.CleanupOrphanedData(v.ctx)
@@ -1586,36 +1592,83 @@ func (v *Vaultik) PruneDatabase() (*PruneResult, error) {
 	}
 
 	// Get counts after cleanup
-	fileCountAfter, _ := v.getTableCount("files")
-	chunkCountAfter, _ := v.getTableCount("chunks")
-	blobCountAfter, _ := v.getTableCount("blobs")
+	fileCountAfter := v.tableCountForReport("files")
+	chunkCountAfter := v.tableCountForReport("chunks")
+	blobCountAfter := v.tableCountForReport("blobs")
 
-	result.FilesDeleted = fileCountBefore - fileCountAfter
-	result.ChunksDeleted = chunkCountBefore - chunkCountAfter
-	result.BlobsDeleted = blobCountBefore - blobCountAfter
+	result.FilesDeleted = countDiff(fileCountBefore, fileCountAfter)
+	result.ChunksDeleted = countDiff(chunkCountBefore, chunkCountAfter)
+	result.BlobsDeleted = countDiff(blobCountBefore, blobCountAfter)
 
 	log.Info("Local database prune complete",
 		"incomplete_snapshots", result.SnapshotsDeleted,
-		"orphaned_files", result.FilesDeleted,
-		"orphaned_chunks", result.ChunksDeleted,
-		"orphaned_blobs", result.BlobsDeleted,
+		"orphaned_files", countText(result.FilesDeleted),
+		"orphaned_chunks", countText(result.ChunksDeleted),
+		"orphaned_blobs", countText(result.BlobsDeleted),
 	)
 
-	snapshotCountAfter := snapshotCountBefore - result.SnapshotsDeleted
+	// Snapshots remaining after removing the incomplete ones; unknown if
+	// the pre-prune snapshot count could not be read.
+	snapshotsRemain := countDiff(snapshotCountBefore, &result.SnapshotsDeleted)
 
 	v.UI.Completef("Pruned local index database.")
-	v.UI.Detailf("Incomplete snapshots: %d removed (%d remain).",
-		result.SnapshotsDeleted, snapshotCountAfter)
-	v.UI.Detailf("Orphaned files: %d removed (%d remain).",
-		result.FilesDeleted, fileCountAfter)
-	v.UI.Detailf("Orphaned chunks: %d removed (%d remain).",
-		result.ChunksDeleted, chunkCountAfter)
-	v.UI.Detailf("Orphaned blobs: %d removed (%d remain).",
-		result.BlobsDeleted, blobCountAfter)
+	v.UI.Detailf("Incomplete snapshots: %s removed (%s remain).",
+		countText(&result.SnapshotsDeleted), countText(snapshotsRemain))
+	v.UI.Detailf("Orphaned files: %s removed (%s remain).",
+		countText(result.FilesDeleted), countText(fileCountAfter))
+	v.UI.Detailf("Orphaned chunks: %s removed (%s remain).",
+		countText(result.ChunksDeleted), countText(chunkCountAfter))
+	v.UI.Detailf("Orphaned blobs: %s removed (%s remain).",
+		countText(result.BlobsDeleted), countText(blobCountAfter))
 
 	return result, nil
 }
 
+// countUnknown is what a count reads as when its query could not be run,
+// distinct from "0", which means the table really was empty.
+const countUnknown = "unknown"
+
+// tableCountForReport returns the row count of a table for the prune
+// summary, or nil if the count could not be read. A read failure is
+// logged at warn — visible even under --json, which routes warnings to
+// stderr — and then rendered as unknown rather than silently becoming 0,
+// so a broken query is a visible failure instead of a plausible wrong
+// number.
+func (v *Vaultik) tableCountForReport(tableName string) *int64 {
+	count, err := v.getTableCount(tableName)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Warn("could not read table row count for prune summary",
+			"table", tableName, "error", err)
+
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	return &count
+}
+
+// countDiff returns before-after, or nil if either count is unknown so
+// that an unreadable count does not collapse into a plausible delta.
+func countDiff(before, after *int64) *int64 {
+	if before == nil || after == nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	diff := *before - *after
+
+	return &diff
+}
+
+// countText renders a count that may be unknown: nil (the read failed)
+// becomes "unknown", never "0", so a reader can tell an empty table from
+// one that could not be queried.
+func countText(count *int64) string {
+	if count == nil {
+		return countUnknown
+	}
+
+	return strconv.FormatInt(*count, 10)
+}
+
 // validTableNameRe matches table names containing only lowercase
 // alphanumeric characters and underscores.
 var validTableNameRe = regexp.MustCompile(`^[a-z0-9_]+$`)