Make the tagged-release path work on Gitea (closes #65 )

No tag could be cut from this repo at all. Three independent blockers. goreleaser was configured for GitHub while the repo lives on Gitea: .goreleaser.yaml had a release: block but no gitea_urls:, so goreleaser defaulted to the GitHub API and a release would have failed or published somewhere nobody is looking. It now points at https://git.eeqj.de/api/v1. The version was a hardcoded Makefile constant, VERSION := 1.0.0-rc.1, so every local build claimed to be a release candidate that had never been tagged and did not exist, while git tag -l was empty and internal/globals defaulted to dev. The version now comes from git, via the new script/version: the exact tag with a leading v stripped when HEAD is on one (so a make build and a goreleaser build of the same commit report the same string, and it matches the archive names), otherwise dev-<12-char sha>, with -dirty appended in either case when tracked files are modified. Untracked files are not counted, matching git describe --dirty. goreleaser's snapshot template gets the same treatment: it was {{ incpatch .Version }}-next, which manufactures a release number from the last tag and, with no tags at all, from goreleaser's fabricated v0.0.0. That change had one non-obvious consequence. internal/cli/version.go gated its "this is a development build" notice on the version being exactly "dev", so as soon as untagged builds carried a commit sha the notice would have gone silent and an unreleased binary would have read as a release. The gate is now globals.IsDevVersion, a predicate over a string rather than a comparison against a global so that it can be tested, and it is tested at the boundary that matters: dev-<sha> and its -dirty variant are development builds, 1.0.0-dev and 1.0.0-rc.1 are not. The command writes to cmd.OutOrStdout() so its output can be asserted on at all. Releases now come from CI rather than a workstation: a tag-triggered .gitea/workflows/release.yml, with fetch-depth: 0 because a shallow checkout has no tags and would silently mislabel the release, and with the RELEASE_TOKEN repository secret passed as GITEA_TOKEN (documented in README.md; the runner's automatic token is deliberately not used, since it is not guaranteed to carry release write scope). script/release unsets any GITHUB_TOKEN or GITLAB_TOKEN it finds, because goreleaser picks its forge from whichever token variable is set and refuses to run when it sees more than one -- an unrelated runner token must not get to decide where these artifacts are published. make release and make release-snapshot were the last two Makefile targets that were not shims; they now call script/release and script/release-snapshot, which resolve goreleaser the way script/lint resolves the linter -- a PATH binary is accepted only at the pinned version, never as a silent fallback. script/bootstrap installs it from a sha256-verified GitHub release archive per REPO_POLICIES.md, through a separate script/install-goreleaser: separate because script/bootstrap hard-fails without a usable Docker daemon by design, and the release runner needs goreleaser without needing Docker. dist/ and .tool/ are gitignored and excluded from the Docker build context. The release workflow installs its own Go toolchain, pinned. goreleaser is not a compiler: it shells out to go for the before: hook and for all four cross-compiles, and nothing else in this repo puts a toolchain on the runner, since check.yml does all of its work inside the digest-pinned Dockerfile images. Without that step a tag either fails at the before-hook or, worse, ships binaries built by whatever unpinned Go the runner happens to carry -- the one unpinned thing in a release path whose every other input is hash-pinned, in a repo whose policy admits no exceptions and whose own script/release refuses a goreleaser that is not the pinned build. actions/setup-go is pinned by commit sha like the checkout above it, and reads its version from go.mod rather than restating it. An unobtainable version can no longer produce a binary at all. $(shell) discards exit status, so a missing or broken script/version left VERSION empty and the build went ahead and stamped nothing; the Makefile now stops with an error instead. IsDevVersion("") became true as the second line of defence, for a binary linked by something other than the Makefile: nothing that knows its version reports no version, so an empty version means the stamping failed, and a build that cannot be shown to be a release is not one. This is the same defect class as the notice that went silent above, one layer down. Verified by running it: make release-snapshot produces the four linux,darwin x amd64,arm64 archives plus checksums.txt, and the binary from dist/ reports dev-<sha> with the development-build notice. Tag handling was exercised in a throwaway repository; no tag was created here, since that is the owner's call. Signing, SBOM, reproducible builds, shell completions and a man page remain out of scope.
2026-08-09 15:51:29 +00:00
18 changed files with 187 additions and 1853 deletions
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -83,8 +83,8 @@ Version: 2025-06-08
   possible to mock or stub these side-effects in tests.
 9. Always use structured logging.  Log any relevant state/context with the
-   messages (but do not log secrets).  If the log stream is not a terminal,
+   messages (but do not log secrets).  If stdout is not a terminal, output
-   output the structured logs in jsonl format.
+   the structured logs in jsonl format.
 10. Avoid using bare strings or numbers in code, especially if they appear
    anywhere more than once.  Always define a constant (usually at the top
--- a/13
+++ b/13
@@ -66,18 +66,7 @@ lint:
 lint-fix:
 	@script/lint-fix
-# Build binary. `build` is the name the org convention reaches for and
+# Build binary.
 # the one a caller checks the exit code of; `vaultik` is the file rule
 # that does the work, so an unchanged tree still short-circuits.
 #
 # This alias is not decorative. `build` was listed in .PHONY with no
 # rule, and a phony target with no prerequisites and no recipe is
 # already satisfied: `make build` printed "Nothing to be done" and
 # exited 0 without producing a binary (issue #110). Every name in
 # .PHONY needs a rule for that reason; TestPhonyTargetsAllHaveRules in
 # cmd/vaultik keeps it that way.
 build: vaultik
 vaultik: internal/*/*.go cmd/vaultik/*.go
 	go build -ldflags "$(LDFLAGS)" -o $@ ./cmd/vaultik
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -113,40 +113,11 @@ vaultik version
 ### global flags
 * `--config <path>`: Path to config file (default: `$VAULTIK_CONFIG`, then platform config dir, then `/etc/vaultik/config.yml`)
-* `--verbose`, `-v`: Enable verbose output (on stderr — see below)
+* `--verbose`, `-v`: Enable verbose output
-* `--debug`: Enable debug output (on stderr — see below)
+* `--debug`: Enable debug output
 * `--quiet`, `-q`: Suppress non-error output (also suppresses startup banner)
 * `--skip-errors`: Continue past per-file errors instead of aborting (applies to `snapshot create` and `restore`)
 ### stdout and stderr
 Log output — everything from `--verbose` and `--debug`, and every
 warning and error the logger emits — goes to **stderr**. stdout carries
 the output you asked for: tables, and the documents produced by `--json`.
 This means `vaultik snapshot list --verbose > out.txt` captures the
 listing and leaves the diagnostics on your terminal. To capture both,
 redirect stderr as well (`> out.txt 2> log.txt`, or `> out.txt 2>&1` to
 interleave them).
 The split is what makes `--json` usable from a script. Warnings and
 errors are never suppressed — not by `--quiet`, not by `--cron` — so a
 logger on stdout would eventually land a log line inside a JSON
 document and break the parse. A config file with group- or
 world-readable permissions is enough to trigger it.
 Format follows the stream: when stderr is a terminal the records are
 colorized one-liners, and when it is redirected or piped they are
 JSON, one object per line.
 Under `--json`, stdout holds the document and nothing else. The startup
 banner is suppressed, as `--quiet` and `--cron` suppress it, and the
 progress narration a command would otherwise print — such as the stale
 local records `prune` reconciles away — is suppressed too, so it cannot
 land ahead of the document. Every `--json` command therefore pipes on
 its own, with no additional flag: `vaultik snapshot list --json | jq .`
 and `vaultik prune --json | jq .` both work as written.
 ### environment variables
 * `VAULTIK_AGE_SECRET_KEY`: Age private key for decryption (required for `snapshot restore` and `snapshot verify --deep`)
@@ -237,9 +208,8 @@ local index alone, and still exits zero.
  (whether the snapshot is in the local index), `remote_key` (the full
  64-character storage key), and `remote_present` (whether it was seen
  on the destination store, or `null` if the destination could not be
-  listed). Warnings about an unlistable destination, unreadable
+  listed). The warning about an unlistable destination goes to stderr
-  manifests, and a truncated listing all go to stderr through the
+  so stdout stays a single parseable document.
  logger, so stdout stays a single parseable document.
 **`snapshot verify`**: Verify snapshot integrity.
 * Default (shallow): checks that all blobs referenced in the manifest exist in storage
@@ -534,10 +504,6 @@ All user-facing output goes through helpers in `internal/ui` and conforms
 to a uniform style. Color is enabled when stdout is a TTY and the
 `NO_COLOR` environment variable is unset (https://no-color.org/).
 `internal/ui` writes to stdout; it is the output the user asked for.
 Structured log records are a different thing and go through
 `internal/log`, which writes to stderr (see "stdout and stderr" above).
 Message classes:
 | Class | Marker | Alignment | Use for |
--- a/TODO.md
+++ b/TODO.md
@@ -25,139 +25,6 @@ release" is exactly the contradiction
 # Completed Steps
 - 2026-08-09: Finished the `--json` stdout contract and gave `make build`
  a rule ([issue #108](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/108),
  [issue #110](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/110)). Two
  unrelated defects of the same shape — a command reporting something it
  did not do — landed together because both are small.
  `CleanupLocalSnapshots` wrote three prose lines to stdout with no
  `--json` awareness, covering every branch of the function, so no input
  avoided them and `vaultik prune --json | jq` failed even after
  [issue #106](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/106) removed the
  banner. `-q` never helped either: `printlnStdout` and `stdoutf` write
  straight to `Vaultik.Stdout` and never consult `Vaultik.UI`, which is
  what `SetQuiet` affects. The issue offered three fixes and asked for a
  decision. Taken: thread `*PruneOptions` into the function and gate each
  write on `!opts.JSON`, matching `PruneBlobs` (its sibling phase, which
  already takes the same struct), `RemoveSnapshot` and `remote info`, so
  the package has one pattern rather than two. Rejected: moving the lines
  to `log.Info`, because the logger's default level is `slog.LevelWarn`,
  so that would not relocate them to stderr — it would delete them from a
  plain `vaultik prune`, and the removal of rows from the local index is
  not something to narrate only under `--verbose`. Also rejected: putting
  the stale-record count into `PruneBlobsResult`, whose every field is
  blob-scoped and which is produced by the later phase; a prune document
  covering both phases is a reasonable thing to want, but it is a schema
  design question and not a stream-hygiene fix. The narration is
  duplicated as `log.Info` records, which `PruneBlobs` already does
  alongside its own prints, so the events survive on stderr for anyone
  running `--verbose`.
  `make build` printed "Nothing to be done for 'build'" and exited 0
  without producing a binary: `build` was listed in `.PHONY` with no
  `build:` rule anywhere, and declaring a name phony is exactly what
  converts make's "No rule to make target" error into a silent success.
  Fixed with `build: vaultik`, keeping `vaultik:` as the file rule. The
  audit the issue asked for covers all 19 `.PHONY` names; `build` was the
  only one without a rule, and `vaultik` is correctly absent from
  `.PHONY`, being a real file target.
  Tests, each verified to fail with the fix reverted rather than assumed
  to: `CleanupLocalSnapshots` leaves stdout untouched under `--json` in
  all three branches (stale records, none, empty index) and still emits
  every line without it, so the guard cannot be satisfied by deleting the
  output; `prune --json` run end to end through `Entry`, cobra and fx
  over the process's real stdout descriptor against a `file://` store,
  asserting exactly one JSON document, in both the stale and non-stale
  branches; and a parse of the `Makefile` asserting every `.PHONY` name
  has a rule and that `build` reaches the rule that produces the binary,
  which keeps the audit true for names added later. That last one is a
  parse rather than an invocation of `make`, since `make test` is what
  runs it and shelling back into `make build` would nest a build inside
  the test run. The property a parse cannot establish — that the recipe
  still fails when the build fails — was verified by hand against a
  deliberately broken tree: `make build` exits 2 and produces nothing.
  `cmd/vaultik` gains its first test file, so `make test` now reports 16
  packages `ok` where it reported 15.
 - 2026-08-09: Stopped the startup banner from contaminating `--json`
  documents ([issue #106](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/106)).
  `Entry` writes the banner to stdout before cobra parses anything, and
  the flag scan that suppresses it knew `--quiet`, `-q` and `--cron` but
  not `--json`, so every `--json` document arrived behind two lines of
  prose and a blank line, and `vaultik snapshot list --json | jq` failed.
  With the logger already on stderr from
  [issue #82](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/82), this was the
  last writer that could put something on stdout that the caller did not
  ask for. The design question the issue raised — extend the raw-argv
  scan, or move the banner after parsing — is answered in favour of the
  scan: the banner is printed first deliberately, so that it still
  appears when cobra rejects the arguments and on `--help`, and after
  parsing there is no single place that covers those paths. The stated
  cost of the scan, that `--json` is a subcommand flag matched anywhere
  in the vector, is a cost `--cron` already carries — it exists only on
  `snapshot create` — so this adds an instance of an accepted
  imprecision rather than a new kind, and the two error directions are
  not symmetric: a false positive loses a decorative banner, a false
  negative corrupts a document. Regression tests at the CLI layer, where
  `internal/vaultik`'s existing guard cannot reach: one runs `Entry`
  itself over the process's real stdout descriptor, through cobra and fx
  to the document, made hermetic by `file://` storage; a second covers
  the argument vectors of all five `--json` commands; a third asserts the
  banner is still printed without a suppressing flag, so the first
  cannot be satisfied by deleting the banner. Also corrected `AGENTS.md`
  policy 9, which still keyed the structured-log format on stdout's
  TTY-ness after #82 moved that decision to stderr — a rules file that
  misdescribes the code misleads exactly the readers who trust it most.
  Two smaller findings from the same review: `bytesAttrKey`'s
  human-readable byte formatting silently stopped applying under an open
  group, because the key reaching the comparison is group-qualified
  (`transfer.bytes`), now matched on its final segment and tested both
  ways; and `listEnv.stderr` in `snapshot_list_test.go`, assigned but
  never read since those tests began capturing the process's stderr, is
  removed. `Vaultik.Stderr` is kept — nothing writes to it today, which
  its comment now says outright.
 - 2026-08-09: Moved the logger to stderr and fixed `TTYHandler`'s
  discarded attributes
  ([issue #82](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/82),
  [issue #97](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/97)). Two defects
  in `internal/log`, fixed together because both live in the handler
  construction path. The first: both handlers were built over
  `os.Stdout`, and `WARN`/`ERROR` are never suppressed, so a config file
  with group- or world-readable permissions was enough to put a log
  record inside a `--json` document and break `jq`. Diagnostics now go
  to stderr, and the TTY/JSON format choice follows stderr rather than
  stdout — testing the wrong stream would colorize records on a
  redirected stderr whenever stdout happened to be a terminal. This is
  user-visible: `--verbose` and `--debug` output moves to stderr too,
  which is documented in `README.md` under "stdout and stderr". It also
  let the local workaround in `internal/vaultik/snapshot_list.go` go:
  `warnWhileListing` had been hand-rolling structured-log formatting to
  reach a non-stdout writer, and the `jsonOutput` parameter threaded
  through the remote-listing helpers existed only to choose between the
  two writers. The collect-then-emit machinery around `listingWarning`
  stays, but on its remaining merit — warnings emitted in key order
  after `group.Wait()` are deterministic run to run, where emitting from
  the fetch workers would order them by network timing. The second
  defect: `TTYHandler.WithAttrs` and `WithGroup` discarded their
  arguments and returned the receiver while their doc comments claimed
  otherwise, so `log.With` attributes vanished on a terminal and
  appeared correctly in CI — failing precisely when someone is debugging
  interactively. Both now return a new handler (the receiver is never
  written to, since `slog` permits concurrent derivation), attributes
  persist across records, and grouping is implemented as dotted key
  prefixes, which is the only honest rendering for a format with nowhere
  to nest. New tests cover both, including one that feeds the same
  derivation chain to the TTY and JSON handlers and compares the
  attribute sets, so the two paths cannot drift apart again. Found and
  filed while verifying: the startup banner is written to stdout and
  `--json` does not suppress it
  ([issue #106](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/106)), which is
  a separate writer on a separate path and the remaining source of
  stdout contamination.
 - 2026-08-09: Made the tagged-release path actually work on Gitea
  ([issue #65](https://git.eeqj.de/sneak/vaultik/issues/65)). Three
  independent blockers, one of which was the whole
--- a/cmd/vaultik/makefile_test.go
+++ b/cmd/vaultik/makefile_test.go
@@ -1,169 +0,0 @@
 package main_test
 import (
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"regexp"
 	"slices"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 // This file guards the Makefile that builds this program, which is why
 // it lives beside it rather than in a package of its own.
 //
 // Issue #110: `build` was listed in .PHONY with no `build:` rule
 // anywhere in the file. That combination is silently successful — make
 // considers a phony target with no prerequisites and no recipe already
 // satisfied, so `rm -f vaultik && make build` printed "Nothing to be
 // done for 'build'" and exited 0 with no binary produced. Declaring the
 // name phony is precisely what converts the "No rule to make target"
 // error into a green.
 //
 // The guard is a parse of the Makefile rather than an invocation of
 // make. `make test` is what runs these tests, so shelling back into
 // `make build` here would nest a build inside the test run and drop a
 // binary into the tree as a side effect of testing. The one property a
 // parse cannot establish — that the recipe still fails when the build
 // fails — is not testable from inside the build either; it is verified
 // by hand against a deliberately broken tree.
 // phonyDirective introduces the list of phony target names.
 const phonyDirective = ".PHONY:"
 // ruleLine matches a rule's target list: a target starts in column
 // zero, so recipe lines (tab-indented) and the continuation lines of a
 // variable assignment (space-indented) are excluded by construction.
 //
 // The trailing (?:[^=]|$) rejects `:=` assignments such as
 // `VERSION := $(shell script/version)`, which are not rules. Directives
 // and function calls (`.PHONY:`, `ifeq`, `$(error ...)`) do not match
 // because a target here must begin with a letter, digit or underscore.
 var ruleLine = regexp.MustCompile(`^([A-Za-z0-9_][A-Za-z0-9_./ -]*):(?:[^=]|$)`)
 // TestPhonyTargetsAllHaveRules fails on any name in .PHONY that has no
 // rule in the Makefile. Such a name is not a build target at all: it is
 // a command that reports success without doing anything, which is worse
 // than one that does not exist, because a caller checking the exit code
 // cannot tell the difference.
 func TestPhonyTargetsAllHaveRules(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 	makefile := readMakefile(t)
 	phony := phonyTargets(makefile)
 	require.NotEmpty(t, phony, "no .PHONY names found; the parser is broken")
 	rules := declaredRules(makefile)
 	// Sanity check on the rule parser before trusting its verdict: a
 	// parser that found nothing would pass this test by accident.
 	require.Contains(t, rules, "vaultik",
 		"the file rule that builds the binary must be recognized")
 	for _, target := range phony {
 		assert.Contains(t, rules, target,
 			"`.PHONY` lists %q but the Makefile declares no %q rule, so "+
 				"`make %s` exits 0 without doing anything", target, target, target)
 	}
 }
 // TestBuildTargetBuildsTheBinary pins the specific shape of issue #110:
 // `make build` has to reach the rule that produces the binary. The test
 // above would also pass if `build:` were given an empty recipe of its
 // own, which would be the same silent success under a different
 // spelling.
 func TestBuildTargetBuildsTheBinary(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 	prerequisites := rulePrerequisites(readMakefile(t), "build")
 	require.NotNil(t, prerequisites, "the Makefile declares no `build` rule")
 	assert.Contains(t, prerequisites, "vaultik",
 		"`make build` must depend on the rule that builds the binary")
 }
 // readMakefile returns the contents of the repository's Makefile. The
 // test binary runs with its package directory as the working directory,
 // so the root is found by walking up until the Makefile appears.
 func readMakefile(t *testing.T) string {
 	t.Helper()
 	dir, err := os.Getwd()
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	for {
 		//nolint:gosec // G304: the path is this test's own directory walk
 		contents, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(dir, "Makefile"))
 		if err == nil {
 			return string(contents)
 		}
 		parent := filepath.Dir(dir)
 		require.NotEqual(t, dir, parent,
 			"walked to the filesystem root without finding a Makefile")
 		dir = parent
 	}
 }
 // phonyTargets returns every name declared phony, across all .PHONY
 // lines.
 func phonyTargets(makefile string) []string {
 	var targets []string
 	for line := range strings.SplitSeq(makefile, "\n") {
 		if !strings.HasPrefix(line, phonyDirective) {
 			continue
 		}
 		targets = append(targets,
 			strings.Fields(strings.TrimPrefix(line, phonyDirective))...)
 	}
 	return targets
 }
 // declaredRules returns the set of target names that have a rule.
 func declaredRules(makefile string) map[string]bool {
 	rules := make(map[string]bool)
 	for line := range strings.SplitSeq(makefile, "\n") {
 		match := ruleLine.FindStringSubmatch(line)
 		if match == nil {
 			continue
 		}
 		// One rule may name several targets: `a b: prereq`.
 		for target := range strings.FieldsSeq(match[1]) {
 			rules[target] = true
 		}
 	}
 	return rules
 }
 // rulePrerequisites returns the prerequisites of the named rule, or nil
 // if no such rule exists. A rule with none returns an empty slice, so
 // "declared with nothing to do" is distinguishable from "not declared".
 func rulePrerequisites(makefile, target string) []string {
 	for line := range strings.SplitSeq(makefile, "\n") {
 		match := ruleLine.FindStringSubmatch(line)
 		if match == nil {
 			continue
 		}
 		if !slices.Contains(strings.Fields(match[1]), target) {
 			continue
 		}
 		_, after, _ := strings.Cut(line, ":")
 		return append([]string{}, strings.Fields(after)...)
 	}
 	return nil
 }
--- a/internal/cli/entry.go
+++ b/internal/cli/entry.go
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 package cli
 import (
 	"io"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -15,12 +14,18 @@ import (
 const shortCommitLen = 12
 // Entry is the main entry point for the CLI application.
-// It prints the startup banner to stdout (unless a banner-suppressing
+// It prints the startup banner (unless a quiet flag is present in os.Args),
-// flag is present in os.Args — see bannerSuppressedInArgs), executes the
+// executes the root cobra command, and routes any returned error through
-// root cobra command, and routes any returned error through the
+// the ui.Writer so the user sees a properly formatted "🛑 ERROR:" line.
 // ui.Writer so the user sees a properly formatted "🛑 ERROR:" line.
 func Entry() {
-	emitStartupBanner(os.Args[1:], os.Stdout)
+	if !bannerSuppressedInArgs(os.Args[1:]) {
 		short := globals.Commit
 		if len(short) > shortCommitLen {
 			short = short[:shortCommitLen]
 		}
 		writeStartupBanner(ui.New(os.Stdout), time.Now().UTC(), short)
 	}
 	rootCmd := NewRootCommand()
 	rootCmd.SilenceErrors = true
@@ -32,24 +37,6 @@ func Entry() {
 	}
 }
 // emitStartupBanner writes the startup banner to w unless args (the
 // argument vector with the program name already stripped) contains a
 // flag that suppresses it. Split out of Entry so that the decision — the
 // only thing standing between a --json invocation and a parseable
 // stdout — is reachable from a test without running the whole CLI.
 func emitStartupBanner(args []string, w io.Writer) {
 	if bannerSuppressedInArgs(args) {
 		return
 	}
 	short := globals.Commit
 	if len(short) > shortCommitLen {
 		short = short[:shortCommitLen]
 	}
 	writeStartupBanner(ui.New(w), time.Now().UTC(), short)
 }
 // ReportErrorf emits a user-facing error to stderr in the standard
 // 🛑 ERROR: format. Use it from goroutine error paths (where returning
 // an error to cobra isn't an option) and anywhere else a CLI command
@@ -59,20 +46,9 @@ func ReportErrorf(format string, args ...any) {
 }
 // bannerSuppressedInArgs reports whether any of args is a flag that
-// should suppress the startup banner (--quiet/-q/--cron/--json). Stops
+// should suppress the startup banner (--quiet/-q/--cron). Stops at the
-// at the "--" argument terminator. Recognizes both long forms and short
+// "--" argument terminator. Recognizes both long forms and short -q,
-// -q, including combined short flags like "-qv".
+// including combined short flags like "-qv".
 //
 // This scans the raw argument vector because the banner is printed
 // before cobra parses anything — deliberately, so that it still appears
 // when cobra rejects the arguments and on --help. The consequence is
 // that a flag is matched wherever it occurs in the vector, including
 // positions where the command it belongs to would not accept it.
 // --json is a subcommand flag rather than a persistent one, but so is
 // --cron (it exists only on `snapshot create`), so this adds no new
 // class of imprecision. The only cost of a false positive is a missing
 // decorative banner; the cost of a false negative is a corrupt document
 // on stdout, so the scan errs deliberately in that direction.
 func bannerSuppressedInArgs(args []string) bool {
 	for _, a := range args {
 		if a == "--" {
@@ -80,13 +56,11 @@ func bannerSuppressedInArgs(args []string) bool {
 		}
 		switch a {
-		case "--quiet", "-q", "--cron", "--json":
+		case "--quiet", "-q", "--cron":
 			return true
 		}
-		if strings.HasPrefix(a, "--quiet=") ||
+		if strings.HasPrefix(a, "--quiet=") || strings.HasPrefix(a, "--cron=") {
 			strings.HasPrefix(a, "--cron=") ||
 			strings.HasPrefix(a, "--json=") {
 			return true
 		}
 		// Combined short flags like -qv or -vq.
--- a/internal/cli/entry_banner_test.go
+++ b/internal/cli/entry_banner_test.go
@@ -1,300 +0,0 @@
 package cli //nolint:testpackage // needs access to unexported emitStartupBanner
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 	"testing"
 	"github.com/adrg/xdg"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 // Command words and flags used to build argument vectors below. They are
 // constants rather than repeated literals so that a rename shows up as a
 // compile error in one place.
 const (
 	cmdSnapshot = "snapshot"
 	cmdList     = "list"
 	cmdCreate   = "create"
 	cmdVerify   = "verify"
 	cmdRemove   = "remove"
 	cmdPrune    = "prune"
 	cmdRemote   = "remote"
 	cmdInfo     = "info"
 	flagJSON   = "--json"
 	flagQuiet  = "--quiet"
 	flagConfig = "--config"
 	// programName is argv[0] as the real process receives it. Entry
 	// strips it before scanning, so it has to be present.
 	programName = "vaultik"
 	// someSnapshotID is any snapshot identifier: these tests never run
 	// the command, so it only has to occupy the positional argument.
 	someSnapshotID = "host_2026-01-01T00:00:00Z"
 )
 // placeholderJSONDocument stands in for whatever document a --json
 // command writes to stdout. `snapshot list --json` with no snapshots
 // prints exactly this; the other --json commands print an object rather
 // than an array, but this test is not about their shape. It is about
 // what is on stdout *before* them, which is the same for all of them
 // because Entry prints the banner before cobra has parsed anything and
 // therefore before it can know which command is running.
 const placeholderJSONDocument = "[]\n"
 // jsonArgumentVectors are the argument vectors of every --json
 // invocation the CLI accepts, with the program name stripped exactly as
 // Entry strips it. Each one must leave stdout untouched by the banner.
 //
 //nolint:gochecknoglobals // read-only test fixture shared by two tests
 var jsonArgumentVectors = map[string][]string{
 	"snapshot list":   {cmdSnapshot, cmdList, flagJSON},
 	"snapshot verify": {cmdSnapshot, cmdVerify, someSnapshotID, flagJSON},
 	"snapshot remove": {cmdSnapshot, cmdRemove, someSnapshotID, flagJSON},
 	"prune":           {cmdPrune, flagJSON},
 	"remote info":     {cmdRemote, cmdInfo, flagJSON},
 	// --json before the subcommand, and with an explicit value: the
 	// scan is positional, so both forms have to be recognized.
 	"json first":      {flagJSON, cmdSnapshot, cmdList},
 	"json with value": {cmdSnapshot, cmdList, flagJSON + "=true"},
 	// A --json invocation that also carries a flag with a value, so the
 	// scan cannot be fooled by an argument that consumes the next one.
 	"json with config": {
 		flagConfig, "/nonexistent/vaultik.yml", cmdSnapshot, cmdList, flagJSON,
 	},
 }
 // TestJSONInvocationStdoutIsExactlyOneDocument is the CLI-layer
 // regression guard for issue #106: `vaultik snapshot list --json | jq`
 // must work with no other flags.
 //
 // internal/vaultik's TestListSnapshots_JSONStdoutIsOnlyTheDocument
 // guards the same contract one layer down, but it calls the library
 // function directly and so cannot see Entry, which is where the
 // contamination was: the startup banner is written to stdout before
 // cobra parses anything, and the suppression scan did not know about
 // --json. The two banner lines and the blank line landed ahead of the
 // document and `jq` refused the result.
 //
 // The document is a constant here because this test is about the
 // argument vectors, one per --json command; the one that runs a real
 // command end to end is TestEntryJSONStdoutIsExactlyOneDocument below.
 func TestJSONInvocationStdoutIsExactlyOneDocument(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 	for name, argv := range jsonArgumentVectors {
 		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Parallel()
 			var stdout bytes.Buffer
 			emitStartupBanner(argv, &stdout)
 			require.Empty(t, stdout.String(),
 				"nothing may reach stdout ahead of a --json document")
 			_, err := stdout.WriteString(placeholderJSONDocument)
 			require.NoError(t, err)
 			requireExactlyOneJSONDocument(t, stdout.String())
 		})
 	}
 }
 // TestBannerStillPrintedWithoutSuppressingFlag pins the other half of
 // the contract. Without it, deleting the banner outright would satisfy
 // the test above, and the banner is wanted on interactive invocations.
 func TestBannerStillPrintedWithoutSuppressingFlag(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 	for name, argv := range map[string][]string{
 		"no flags": {cmdSnapshot, cmdList},
 		"verbose":  {cmdSnapshot, cmdList, "--verbose"},
 		"after the terminator": {
 			cmdSnapshot, "restore", "--", flagJSON,
 		},
 	} {
 		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Parallel()
 			var stdout bytes.Buffer
 			emitStartupBanner(argv, &stdout)
 			assert.Contains(t, stdout.String(), "starting up at",
 				"the banner belongs on invocations that did not opt out")
 		})
 	}
 }
 // TestBannerSuppressedInArgs covers the suppression scan directly,
 // including the flags that suppressed the banner before --json joined
 // them, so that adding --json cannot regress them.
 func TestBannerSuppressedInArgs(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 	for name, testCase := range map[string]struct {
 		args       []string
 		suppressed bool
 	}{
 		"quiet long":     {[]string{cmdSnapshot, cmdCreate, flagQuiet}, true},
 		"quiet short":    {[]string{cmdSnapshot, cmdCreate, "-q"}, true},
 		"quiet combined": {[]string{cmdSnapshot, cmdCreate, "-qv"}, true},
 		"cron":           {[]string{cmdSnapshot, cmdCreate, "--cron"}, true},
 		"json":           {[]string{cmdSnapshot, cmdList, flagJSON}, true},
 		"nothing":        {[]string{cmdSnapshot, cmdList}, false},
 		"empty":          {nil, false},
 		"json after dashes": {
 			[]string{cmdSnapshot, cmdList, "--", flagJSON}, false,
 		},
 		"quiet after dashes": {
 			[]string{cmdSnapshot, cmdCreate, "--", "-q"}, false,
 		},
 	} {
 		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Parallel()
 			assert.Equal(t, testCase.suppressed,
 				bannerSuppressedInArgs(testCase.args))
 		})
 	}
 }
 // hermeticConfig is a complete, valid config that needs no network and
 // no credentials: file:// storage is exempt from the S3 credential
 // checks, and FileStorer over a directory that does not exist lists
 // zero objects without erroring. Chunk, blob and compression settings
 // are filled in by config.Load.
 const hermeticConfig = `age_recipients:
  - age1278m9q7dp3chsh2dcy82qk27v047zywyvtxwnj4cvt0z65jw6a7q5dqhfj
 snapshots:
  test:
    paths:
      - %s
 storage_url: file://%s
 index_path: %s
 hostname: test-host
 `
 // TestEntryJSONStdoutIsExactlyOneDocument runs the real thing: Entry,
 // with a real argument vector, over the process's real stdout file
 // descriptor, all the way through cobra and the fx graph to the
 // document. It is the assertion the issue asks for — `vaultik snapshot
 // list --json | jq .` with no other flags — with the pipe replaced by a
 // decoder.
 //
 // `snapshot list` is the command chosen because it is the only --json
 // command that reaches its document without a populated destination
 // store: it reads the local index, streams `metadata/` (empty here),
 // and treats a barren destination as an empty list rather than a
 // failure.
 //
 // Not parallel: it replaces os.Args, os.Stdout and the xdg globals.
 func TestEntryJSONStdoutIsExactlyOneDocument(t *testing.T) {
 	dir := t.TempDir()
 	configPath := filepath.Join(dir, "config.yml")
 	contents := fmt.Sprintf(hermeticConfig,
 		filepath.Join(dir, "source"),
 		filepath.Join(dir, "store"),
 		filepath.Join(dir, "index.sqlite"))
 	require.NoError(t,
 		os.WriteFile(configPath, []byte(contents), configFileMode))
 	// The PID lock lives under xdg.DataHome, which xdg resolves at
 	// package init; point it at the temp dir so the test neither
 	// touches nor collides with the real one.
 	t.Setenv("XDG_DATA_HOME", filepath.Join(dir, "data"))
 	xdg.Reload()
 	t.Cleanup(xdg.Reload)
 	previousArgs := os.Args
 	t.Cleanup(func() {
 		os.Args = previousArgs
 		rootFlags = RootFlags{}
 	})
 	os.Args = []string{
 		programName, flagConfig, configPath, cmdSnapshot, cmdList, flagJSON,
 	}
 	stdout := captureProcessStdout(t, Entry)
 	requireExactlyOneJSONDocument(t, stdout)
 	var snapshots []any
 	require.NoError(t, json.Unmarshal([]byte(stdout), &snapshots))
 	assert.Empty(t, snapshots,
 		"a destination store with no snapshots lists none")
 }
 // captureProcessStdout redirects the process's own stdout to a pipe for
 // the duration of fn and returns what was written to it. The redirection
 // has to be at the file-descriptor level rather than through an injected
 // writer, because the banner and the JSON encoder reach os.Stdout
 // independently and the point of the test is that both land in the same
 // place.
 //
 // Not parallel-safe: os.Stdout is process-global.
 func captureProcessStdout(t *testing.T, fn func()) string {
 	t.Helper()
 	reader, writer, err := os.Pipe()
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	previous := os.Stdout
 	os.Stdout = writer
 	captured := make(chan string, 1)
 	go func() {
 		var buf bytes.Buffer
 		_, _ = io.Copy(&buf, reader)
 		captured <- buf.String()
 	}()
 	fn()
 	os.Stdout = previous
 	require.NoError(t, writer.Close())
 	out := <-captured
 	require.NoError(t, reader.Close())
 	return out
 }
 // requireExactlyOneJSONDocument fails unless stdout decodes as a single
 // JSON value with nothing before or after it — the property that makes
 // `| jq` work.
 func requireExactlyOneJSONDocument(t *testing.T, stdout string) {
 	t.Helper()
 	decoder := json.NewDecoder(strings.NewReader(stdout))
 	var document any
 	err := decoder.Decode(&document)
 	require.NoError(t, err,
 		"stdout must parse as JSON, got:\n%s", stdout)
 	_, err = decoder.Token()
 	require.ErrorIs(t, err, io.EOF,
 		"stdout must hold exactly one JSON document, got:\n%s", stdout)
 }
--- a/internal/cli/entry_prune_json_test.go
+++ b/internal/cli/entry_prune_json_test.go
@@ -1,165 +0,0 @@
 package cli //nolint:testpackage // shares hermeticConfig and the capture helpers
 import (
 	"context"
 	"database/sql"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 	"github.com/adrg/xdg"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/database"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/types"
 )
 // pruneJSONDocument is the shape `prune --json` writes: the
 // PruneBlobsResult document, and nothing else.
 //
 //nolint:tagliatelle // snake_case is the established JSON output format
 type pruneJSONDocument struct {
 	BlobsFound   int   `json:"blobs_found"`
 	BlobsDeleted int   `json:"blobs_deleted"`
 	BytesFreed   int64 `json:"bytes_freed"`
 }
 // stalePruneSnapshotID is seeded into the local index with no manifest
 // on the destination store, which is exactly what makes it stale.
 const stalePruneSnapshotID = "test-host_test_2026-04-01T09:00:00Z"
 // TestEntryPruneJSONStdoutIsExactlyOneDocument is the end-to-end
 // regression guard for issue #108: `vaultik prune --json | jq .` must
 // work with no other flags.
 //
 // It runs Entry over the process's real stdout descriptor, through
 // cobra and the fx graph, against a hermetic file:// destination store
 // — the same construction TestEntryJSONStdoutIsExactlyOneDocument uses
 // for `snapshot list`, with the pipe to jq replaced by a decoder.
 //
 // Both branches of the local-snapshot reconciliation are exercised
 // because the three stdout writes that broke this covered all of them:
 // one line per stale record and a summary when there were any, and a
 // "No stale local snapshots found." line when there were none. No input
 // avoided the contamination, so no single branch demonstrates the fix.
 //
 // Not parallel: it replaces os.Args, os.Stdout and the xdg globals.
 //
 //nolint:paralleltest // replaces os.Args, os.Stdout and the xdg globals
 func TestEntryPruneJSONStdoutIsExactlyOneDocument(t *testing.T) {
 	for _, testCase := range []struct {
 		name        string
 		seedStale   bool
 		description string
 	}{
 		{
 			name:        "no stale local records",
 			seedStale:   false,
 			description: "the empty-index branch used to print a 'No stale' line",
 		},
 		{
 			name:      "stale local records present",
 			seedStale: true,
 			description: "the removal branch used to print a line per record " +
 				"plus a summary",
 		},
 	} {
 		t.Run(testCase.name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			configPath := writeHermeticPruneConfig(t, testCase.seedStale)
 			previousArgs := os.Args
 			t.Cleanup(func() {
 				os.Args = previousArgs
 				rootFlags = RootFlags{}
 			})
 			os.Args = []string{
 				programName, flagConfig, configPath, cmdPrune, flagJSON,
 			}
 			stdout := captureProcessStdout(t, Entry)
 			requireExactlyOneJSONDocument(t, stdout)
 			var document pruneJSONDocument
 			require.NoError(t, json.Unmarshal([]byte(stdout), &document),
 				testCase.description)
 			// A destination store with no blobs has none to prune. The
 			// assertion that matters is the one above; this one keeps the
 			// test honest about which document it decoded.
 			assert.Equal(t, 0, document.BlobsFound)
 		})
 	}
 }
 // writeHermeticPruneConfig builds a config over a temp directory and, if
 // seedStale is set, creates the index database up front with one
 // snapshot record that has no counterpart on the destination store.
 // Returns the config path.
 func writeHermeticPruneConfig(t *testing.T, seedStale bool) string {
 	t.Helper()
 	dir := t.TempDir()
 	configPath := filepath.Join(dir, "config.yml")
 	indexPath := filepath.Join(dir, "index.sqlite")
 	contents := fmt.Sprintf(hermeticConfig,
 		filepath.Join(dir, "source"),
 		filepath.Join(dir, "store"),
 		indexPath)
 	require.NoError(t,
 		os.WriteFile(configPath, []byte(contents), configFileMode))
 	// The PID lock lives under xdg.DataHome, which xdg resolves at
 	// package init; point it at the temp dir so the test neither
 	// touches nor collides with the real one.
 	t.Setenv("XDG_DATA_HOME", filepath.Join(dir, "data"))
 	xdg.Reload()
 	t.Cleanup(xdg.Reload)
 	if seedStale {
 		seedStaleSnapshotRecord(t, indexPath)
 	}
 	return configPath
 }
 // seedStaleSnapshotRecord creates the index database at path and
 // inserts one completed snapshot into it. Nothing is written to the
 // destination store, so `prune` finds the record stale and removes it —
 // the branch that printed a line per record.
 func seedStaleSnapshotRecord(t *testing.T, path string) {
 	t.Helper()
 	ctx := context.Background()
 	db, err := database.New(ctx, path)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	defer func() { require.NoError(t, db.Close()) }()
 	startedAt := time.Date(2026, 4, 1, 9, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
 	completedAt := startedAt.Add(time.Minute)
 	snap := &database.Snapshot{
 		ID:             types.SnapshotID(stalePruneSnapshotID),
 		Hostname:       "test-host",
 		VaultikVersion: "test",
 		StartedAt:      startedAt,
 		CompletedAt:    &completedAt,
 	}
 	repos := database.NewRepositories(db)
 	err = repos.WithTx(ctx, func(ctx context.Context, tx *sql.Tx) error {
 		return repos.Snapshots.Create(ctx, tx, snap)
 	})
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 }
--- a/internal/log/log.go
+++ b/internal/log/log.go
@@ -1,9 +1,5 @@
 // Package log provides the application-wide structured logger: slog
-// writing to stderr, with a colorized TTY handler when stderr is a
+// with a colorized TTY handler on terminals and JSON output otherwise.
 // terminal and JSON output otherwise.
 //
 // Everything this package emits is a diagnostic, so it all goes to
 // stderr. stdout belongs to the output the user asked for.
 package log //nolint:revive,nolintlint // stdlib log unused here; see #76
 import (
@@ -73,27 +69,13 @@ func Initialize(cfg Config) {
 		Level: level,
 	}
-	// Diagnostics go to stderr, never to stdout. stdout is reserved for
+	// Check if stdout is a TTY.
-	// the output the user asked for: every --json subcommand writes its
+	if term.IsTerminal(int(os.Stdout.Fd())) {
 	// document there, and WARN/ERROR are never suppressed, so a logger
 	// on stdout puts log records inside that document and makes it
 	// unparseable. A config file with group- or world-readable
 	// permissions is enough to trigger it (see internal/config), so this
 	// was not a theoretical collision.
 	//
 	// The format is chosen by the TTY-ness of the stream the records
 	// actually land on. AGENTS.md policy 9 says "if stdout is not a
 	// terminal, emit jsonl"; it says stdout because that is where logs
 	// used to go, and the property it is really asking for is that
 	// output nobody is watching be machine-readable. Testing stdout here
 	// would colorize records on a redirected stderr whenever stdout
 	// happened to be a terminal, and vice versa.
 	if term.IsTerminal(int(os.Stderr.Fd())) {
 		// Use colorized TTY handler
-		logger = slog.New(NewTTYHandler(os.Stderr, opts))
+		logger = slog.New(NewTTYHandler(os.Stdout, opts))
 	} else {
 		// Use JSON format for non-TTY output
-		logger = slog.New(slog.NewJSONHandler(os.Stderr, opts))
+		logger = slog.New(slog.NewJSONHandler(os.Stdout, opts))
 	}
 	// Set as default logger
--- a/internal/log/tty_handler.go
+++ b/internal/log/tty_handler.go
@@ -5,34 +5,10 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"log/slog"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
 )
 // groupSeparator joins an open group path to an attribute key. This
 // format has no nesting, so a group becomes a dotted key prefix:
 // slog.New(h).WithGroup("db").With("rows", 3) renders "db.rows=3".
 const groupSeparator = "."
 // bytesAttrKey is the attribute key whose int64 value is rendered as a
 // human-readable byte count rather than a bare number. Keys reaching
 // writeAttr are group-qualified, so the match is made against the final
 // dot-separated segment: without that, a "bytes" attribute logged under
 // an open group would arrive as "transfer.bytes" and silently lose its
 // formatting.
 const bytesAttrKey = "bytes"
 // isBytesAttr reports whether a group-qualified attribute key names the
 // byte-count attribute, i.e. whether its last segment is bytesAttrKey.
 func isBytesAttr(key string) bool {
 	if idx := strings.LastIndex(key, groupSeparator); idx >= 0 {
 		key = key[idx+len(groupSeparator):]
 	}
 	return key == bytesAttrKey
 }
 // ANSI color codes
 const (
 	colorReset  = "\033[0m"
@@ -46,26 +22,10 @@ const (
 )
 // TTYHandler is a custom slog handler for TTY output with colors.
 //
 // A handler and the handlers derived from it via WithAttrs/WithGroup
 // all write to the same stream, so they share one mutex; that is why mu
 // is a pointer. A value mutex would give every derived handler its own
 // lock and stop serializing writes to the stream they have in common.
 type TTYHandler struct {
 	opts slog.HandlerOptions
-	mu   *sync.Mutex
+	mu   sync.Mutex
 	out  io.Writer
 	// attrs are the attributes accumulated through WithAttrs, emitted
 	// ahead of each record's own attributes. Their keys already carry
 	// the group path that was open when they were added, so no
 	// qualification happens at write time.
 	attrs []slog.Attr
 	// groups is the group path opened by WithGroup, applied as a key
 	// prefix to attributes that arrive later — both on a record and
 	// through a further WithAttrs.
 	groups []string
 }
 // NewTTYHandler creates a new TTY handler with colored output.
@@ -77,7 +37,6 @@ func NewTTYHandler(out io.Writer, opts *slog.HandlerOptions) *TTYHandler {
 	return &TTYHandler{
 		out:  out,
 		opts: *opts,
 		mu:   &sync.Mutex{},
 	}
 }
@@ -122,20 +81,30 @@ func (h *TTYHandler) Handle(_ context.Context, r slog.Record) error {
 		levelColor, level, colorReset,
 		colorBold, r.Message, colorReset)
-	// Attributes carried by the handler come first, then the record's
+	// Print attributes
 	// own. Handler attributes were qualified when they were added; the
 	// record's are qualified now, against whatever group path is open.
 	for _, a := range h.attrs {
 		h.writeAttr(a)
 	}
 	prefix := strings.Join(h.groups, groupSeparator)
 	r.Attrs(func(a slog.Attr) bool {
-		for _, flat := range appendAttr(nil, prefix, a) {
+		value := a.Value.String()
-			h.writeAttr(flat)
+		// Special handling for certain attribute types
 		switch a.Value.Kind() {
 		case slog.KindDuration:
 			if d, ok := a.Value.Any().(time.Duration); ok {
 				value = formatDuration(d)
 			}
 		case slog.KindInt64:
 			if a.Key == "bytes" {
 				value = formatBytes(a.Value.Int64())
 			}
 		case slog.KindAny, slog.KindBool, slog.KindFloat64, slog.KindString,
 			slog.KindTime, slog.KindUint64, slog.KindGroup, slog.KindLogValuer:
 			// Plain string form above is already correct for these kinds.
 		default:
 			// Future kinds also use the plain string form.
 		}
 		_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(h.out, " %s%s%s=%s%s%s",
 			colorCyan, a.Key, colorReset,
 			colorBlue, value, colorReset)
 		return true
 	})
@@ -144,125 +113,14 @@ func (h *TTYHandler) Handle(_ context.Context, r slog.Record) error {
 	return nil
 }
-// appendAttr flattens a into dst, folding prefix into its key and
+// WithAttrs returns a new handler with the given attributes.
-// expanding group values into further dotted keys. Following the
+func (h *TTYHandler) WithAttrs(_ []slog.Attr) slog.Handler {
-// slog.Handler contract: an empty Attr is dropped, a group with no
+	return h // Simplified for now
 // attributes is dropped, and a group with an empty key is inlined into
 // its parent rather than contributing a level.
 func appendAttr(dst []slog.Attr, prefix string, a slog.Attr) []slog.Attr {
 	a.Value = a.Value.Resolve()
 	if a.Equal(slog.Attr{}) {
 		return dst
 	}
 	key := a.Key
 	switch {
 	case prefix == "":
 		// key stands alone.
 	case key == "":
 		key = prefix
 	default:
 		key = prefix + groupSeparator + key
 	}
 	if a.Value.Kind() != slog.KindGroup {
 		return append(dst, slog.Attr{Key: key, Value: a.Value})
 	}
 	for _, member := range a.Value.Group() {
 		dst = appendAttr(dst, key, member)
 	}
 	return dst
 }
-// WithAttrs returns a new handler that emits attrs on every record it
+// WithGroup returns a new handler with the given group name.
-// handles, in addition to whatever the handler already carried. Keys
+func (h *TTYHandler) WithGroup(_ string) slog.Handler {
-// are qualified by the group path open at the time of the call, so
+	return h // Simplified for now
 // WithGroup("db").WithAttrs(rows=3) later renders "db.rows=3".
 //
 // The receiver is not modified.
 func (h *TTYHandler) WithAttrs(attrs []slog.Attr) slog.Handler {
 	if len(attrs) == 0 {
 		return h
 	}
 	prefix := strings.Join(h.groups, groupSeparator)
 	next := h.clone()
 	for _, a := range attrs {
 		next.attrs = appendAttr(next.attrs, prefix, a)
 	}
 	return next
 }
 // WithGroup returns a new handler that qualifies every subsequent
 // attribute key with name. This format is a single line with nowhere to
 // nest, so grouping is rendered as a dotted key prefix: after
 // WithGroup("db"), an attribute "rows" is emitted as "db.rows".
 //
 // An empty name returns the receiver unchanged, per the slog.Handler
 // contract. The receiver is not modified.
 func (h *TTYHandler) WithGroup(name string) slog.Handler {
 	if name == "" {
 		return h
 	}
 	next := h.clone()
 	next.groups = append(next.groups, name)
 	return next
 }
 // clone returns a copy of h that shares its output stream and mutex but
 // owns its attribute and group slices.
 //
 // The slices are copied rather than resliced on purpose. slog permits
 // one handler to be derived from concurrently, and two derivations that
 // appended into a shared backing array would each overwrite the other's
 // attribute — a data race with a silent wrong-output failure mode.
 func (h *TTYHandler) clone() *TTYHandler {
 	next := &TTYHandler{
 		opts:   h.opts,
 		mu:     h.mu,
 		out:    h.out,
 		attrs:  make([]slog.Attr, len(h.attrs), len(h.attrs)+1),
 		groups: make([]string, len(h.groups), len(h.groups)+1),
 	}
 	copy(next.attrs, h.attrs)
 	copy(next.groups, h.groups)
 	return next
 }
 // writeAttr renders one already-flattened, already-qualified attribute
 // as " key=value". Callers hold h.mu.
 func (h *TTYHandler) writeAttr(a slog.Attr) {
 	value := a.Value.String()
 	// Special handling for certain attribute types
 	switch a.Value.Kind() {
 	case slog.KindDuration:
 		if d, ok := a.Value.Any().(time.Duration); ok {
 			value = formatDuration(d)
 		}
 	case slog.KindInt64:
 		if isBytesAttr(a.Key) {
 			value = formatBytes(a.Value.Int64())
 		}
 	case slog.KindAny, slog.KindBool, slog.KindFloat64, slog.KindString,
 		slog.KindTime, slog.KindUint64, slog.KindGroup, slog.KindLogValuer:
 		// Plain string form above is already correct for these kinds.
 	default:
 		// Future kinds also use the plain string form.
 	}
 	_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(h.out, " %s%s%s=%s%s%s",
 		colorCyan, a.Key, colorReset,
 		colorBlue, value, colorReset)
 }
 // formatDuration formats a duration in a human-readable way
--- a/internal/log/tty_handler_test.go
+++ b/internal/log/tty_handler_test.go
@@ -1,422 +0,0 @@
 package log_test
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"log/slog"
 	"math"
 	"regexp"
 	"sort"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"testing"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/log"
 )
 // ansiEscape matches the SGR sequences TTYHandler wraps every field in.
 // Stripping them is what lets a test compare TTYHandler's rendering with
 // slog.JSONHandler's.
 var ansiEscape = regexp.MustCompile(`\x1b\[[0-9;]*m`)
 // countKey is an attribute key reused across the comparison cases.
 const countKey = "count"
 // debugHandlerOptions enables every level, so a test never has to reason
 // about the default level while reasoning about attributes.
 func debugHandlerOptions() *slog.HandlerOptions {
 	return &slog.HandlerOptions{Level: slog.LevelDebug}
 }
 // ttyAttrs renders one record through a TTYHandler and returns its
 // attributes as key -> value, with color stripped.
 //
 // TTYHandler emits " key=value" per attribute after the message, and the
 // message itself is the last thing before the first attribute, so
 // splitting on spaces and keeping the tokens containing "=" recovers the
 // attribute set. Test values below therefore avoid spaces and "=".
 func ttyAttrs(t *testing.T, derive func(*slog.Logger) *slog.Logger,
 	msg string, args ...any,
 ) map[string]string {
 	t.Helper()
 	var buf bytes.Buffer
 	logger := slog.New(log.NewTTYHandler(&buf, debugHandlerOptions()))
 	derive(logger).Info(msg, args...)
 	line := ansiEscape.ReplaceAllString(buf.String(), "")
 	attrs := make(map[string]string)
 	for token := range strings.FieldsSeq(line) {
 		key, value, found := strings.Cut(token, "=")
 		if !found {
 			continue
 		}
 		attrs[key] = value
 	}
 	return attrs
 }
 // jsonAttrs renders one record through slog.JSONHandler and returns its
 // attributes flattened to the same dotted-key form TTYHandler uses, so
 // the two are directly comparable. The built-in time/level/msg fields
 // are dropped: they are the record, not its attributes.
 func jsonAttrs(t *testing.T, derive func(*slog.Logger) *slog.Logger,
 	msg string, args ...any,
 ) map[string]string {
 	t.Helper()
 	var buf bytes.Buffer
 	logger := slog.New(slog.NewJSONHandler(&buf, debugHandlerOptions()))
 	derive(logger).Info(msg, args...)
 	var decoded map[string]any
 	require.NoError(t, json.Unmarshal(buf.Bytes(), &decoded))
 	delete(decoded, slog.TimeKey)
 	delete(decoded, slog.LevelKey)
 	delete(decoded, slog.MessageKey)
 	attrs := make(map[string]string)
 	flattenJSON(attrs, "", decoded)
 	return attrs
 }
 // flattenJSON turns JSONHandler's nested group objects into the dotted
 // keys TTYHandler writes.
 func flattenJSON(dst map[string]string, prefix string, src map[string]any) {
 	for key, value := range src {
 		full := key
 		if prefix != "" {
 			full = prefix + "." + key
 		}
 		nested, ok := value.(map[string]any)
 		if ok {
 			flattenJSON(dst, full, nested)
 			continue
 		}
 		dst[full] = valueString(value)
 	}
 }
 // valueString renders a decoded JSON scalar the way slog.Value.String
 // renders the corresponding Go value, so the two handlers' outputs can
 // be compared as strings. encoding/json decodes every number as
 // float64, so an integral one is rendered back as an integer — which is
 // what the Go value that produced it was.
 func valueString(v any) string {
 	switch typed := v.(type) {
 	case string:
 		return typed
 	case bool:
 		return strconv.FormatBool(typed)
 	case float64:
 		if typed == math.Trunc(typed) {
 			return strconv.FormatInt(int64(typed), 10)
 		}
 		return strconv.FormatFloat(typed, 'g', -1, 64)
 	default:
 		return fmt.Sprint(v)
 	}
 }
 // TestTTYHandlerWithAttrsEmitsAttributes is the direct regression test
 // for the reported defect: WithAttrs discarded its argument, so an
 // attribute attached to a logger never reached the output.
 func TestTTYHandlerWithAttrsEmitsAttributes(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 	attrs := ttyAttrs(t, func(l *slog.Logger) *slog.Logger {
 		return l.With("key", "value")
 	}, "hello")
 	assert.Equal(t, "value", attrs["key"],
 		"an attribute attached with With must appear on every record")
 }
 // TestTTYHandlerWithAttrsPersistsAcrossRecords checks that the
 // attributes are retained rather than emitted once. A handler that
 // stored them but consumed them would pass the test above.
 func TestTTYHandlerWithAttrsPersistsAcrossRecords(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 	var buf bytes.Buffer
 	logger := slog.New(log.NewTTYHandler(&buf, debugHandlerOptions())).
 		With("request", "abc123")
 	logger.Info("first")
 	logger.Info("second")
 	plain := ansiEscape.ReplaceAllString(buf.String(), "")
 	lines := strings.Split(strings.TrimSuffix(plain, "\n"), "\n")
 	require.Len(t, lines, 2)
 	for _, line := range lines {
 		assert.Contains(t, line, "request=abc123")
 	}
 }
 // TestTTYHandlerWithGroupQualifiesKeys checks that WithGroup does
 // something real rather than being discarded. This format has no
 // nesting, so grouping shows up as a dotted key prefix.
 func TestTTYHandlerWithGroupQualifiesKeys(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 	attrs := ttyAttrs(t, func(l *slog.Logger) *slog.Logger {
 		return l.WithGroup("db").With("rows", 3)
 	}, "queried", "table", "chunks")
 	assert.Equal(t, "3", attrs["db.rows"],
 		"an attribute added under a group must be qualified by it")
 	assert.Equal(t, "chunks", attrs["db.table"],
 		"a record attribute must also be qualified by the open group")
 	assert.NotContains(t, attrs, "rows")
 }
 // TestTTYHandlerByteFormattingSurvivesGrouping guards the interaction
 // between the two features. The human-readable rendering of a "bytes"
 // attribute is selected by comparing the key, and keys reaching that
 // comparison are group-qualified, so a "bytes" attribute logged under an
 // open group arrived as "transfer.bytes" and fell back to a bare number.
 // No caller groups a byte count today, which is exactly why this needs a
 // test rather than a bug report.
 func TestTTYHandlerByteFormattingSurvivesGrouping(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 	const oneAndAHalfKiB = 1536
 	for name, testCase := range map[string]struct {
 		derive func(*slog.Logger) *slog.Logger
 		key    string
 	}{
 		"ungrouped": {
 			derive: func(l *slog.Logger) *slog.Logger { return l },
 			key:    "bytes",
 		},
 		"grouped": {
 			derive: func(l *slog.Logger) *slog.Logger {
 				return l.WithGroup("transfer")
 			},
 			key: "transfer.bytes",
 		},
 	} {
 		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Parallel()
 			var buf bytes.Buffer
 			logger := slog.New(log.NewTTYHandler(&buf, debugHandlerOptions()))
 			testCase.derive(logger).Info("uploaded", "bytes", oneAndAHalfKiB)
 			line := ansiEscape.ReplaceAllString(buf.String(), "")
 			assert.Contains(t, line, testCase.key+"=1.5 KB",
 				"a byte count must be human-readable however it is qualified")
 			assert.NotContains(t, line, strconv.Itoa(oneAndAHalfKiB),
 				"the raw number must not survive the formatting")
 		})
 	}
 }
 // TestTTYHandlerMatchesJSONHandlerAttributes is the drift guard. The
 // handler is chosen by TTY-ness, so a difference between these two is
 // invisible in whichever environment the developer is not in — which is
 // how the original defect survived: attributes vanished on a terminal
 // and were correct in CI.
 func TestTTYHandlerMatchesJSONHandlerAttributes(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 	cases := []struct {
 		name   string
 		derive func(*slog.Logger) *slog.Logger
 		args   []any
 	}{
 		{
 			name:   "record attributes only",
 			derive: func(l *slog.Logger) *slog.Logger { return l },
 			args:   []any{"path", "/etc/vaultik", countKey, 7},
 		},
 		{
 			name: "handler attributes",
 			derive: func(l *slog.Logger) *slog.Logger {
 				return l.With("host", "alpha")
 			},
 			args: []any{countKey, 7},
 		},
 		{
 			name: "handler attributes accumulate",
 			derive: func(l *slog.Logger) *slog.Logger {
 				return l.With("host", "alpha").With("snapshot", "s1")
 			},
 			args: []any{countKey, 7},
 		},
 		{
 			name: "group qualifies later attributes",
 			derive: func(l *slog.Logger) *slog.Logger {
 				return l.WithGroup("db").With("rows", 3)
 			},
 			args: []any{"table", "chunks"},
 		},
 		{
 			name: "nested groups",
 			derive: func(l *slog.Logger) *slog.Logger {
 				return l.WithGroup("outer").WithGroup("inner").
 					With("leaf", "v")
 			},
 			args: []any{"other", "w"},
 		},
 		{
 			name: "attributes before and after a group",
 			derive: func(l *slog.Logger) *slog.Logger {
 				return l.With("top", "t").WithGroup("g").With("in", "i")
 			},
 			args: []any{"rec", "r"},
 		},
 		{
 			name:   "inline group value on the record",
 			derive: func(l *slog.Logger) *slog.Logger { return l },
 			args: []any{slog.Group("net",
 				slog.String("proto", "s3"), slog.Int("retries", 2))},
 		},
 	}
 	for _, testCase := range cases {
 		t.Run(testCase.name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Parallel()
 			tty := ttyAttrs(t, testCase.derive, "message", testCase.args...)
 			js := jsonAttrs(t, testCase.derive, "message", testCase.args...)
 			assert.Equal(t, sortedKeys(js), sortedKeys(tty),
 				"TTY and JSON handlers must emit the same attribute keys")
 			assert.Equal(t, js, tty,
 				"TTY and JSON handlers must emit the same attribute values")
 		})
 	}
 }
 // sortedKeys returns m's keys in order, for a stable comparison message.
 func sortedKeys(m map[string]string) []string {
 	keys := make([]string, 0, len(m))
 	for key := range m {
 		keys = append(keys, key)
 	}
 	sort.Strings(keys)
 	return keys
 }
 // TestTTYHandlerWithAttrsDoesNotMutateReceiver checks that deriving does
 // not write through to the parent or to a sibling. slog permits a
 // handler to be shared, so a WithAttrs that appended into the receiver's
 // state would leak attributes between unrelated loggers.
 func TestTTYHandlerWithAttrsDoesNotMutateReceiver(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 	var buf bytes.Buffer
 	base := slog.New(log.NewTTYHandler(&buf, debugHandlerOptions()))
 	first := base.With("branch", "one")
 	second := base.With("branch", "two")
 	base.Info("base")
 	first.Info("first")
 	second.Info("second")
 	plain := ansiEscape.ReplaceAllString(buf.String(), "")
 	lines := strings.Split(strings.TrimSuffix(plain, "\n"), "\n")
 	require.Len(t, lines, 3)
 	assert.NotContains(t, lines[0], "branch=",
 		"deriving must not add attributes to the handler derived from")
 	assert.Contains(t, lines[1], "branch=one")
 	assert.NotContains(t, lines[1], "branch=two")
 	assert.Contains(t, lines[2], "branch=two")
 	assert.NotContains(t, lines[2], "branch=one")
 }
 // TestTTYHandlerConcurrentDerivation exercises the same handler being
 // derived from and written through by several goroutines at once, which
 // is what slog permits and what a mutating WithAttrs would make a data
 // race. Run under -race by script/test.
 func TestTTYHandlerConcurrentDerivation(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 	const workers = 16
 	var buf bytes.Buffer
 	base := slog.New(log.NewTTYHandler(&buf, debugHandlerOptions())).
 		With("shared", "yes")
 	var group sync.WaitGroup
 	group.Add(workers)
 	for worker := range workers {
 		go func() {
 			defer group.Done()
 			base.With("worker", worker).
 				WithGroup("g").
 				With("nested", worker).
 				Info("concurrent")
 		}()
 	}
 	group.Wait()
 	plain := ansiEscape.ReplaceAllString(buf.String(), "")
 	lines := strings.Split(strings.TrimSuffix(plain, "\n"), "\n")
 	require.Len(t, lines, workers)
 	for _, line := range lines {
 		assert.Contains(t, line, "shared=yes")
 		assert.Contains(t, line, "worker=")
 		assert.Contains(t, line, "g.nested=")
 	}
 }
 // TestTTYHandlerEmptyGroupAndAttrsAreNoOps covers the slog.Handler
 // contract corners: WithGroup("") and WithAttrs(nil) change nothing, and
 // an empty Attr is dropped rather than rendered as "=".
 func TestTTYHandlerEmptyGroupAndAttrsAreNoOps(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 	var buf bytes.Buffer
 	handler := log.NewTTYHandler(&buf, debugHandlerOptions())
 	assert.Same(t, handler, handler.WithGroup(""),
 		"an empty group name must not open a group")
 	assert.Same(t, handler, handler.WithAttrs(nil),
 		"deriving with no attributes must not allocate a handler")
 	slog.New(handler).LogAttrs(context.Background(), slog.LevelInfo, "msg",
 		slog.Attr{}, slog.String("kept", "yes"))
 	plain := ansiEscape.ReplaceAllString(buf.String(), "")
 	assert.Contains(t, plain, "kept=yes")
 	assert.NotContains(t, plain, " =")
 }
--- a/internal/log/with_test.go
+++ b/internal/log/with_test.go
@@ -1,64 +0,0 @@
 //nolint:testpackage // needs the package logger; see TestWithAttributesReachTTYOutput
 package log //nolint:revive,nolintlint // stdlib log unused here; see #76
 import (
 	"bytes"
 	"log/slog"
 	"regexp"
 	"testing"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 // withTestANSIEscape matches the SGR sequences TTYHandler emits.
 var withTestANSIEscape = regexp.MustCompile(`\x1b\[[0-9;]*m`)
 // TestWithAttributesReachTTYOutput exercises the exported package-level
 // With through a TTYHandler, which is the path the reported defect was
 // on: the handler is selected by TTY-ness, so on a terminal With's
 // attributes were silently dropped while the same code printed them
 // correctly in CI.
 //
 // This is an in-package test so it can point the package logger at a
 // buffer. Building an slog.Logger over a TTYHandler by hand would test
 // slog, not this package's With, and there is no injectable sink to
 // reach it from outside. The package logger is process-global, so this
 // test must not run in parallel.
 //
 //nolint:paralleltest // replaces the process-global package logger
 func TestWithAttributesReachTTYOutput(t *testing.T) {
 	var buf bytes.Buffer
 	previous := logger
 	t.Cleanup(func() { logger = previous })
 	logger = slog.New(NewTTYHandler(&buf, &slog.HandlerOptions{
 		Level: slog.LevelDebug,
 	}))
 	With("key", "value").Info("hello")
 	plain := withTestANSIEscape.ReplaceAllString(buf.String(), "")
 	require.NotEmpty(t, plain)
 	assert.Contains(t, plain, "hello")
 	assert.Contains(t, plain, "key=value",
 		"log.With attributes must reach TTYHandler output")
 }
 // TestWithoutInitializedLoggerFallsBack pins the documented behavior of
 // With before Initialize has run: it hands back the slog default rather
 // than a nil logger that would panic at the call site.
 //
 //nolint:paralleltest // replaces the process-global package logger
 func TestWithoutInitializedLoggerFallsBack(t *testing.T) {
 	previous := logger
 	t.Cleanup(func() { logger = previous })
 	logger = nil
 	assert.NotNil(t, With("key", "value"))
 }
--- a/internal/vaultik/prune.go
+++ b/internal/vaultik/prune.go
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ func (v *Vaultik) Prune(opts *PruneOptions) error {
 	// store is treated as gone. This used to be the separate 'snapshot
 	// cleanup' command and is now folded in so a single 'vaultik prune'
 	// gets the local index fully back in sync with the destination.
-	err = v.CleanupLocalSnapshots(opts)
+	err = v.CleanupLocalSnapshots()
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("reconciling local snapshots with remote: %w", err)
 	}
--- a/internal/vaultik/prune_cleanup_test.go
+++ b/internal/vaultik/prune_cleanup_test.go
@@ -1,134 +0,0 @@
 package vaultik_test
 import (
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/log"
 	"sneak.berlin/go/vaultik/internal/vaultik"
 )
 // cleanupStaleID is a local snapshot record with no remote manifest —
 // the record CleanupLocalSnapshots exists to remove.
 const cleanupStaleID = "testhost_home_2026-04-01T09:00:00Z"
 // remainingSnapshotLimit bounds the post-cleanup listing. ListRecent
 // takes a SQL LIMIT, so it must be positive; the fixtures never exceed
 // a handful of rows.
 const remainingSnapshotLimit = 100
 // cleanupStart is the fixture snapshot's start time. Its exact value is
 // irrelevant; only presence in the index matters here.
 //
 //nolint:gochecknoglobals // read-only fixture shared by the tests below
 var cleanupStart = time.Date(2026, 4, 1, 9, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC)
 // TestCleanupLocalSnapshots_JSONWritesNothingToStdout is the regression
 // guard for issue #108: `vaultik prune --json | jq` failed because this
 // function wrote prose to stdout on every branch, ahead of the
 // PruneBlobsResult document, with no --json awareness at all.
 //
 // Both branches are covered because the three writes between them left
 // no input that avoided the contamination: with stale records there was
 // a line per record plus a summary, and with none there was still the
 // "No stale local snapshots found." line.
 func TestCleanupLocalSnapshots_JSONWritesNothingToStdout(t *testing.T) {
 	log.Initialize(log.Config{})
 	t.Parallel()
 	for name, seed := range map[string]func(*listEnv){
 		"no stale records": func(env *listEnv) {
 			// A snapshot present both locally and remotely: nothing to
 			// remove, which used to print the "No stale" line.
 			env.addLocal(t, listLocalID, cleanupStart)
 			env.addRemote(t, listLocalID, cleanupStart)
 		},
 		"stale records present": func(env *listEnv) {
 			env.addLocal(t, cleanupStaleID, cleanupStart)
 		},
 		"nothing at all": func(_ *listEnv) {},
 	} {
 		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Parallel()
 			env := newListEnv(t)
 			seed(env)
 			err := env.v.CleanupLocalSnapshots(&vaultik.PruneOptions{JSON: true})
 			require.NoError(t, err)
 			assert.Empty(t, env.stdout.String(),
 				"stdout carries the --json document and nothing else")
 		})
 	}
 }
 // TestCleanupLocalSnapshots_HumanOutputRetained pins the other half of
 // the contract. Without it the test above would be satisfied by
 // deleting the three lines outright, and a `vaultik prune` with no
 // flags must still say that it removed records from the local index —
 // that is the deletion of local state, not decoration.
 func TestCleanupLocalSnapshots_HumanOutputRetained(t *testing.T) {
 	log.Initialize(log.Config{})
 	t.Parallel()
 	t.Run("stale records present", func(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Parallel()
 		env := newListEnv(t)
 		env.addLocal(t, cleanupStaleID, cleanupStart)
 		err := env.v.CleanupLocalSnapshots(&vaultik.PruneOptions{})
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		out := env.stdout.String()
 		assert.Contains(t, out, "Removing stale local record: "+cleanupStaleID)
 		assert.Contains(t, out, "Removed 1 stale local snapshot record(s).")
 	})
 	t.Run("no stale records", func(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Parallel()
 		env := newListEnv(t)
 		env.addLocal(t, listLocalID, cleanupStart)
 		env.addRemote(t, listLocalID, cleanupStart)
 		err := env.v.CleanupLocalSnapshots(&vaultik.PruneOptions{})
 		require.NoError(t, err)
 		assert.Contains(t, env.stdout.String(),
 			"No stale local snapshots found.")
 	})
 }
 // TestCleanupLocalSnapshots_RemovesOnlyStaleRecords checks that the
 // --json gate did not change what the function does, only what it
 // says: the stale record is gone from the index and the one with a
 // remote manifest is untouched.
 func TestCleanupLocalSnapshots_RemovesOnlyStaleRecords(t *testing.T) {
 	log.Initialize(log.Config{})
 	t.Parallel()
 	env := newListEnv(t)
 	env.addLocal(t, listLocalID, cleanupStart)
 	env.addRemote(t, listLocalID, cleanupStart)
 	env.addLocal(t, cleanupStaleID, cleanupStart)
 	err := env.v.CleanupLocalSnapshots(&vaultik.PruneOptions{JSON: true})
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	remaining, err := env.v.Repositories.Snapshots.ListRecent(
 		env.v.Context(), remainingSnapshotLimit)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	ids := make([]string, 0, len(remaining))
 	for _, snap := range remaining {
 		ids = append(ids, snap.ID.String())
 	}
 	assert.Equal(t, []string{listLocalID}, ids,
 		"only the record with no remote manifest may be removed")
 }
--- a/internal/vaultik/snapshot.go
+++ b/internal/vaultik/snapshot.go
@@ -829,15 +829,7 @@ func (v *Vaultik) outputVerifyJSON(result *VerifyResult) error {
 // behind by incomplete or interrupted backups. Each local snapshot's
 // human ID is hashed via RemoteSnapshotKey and compared against the
 // remote listing.
-//
+func (v *Vaultik) CleanupLocalSnapshots() error {
 // It takes the whole *PruneOptions, symmetric with PruneBlobs, because
 // it is the other half of one command: Prune runs this phase and then
 // that one. Only JSON is read here. Under --json every write below is
 // suppressed, because stdout carries the PruneBlobsResult document and
 // nothing else — prose ahead of it is what made `vaultik prune --json |
 // jq` fail (issue #108). The narration is duplicated as log records,
 // which go to stderr and so cannot corrupt the document.
 func (v *Vaultik) CleanupLocalSnapshots(opts *PruneOptions) error {
 	err := v.EnsureStorageBinding()
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
@@ -863,11 +855,7 @@ func (v *Vaultik) CleanupLocalSnapshots(opts *PruneOptions) error {
 	for _, snap := range localSnapshots {
 		id := snap.ID.String()
 		if !remoteSet[snapshot.RemoteSnapshotKey(id)] {
-			log.Info("Removing stale local snapshot record", "snapshot_id", id)
+			v.stdoutf("Removing stale local record: %s\n", id)
 			if !opts.JSON {
 				v.stdoutf("Removing stale local record: %s\n", id)
 			}
 			err = v.deleteSnapshotFromLocalDB(id)
 			if err != nil {
@@ -881,13 +869,6 @@ func (v *Vaultik) CleanupLocalSnapshots(opts *PruneOptions) error {
 		}
 	}
 	log.Info("Reconciled local snapshot records against remote metadata",
 		"removed", removed, "examined", len(localSnapshots))
 	if opts.JSON {
 		return nil
 	}
 	if removed == 0 {
 		v.printlnStdout("No stale local snapshots found.")
 	} else {
--- a/internal/vaultik/snapshot_list.go
+++ b/internal/vaultik/snapshot_list.go
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ func (v *Vaultik) ListSnapshots(jsonOutput bool) error {
 		snapshots = append(snapshots, info)
 	}
-	listing, remoteErr := v.collectRemoteSnapshots(localKeys)
+	listing, remoteErr := v.collectRemoteSnapshots(localKeys, jsonOutput)
 	if remoteErr != nil {
 		v.warnRemoteListingFailed(remoteErr, jsonOutput)
 	} else {
@@ -131,23 +131,23 @@ func (v *Vaultik) ListSnapshots(jsonOutput bool) error {
 // still worth printing, and `snapshot list` exiting non-zero because a
 // volume is unmounted would be worse than useless.
 //
-// The two output modes report it through different channels. Table mode
+// In --json mode the warning goes to stderr rather than through the
-// uses the UI writer, whose prose and color match the table it sits
+// logger or the UI writer, both of which emit on stdout — the JSON
-// under. The UI writer emits on stdout, though, so --json mode uses the
+// document has to be the only thing on stdout for `snapshot list --json
-// logger instead: stdout has to hold nothing but the JSON document for
+// | jq` to work. The failure is also representable in the document
-// `snapshot list --json | jq` to work. Both channels are chosen once,
+// itself: every row's remote_present is null when the destination could
-// never both, so the user is not told the same thing twice.
+// not be listed.
 //
 // The failure is also representable in the document itself: every row's
 // remote_present is null when the destination could not be listed.
 func (v *Vaultik) warnRemoteListingFailed(err error, jsonOutput bool) {
 	if jsonOutput {
-		log.Warn("Could not list backup destination store; "+
+		_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(v.Stderr,
-			"showing snapshots from the local index only", "error", err)
+			"Warning: could not list backup destination store: %v. "+
 				"Showing snapshots from the local index only.\n", err)
 		return
 	}
 	// Once only: the logger also writes to stdout, so emitting through
 	// both it and the UI would print the same sentence to the user twice.
 	v.UI.Warningf("Could not list backup destination store: %v.", err)
 	v.UI.Infof("Showing snapshots from the local index only.")
 }
@@ -156,29 +156,69 @@ func (v *Vaultik) warnRemoteListingFailed(err error, jsonOutput bool) {
 // is about to read is incomplete: manifests that could not be read, and
 // remote-only snapshots dropped by the maxRemoteOnlyRows cap.
 //
-// Table mode reports both below the table (see reportListDrift) through
+// Table mode reports both below the table (see reportListDrift). In
-// the UI writer, which emits on stdout. In --json mode stdout has to
+// --json mode they cannot go on stdout — the document has to be the
-// hold nothing but the document for `snapshot list --json | jq` to
+// only thing there for `snapshot list --json | jq` to work — and the
-// work, and the document's shape is deliberately left alone so existing
+// document's shape is deliberately left alone so existing consumers
-// consumers keep parsing — so these go to the logger, which writes to
+// keep parsing. So they go to stderr, the same place the
-// stderr. A consumer that must react to truncation can treat any output
+// unreachable-destination warning already goes. A consumer that must
-// on that stream as "this listing is not the whole picture"; silent
+// react to truncation can treat any output on this stream as "this
-// truncation of a listing whose whole purpose is disaster recovery is
+// listing is not the whole picture"; silent truncation of a listing
-// the worse failure.
+// whose whole purpose is disaster recovery is the worse failure.
 func (v *Vaultik) reportJSONListingLimits(listing *remoteSnapshotListing) {
 	if listing.unreadable > 0 {
-		log.Warn("Some remote snapshot(s) could not be described: "+
+		_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(v.Stderr,
-			"manifest missing or unreadable; they are missing from "+
+			"Warning: %d remote snapshot(s) could not be described: "+
-			"this listing", "unreadable", listing.unreadable)
+				"manifest missing or unreadable. They are missing from "+
 				"this listing.\n", listing.unreadable)
 	}
 	if listing.omitted > 0 {
-		log.Warn("Listing truncated: further remote-only snapshot(s) "+
+		_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(v.Stderr,
-			"not shown", "omitted", listing.omitted,
+			"Warning: listing truncated: %d further remote-only "+
-			"limit", maxRemoteOnlyRows)
+				"snapshot(s) not shown (limit %d per listing).\n",
 			listing.omitted, maxRemoteOnlyRows)
 	}
 }
 // kvPairSize is the number of variadic arguments that make up one
 // structured logging key/value pair.
 const kvPairSize = 2
 // warnWhileListing reports a per-snapshot problem found while
 // describing the destination store, through a writer that is safe for
 // the current output mode.
 //
 // In --json mode it writes to v.Stderr rather than calling log.Warn,
 // for the same reason warnRemoteListingFailed does: internal/log builds
 // its logger over os.Stdout and defaults to level Warn, so one warning
 // there would put a log line on stdout ahead of the JSON document and
 // break `snapshot list --json | jq`. A single corrupt manifest is
 // precisely the degradation this listing is built to survive, so it
 // must not be the thing that corrupts the output.
 //
 // This is a local workaround. Remove it, and the branch in
 // warnRemoteListingFailed, once issue #82 makes the logger's sink
 // configurable.
 func (v *Vaultik) warnWhileListing(jsonOutput bool, msg string, args ...any) {
 	if !jsonOutput {
 		log.Warn(msg, args...)
 		return
 	}
 	var line strings.Builder
 	_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(&line, "Warning: %s", msg)
 	for i := 0; i+kvPairSize <= len(args); i += kvPairSize {
 		pair := args[i : i+kvPairSize]
 		_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(&line, " %v=%v", pair[0], pair[1])
 	}
 	_, _ = fmt.Fprintln(v.Stderr, line.String())
 }
 // remoteSnapshotListing is the result of one pass over the destination
 // store's metadata/ prefix.
 type remoteSnapshotListing struct {
@@ -207,8 +247,11 @@ type remoteSnapshotListing struct {
 // Manifest reads scale only with the number of snapshots the local
 // index does not already know about, and are capped at
 // maxRemoteOnlyRows.
 //
 // jsonOutput only selects where per-snapshot warnings are written; see
 // warnWhileListing.
 func (v *Vaultik) collectRemoteSnapshots(
-	localKeys map[string]bool,
+	localKeys map[string]bool, jsonOutput bool,
 ) (*remoteSnapshotListing, error) {
 	keys, err := v.listAllRemoteSnapshotKeys()
 	if err != nil {
@@ -239,22 +282,17 @@ func (v *Vaultik) collectRemoteSnapshots(
 	}
 	listing.remoteOnly, listing.unreadable = v.describeRemoteOnlySnapshots(
-		unknown)
+		unknown, jsonOutput)
 	return listing, nil
 }
 // listingWarning is a problem found with one remote snapshot, recorded
-// rather than emitted on the spot. Manifest reads run concurrently, so
+// rather than emitted on the spot. Manifest reads run concurrently and
-// emitting from the worker that found the problem would order the
+// the writer chosen by warnWhileListing is not guaranteed to be safe
-// warnings by fetch completion — which varies run to run with network
+// for concurrent use, so warnings are held until every read has
-// timing and tells the reader nothing. Holding them and emitting in key
+// finished and then emitted in key order from a single goroutine. That
-// order from a single goroutine after every read has finished makes two
+// also makes the warning order deterministic run to run.
 // runs over the same damaged store produce the same diagnostics in the
 // same order.
 //
 // Concurrency safety is no longer part of the reason: these are emitted
 // through log.Warn, and slog handlers are safe for concurrent use.
 type listingWarning struct {
 	msg  string
 	args []any
@@ -268,7 +306,7 @@ type listingWarning struct {
 // failing the listing: one bad snapshot directory must not hide every
 // other snapshot the user has.
 func (v *Vaultik) describeRemoteOnlySnapshots(
-	keys []string,
+	keys []string, jsonOutput bool,
 ) ([]SnapshotInfo, int) {
 	found := make([]SnapshotInfo, len(keys))
 	ok := make([]bool, len(keys))
@@ -311,7 +349,7 @@ func (v *Vaultik) describeRemoteOnlySnapshots(
 	for i := range keys {
 		if warnings[i] != nil {
-			log.Warn(warnings[i].msg, warnings[i].args...)
+			v.warnWhileListing(jsonOutput, warnings[i].msg, warnings[i].args...)
 		}
 		if !ok[i] {
--- a/internal/vaultik/snapshot_list_test.go
+++ b/internal/vaultik/snapshot_list_test.go
@@ -108,6 +108,7 @@ type listEnv struct {
 	v      *vaultik.Vaultik
 	store  *observingStorer
 	stdout *bytes.Buffer
 	stderr *bytes.Buffer
 }
 func newListEnv(t *testing.T) *listEnv {
@@ -121,6 +122,7 @@ func newListEnv(t *testing.T) *listEnv {
 	store := newObservingStorer()
 	stdout := &bytes.Buffer{}
 	stderr := &bytes.Buffer{}
 	v := &vaultik.Vaultik{
 		Config: &config.Config{
@@ -133,13 +135,13 @@ func newListEnv(t *testing.T) *listEnv {
 		Repositories: database.NewRepositories(db),
 		DB:           db,
 		Stdout:       stdout,
-		Stderr:       &bytes.Buffer{},
+		Stderr:       stderr,
 		Stdin:        &bytes.Buffer{},
 		UI:           ui.NewWithColor(stdout, false),
 	}
 	v.SetContext(ctx)
-	return &listEnv{v: v, store: store, stdout: stdout}
+	return &listEnv{v: v, store: store, stdout: stdout, stderr: stderr}
 }
 // addLocal inserts a completed snapshot into the local index.
@@ -519,16 +521,16 @@ func TestListSnapshots_JSONMergedView(t *testing.T) {
 // TestListSnapshots_JSONUnreachableRemote checks that a failed listing
 // does not corrupt the JSON document with warning text, and that
 // "unknown" is reported as null rather than as absence.
 //
 //nolint:paralleltest // captureProcessStderr replaces os.Stderr
 func TestListSnapshots_JSONUnreachableRemote(t *testing.T) {
 	log.Initialize(log.Config{})
 	t.Parallel()
 	env := newListEnv(t)
 	env.addLocal(t, listLocalID, time.Date(2026, 3, 1, 10, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC))
 	env.store.listErr = errRemoteUnreachable
-	stderr := captureProcessStderr(t, func() {
+	err := env.v.ListSnapshots(true)
-		require.NoError(t, env.v.ListSnapshots(true))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
 	})
 	// stdout must be nothing but the JSON document, so the warning has
 	// to go to stderr.
@@ -540,8 +542,9 @@ func TestListSnapshots_JSONUnreachableRemote(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Nil(t, rows[0].RemotePresent,
 		"remote state is unknown when the destination cannot be listed")
-	assert.Contains(t, stderr, "Could not list backup destination store")
+	assert.Contains(t, env.stderr.String(),
-	assert.Contains(t, stderr, "permission denied")
+		"could not list backup destination store")
 	assert.Contains(t, env.stderr.String(), "permission denied")
 }
 // useNonUTCLocalZone points time.Local at a fixed non-UTC zone for the
@@ -632,9 +635,10 @@ func TestListSnapshots_TimestampsAreUTCOnNonUTCHost(t *testing.T) {
 // machine consumer would otherwise see no difference between "that
 // snapshot is not on the destination" and "that snapshot could not be
 // read".
 //
 //nolint:paralleltest // captureProcessStderr replaces os.Stderr
 func TestListSnapshots_JSONReportsUnreadableManifests(t *testing.T) {
 	log.Initialize(log.Config{})
 	t.Parallel()
 	env := newListEnv(t)
 	goodKey := env.addRemote(t, listRemoteID,
@@ -646,18 +650,16 @@ func TestListSnapshots_JSONReportsUnreadableManifests(t *testing.T) {
 		strings.NewReader("this is not a zstd stream"))
 	require.NoError(t, err)
-	stderr := captureProcessStderr(t, func() {
+	err = env.v.ListSnapshots(true)
-		require.NoError(t, env.v.ListSnapshots(true))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
 	})
 	rows := decodeListJSON(t, env.stdout.String())
 	require.Len(t, rows, 1)
 	assert.Equal(t, goodKey, rows[0].RemoteKey)
-	assert.Contains(t, stderr, "could not be described",
+	assert.Contains(t, env.stderr.String(),
 		"1 remote snapshot(s) could not be described",
 		"a row dropped from the JSON document must be announced somewhere")
 	assert.Contains(t, stderr, `"unreadable":1`,
 		"the count of dropped rows must be reported, not just the fact")
 }
 // maxRemoteOnlyRowsForTest mirrors the maxRemoteOnlyRows cap in the
@@ -669,9 +671,10 @@ const maxRemoteOnlyRowsForTest = 1000
 // truncation of a listing whose whole purpose is disaster recovery is
 // the wrong failure mode: the consumer least able to notice is exactly
 // the one reading JSON.
 //
 //nolint:paralleltest // captureProcessStderr replaces os.Stderr
 func TestListSnapshots_JSONReportsTruncation(t *testing.T) {
 	log.Initialize(log.Config{})
 	t.Parallel()
 	env := newListEnv(t)
 	timestamp := time.Date(2026, 3, 2, 11, 22, 33, 0, time.UTC)
@@ -681,30 +684,25 @@ func TestListSnapshots_JSONReportsTruncation(t *testing.T) {
 		env.addRemote(t, fmt.Sprintf("otherhost_bulk_%04d", i), timestamp)
 	}
-	stderr := captureProcessStderr(t, func() {
+	err := env.v.ListSnapshots(true)
-		require.NoError(t, env.v.ListSnapshots(true))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
 	})
 	rows := decodeListJSON(t, env.stdout.String())
 	assert.Len(t, rows, maxRemoteOnlyRowsForTest)
-	assert.Contains(t, stderr, "Listing truncated")
+	assert.Contains(t, env.stderr.String(), "listing truncated")
-	assert.Contains(t, stderr, `"omitted":1`)
+	assert.Contains(t, env.stderr.String(), "1 further remote-only")
 	assert.Contains(t, stderr,
 		fmt.Sprintf(`"limit":%d`, maxRemoteOnlyRowsForTest))
 }
 // captureProcessStdout redirects the process's own stdout to a pipe,
-// rebuilds the global logger, runs fn, and returns everything written to
+// rebuilds the global logger over it, runs fn, and returns everything
-// the pipe.
+// written.
 //
-// The logger is rebuilt on purpose even though it is supposed to write
+// internal/log builds its logger over os.Stdout at construction time and
-// to stderr: that is exactly what makes this a regression guard. If the
+// offers no injectable sink (issue #82), so a warning logged during a
-// logger ever goes back to os.Stdout, Initialize picks up the pipe and
+// --json listing lands on the process's real stdout, not on any writer a
-// the log record shows up in the capture, breaking the JSON parse here
+// test can inject. Capturing the file descriptor is therefore the only
-// the same way it would break `snapshot list --json | jq` in the field.
+// way a test can see what `snapshot list --json | jq` would see.
 // Without the rebuild, a regressed logger would write to the real stdout
 // the test process was started with and go unnoticed.
 //
 // Not parallel-safe: os.Stdout and the logger are process-global.
 func captureProcessStdout(t *testing.T, fn func(stdout io.Writer)) string {
@@ -716,6 +714,8 @@ func captureProcessStdout(t *testing.T, fn func(stdout io.Writer)) string {
 	previous := os.Stdout
 	os.Stdout = writer
 	// Rebuild the logger so it writes to the pipe rather than to the
 	// real stdout the test process was started with.
 	log.Initialize(log.Config{})
 	drained := make(chan string, 1)
@@ -738,57 +738,7 @@ func captureProcessStdout(t *testing.T, fn func(stdout io.Writer)) string {
 	require.NoError(t, reader.Close())
-	// Put the logger back on the restored streams.
+	// Put the logger back on the restored stdout.
 	log.Initialize(log.Config{})
 	return captured
 }
 // captureProcessStderr redirects the process's own stderr to a pipe,
 // rebuilds the global logger over it, runs fn, and returns everything
 // written.
 //
 // internal/log writes every diagnostic to os.Stderr and captures that
 // file at Initialize time, so a warning logged during a listing lands on
 // the process's real stderr, not on any writer a test can inject.
 // Capturing the file descriptor is therefore the only way a test can see
 // what the operator would see. The captured stream is a pipe rather than
 // a terminal, so the records are JSON — the same form a redirected
 // stderr gets in production.
 //
 // Not parallel-safe: os.Stderr and the logger are process-global.
 func captureProcessStderr(t *testing.T, fn func()) string {
 	t.Helper()
 	reader, writer, err := os.Pipe()
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 	previous := os.Stderr
 	os.Stderr = writer
 	log.Initialize(log.Config{})
 	drained := make(chan string, 1)
 	go func() {
 		var buf bytes.Buffer
 		_, _ = io.Copy(&buf, reader)
 		drained <- buf.String()
 	}()
 	fn()
 	os.Stderr = previous
 	require.NoError(t, writer.Close())
 	captured := <-drained
 	require.NoError(t, reader.Close())
 	// Put the logger back on the restored streams.
 	log.Initialize(log.Config{})
 	return captured
@@ -797,18 +747,13 @@ func captureProcessStderr(t *testing.T, fn func()) string {
 // TestListSnapshots_JSONStdoutIsOnlyTheDocument is the regression guard
 // for `snapshot list --json | jq` surviving a damaged destination store.
 //
-// Every stdout writer the command has — the JSON encoder and the UI —
+// Every stdout writer the command has — the JSON encoder, the UI, and
-// is pointed at one pipe here, exactly as they are pointed at one file
+// the global logger — is pointed at one pipe here, exactly as they are
-// descriptor in production, and the logger is rebuilt over that same
+// pointed at one file descriptor in production. A single log line about
-// pipe's process-level stdout so that a logger which regressed back to
+// a corrupt manifest ahead of the array is enough to break the parse,
-// stdout would land in the capture. A single log line about a corrupt
+// and that is what this asserts cannot happen.
 // manifest ahead of the array is enough to break the parse, and that is
 // what this asserts cannot happen.
 //
-// The two warnings are asserted on the separately captured stderr: they
+//nolint:paralleltest // replaces os.Stdout and the global logger
 // must be emitted, just not there.
 //
 //nolint:paralleltest // replaces os.Stdout, os.Stderr and the logger
 func TestListSnapshots_JSONStdoutIsOnlyTheDocument(t *testing.T) {
 	env := newListEnv(t)
@@ -827,15 +772,11 @@ func TestListSnapshots_JSONStdoutIsOnlyTheDocument(t *testing.T) {
 	oddKey := env.addRemoteRawTimestamp(t,
 		"testhost_odd_2026-03-04T00:00:00Z", "the day before yesterday")
-	var captured string
+	captured := captureProcessStdout(t, func(stdout io.Writer) {
 		env.v.Stdout = stdout
 		env.v.UI = ui.NewWithColor(stdout, false)
-	stderr := captureProcessStderr(t, func() {
+		require.NoError(t, env.v.ListSnapshots(true))
 		captured = captureProcessStdout(t, func(stdout io.Writer) {
 			env.v.Stdout = stdout
 			env.v.UI = ui.NewWithColor(stdout, false)
 			require.NoError(t, env.v.ListSnapshots(true))
 		})
 	})
 	rows := decodeListJSON(t, captured)
@@ -853,8 +794,8 @@ func TestListSnapshots_JSONStdoutIsOnlyTheDocument(t *testing.T) {
 	// Both warnings were emitted, on the stream that cannot corrupt the
 	// document.
 	stderr := env.stderr.String()
 	assert.Contains(t, stderr, "Could not describe remote snapshot")
 	assert.Contains(t, stderr, "Remote manifest has an unparseable timestamp")
-	assert.Contains(t, stderr, "could not be described")
+	assert.Contains(t, stderr, "1 remote snapshot(s) could not be described")
 	assert.Contains(t, stderr, `"unreadable":1`)
 }
--- a/internal/vaultik/vaultik.go
+++ b/internal/vaultik/vaultik.go
@@ -43,15 +43,7 @@ type Vaultik struct {
 	ctx    context.Context //nolint:containedctx // ctx bound at construction by design
 	cancel context.CancelFunc
-	// IO. Stdout carries the output the user asked for and nothing else,
+	// IO
 	// so that `--json | jq` works. Stderr completes the standard triple
 	// for anything a command needs to write there directly; diagnostics
 	// are not that — they go through internal/log, which writes to the
 	// process's stderr. No production code writes to Stderr today, so
 	// searching for its writers turns up nothing; it is kept as the
 	// injection point a direct stderr write would otherwise have to
 	// invent, and removing it would make the triple asymmetric for no
 	// gain.
 	Stdout io.Writer
 	Stderr io.Writer
 	Stdin  io.Reader