[GH-ISSUE #7057] [Bug] CLI Markdown formatting renders malformed 0-column tables for arrays of empty objects #4259

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opened 2026-10-31 00:48:11 +00:00 by bsakaguchi · 0 comments

bsakaguchi commented

2026-10-31 00:48:11 +00:00

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Originally created by @viniciusdsandrade on GitHub (Oct 25, 2026).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/morluto/rea/issues/7057

Before submitting

I searched the open and closed issues for a related report.
I removed credentials, tokens, private paths, and sensitive target data.

Area

CLI

Observed behavior

When formatting an array of empty objects (such as [{}] or [{}, {}]) as Markdown (--format md), formatObjectTable derives an empty list of headers (headers = []) and calls renderTable([], rows). This produces malformed Markdown table syntax:

|  |
||
|  |

In GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM), a table requires at least one column and a valid delimiter row containing hyphens (|---|). A delimiter row with zero columns (||) is not valid Markdown.

Reproduction

Source-derived check based on src/cli/cliOutputFormatter.ts:

Call formatCliOutput([{}], "md") or renderCliDocument([{}], "md", false).
Observe that isObjectArray([{}]) evaluates to true because every element is a non-null object.
formatObjectTable finds no own keys, leaving headers = [].
renderTable([], [[]]) constructs lines ["| |", "||", "| |"].

Expected behavior

Arrays of empty objects without column keys should be formatted as JSON (for example [{}] or [{},{}]), consistent with how non-tabular arrays and scalar values are rendered in Markdown. isObjectArray should require at least one object in the array to have own keys (value.some((item) => Object.keys(item).length > 0)), and formatObjectTable should fall back to JSON if headers.length === 0.

Impact and scope

CLI output in --format md when filtering or selecting records produces malformed Markdown text if records have no own enumerable properties.

REA version

4c680d099

Runtime and platform

Node.js; all platforms

Target and artifact context

CLI output formatting

Interface

CLI

Earliest failure stage

Transport or result projection

Relevant output or evidence

Source reference on main at 4c680d099:

src/cli/cliOutputFormatter.ts: isObjectArray admits [{}] because value.every(...) holds.
src/cli/cliOutputFormatter.ts: formatObjectTable collects keys via Object.keys(item), resulting in headers: [] and invalid output | |\n||\n| |.

Analysis or suspected cause

Source-derived reasoning: isObjectArray only checks that every item in the non-empty array is an object, without checking whether any item has columns to display. If no object has keys, a Markdown table cannot be constructed.

Originally created by @viniciusdsandrade on GitHub (Oct 25, 2026). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/morluto/rea/issues/7057 ### Before submitting - [x] I searched the open and closed issues for a related report. - [x] I removed credentials, tokens, private paths, and sensitive target data. ### Area CLI ### Observed behavior When formatting an array of empty objects (such as `[{}]` or `[{}, {}]`) as Markdown (`--format md`), `formatObjectTable` derives an empty list of headers (`headers = []`) and calls `renderTable([], rows)`. This produces malformed Markdown table syntax: ``` | | || | | ``` In GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM), a table requires at least one column and a valid delimiter row containing hyphens (`|---|`). A delimiter row with zero columns (`||`) is not valid Markdown. ### Reproduction Source-derived check based on `src/cli/cliOutputFormatter.ts`: 1. Call `formatCliOutput([{}], "md")` or `renderCliDocument([{}], "md", false)`. 2. Observe that `isObjectArray([{}])` evaluates to `true` because every element is a non-null object. 3. `formatObjectTable` finds no own keys, leaving `headers = []`. 4. `renderTable([], [[]])` constructs lines `["| |", "||", "| |"]`. ### Expected behavior Arrays of empty objects without column keys should be formatted as JSON (for example `[{}]` or `[{},{}]`), consistent with how non-tabular arrays and scalar values are rendered in Markdown. `isObjectArray` should require at least one object in the array to have own keys (`value.some((item) => Object.keys(item).length > 0)`), and `formatObjectTable` should fall back to JSON if `headers.length === 0`. ### Impact and scope CLI output in `--format md` when filtering or selecting records produces malformed Markdown text if records have no own enumerable properties. ### REA version 4c680d099 ### Runtime and platform Node.js; all platforms ### Target and artifact context CLI output formatting ### Interface CLI ### Earliest failure stage Transport or result projection ### Relevant output or evidence Source reference on main at 4c680d099: - `src/cli/cliOutputFormatter.ts`: `isObjectArray` admits `[{}]` because `value.every(...)` holds. - `src/cli/cliOutputFormatter.ts`: `formatObjectTable` collects keys via `Object.keys(item)`, resulting in `headers: []` and invalid output `| |\n||\n| |`. ### Analysis or suspected cause Source-derived reasoning: `isObjectArray` only checks that every item in the non-empty array is an object, without checking whether any item has columns to display. If no object has keys, a Markdown table cannot be constructed.

bsakaguchi closed this issue

2026-10-31 00:48:11 +00:00

bsakaguchi referenced this issue

2026-10-31 01:12:12 +00:00

[PR #4259] [CLOSED] fix(javascript): preserve optional native-addon bindings #6144

bsakaguchi referenced this issue

2026-11-01 21:11:07 +00:00

[GH-ISSUE #5654] [Tracker] Open PRs that can't merge yet: conflicts and red CI (October 2026) #3425