[BUG] `cortex servers --json` outputs plain text on errors

[DanielDerefaka]

Project

cortex

Description

When --json is specified, the command still prints human-readable text and errors instead of JSON. This breaks scripting and JSON parsing in error cases.

Error Message

mDNS error: Failed to create mDNS daemon: failed to create signal_sock for daemon: Operation not permitted (os error 1)

Debug Logs

N/A

System Information

OS: Darwin 25.2.0 (arm64)
Cortex version: 0.1.1

Screenshots

No response

Steps to Reproduce

1. Run cortex servers --json; echo EXIT:$?.
2. Observe the plain text banner and error output.

Expected Behavior

With --json, output should be valid JSON even on failure.

Actual Behavior

The command prints a plain text banner and error message, then exits with status 1.

Additional Context

The non-JSON banner appears before any error output, making JSON parsing impossible.

Repro output:

Discovering Cortex servers on local network...

Error: mDNS error: Failed to create mDNS daemon: failed to create signal_sock for daemon: Operation not permitted (os error 1)
EXIT:1

[echobt]

Thank you for reporting this issue! We've confirmed the problem and submitted a fix.

The issue you described has been addressed and the fix is now under review: CortexLM/cortex-cli#129

Once the fix is merged, running cortex servers --json will properly output valid JSON even when errors occur, making it much easier to parse and use in scripts.

Thanks for helping us improve!