> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.trynito.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Scripting and Automation

> Use nito from scripts, pipelines, git hooks, and CI: output formats, exit codes, piping, and quiet output.

`nito ask` and `nito fusion` print their answer to standard output and then exit, so they compose like any other Unix tool. This page covers the parts you need when Nito runs inside a script or pipeline rather than in front of a person.

## Output Formats

| Mode     | Flag         | What you get                                                          |
| :------- | :----------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Pretty   | (default)    | Colored, formatted output for reading in a terminal.                  |
| Quiet    | `--quiet`    | Only the answer or the value you asked for, nothing else.             |
| JSON     | `--json`     | A structured object for a successful response, for machines to parse. |
| No color | `--no-color` | Plain text with no ANSI codes, for logs and files.                    |

`--quiet` and `--verbose` are mutually exclusive. The `NO_COLOR` environment variable is honored, so `NO_COLOR=1 nito ask ...` also drops color.

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"},"languages":{"custom":["typescript","python","curl"]}}
# machine-readable, then pull one field
nito ask --json "Return three tags for this repo." | jq -r '.tags[]'

# just the answer, copied to the clipboard
nito ask --quiet "Write a one-line commit message for these changes." | pbcopy
```

<Note>
  `--json` structures a **successful** response. Errors always print as plain text to **standard error** and set a non-zero exit code, so a script can tell success from failure without parsing anything.
</Note>

## Exit Codes

Nito exits `0` on success and non-zero on failure. Branch on that directly:

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"},"languages":{"custom":["typescript","python","curl"]}}
if answer=$(nito ask --quiet "Is this diff safe to merge? Answer yes or no."); then
  echo "Nito said: $answer"
else
  echo "Nito call failed" >&2
  exit 1
fi
```

Progress indicators are written to standard error, and only when the output is an interactive terminal. So redirected output and pipelines stay clean, and capturing stdout never picks up a spinner.

## Piping Input

`--stdin` reads the prompt from standard input. The piped text becomes the **whole** prompt, so you cannot also pass a prompt argument (Nito rejects that combination). To ask a question about piped content, put the question into the stream:

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"},"languages":{"custom":["typescript","python","curl"]}}
# combine your question and the content into one piped prompt
{ echo "What is the root cause of this error?"; cat error.log; } | nito ask --stdin
```

For files, prefer `--file`, which attaches an image or document without reshaping your prompt:

```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"},"languages":{"custom":["typescript","python","curl"]}}
nito ask --file ./trace.txt "Summarize the failure in this trace."
```

## Recipes

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Shell script">
    ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"},"languages":{"custom":["typescript","python","curl"]}}
    #!/usr/bin/env bash
    set -euo pipefail
    msg=$(git diff --staged | { echo "Write a concise commit message for this diff:"; cat; } | nito ask --stdin --quiet)
    echo "$msg"
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Git hook">
    ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"},"languages":{"custom":["typescript","python","curl"]}}
    # .git/hooks/prepare-commit-msg
    #!/usr/bin/env bash
    diff=$(git diff --staged)
    [ -z "$diff" ] && exit 0
    { echo "Suggest a commit message for this diff:"; echo "$diff"; } \
      | nito ask --stdin --quiet >> "$1"
    ```
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="CI step">
    ```bash theme={"theme":{"light":"github-light","dark":"github-dark"},"languages":{"custom":["typescript","python","curl"]}}
    # fail the job if Nito flags the change
    verdict=$(nito ask --quiet "Reply RISK or OK only. Any secrets in this diff? $(git diff --staged)")
    [ "$verdict" = "OK" ] || { echo "Nito flagged a risk" >&2; exit 1; }
    ```
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

<Note>
  Privacy still applies in scripts exactly as it does in a chat. A scripted `nito ask` runs at the privacy level of the model it uses, and `--json` or `--quiet` change only the **shape** of the output, never where the request goes. See [Privacy Levels](/privacy/overview).
</Note>

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Nito CLI" icon="terminal" href="/cli/reference">
    The full command surface and flags on one page.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Document Q&A Pipeline" icon="folder-tree" href="/cookbook/batch-document-qa">
    A recipe using `--json` output and client-side validation over many files.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>