Remove '|' borders from JSON content in CLI EXPLAIN FORMAT JSON output

JackieTien97 · claude · JackieTien97 · commit 7c6620157d6c · 2026-04-04T11:59:38.000+08:00
When using EXPLAIN (FORMAT JSON) or EXPLAIN ANALYZE (FORMAT JSON) in the
CLI, the JSON content was wrapped in table borders (|), making it hard to
copy for visualization. Now the header retains its table border formatting
while JSON content lines are printed without '|' borders.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) &lt;noreply@anthropic.com&gt;
diff --git a/integration-test/src/test/java/org/apache/iotdb/cli/it/ExplainJsonCliOutputIT.java b/integration-test/src/test/java/org/apache/iotdb/cli/it/ExplainJsonCliOutputIT.java
@@ -0,0 +1,293 @@
+/*
+ * Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+ * or more contributor license agreements.  See the NOTICE file
+ * distributed with this work for additional information
+ * regarding copyright ownership.  The ASF licenses this file
+ * to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+ * "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+ * with the License.  You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+ * software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+ * "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+ * KIND, either express or implied.  See the License for the
+ * specific language governing permissions and limitations
+ * under the License.
+ */
+
+package org.apache.iotdb.cli.it;
+
+import org.apache.iotdb.it.env.EnvFactory;
+import org.apache.iotdb.it.framework.IoTDBTestRunner;
+import org.apache.iotdb.itbase.category.TableLocalStandaloneIT;
+
+import com.google.gson.JsonParser;
+import org.junit.AfterClass;
+import org.junit.BeforeClass;
+import org.junit.Test;
+import org.junit.experimental.categories.Category;
+import org.junit.runner.RunWith;
+
+import java.io.BufferedReader;
+import java.io.File;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.InputStreamReader;
+import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.List;
+
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertFalse;
+import static org.junit.Assert.assertTrue;
+import static org.junit.Assert.fail;
+
+/**
+ * Tests that EXPLAIN (FORMAT JSON) and EXPLAIN ANALYZE (FORMAT JSON) output raw JSON in CLI without
+ * table borders (no '|' or '+---' formatting), so users can directly copy the JSON for
+ * visualization.
+ */
+@RunWith(IoTDBTestRunner.class)
+@Category({TableLocalStandaloneIT.class})
+public class ExplainJsonCliOutputIT extends AbstractScriptIT {
+
+  private static String ip;
+  private static String port;
+  private static String sbinPath;
+  private static String libPath;
+  private static String homePath;
+
+  @BeforeClass
+  public static void setUp() throws Exception {
+    EnvFactory.getEnv().initClusterEnvironment();
+    ip = EnvFactory.getEnv().getIP();
+    port = EnvFactory.getEnv().getPort();
+    sbinPath = EnvFactory.getEnv().getSbinPath();
+    libPath = EnvFactory.getEnv().getLibPath();
+    homePath =
+        libPath.substring(0, libPath.lastIndexOf(File.separator + "lib" + File.separator + "*"));
+  }
+
+  @AfterClass
+  public static void tearDown() throws Exception {
+    EnvFactory.getEnv().cleanClusterEnvironment();
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void test() throws IOException {
+    String os = System.getProperty("os.name").toLowerCase();
+    if (os.startsWith("windows")) {
+      testOnWindows();
+    } else {
+      testOnUnix();
+    }
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  protected void testOnWindows() throws IOException {
+    // Setup test data
+    ProcessBuilder setupBuilder =
+        new ProcessBuilder(
+            "cmd.exe",
+            "/c",
+            sbinPath + File.separator + "windows" + File.separator + "start-cli.bat",
+            "-h",
+            ip,
+            "-p",
+            port,
+            "-sql_dialect",
+            "table",
+            "-e",
+            "\"CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS test_cli_json;"
+                + " USE test_cli_json;"
+                + " CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS t1(id STRING TAG, v FLOAT FIELD);"
+                + " INSERT INTO t1 VALUES(1000, 'd1', 1.0)\"",
+            "&",
+            "exit",
+            "%^errorlevel%");
+    setupBuilder.environment().put("IOTDB_HOME", homePath);
+    testOutput(setupBuilder, new String[] {"Msg: The statement is executed successfully."}, 0);
+
+    // Test EXPLAIN (FORMAT JSON) output has no table borders
+    ProcessBuilder explainBuilder =
+        new ProcessBuilder(
+            "cmd.exe",
+            "/c",
+            sbinPath + File.separator + "windows" + File.separator + "start-cli.bat",
+            "-h",
+            ip,
+            "-p",
+            port,
+            "-sql_dialect",
+            "table",
+            "-e",
+            "\"USE test_cli_json; EXPLAIN (FORMAT JSON) SELECT * FROM t1\"",
+            "&",
+            "exit",
+            "%^errorlevel%");
+    explainBuilder.environment().put("IOTDB_HOME", homePath);
+    assertRawJsonOutput(explainBuilder, "distribution plan");
+
+    // Test EXPLAIN ANALYZE (FORMAT JSON) output has no table borders
+    ProcessBuilder analyzeBuilder =
+        new ProcessBuilder(
+            "cmd.exe",
+            "/c",
+            sbinPath + File.separator + "windows" + File.separator + "start-cli.bat",
+            "-h",
+            ip,
+            "-p",
+            port,
+            "-sql_dialect",
+            "table",
+            "-e",
+            "\"USE test_cli_json; EXPLAIN ANALYZE (FORMAT JSON) SELECT * FROM t1\"",
+            "&",
+            "exit",
+            "%^errorlevel%");
+    analyzeBuilder.environment().put("IOTDB_HOME", homePath);
+    assertRawJsonOutput(analyzeBuilder, "Explain Analyze");
+  }
+
+  @Override
+  protected void testOnUnix() throws IOException {
+    // Setup test data
+    ProcessBuilder setupBuilder =
+        new ProcessBuilder(
+            "bash",
+            sbinPath + File.separator + "start-cli.sh",
+            "-h",
+            ip,
+            "-p",
+            port,
+            "-sql_dialect",
+            "table",
+            "-e",
+            "\"CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS test_cli_json;"
+                + " USE test_cli_json;"
+                + " CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS t1(id STRING TAG, v FLOAT FIELD);"
+                + " INSERT INTO t1 VALUES(1000, 'd1', 1.0)\"");
+    setupBuilder.environment().put("IOTDB_HOME", homePath);
+    testOutput(setupBuilder, new String[] {"Msg: The statement is executed successfully."}, 0);
+
+    // Test EXPLAIN (FORMAT JSON) output has no table borders
+    ProcessBuilder explainBuilder =
+        new ProcessBuilder(
+            "bash",
+            sbinPath + File.separator + "start-cli.sh",
+            "-h",
+            ip,
+            "-p",
+            port,
+            "-sql_dialect",
+            "table",
+            "-e",
+            "\"USE test_cli_json; EXPLAIN (FORMAT JSON) SELECT * FROM t1\"");
+    explainBuilder.environment().put("IOTDB_HOME", homePath);
+    assertRawJsonOutput(explainBuilder, "distribution plan");
+
+    // Test EXPLAIN ANALYZE (FORMAT JSON) output has no table borders
+    ProcessBuilder analyzeBuilder =
+        new ProcessBuilder(
+            "bash",
+            sbinPath + File.separator + "start-cli.sh",
+            "-h",
+            ip,
+            "-p",
+            port,
+            "-sql_dialect",
+            "table",
+            "-e",
+            "\"USE test_cli_json; EXPLAIN ANALYZE (FORMAT JSON) SELECT * FROM t1\"");
+    analyzeBuilder.environment().put("IOTDB_HOME", homePath);
+    assertRawJsonOutput(analyzeBuilder, "Explain Analyze");
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * Collects all output lines from a process, then verifies: 1. The column header is printed before
+   * JSON content 2. No JSON content line has table border characters ('|' prefix or '+---'
+   * separator) 3. The combined JSON content is valid JSON
+   */
+  private void assertRawJsonOutput(ProcessBuilder builder, String expectedHeader)
+      throws IOException {
+    builder.redirectErrorStream(true);
+    Process p = builder.start();
+    BufferedReader r = new BufferedReader(new InputStreamReader(p.getInputStream()));
+    String line;
+    List<String> outputList = new ArrayList<>();
+    while (true) {
+      line = r.readLine();
+      if (line == null) {
+        break;
+      } else {
+        outputList.add(line);
+      }
+    }
+    r.close();
+    p.destroy();
+
+    System.out.println("Process output:");
+    for (String s : outputList) {
+      System.out.println(s);
+    }
+
+    // Find the JSON content region: from the first line starting with '{' to the corresponding '}'
+    int jsonStart = -1;
+    int jsonEnd = -1;
+    for (int i = 0; i < outputList.size(); i++) {
+      String trimmed = outputList.get(i).trim();
+      if (jsonStart == -1 && trimmed.startsWith("{")) {
+        jsonStart = i;
+      }
+      // The last line that is just '}' marks the end of JSON
+      if (jsonStart != -1 && trimmed.equals("}")) {
+        jsonEnd = i;
+      }
+    }
+
+    assertTrue("Should find JSON start '{'", jsonStart >= 0);
+    assertTrue("Should find JSON end '}'", jsonEnd >= jsonStart);
+
+    // Verify the column header with table border appears before JSON content
+    // Expected format: +---+  |header|  +---+  {json...}  +---+
+    assertTrue("Header border should appear before JSON content", jsonStart >= 3);
+    assertTrue(
+        "Header border line should be present",
+        outputList.get(jsonStart - 3).trim().matches("\\+[-+]+\\+"));
+    assertTrue(
+        "Column header '" + expectedHeader + "' should be present",
+        outputList.get(jsonStart - 2).contains(expectedHeader));
+    assertTrue(
+        "Header border line should be present",
+        outputList.get(jsonStart - 1).trim().matches("\\+[-+]+\\+"));
+
+    // Verify JSON content lines do not have '|' borders
+    for (int i = jsonStart; i <= jsonEnd; i++) {
+      String s = outputList.get(i).trim();
+      assertFalse("JSON line should not start with '|', but found: " + s, s.startsWith("|"));
+    }
+
+    // Concatenate JSON lines and verify it's valid JSON
+    StringBuilder jsonBuilder = new StringBuilder();
+    for (int i = jsonStart; i <= jsonEnd; i++) {
+      jsonBuilder.append(outputList.get(i));
+    }
+    String jsonStr = jsonBuilder.toString();
+    try {
+      JsonParser.parseString(jsonStr).getAsJsonObject();
+    } catch (Exception e) {
+      fail("Output should be valid JSON, but got parse error: " + e.getMessage());
+    }
+
+    // Verify process exit code
+    while (p.isAlive()) {
+      try {
+        Thread.sleep(100);
+      } catch (InterruptedException e) {
+        e.printStackTrace();
+        fail();
+      }
+    }
+    assertEquals(0, p.exitValue());
+  }
+}
diff --git a/iotdb-client/cli/src/main/java/org/apache/iotdb/cli/AbstractCli.java b/iotdb-client/cli/src/main/java/org/apache/iotdb/cli/AbstractCli.java
@@ -565,7 +565,11 @@ private static int executeQuery(CliContext ctx, IoTDBConnection connection, Stri
           List<Integer> maxSizeList = new ArrayList<>(columnLength);
           List<List<String>> lists =
               cacheResult(ctx, resultSet, maxSizeList, columnLength, resultSetMetaData, zoneId);
-          output(ctx, lists, maxSizeList);
+          if (isJsonExplainResult(lists)) {
+            outputRawJson(ctx, lists, maxSizeList);
+          } else {
+            output(ctx, lists, maxSizeList);
+          }
           ctx.getPrinter().println(String.format("It costs %.3fs", costTime / 1000.0));
           while (!isReachEnd) {
             if (continuePrint) {
@@ -815,6 +819,46 @@ private static List<List<String>> cacheTracingInfo(ResultSet resultSet, List<Int
     return lists;
   }
 
+  private static final String COLUMN_DISTRIBUTION_PLAN = "distribution plan";
+  private static final String COLUMN_EXPLAIN_ANALYZE = "Explain Analyze";
+
+  private static boolean isJsonExplainResult(List<List<String>> lists) {
+    if (lists.size() != 1 || lists.get(0).size() < 2) {
+      return false;
+    }
+    String columnName = lists.get(0).get(0);
+    if (!COLUMN_DISTRIBUTION_PLAN.equalsIgnoreCase(columnName)
+        && !COLUMN_EXPLAIN_ANALYZE.equalsIgnoreCase(columnName)) {
+      return false;
+    }
+    String value = lists.get(0).get(1).trim();
+    return value.startsWith("{") || value.startsWith("[");
+  }
+
+  private static void outputRawJson(
+      CliContext ctx, List<List<String>> lists, List<Integer> maxSizeList) {
+    // Use header text length for border width instead of the full content length
+    String header = lists.get(0).get(0);
+    int headerLen = header.length() + ctx.getPrinter().computeHANCount(header);
+    List<Integer> headerSizeList = new ArrayList<>(1);
+    headerSizeList.add(headerLen);
+    // Print header with table border
+    ctx.getPrinter().printBlockLine(headerSizeList);
+    ctx.getPrinter().printRow(lists, 0, headerSizeList);
+    ctx.getPrinter().printBlockLine(headerSizeList);
+    // Print JSON content without '|' borders
+    for (int i = 1; i < lists.get(0).size(); i++) {
+      ctx.getPrinter().println(lists.get(0).get(i));
+    }
+    ctx.getPrinter().printBlockLine(headerSizeList);
+    if (isReachEnd) {
+      lineCount += lists.get(0).size() - 1;
+      ctx.getPrinter().printCount(lineCount);
+    } else {
+      lineCount += maxPrintRowCount;
+    }
+  }
+
   private static void output(CliContext ctx, List<List<String>> lists, List<Integer> maxSizeList) {
     ctx.getPrinter().printBlockLine(maxSizeList);
     ctx.getPrinter().printRow(lists, 0, maxSizeList);
