Getting Started Simple
Parse JSON Output
Get the full metadata envelope with cost, tokens, and session ID
Command
$ "color:#7C5CFC">claude -p "Say exactly: Hello CLI Test" "color:#d97757">--output-format json
Response
{
"type": "result",
"subtype": "success",
"result": "Hello CLI Test",
"session_id": "0e639165-79b1-4bd4-bb0f-4cb4c15115d4",
"total_cost_usd": 0.008,
"usage": { "input_tokens": 3, "output_tokens": 6 }
} Parsing Code
059669">">const data = JSON.parse(output); 059669">">if (data.is_error) 059669">">throw 059669">">new Error(data.result); 059669">">console.log(data.result); 059669">">// "Hello CLI Test059669">" 059669">">console.log(data.total_cost_usd); 059669">">// 0.008 059669">">console.log(data.session_id); 059669">">// UUID for --resume
Gotchas
! result field contains the text response (same as --output-format text)
! session_id is needed for --resume to continue the conversation later