Add --format flag to language update commands

[Copilot]

Add --format Flag to Language Update Commands

This PR adds support for the --format flag to the language update commands, resolving the issue where the --json flag (which WP-CLI automatically converts to --format=json for backward compatibility) was generating errors.

Problem Statement

The issue reported that all update commands for language files with --json generate an error:

wp language core update --json
wp language plugin update --all --json
wp language theme update --all --json

This was because the update commands didn't support the --format flag, even though WP-CLI was converting --json to --format=json automatically.

Solution

Added --format flag support to:

• wp language core update
• wp language plugin update
• wp language theme update

Supported Formats

• table - Display results in table format with formatted output and success message
• json - Display results as JSON (suppresses all messages)
• csv - Display results as CSV (suppresses all messages)
• summary - Display only summary message without formatted output
• No format specified - Display progress messages and success/warning/error messages (default behavior)

Implementation Details

Code Changes:

1. CommandWithTranslation.php: Updated the update() method to:

   • Accept the --format parameter in the method signature
   • Set quiet logger for json/csv formats to suppress progress messages
   • Collect update results with appropriate keys (version for core, slug for plugins/themes)
   • Format output according to the specified format
   • Show success/warning/error messages for table, summary, or no format (default behavior)
   • Suppress success messages for json/csv formats
   • For dry-run: Show "Found X translation updates" message for table/summary/no format
   • For dry-run: Suppress message for json/csv formats
   • Use WP_CLI::log() instead of WP_CLI::line() for proper quiet logger support

2. Core_Language_Command.php: Added --format parameter documentation to the update command docblock, clarifying behavior when format is not specified

3. Plugin_Language_Command.php: Added --format parameter documentation to the update command docblock, clarifying behavior when format is not specified

4. Theme_Language_Command.php: Added --format parameter documentation to the update command docblock, clarifying behavior when format is not specified

Test Coverage:

Added comprehensive Behat test scenarios for all three commands:

Tests with no updates:

• --format=json outputs empty JSON array, no messages
• --format=csv outputs nothing
• --format=summary shows success message on STDOUT
• No format (default) shows success message on STDOUT

Tests with actual updates:

• Plugin test: Uses akismet with version downgrade/upgrade to trigger updates
• Theme test: Uses twentyfifteen with version downgrade/upgrade to trigger updates
• Tests verify JSON, CSV, and summary formats produce correct output
• JSON format outputs array with slug/version, language, and status
• CSV format outputs proper CSV with headers and data
• Summary format only shows success message on STDOUT
• Table format outputs formatted data with success message
• Tests uninstall language before reinstalling to ensure update is triggered

Tests with dry-run and format flags:

• Core test: Uses WordPress version upgrade to trigger available translations
• Plugin test: Uses akismet with version upgrade to trigger available translations
• Theme test: Uses twentyfifteen with version upgrade to trigger available translations
• Tests verify JSON, CSV, and summary formats produce correct output in dry-run mode
• JSON/CSV formats show only formatted data without messages
• Summary format shows no output in dry-run mode

Key Features:

✅ Backward compatibility with --json flag (automatically converted to --format=json)
✅ Consistent behavior with other language commands (install, uninstall, list)
✅ Proper quiet logger support for json/csv formats
✅ Success messages shown for table/summary formats or when no format is specified
✅ Dry-run message shown for table/summary/no format, suppressed for json/csv
✅ Efficient data collection (skips when not needed for summary format)
✅ Correct output for empty results
✅ Works with both --dry-run and actual updates
✅ Comprehensive test coverage including dry-run with format flags

Changes from Feedback:

• Success message is shown when format is 'table', 'summary', or when no format is specified
• Success messages are suppressed only for json/csv formats
• Updated tests to use standard fixtures (twentyten, hello-dolly) instead of custom test fixtures
• Added comprehensive tests with actual translation updates to verify formatted output
• Fixed test expectations to check STDOUT for success messages (not STDERR)
• Removed invalid --force flag from language install commands in tests
• Fixed linting issues: Changed "When" to "And" for subsequent steps
• Aligned table columns in test expectations
• Fixed format handling to treat 'table' format the same as default behavior
• Uninstall language before reinstalling in tests to ensure updates are properly triggered
• Fixed dry-run to show "Found X translation updates" message for table/summary formats
• Fixed theme test to not expect empty STDERR when using When I try
• Added test scenarios for dry-run combined with format flags (json, csv, summary)
• Fixed documentation to remove misleading "default: table" and clarify actual behavior when no format is specified

The implementation is ready for review and testing in a live WP-CLI environment.

Original prompt

---

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>Add --format flag to language core|plugin|theme update</issue_title>
<issue_description>

All update commands for language files with "- json" generate an error.

wp language core update --dry-run --json
wp language plugin update --all --dry-run --json
wp language theme update --all --dry-run --json
wp language core update --json
wp language plugin update --all --json
wp language theme update --all --json

</issue_description>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)

@schlessera There's two things happening here: a.) `--json` is a deprecated flag that was later replaced by the more generic `--format=json`, as we also support other formats by now. WP-CLI automatically turns `--json` into `--format=json` for backward compatibility. b.) The above three commands don't support a `--format` flag, so the error just tells you that you're using an unknown flag for these commands.

So the behavior of WP-CLI is correct here, even if it might be slightly misleading due to backward compatibility logic.

As to whether we would want to add --format support to these commands, it would help to know what specific use case you are trying to solve.</comment_new>
<comment_new>@schlessera
It is not a current priority.

Are you interested in looking into this for creating a PR? If so, I'm happy to assist you in whatever way I can to get this implemented.</comment_new>

• Fixes Add --format flag to language core|plugin|theme update #88

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[codecov]

Codecov Report

❌ Patch coverage is 88.88889% with 4 lines in your changes missing coverage. Please review.

Files with missing lines	Patch %	Lines
src/WP_CLI/CommandWithTranslation.php	88.88%	4 Missing ⚠️

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