# Output channels, message prefixes, and the decoration switch

QuiCommit's user-facing output follows fixed conventions: stdout carries results and interactive content, stderr carries diagnostics; the hidden `credential` subcommand keeps stdout protocol-only (errors on stderr prefixed `[quicommit credential]`). Message text — `Messages` keys and inline command strings alike — never embeds emoji or status symbols; decoration prefixes (✓/✗/⚠/→, spinner frames) are applied only by the shared `utils` print helpers, so they can be toggled centrally. Decoration is configurable via `output.emoji` (bool, default on) with global `--emoji`/`--no-emoji` overrides (precedence: explicit flag > config > default); `--no-color`/`NO_COLOR` is highest priority and disables both color and decoration. When decorations are off, output is plain text with no severity labels — errors stay distinguishable via stderr and anyhow's `Error:` prefix. Emoji is not auto-disabled on non-tty (explicit control only), while color keeps `colored`'s existing tty auto-detection.

**Considered Options**: emoji embedded in message text per language (rejected — decoration duplicated across 7 languages, half-on states when toggling, and two competing styles already coexisted in the codebase); text severity labels (`Warning:`/`Error:`) substituted when decorations are off (rejected — 7-language label burden for marginal value; stream separation already distinguishes errors); auto-disabling emoji on non-tty (rejected — emoji is a content-level choice, not a terminal capability, and script authors get explicit control via `--no-emoji`).

**Consequences**: every future command author must route output through the helpers and keep message text decoration-free. Existing tests pinning English output stay valid because the default language is English. `--no-color` now also strips decorations — a behavior change from 0.6.x, where the flag was parsed but ignored (a review finding).