Add TTY detection for non-interactive environments#210
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Add CanPrompt() function to check if a terminal is available before attempting interactive prompts. This helps provide better error messages in non-interactive environments like systemd services, GitHub Actions, Ansible, or Docker containers. Changes: - Add CanPrompt() in ui/ui.go that checks stdin and /dev/tty - Add RequiredInputError type in errs/errs.go for descriptive errors - Improve error messages in preparePromptTerminal/prepareSelectTerminal - Add golang.org/x/term dependency for terminal detection Fixes smallstep/cli#674 Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <[email protected]>
tashian
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Jan 22, 2026
Add support for non-interactive environments by: - Adding --non-interactive global flag (also STEP_NON_INTERACTIVE env var) - Checking for terminal availability before prompting for passwords - Returning helpful error messages when prompts fail in CI/systemd/Docker This change requires smallstep/cli-utils#210 which adds: - ui.CanPrompt() for TTY detection - errs.RequiredInputError for descriptive error messages Fixes #674 Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <[email protected]>
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hslatman
reviewed
Jan 26, 2026
Address review feedback: - Replace golang.org/x/term with go-isatty (already an indirect dep) - Add Cygwin terminal detection for better Windows support - Improve generic error message to guide users to --help Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <[email protected]>
- CanPrompt() now checks STEP_NON_INTERACTIVE env var first, returning false when set to "1" or "true" - Prompt(), PromptPassword(), and Select() now check CanPrompt() before attempting to prepare the terminal, providing clearer error messages - Added tests for CanPrompt() non-interactive mode behavior Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.5 <[email protected]>
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Summary
Adds TTY detection and contextual error messages for non-interactive environments (systemd services, GitHub Actions, Ansible, Docker containers).
Changes
New
CanPrompt()function (ui/ui.go)STEP_NON_INTERACTIVEenv var first (returns false if set to1ortrue)/dev/ttyis availableNew
WithField()option (ui/options.go)ui.Prompt("Enter name:", ui.WithField("PKI name", "name"))cannot prompt for PKI name: use --name to specify this value non-interactivelyNew
RequiredInputErrortype (errs/errs.go)Updated prompt functions (
ui/ui.go)Prompt(),PromptPassword(),PromptPasswordGenerate(),PromptYesNo(), andSelect()now checkCanPrompt()before attempting terminal interactionWithField()option for contextual error messagesOther
go-isattyfrom indirect to direct dependencyCanPrompt()behavior withSTEP_NON_INTERACTIVEenv varUsage
Test plan
Companion PR: smallstep/cli#1553
Fixes smallstep/cli#674
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