Output formats

search produces output three ways: a readable terminal summary, the full structured object on stdout with --json, and dated files on disk. By default you get the summary and the files.

Terminal summary

With no output flag, search renders a summary: a rule with the query, a line of counts (response time, detected features, organic and PAA totals), each rich block found, then the organic results, related searches, and any vertical results. It shows only the blocks present on the page. This is the form for reading; the complete data is in the JSON. See output and export for an annotated example.

--json

--json prints the full result object to stdout and skips the summary and the file export. It is the form to pipe into jq or another program:

gsearch search "AAPL stock" --json | jq '.features.stock'

The object's keys are listed in output and export: query, vertical, detected_features, features, organic_results, people_also_ask, related_searches, top_stories, local_pack, vertical_results, response_ms, and fetched_at.

Exported files

Unless you pass --no-export, each search run writes two files under ~/data/gsearch, in date-partitioned trees:

~/data/gsearch/json/2026/06/13/22-41-epl.json
~/data/gsearch/markdown/2026/06/13/22-41-epl.md

The path encodes the date (YYYY/MM/DD), the time (HH-MM), and a slug of the query, so a directory listing reads as a history of what you searched.

The JSON file

The JSON file is the same object --json prints, written with the full result. Load it back, diff two runs, or feed it to another tool.

The Markdown file

The Markdown file is a human-readable rendering of the same result, with YAML front-matter at the top and the blocks laid out as prose and tables. The front-matter carries the query, the vertical, the timestamp, and the list of detected features, so the file is usable in a notes system or a static site:

---
query: epl
vertical: web
fetched_at: 2026-06-13T22:41:00
features: [sports_standings, knowledge_panel]
---

# Google Search: epl

## Standings: Premier League
...

Re-exporting

gsearch export rewrites the exported files for recent stored results, and gsearch capture --out writes raw API responses as numbered JSON files. See storing results and capturing the API.