# Global flags (/docs/cli/global-flags)

Flags accepted by every command in the unified Prisma CLI.

Location: CLI > Global flags

All commands in the unified Prisma CLI accept these flags.

| Flag                                 | What it does                                                                                                                                      |
| ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `--json`                             | Print machine-readable output (shorthand for `--format json`). Use this in CI and scripts.                                                        |
| `--format <mode>`                    | Output format: `human`, `json`, or `markdown`.                                                                                                    |
| `--log-level <level>`                | Commentary verbosity: `error`, `warn`, `info`, or `verbose`.                                                                                      |
| `-q`, `--quiet`                      | Suppress nonessential output (shorthand for `--log-level error`).                                                                                 |
| `-v`, `--verbose`                    | Print more detail (shorthand for `--log-level verbose`).                                                                                          |
| `--color` / `--no-color`             | Force colored output on or off.                                                                                                                   |
| `--interactive` / `--no-interactive` | Force prompts on or off.                                                                                                                          |
| `-y`, `--yes`                        | Accept prompt defaults without asking.                                                                                                            |
| `--confirm <token>`                  | Grant a consent prompt in advance by giving its token, so the command does not ask (repeatable). Works in scripts and in an interactive terminal. |
| `--config <path>`                    | Read this config file instead of `./prisma.config.ts`.                                                                                            |
| `-h`, `--help`                       | Print the manual for a command: what it does, its options, a workflow where one applies, and examples.                                            |
| `--version`                          | Print the CLI version and exit.                                                                                                                   |

## Output formats

Without `--format`, a terminal gets `human` output and a pipe gets `json`. `markdown` is never chosen for you; pass `--format markdown` to get it.

`markdown` is for AI agents that read command output as text rather than parsing JSON. It prints the same content as `human`, as plain Markdown: a summary line, `label: value` lines, pipe tables, bullet lists, and fenced code, followed by a `### Next` section with the suggested next commands and a `### Diagnostics` section with any findings. There is no padding, alignment, or color, and no JSON envelope. Everything the command produces, including errors, help, `--version`, and progress, goes to stdout, so an agent reads one stream.

Use `npx prisma <command> --help` when you need the exact command help from the installed version.

The output modes and the JSON envelope these flags select are documented on [Configuration](/guides/introduction-6-configuration#output-modes).

## Related pages

- [`auth`](/guides/platform-auth): Sign in to your Prisma account from the CLI, sign out, and manage workspace sessions.
- [`branch`](/guides/platform-branch): List platform branches for a project.
- [`bucket`](/guides/platform-bucket): Create and manage object-store buckets.
- [`Configuration`](/guides/introduction-6-configuration): Configure Prisma ORM CLI commands with prisma.config.ts and global flags.
- [`contract emit`](/guides/orm-contract-emit): Emit Prisma ORM contract artifacts.

## Related pages

- [Authentication & Tools](./authentication-tools-index.md)
- [Build](./build-index.md)
- [Changelog](../changelog.md)
- [Concepts](./concepts-index.md)
- [Console commands](./console-commands-index.md)
- [Contract Authoring](./contract-authoring-index.md)
- [Core Concepts](./core-concepts-index.md)
- [Data Modeling](./data-modeling-index.md)
- [Database](./database-index.md)
- [DB commands](./db-commands-index.md)

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