feat: add output export functionality to CLI with --export flag

README.md

@@ -192,6 +192,34 @@ Combine options:
 ticklе /path/to/repo --markers TODO,FIXME --ignore "tests,venv" --sort marker --reverse --tree-collapse
 ```
 
+## Exporting Output for Printing
+
+You can export tickle's output to a plain text file for easy printing or sharing. Use the `--export` flag:
+
+```bash
+tickle [options] --export output.txt
+```
+
+- The output will be saved to `output.txt` in plain text format.
+- If the file already exists, it will be overwritten (a warning will be shown).
+- After export, tickle will display a confirmation message with the file path.
+
+**Example:**
+
+```bash
+tickle --markers TODO,FIXME --export my_tasks.txt
+```
+
+You can then print the file using your operating system's tools. For example, on Windows:
+
+```bash
+notepad /p my_tasks.txt
+```
+
+Or open and print with any text editor.
+
+---
+
 ## Configuration
 
 Tired of typing the same flags every time? Configuration files let you set persistent defaults for ignore patterns, markers, output format, and more. Share configuration across your team via `pyproject.toml`, or maintain personal preferences in your user config.

src/tickle/cli.py

@@ -86,9 +86,18 @@ def handle_scan_command(args):
         git_verbose=merged["git_verbose"],
         tree_collapse=merged["tree_collapse"],
         scan_directory=merged["path"],
+        no_color=bool(getattr(args, "export", None)),
     )
     output = formatter.format(tasks)
-    print(output)
+    if hasattr(args, 'export') and args.export:
+        export_path = Path(args.export)
+        overwrite = export_path.exists()
+        export_path.write_text(output, encoding="utf-8")
+        if overwrite:
+            print(f"[tickle] Warning: Overwrote existing file: {export_path}")
+        print(f"[tickle] Output exported to: {export_path}")
+    else:
+        print(output)
 
 
 def main():
@@ -205,6 +214,11 @@ def main():
     parser.add_argument(
         "--verbose", action="store_true", help="Show which config file is being used"
     )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--export",
+        type=str,
+        help="Export output to a plain text file (overwrites if exists)"
+    )
     parser.add_argument("--version", action="version", version=f"%(prog)s {__version__}")
 
     args = parser.parse_args()

src/tickle/output.py

@@ -136,17 +136,19 @@ class TreeFormatter(Formatter):
         "CHECKBOX": "green",
     }
 
-    def __init__(self, git_verbose: bool = False, show_details: bool = True, scan_directory: str = "."):
+    def __init__(self, git_verbose: bool = False, show_details: bool = True, scan_directory: str = ".", no_color: bool = False):
         """Initialize the tree formatter.
 
         Args:
             git_verbose: Whether to show full git commit info (hash and message)
             show_details: Whether to show individual task details (False shows counts only)
             scan_directory: Directory being scanned (used for root label)
+            no_color: Disable color/ANSI codes in output (for export)
         """
         self.git_verbose = git_verbose
         self.show_details = show_details
         self.scan_directory = scan_directory
+        self.no_color = no_color
 
     def format(self, tasks: list[Task]) -> str:
         """Format tasks as a hierarchical tree."""
@@ -157,7 +159,7 @@ def format(self, tasks: list[Task]) -> str:
         tree = self._build_tree(tasks)
 
         # Render to string using Console
-        console = Console(legacy_windows=False)
+        console = Console(legacy_windows=False, color_system=None, force_terminal=not self.no_color, no_color=self.no_color)
         with console.capture() as capture:
             console.print(tree)
 
@@ -354,7 +356,8 @@ def get_formatter(
     format_type: str,
     git_verbose: bool = False,
     tree_collapse: bool = False,
-    scan_directory: str = "."
+    scan_directory: str = ".",
+    no_color: bool = False,
 ) -> Formatter:
     """Factory function to get the appropriate formatter.
 
@@ -363,6 +366,7 @@ def get_formatter(
         git_verbose: Whether to show full git commit info (hash and message)
         tree_collapse: Show only directory structure with counts (tree format only)
         scan_directory: Directory being scanned (tree format only)
+        no_color: Disable color/ANSI codes in output (for export)
 
     Returns:
         An instance of the appropriate Formatter subclass.
@@ -378,7 +382,8 @@ def get_formatter(
         return TreeFormatter(
             git_verbose=git_verbose,
             show_details=not tree_collapse,
-            scan_directory=scan_directory
+            scan_directory=scan_directory,
+            no_color=no_color
         )
     else:
         raise ValueError(f"Unknown format type: {format_type}")

tests/test_cli.py

@@ -127,13 +127,14 @@ def test_main_combined_flags(self, sample_repo, capsys):
 
     def test_version_flag(self, capsys):
         """Test --version flag displays version."""
+        from tickle import __version__
         with mock.patch("sys.argv", ["tickle", "--version"]):
             with pytest.raises(SystemExit) as exc_info:
                 main()
 
             assert exc_info.value.code == 0
             captured = capsys.readouterr()
-            assert "0.1.0" in captured.out
+            assert __version__ in captured.out
 
     def test_sort_by_marker(self, capsys):
         """Test --sort marker flag."""