pm list --json should include body field by default or document --include-body more prominently #223

Description

When using pm list --json, the output does not include the item body field. Users must know about the --include-body flag to include body content. This is non-obvious and causes confusion, especially for programmatic consumers of the JSON output.

Current behavior

• pm list --json — JSON output does NOT include body field
• pm list --json --include-body — JSON output DOES include body field
• The --include-body flag is not prominently documented; it appears as just one flag among many in pm help list
• Users can file issues (pm create/update should support --body-file for long markdown content from files #214 requesting --body-file) because they cannot easily extract body content via list

Expected behavior

Option A (recommended): Include body in default JSON output. The body is a core field of every item, and JSON consumers expect complete data. If token/performance is a concern, keep it excluded from TOON output but include it in JSON.

Option B: Make --include-body the default when --json is used, or add a prominent note in the JSON output section of pm help list.

Option C: Add a --no-body flag to explicitly exclude body from JSON, making body inclusion the default.

Why this matters

Programmatic tooling (CI/CD, agent workflows, reporting scripts) consumes pm list --json to extract item data. The missing body field forces extra pm get <id> calls (one per item), which is O(n) overhead. For a large tracker (224+ items), this adds significant latency.

Related issues

• pm create/update should support --body-file for long markdown content from files #214 (pm create/update should support --body-file for long markdown content from files)
• Internal: Our project found this confusing during audit automation

Suggested implementation

For pm list --json output:

1. Include body field by default in each item
2. Keep TOON output unchanged (no body by default, require --include-body)
3. Update pm help list to document this JSON-specific behavior
4. Add a --no-body flag to suppress body in JSON output for performance-sensitive use cases

Version

2026.6.12