[BUG] Invalid json output when using `npm search <search term> --json`

[beaesguerra]

Is there an existing issue for this?

• I have searched the existing issues

This issue exists in the latest npm version

• I am using the latest npm

Current Behavior

When running npm search <search term> --json, the output can include invalid json that cannot be parsed using JSON.parse

Expected Behavior

When running npm search <search term> --json, the output should include valid json that can be parsed using JSON.parse

Steps To Reproduce

1. Run npm search @khanacademy/wonder-blocks --json --searchlimit=1000
2. Notice that the output includes invalid json:

> npm search @khanacademy/wonder-blocks --json --searchlimit=1000
[
  ...,
  {
    "name":"@automattic/newspack-blocks",
     // ... other fields
    "sanitized_name":***@automattic/newspack-blocks" // missing quotation between the : and ***
  },
  ...,
]

Environment

• npm: 11.11.0
• Node.js: 24.13.1
• OS Name: Tahoe 26.3.1
• System Model Name: Macbook Pro
• npm config:

; "user" config from /Users/beaesguerra/.npmrc

@khan:registry = "https://npm.pkg.github.com"
//npm.pkg.github.com/:_authToken = (protected)

[mvanhorn]

Implemented in #9128 - disables output redaction for JSON mode to prevent @npmcli/redact from corrupting structured JSON output.