Fix Export-Json ignoring -Depth unless -Compact is used

[MariusStorhaug]

Context and request

Observed behavior. Export-Json -Depth is only honoured when -Compact is also supplied. Without -Compact, the parameter has no effect at all.

The compact path serializes with the caller's depth:

$formattedJson = $objectToExport | ConvertTo-Json -Depth $Depth -Compress

The pretty path delegates to Format-Json, which does not accept a depth and hard-codes its own:

$formattedJson = Format-Json -InputObject $objectToExport -IndentationType $IndentationType -IndentationSize $IndentationSize
# Format-Json internally: $inputObject | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 100 -Compress:$Compact

Compounding this, -Depth defaults to 2 while Format-Json uses 100. So the same object exported the same way produces different data depending on a formatting switch.

Reproduced against main:

$deep = [pscustomobject]@{ l1 = [pscustomobject]@{ l2 = [pscustomobject]@{ l3 = [pscustomobject]@{ l4 = 'deep' } } } }
$deep | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 2 -Compress
# {"l1":{"l2":{"l3":"@{l4=deep}"}}}     <- what Export-Json -Compact writes by default

The nested object at level 4 is flattened into the string "@{l4=deep}". The written file is no longer a faithful representation of the input, and the loss is silent.

Expected behavior. -Depth applies identically on both paths, and its default does not silently truncate ordinary nested data.

Reproduction.

$deep = [pscustomobject]@{ l1 = [pscustomobject]@{ l2 = [pscustomobject]@{ l3 = [pscustomobject]@{ l4 = 'deep' } } } }
Export-Json -InputObject $deep -Path ./compact.json -Compact -Force
Export-Json -InputObject $deep -Path ./pretty.json -Force
Get-Content ./compact.json   # truncated at level 3
Get-Content ./pretty.json    # fully preserved

Environment. src/functions/public/Export-Json.ps1 ($Depth default 2, lines 74 and 138) and src/functions/public/Format-Json.ps1 (hard-coded -Depth 100, line 59). Module v1.2.3. Reproduced on PowerShell 7 on Windows; the logic is platform-independent.

Regression. Unknown. Present since Export-Json was introduced as far as the current source shows; no prior working version identified.

Workaround. Always pass an explicit -Depth high enough for the data and avoid -Compact, or serialize with ConvertTo-Json directly and use the -JsonString parameter set.

Acceptance criteria.

• Export-Json -Depth <n> produces identical nesting depth with and without -Compact.
• The default depth does not truncate ordinary nested objects.
• A regression test exports the same object on both paths and asserts the results are structurally equivalent.
• No warning-free silent truncation remains on either path.

Technical decisions

Verified cause: two independent serialization sites with different depths, and only one of them reachable by the caller's -Depth.

The fix is to give Format-Json a -Depth parameter and have Export-Json pass its value through, so there is one depth applied at one place. Hard-coding 100 in both would remove the inconsistency but also remove the caller's control, which the parameter exists to provide.

The default changes from 2 to something that does not truncate realistic data. Format-Json's existing 100 is the natural choice and is already the effective default on the pretty path — so aligning on it changes behaviour only for -Compact callers who were being truncated, which is the defect being fixed.

Adding -Depth to Format-Json is an additive parameter change and not breaking. Raising Export-Json's default is user-visible in output content and warrants a Minor label.

Not in scope: ConvertTo-Json emits a warning when it truncates; whether the module should surface that is a separate design question.

Implementation plan

• Add a regression test exporting a 5-level object with and without -Compact and asserting structural equivalence, and confirm it fails
• Add a -Depth parameter to Format-Json and use it in place of the hard-coded 100
• Pass -Depth from Export-Json through to Format-Json on the pretty path
• Raise Export-Json's -Depth default so ordinary nested data is not truncated
• Add a test asserting an explicit -Depth truncates identically on both paths
• Update the comment-based help for both commands to describe the depth behaviour
• Confirm the existing suite still passes and coverage holds at the 95% target
• Apply the Minor label