diff --git a/packages/deepctl-cmd-billing/pyproject.toml b/packages/deepctl-cmd-billing/pyproject.toml
index 3f72717..1d5cd82 100644
--- a/packages/deepctl-cmd-billing/pyproject.toml
+++ b/packages/deepctl-cmd-billing/pyproject.toml
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ classifiers = [
 keywords = ["deepgram", "cli", "billing", "usage"]
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
 dependencies = [
-    "deepctl-core>=0.1.10",
+    "deepctl-core>=0.2.16",
     "click>=8.0.0",
     "rich>=13.0.0",
     "pydantic>=2.0.0",
diff --git a/packages/deepctl-cmd-keys/pyproject.toml b/packages/deepctl-cmd-keys/pyproject.toml
index 13c63a0..3f88c6e 100644
--- a/packages/deepctl-cmd-keys/pyproject.toml
+++ b/packages/deepctl-cmd-keys/pyproject.toml
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ classifiers = [
 keywords = ["deepgram", "cli", "keys", "api-keys"]
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
 dependencies = [
-    "deepctl-core>=0.1.10",
+    "deepctl-core>=0.2.16",
     "click>=8.0.0",
     "rich>=13.0.0",
     "pydantic>=2.0.0",
diff --git a/packages/deepctl-cmd-members/pyproject.toml b/packages/deepctl-cmd-members/pyproject.toml
index d06425d..0b5116e 100644
--- a/packages/deepctl-cmd-members/pyproject.toml
+++ b/packages/deepctl-cmd-members/pyproject.toml
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ classifiers = [
 keywords = ["deepgram", "cli", "members", "team"]
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
 dependencies = [
-    "deepctl-core>=0.1.10",
+    "deepctl-core>=0.2.16",
     "click>=8.0.0",
     "rich>=13.0.0",
     "pydantic>=2.0.0",
diff --git a/packages/deepctl-cmd-models/pyproject.toml b/packages/deepctl-cmd-models/pyproject.toml
index 816bf92..18852e0 100644
--- a/packages/deepctl-cmd-models/pyproject.toml
+++ b/packages/deepctl-cmd-models/pyproject.toml
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ classifiers = [
 keywords = ["deepgram", "cli", "models"]
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
 dependencies = [
-    "deepctl-core>=0.1.10",
+    "deepctl-core>=0.2.16",
     "click>=8.0.0",
     "rich>=13.0.0",
     "pydantic>=2.0.0",
diff --git a/packages/deepctl-cmd-projects/pyproject.toml b/packages/deepctl-cmd-projects/pyproject.toml
index cdfabbe..c7d7258 100644
--- a/packages/deepctl-cmd-projects/pyproject.toml
+++ b/packages/deepctl-cmd-projects/pyproject.toml
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ classifiers = [
 keywords = ["deepgram", "cli", "projects", "management"]
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
 dependencies = [
-    "deepctl-core>=0.1.10",
+    "deepctl-core>=0.2.16",
     "click>=8.0.0",
     "rich>=13.0.0",
     "deepgram-sdk>=7.7.0,<8",
diff --git a/packages/deepctl-cmd-read/pyproject.toml b/packages/deepctl-cmd-read/pyproject.toml
index adbc3b8..beeb51c 100644
--- a/packages/deepctl-cmd-read/pyproject.toml
+++ b/packages/deepctl-cmd-read/pyproject.toml
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ classifiers = [
 keywords = ["deepgram", "cli", "text-intelligence", "nlp", "read"]
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
 dependencies = [
-    "deepctl-core>=0.1.10",
+    "deepctl-core>=0.2.16",
     "click>=8.0.0",
     "rich>=13.0.0",
     "pydantic>=2.0.0",
diff --git a/packages/deepctl-cmd-requests/pyproject.toml b/packages/deepctl-cmd-requests/pyproject.toml
index b2bccb9..5bde238 100644
--- a/packages/deepctl-cmd-requests/pyproject.toml
+++ b/packages/deepctl-cmd-requests/pyproject.toml
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ classifiers = [
 keywords = ["deepgram", "cli", "requests", "history"]
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
 dependencies = [
-    "deepctl-core>=0.1.10",
+    "deepctl-core>=0.2.16",
     "click>=8.0.0",
     "rich>=13.0.0",
     "pydantic>=2.0.0",
diff --git a/packages/deepctl-cmd-usage/pyproject.toml b/packages/deepctl-cmd-usage/pyproject.toml
index 1131dee..6feffd4 100644
--- a/packages/deepctl-cmd-usage/pyproject.toml
+++ b/packages/deepctl-cmd-usage/pyproject.toml
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ classifiers = [
 keywords = ["deepgram", "cli", "usage", "statistics"]
 requires-python = ">=3.10"
 dependencies = [
-    "deepctl-core>=0.1.10",
+    "deepctl-core>=0.2.16",
     "deepctl-shared-utils>=0.1.10",
     "click>=8.0.0",
     "rich>=13.0.0",
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 4882212..a3c377e 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -35,12 +35,12 @@ requires-python = ">=3.10"
 dependencies = [
     "click>=8.0.0",
     "deepgram-sdk>=7.7.0,<8",
-    "deepctl-core>=0.2.15",
-    "deepctl-cmd-login>=0.1.10",
-    "deepctl-cmd-projects>=0.1.10",
+    "deepctl-core>=0.2.16",
+    "deepctl-cmd-login>=0.1.17",
+    "deepctl-cmd-projects>=0.1.14",
     "deepctl-cmd-transcribe>=0.1.10",
-    "deepctl-cmd-usage>=0.1.10",
-    "deepctl-cmd-mcp>=0.1.10",
+    "deepctl-cmd-usage>=0.1.14",
+    "deepctl-cmd-mcp>=0.1.15",
     "deepctl-cmd-api>=0.0.1",
     "deepctl-cmd-debug>=0.1.10",
     "deepctl-cmd-debug-browser>=0.1.10",
@@ -49,21 +49,21 @@ dependencies = [
     "deepctl-cmd-debug-probe>=0.0.1",
     "deepctl-cmd-debug-toolkit>=0.0.1",
     "deepctl-cmd-ffprobe>=0.0.1",
-    "deepctl-cmd-update>=0.1.10",
+    "deepctl-cmd-update>=0.2.6",
     "deepctl-cmd-plugin>=0.1.10",
-    "deepctl-cmd-skills>=0.0.1",
+    "deepctl-cmd-skills>=0.0.7",
     "deepctl-cmd-init>=0.0.1",
-    "deepctl-cmd-models>=0.0.1",
+    "deepctl-cmd-models>=0.0.3",
     "deepctl-cmd-speak>=0.0.4",
-    "deepctl-cmd-keys>=0.0.1",
-    "deepctl-cmd-read>=0.0.1",
+    "deepctl-cmd-keys>=0.0.4",
+    "deepctl-cmd-read>=0.0.3",
     "deepctl-cmd-listen>=0.0.14",
-    "deepctl-cmd-requests>=0.0.1",
-    "deepctl-cmd-billing>=0.0.1",
-    "deepctl-cmd-members>=0.0.1",
+    "deepctl-cmd-requests>=0.0.3",
+    "deepctl-cmd-billing>=0.0.3",
+    "deepctl-cmd-members>=0.0.4",
     "deepctl-cmd-completion>=0.0.1",
     "deepctl-shared-utils>=0.1.10",
-    "deepctl-telemetry>=0.0.1",
+    "deepctl-telemetry>=0.0.6",
     "pydantic>=2.0.0",
     "rich>=13.0.0",
     "httpx>=0.24.0",
diff --git a/src/deepctl/main.py b/src/deepctl/main.py
index db6aa0e..6e65a47 100644
--- a/src/deepctl/main.py
+++ b/src/deepctl/main.py
@@ -19,12 +19,18 @@
     print_timing_summary,
     setup_output,
 )
-from rich.console import Console
+from deepctl_core.output import stderr_console
 from rich.traceback import install
 
 # Install rich traceback for better error messages
 install(show_locals=True)
-console = Console()
+
+# Diagnostics go to stderr so stdout carries only the requested payload -- a
+# crash or usage error must not corrupt `dg -o json ...` for a script piping
+# stdout into jq. Same console the command layer uses via print_error(), so
+# root-level and command-level diagnostics format identically (including the
+# no-color handling for agentic/CI callers).
+console = stderr_console
 
 
 def _record_install_method_cb(
@@ -282,7 +288,7 @@ def _telemetry_transaction() -> Iterator[None]:
 
 
 def _safe_console_print(message: str) -> None:
-    """Print to the console, tolerating a closed/broken output stream.
+    """Print a diagnostic to stderr, tolerating a closed/broken stream.
 
     When `dg` runs as an MCP server, the host can close stdio before the
     process finishes. A write to the closed stream raises ``BrokenPipeError``
@@ -389,12 +395,15 @@ def main() -> None:
         if exit_code:
             sys.exit(exit_code)
 
-    except KeyboardInterrupt:
+    except (KeyboardInterrupt, click.exceptions.Abort):
+        # Click wraps a Ctrl-C/Ctrl-D raised inside cli() in Abort when
+        # standalone_mode=False, so a mid-command interrupt arrives here as
+        # Abort, not KeyboardInterrupt. Both are user cancellation: exit 2.
         _safe_console_print("\n[yellow]Operation cancelled by user[/yellow]")
         sys.exit(2)
     except Exception as e:
         _safe_console_print(f"[red]Error: {e}[/red]")
-        sys.exit(2)
+        sys.exit(1)  # 1 = error; 2 is reserved for user interrupt
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_main.py b/tests/unit/test_main.py
index 47f36be..9380a35 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_main.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_main.py
@@ -117,29 +117,115 @@ def test_main_keyboard_interrupt(self):
         """Test main() handles KeyboardInterrupt."""
         from deepctl.main import main
 
-        # Mock sys.argv and the cli call to raise KeyboardInterrupt
+        # Patch the module-global `cli` that main() calls, going through
+        # sys.modules because deepctl/__init__ re-exports the `main` function
+        # as `deepctl.main`, shadowing the submodule attribute. (Patching the
+        # instance's __call__ is inert: dunder lookup bypasses instance
+        # attributes, so the old patch.object(cli, "__call__", ...) form
+        # exercised the bare-`dg` help path instead.)
+        main_mod = sys.modules["deepctl.main"]
         with patch("sys.argv", ["deepctl"]):
-            # Patch the cli function that's already imported at module level
-            with patch.object(cli, "__call__", side_effect=KeyboardInterrupt()):
+            with patch.object(main_mod, "cli", side_effect=KeyboardInterrupt()):
+                with pytest.raises(SystemExit) as exc_info:
+                    main()
+
+                # main()'s own KeyboardInterrupt handler: 2 = user interrupt
+                assert exc_info.value.code == 2
+
+    def test_main_click_abort(self):
+        """A click Abort (Ctrl-C/Ctrl-D during a command) exits 2.
+
+        With standalone_mode=False, Click catches a KeyboardInterrupt raised
+        inside command execution and re-raises it as Abort (a RuntimeError,
+        not a KeyboardInterrupt) -- so the mid-command interrupt, the common
+        case, reaches main() as Abort. It is user cancellation: 2, not 1.
+        """
+        import click
+
+        from deepctl.main import main
+
+        main_mod = sys.modules["deepctl.main"]
+        with patch("sys.argv", ["deepctl"]):
+            with patch.object(
+                main_mod, "cli", side_effect=click.exceptions.Abort()
+            ):
                 with pytest.raises(SystemExit) as exc_info:
                     main()
 
-                # Click exits with code 2 when there's an error in standalone mode
                 assert exc_info.value.code == 2
 
     def test_main_general_exception(self):
         """Test main() handles general exceptions."""
         from deepctl.main import main
 
-        # Mock sys.argv and the cli call to raise an exception
+        main_mod = sys.modules["deepctl.main"]
         with patch("sys.argv", ["deepctl"]):
-            # Patch the cli function that's already imported at module level
-            with patch.object(cli, "__call__", side_effect=Exception("Test error")):
+            with patch.object(main_mod, "cli", side_effect=Exception("Test error")):
                 with pytest.raises(SystemExit) as exc_info:
                     main()
 
-                # Click exits with code 2 when there's an error in standalone mode
-                assert exc_info.value.code == 2
+                # main()'s own handler: 1 = error (2 is reserved for interrupt)
+                assert exc_info.value.code == 1
+
+    def test_main_usage_error(self):
+        """A Click usage error (bad flag, unknown command) exits 1.
+
+        standalone_mode=False means Click's UsageError propagates to main()'s
+        generic handler rather than Click's own standalone exit(2) -- per the
+        published contract, 1 = error and 2 is reserved for user interrupt.
+        """
+        from deepctl.main import main
+
+        with patch("sys.argv", ["deepctl", "--definitely-not-a-flag"]):
+            with pytest.raises(SystemExit) as exc_info:
+                main()
+
+            assert exc_info.value.code == 1
+
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize(
+        ("argv", "label"),
+        [
+            (["deepctl", "-o", "json", "not-a-command"], "unknown command"),
+            (["deepctl", "-o", "json", "--definitely-not-a-flag"], "bad flag"),
+        ],
+    )
+    def test_failure_keeps_stdout_clean(self, capsys, argv, label):
+        """A failing `dg -o json ...` writes nothing to stdout.
+
+        The whole point of `-o json` is that stdout is machine-readable, so a
+        script can pipe it into jq. Diagnostics therefore belong on stderr:
+        printing `Error: ...` to stdout leaves the caller parsing prose. This
+        is the root-handler half of the #97 sweep, which moved command-level
+        status chrome to stderr but left main()'s own handlers on stdout.
+        """
+        from deepctl.main import main
+
+        with patch("sys.argv", argv):
+            with pytest.raises(SystemExit) as exc_info:
+                main()
+
+        assert exc_info.value.code == 1
+        captured = capsys.readouterr()
+        assert captured.out == "", f"{label} polluted stdout: {captured.out!r}"
+        assert "Error" in captured.err
+
+    def test_interrupt_message_goes_to_stderr(self, capsys):
+        """The cancellation notice is a diagnostic, so it also stays off stdout."""
+        import click
+
+        from deepctl.main import main
+
+        main_mod = sys.modules["deepctl.main"]
+        with patch("sys.argv", ["deepctl"]):
+            with patch.object(
+                main_mod, "cli", side_effect=click.exceptions.Abort()
+            ):
+                with pytest.raises(SystemExit):
+                    main()
+
+        captured = capsys.readouterr()
+        assert captured.out == ""
+        assert "cancelled" in captured.err.lower()
 
 
 class TestSafeConsolePrint:
@@ -172,14 +258,14 @@ def test_swallows_closed_stream(self, error):
     def test_main_survives_broken_console_on_error(self):
         """The full DX-CLI-P cascade: cli raises AND the console is closed.
 
-        main() must still exit(2) cleanly rather than let rich's ValueError
+        main() must still exit(1) cleanly rather than let rich's ValueError
         escape to the excepthook.
         """
         main_mod = sys.modules["deepctl.main"]
 
         with (
             patch("sys.argv", ["deepctl"]),
-            patch.object(cli, "__call__", side_effect=Exception("boom")),
+            patch.object(main_mod, "cli", side_effect=Exception("boom")),
             patch.object(
                 main_mod.console,
                 "print",
@@ -189,4 +275,4 @@ def test_main_survives_broken_console_on_error(self):
         ):
             main_mod.main()
 
-        assert exc_info.value.code == 2
+        assert exc_info.value.code == 1