diff --git a/src/cli.ts b/src/cli.ts
index 49a66af6..32af5d9f 100644
--- a/src/cli.ts
+++ b/src/cli.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ program
   .option('--config-file <path>', 'path to a config file (default: ~/.elasticrc.yml)')
   .option('--use-context <name>', 'override the active context from the config file')
   .option('--json', 'output as JSON')
+  .option('--output-fields <list>', 'comma-separated list of fields to include in output (dot-notation supported)')
+  .option('--output-template <string>', 'Mustache-like template for custom text output (e.g. "{{id}}: {{name}}")')
 
 // Before every sub-command action, load and resolve the config file.
 // On error, print a structured message and exit -- never let a config failure
diff --git a/src/factory.ts b/src/factory.ts
index 45542d61..841711ec 100644
--- a/src/factory.ts
+++ b/src/factory.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import { extractSchemaArgs, validateSchemaArgs } from './lib/schema-args.ts'
 import type { SchemaArgDefinition } from './lib/schema-args.ts'
 import { simplifyZodIssues, formatIssuesText } from './lib/zod-error.ts'
 import { renderText, formatHandlerError } from './output.ts'
+import { pickFields, parseFieldList, applyTemplate } from './lib/output-transform.ts'
 
 /** pre-built schema for coercing string → number, reused per option invocation */
 const numberSchema = z.coerce.number()
@@ -764,12 +765,22 @@ export function defineCommand<T extends z.ZodType> (config: CommandConfig<T>): O
         process.stderr.write(`Error: ${formatHandlerError(handlerResult)}\n`)
       }
       process.exitCode = 1
-    } else if (jsonFormat === true) {
-      process.stdout.write(JSON.stringify(handlerResult) + '\n')
-    } else if (config.formatOutput !== undefined) {
-      process.stdout.write(config.formatOutput(handlerResult, parsed))
     } else {
-      process.stdout.write(renderText(handlerResult))
+      const fieldsRaw = allRaw.outputFields as string | undefined
+      const templateRaw = allRaw.outputTemplate as string | undefined
+      let output = handlerResult
+      if (fieldsRaw != null) {
+        output = pickFields(output, parseFieldList(fieldsRaw))
+      }
+      if (templateRaw != null) {
+        process.stdout.write(applyTemplate(output, templateRaw))
+      } else if (jsonFormat === true) {
+        process.stdout.write(JSON.stringify(output) + '\n')
+      } else if (config.formatOutput !== undefined) {
+        process.stdout.write(config.formatOutput(output, parsed))
+      } else {
+        process.stdout.write(renderText(output))
+      }
     }
   })
 
diff --git a/src/lib/output-transform.ts b/src/lib/output-transform.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0e54eca7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/output-transform.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright Elasticsearch B.V. and contributors
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+import type { JsonValue } from '../factory.ts'
+
+/**
+ * Picks the specified fields from a JSON value, supporting dot-notation for nested access.
+ *
+ * - For objects: returns a new object with only the selected fields
+ * - For arrays of objects: picks fields from each element
+ * - For primitives/non-objects: returns the value unchanged (nothing to pick from)
+ *
+ * Dot-notation (e.g. `"hits.total"`) descends into nested objects.
+ * Missing fields are silently omitted.
+ */
+export function pickFields (value: JsonValue, fields: string[]): JsonValue {
+  if (value === null || typeof value !== 'object') return value
+
+  if (Array.isArray(value)) {
+    return value.map((item) => pickFields(item, fields))
+  }
+
+  const result: Record<string, JsonValue> = {}
+  for (const field of fields) {
+    const val = getNestedValue(value, field)
+    if (val !== undefined) {
+      setNestedValue(result, field, val)
+    }
+  }
+  return result
+}
+
+function getNestedValue (obj: Record<string, JsonValue>, path: string): JsonValue | undefined {
+  const parts = path.split('.')
+  let current: JsonValue = obj
+  for (const part of parts) {
+    if (current === null || typeof current !== 'object' || Array.isArray(current)) return undefined
+    const next: JsonValue | undefined = (current as Record<string, JsonValue>)[part]
+    if (next === undefined) return undefined
+    current = next
+  }
+  return current
+}
+
+function setNestedValue (obj: Record<string, JsonValue>, path: string, value: JsonValue): void {
+  const parts = path.split('.')
+  let current: Record<string, JsonValue> = obj
+  for (let i = 0; i < parts.length - 1; i++) {
+    const part = parts[i]!
+    if (current[part] === undefined || typeof current[part] !== 'object' || current[part] === null || Array.isArray(current[part])) {
+      current[part] = {}
+    }
+    current = current[part] as Record<string, JsonValue>
+  }
+  current[parts[parts.length - 1]!] = value
+}
+
+/**
+ * Parses a comma-separated field list into individual field names.
+ * Trims whitespace from each field and drops empties.
+ */
+export function parseFieldList (raw: string): string[] {
+  return raw.split(',').map((f) => f.trim()).filter((f) => f.length > 0)
+}
+
+/**
+ * Renders a value using a Mustache-like template string.
+ *
+ * Supported syntax:
+ * - `{{field}}` — replaced with the field value (dot-notation supported)
+ * - `{{field}}` on missing fields — replaced with empty string
+ *
+ * For arrays: renders one line per element.
+ * For primitives: returns the template with `{{.}}` replaced by the value.
+ */
+export function applyTemplate (value: JsonValue, template: string): string {
+  if (value === null || typeof value !== 'object') {
+    return template.replace(/\{\{\s*\.?\s*\}\}/g, String(value)) + '\n'
+  }
+
+  if (Array.isArray(value)) {
+    return value.map((item) => applyTemplate(item, template)).join('')
+  }
+
+  return template.replace(/\{\{\s*([^}]+?)\s*\}\}/g, (_match, field: string) => {
+    if (field === '.') return JSON.stringify(value)
+    const val = getNestedValue(value as Record<string, JsonValue>, field)
+    if (val === undefined || val === null) return ''
+    if (typeof val === 'object') return JSON.stringify(val)
+    return String(val)
+  }) + '\n'
+}
diff --git a/test/lib/output-transform.test.ts b/test/lib/output-transform.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..352e0496
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/lib/output-transform.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,181 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright Elasticsearch B.V. and contributors
+ * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+ */
+
+import { describe, it } from 'node:test'
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict'
+import { pickFields, parseFieldList, applyTemplate } from '../../src/lib/output-transform.ts'
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// parseFieldList
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+describe('parseFieldList', () => {
+  it('splits comma-separated fields', () => {
+    assert.deepEqual(parseFieldList('id,name,score'), ['id', 'name', 'score'])
+  })
+
+  it('trims whitespace around fields', () => {
+    assert.deepEqual(parseFieldList('id , name , score'), ['id', 'name', 'score'])
+  })
+
+  it('drops empty entries from trailing commas', () => {
+    assert.deepEqual(parseFieldList('id,name,'), ['id', 'name'])
+  })
+
+  it('handles a single field', () => {
+    assert.deepEqual(parseFieldList('id'), ['id'])
+  })
+})
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// pickFields — flat objects
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+describe('pickFields — flat objects', () => {
+  it('picks specified top-level keys', () => {
+    const input = { id: 1, name: 'foo', status: 'ok', extra: true }
+    assert.deepEqual(pickFields(input, ['id', 'name']), { id: 1, name: 'foo' })
+  })
+
+  it('silently omits missing fields', () => {
+    const input = { id: 1, name: 'foo' }
+    assert.deepEqual(pickFields(input, ['id', 'missing']), { id: 1 })
+  })
+
+  it('returns empty object when no fields match', () => {
+    assert.deepEqual(pickFields({ a: 1 }, ['x', 'y']), {})
+  })
+})
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// pickFields — dot-notation (nested)
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+describe('pickFields — dot-notation', () => {
+  it('picks nested fields with dot-notation', () => {
+    const input = { hits: { total: 42, max_score: 1.5 }, took: 10 }
+    assert.deepEqual(pickFields(input, ['hits.total', 'took']), { hits: { total: 42 }, took: 10 })
+  })
+
+  it('handles deeply nested paths', () => {
+    const input = { a: { b: { c: { d: 'deep' } } } }
+    assert.deepEqual(pickFields(input, ['a.b.c.d']), { a: { b: { c: { d: 'deep' } } } })
+  })
+
+  it('omits dot-paths where intermediate is missing', () => {
+    const input = { a: 1 }
+    assert.deepEqual(pickFields(input, ['a.b.c']), {})
+  })
+})
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// pickFields — arrays
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+describe('pickFields — arrays', () => {
+  it('picks fields from each element in an array', () => {
+    const input = [
+      { id: 1, name: 'a', extra: true },
+      { id: 2, name: 'b', extra: false },
+    ]
+    assert.deepEqual(pickFields(input, ['id', 'name']), [
+      { id: 1, name: 'a' },
+      { id: 2, name: 'b' },
+    ])
+  })
+
+  it('returns empty objects for array elements with no matching fields', () => {
+    const input = [{ x: 1 }, { x: 2 }]
+    assert.deepEqual(pickFields(input, ['z']), [{}, {}])
+  })
+})
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// pickFields — primitives (pass-through)
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+describe('pickFields — primitives', () => {
+  it('returns string unchanged', () => {
+    assert.equal(pickFields('hello', ['id']), 'hello')
+  })
+
+  it('returns number unchanged', () => {
+    assert.equal(pickFields(42, ['id']), 42)
+  })
+
+  it('returns null unchanged', () => {
+    assert.equal(pickFields(null, ['id']), null)
+  })
+})
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// applyTemplate — objects
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+describe('applyTemplate — objects', () => {
+  it('substitutes top-level fields', () => {
+    const input = { id: 1, name: 'foo', score: 9.5 }
+    assert.equal(applyTemplate(input, '{{id}}: {{name}} ({{score}})'), '1: foo (9.5)\n')
+  })
+
+  it('substitutes nested fields with dot-notation', () => {
+    const input = { hit: { id: 'abc', source: { title: 'Hello' } } }
+    assert.equal(applyTemplate(input, '{{hit.id}} — {{hit.source.title}}'), 'abc — Hello\n')
+  })
+
+  it('replaces missing fields with empty string', () => {
+    const input = { id: 1 }
+    assert.equal(applyTemplate(input, '{{id}} {{missing}}'), '1 \n')
+  })
+
+  it('serializes object fields as JSON', () => {
+    const input = { id: 1, meta: { a: 2 } }
+    assert.equal(applyTemplate(input, '{{id}} {{meta}}'), '1 {"a":2}\n')
+  })
+})
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// applyTemplate — arrays (one line per element)
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+describe('applyTemplate — arrays', () => {
+  it('renders one line per array element', () => {
+    const input = [
+      { id: 1, name: 'a' },
+      { id: 2, name: 'b' },
+    ]
+    assert.equal(applyTemplate(input, '{{id}}: {{name}}'), '1: a\n2: b\n')
+  })
+
+  it('handles empty arrays', () => {
+    assert.equal(applyTemplate([], '{{id}}'), '')
+  })
+})
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// applyTemplate — primitives
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+describe('applyTemplate — primitives', () => {
+  it('replaces {{.}} with the primitive value', () => {
+    assert.equal(applyTemplate('hello', 'value={{.}}'), 'value=hello\n')
+  })
+
+  it('replaces bare {{}} with the primitive value', () => {
+    assert.equal(applyTemplate(42, 'num={{}}'), 'num=42\n')
+  })
+})
+
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+// pickFields + applyTemplate combined
+// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+describe('pickFields + applyTemplate combined', () => {
+  it('fields narrow data before template renders it', () => {
+    const input = { id: 1, name: 'foo', secret: 'hidden' }
+    const picked = pickFields(input, ['id', 'name'])
+    assert.equal(applyTemplate(picked, '{{id}}: {{name}} {{secret}}'), '1: foo \n')
+  })
+})