diff --git a/packages/sdk/create-sdk/src/command.ts b/packages/sdk/create-sdk/src/command.ts
index a7855ea027..9897db2a21 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/create-sdk/src/command.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/create-sdk/src/command.ts
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import {
   ClackPromptPort,
   HeadlessPromptError,
   HeadlessPromptPort,
+  NodeCommandRunner,
   PromptCancelledError,
   type PackageManagerVersionProbe,
   type PromptPort,
@@ -45,6 +46,9 @@ export async function createProject(
   context: CreateCommandContext,
 ): Promise<ScaffoldResult | undefined> {
   const args = parseCreateArgs(argv)
+  // Under --json, stdout carries only NDJSON events: human-readable progress
+  // and package-manager child output move to stderr.
+  const progress = args.json === true ? context.stderr : context.stdout
   if (args.help) {
     context.stdout.write(CREATE_TEMPLATES.usage.render({}))
     return undefined
@@ -64,7 +68,7 @@ export async function createProject(
   })
   const resolved = await wizard.run()
   const result = await scaffoldProject(resolved.directory, resolved.request)
-  context.stdout.write(CREATE_TEMPLATES.created.render({
+  progress.write(CREATE_TEMPLATES.created.render({
     name: resolved.request.name,
     directory: resolved.directory,
   }))
@@ -72,8 +76,9 @@ export async function createProject(
     try {
       if (context.setup) await context.setup(resolved)
       else {
-        await resolved.request.packageManager.install(resolved.directory)
-        await resolved.request.packageManager.build(resolved.directory)
+        const runner = args.json === true ? new NodeCommandRunner(context.stderr) : new NodeCommandRunner()
+        await resolved.request.packageManager.install(resolved.directory, runner)
+        await resolved.request.packageManager.build(resolved.directory, runner)
       }
     } catch (error) {
       context.stderr.write(CREATE_TEMPLATES.setupFailure.render({
@@ -84,7 +89,7 @@ export async function createProject(
       throw error
     }
   }
-  context.stdout.write(CREATE_TEMPLATES.nextSteps.render({
+  progress.write(CREATE_TEMPLATES.nextSteps.render({
     directory: resolved.directory,
     setupRequired: !resolved.install,
     ...packageManagerTemplateModel(resolved.request.packageManager),
diff --git a/packages/sdk/create-sdk/tests/create.spec.ts b/packages/sdk/create-sdk/tests/create.spec.ts
index 0e4abd37c4..362e5046f9 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/create-sdk/tests/create.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/create-sdk/tests/create.spec.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
   HeadlessPromptPort,
   LocalPluginBlueprint,
   featureId,
+  NodeCommandRunner,
   NpmPackageManager,
   type FeatureSelection,
   type NestedMultiSelectValue,
@@ -511,6 +512,12 @@ describe('create command composition', () => {
     const okSpec = JSON.stringify({ ...base, directory: 'done-agent', provider: 'deepseek', apiKey: 'key', features: [] })
     await expect(runCreateCommand(['--config-json', okSpec, '--json'], ok)).resolves.toBe(0)
     expect(ok.readStdout()).toContain('{"type":"done"}')
+    // stdout stays pure NDJSON: every line parses, human progress goes to stderr
+    for (const line of ok.readStdout().split('\n').filter(line => line.length > 0)) {
+      expect(() => { JSON.parse(line) }).not.toThrow()
+    }
+    expect(ok.readStderr()).toContain('Created done-agent')
+    expect(ok.readStderr()).toContain('Next: cd')
 
     const missing = commandContext(root)
     missing.stdin.isTTY = false
@@ -564,6 +571,17 @@ describe('create command composition', () => {
     await createProject(argv('agent', true), context)
     expect(install).toHaveBeenCalledOnce()
     expect(build).toHaveBeenCalledOnce()
+    const spec = JSON.stringify({
+      directory: 'json-agent', description: 'test', provider: 'deepseek', apiKey: 'key',
+      model: 'deepseek-v4-flash', interface: 'embed', pm: 'npm', install: true, features: [],
+    })
+    const json = commandContext(root)
+    json.stdin.isTTY = false
+    json.stdout.isTTY = false
+    await createProject(['--config-json', spec, '--json'], json)
+    // json mode hands install/build a runner that redirects child output to stderr
+    expect(install).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2)
+    expect(install.mock.calls[1]?.[1]).toBeInstanceOf(NodeCommandRunner)
     install.mockRestore()
     build.mockRestore()
   })
diff --git a/packages/sdk/helper/src/package-managers/package-manager.ts b/packages/sdk/helper/src/package-managers/package-manager.ts
index 6e6eda478a..8d6b617977 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/helper/src/package-managers/package-manager.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/helper/src/package-managers/package-manager.ts
@@ -58,17 +58,38 @@ export function scrubEnvironment(environment: NodeJS.ProcessEnv = process.env):
 
 /** Node child-process command runner with inherited stdio and quiescent completion. */
 export class NodeCommandRunner implements CommandRunner {
-  /** Spawn one child and settle only after its exit. */
+  private readonly output: NodeJS.WritableStream | undefined
+
+  /**
+   * @param output - redirect target for child stdout+stderr; the child inherits
+   * this process's stdio when absent. Callers whose own stdout carries a machine
+   * protocol (create-sdk --json NDJSON) redirect child output to keep the
+   * protocol stream pure.
+   */
+  constructor(output?: NodeJS.WritableStream) {
+    this.output = output
+  }
+
+  /** Spawn one child and settle only after exit, with redirected stdio drained. */
   run(command: string, args: readonly string[], cwd: string): Promise<CommandResult> {
     return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+      const output = this.output
+      if (output === undefined) {
+        const child = spawn(command, [...args], { cwd, env: scrubEnvironment(), stdio: 'inherit', shell: false })
+        child.once('error', reject)
+        child.once('exit', (exitCode, signal) => { resolve({ exitCode, signal }) })
+        return
+      }
       const child = spawn(command, [...args], {
         cwd,
         env: scrubEnvironment(),
-        stdio: 'inherit',
+        stdio: ['inherit', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
         shell: false,
       })
+      child.stdout.pipe(output, { end: false })
+      child.stderr.pipe(output, { end: false })
       child.once('error', reject)
-      child.once('exit', (exitCode, signal) => { resolve({ exitCode, signal }) })
+      child.once('close', (exitCode, signal) => { resolve({ exitCode, signal }) })
     })
   }
 }
diff --git a/packages/sdk/helper/tests/documents.spec.ts b/packages/sdk/helper/tests/documents.spec.ts
index 3ce5eeccea..469887036a 100644
--- a/packages/sdk/helper/tests/documents.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/sdk/helper/tests/documents.spec.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { chmod, mkdtemp, mkdir, readFile, rm, writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises'
 import { tmpdir } from 'node:os'
 import { join } from 'node:path'
+import { Writable } from 'node:stream'
 import { afterEach, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
 import { CordisYamlFile, JsExpression } from '../src/documents/cordis-yaml-file.ts'
 import { EnvFile } from '../src/documents/env-file.ts'
@@ -325,6 +326,19 @@ describe('package manager strategies', () => {
     const runner = new NodeCommandRunner()
     await expect(runner.run(process.execPath, ['-e', ''], root)).resolves.toEqual({ exitCode: 0, signal: null })
     await expect(runner.run('missing-dsh-command', [], root)).rejects.toThrow()
+    let redirected = ''
+    const output = new Writable({
+      write(chunk, _encoding, callback) { redirected += String(chunk); callback() },
+    })
+    const redirecting = new NodeCommandRunner(output)
+    await expect(redirecting.run(
+      process.execPath,
+      ['-e', 'process.stdout.write("child-out"); process.stderr.write("child-err")'],
+      root,
+    )).resolves.toEqual({ exitCode: 0, signal: null })
+    expect(redirected).toContain('child-out')
+    expect(redirected).toContain('child-err')
+    await expect(redirecting.run('missing-dsh-command', [], root)).rejects.toThrow()
   })
 
   it('discovers and rewrites a repository-local NPM dependency closure', async () => {