diff --git a/lib/cli/src/commands/app/deploy.rs b/lib/cli/src/commands/app/deploy.rs
index 25c3dd6a2f7..532cd545dd9 100644
--- a/lib/cli/src/commands/app/deploy.rs
+++ b/lib/cli/src/commands/app/deploy.rs
@@ -587,7 +587,7 @@ impl AsyncCliCommand for CmdAppDeploy {
 
         wait_app(&client, opts.clone(), app_version.clone(), self.quiet).await?;
 
-        if self.fmt.format == crate::utils::render::ItemFormat::Json {
+        if self.fmt.format == Some(crate::utils::render::ItemFormat::Json) {
             println!("{}", serde_json::to_string_pretty(&app_version)?);
         }
 
diff --git a/lib/cli/src/commands/app/deployments/get.rs b/lib/cli/src/commands/app/deployments/get.rs
index 90bdd5ee0f3..07ccb4150ea 100644
--- a/lib/cli/src/commands/app/deployments/get.rs
+++ b/lib/cli/src/commands/app/deployments/get.rs
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
 //! Get deployments for an app.
 
-use crate::{
-    commands::AsyncCliCommand, config::WasmerEnv, opts::ItemFormatOpts, utils::render::ItemFormat,
-};
+use crate::{commands::AsyncCliCommand, config::WasmerEnv, opts::ItemFormatOpts};
 
 /// Get the volumes of an app.
 #[derive(clap::Parser, Debug)]
@@ -25,13 +23,7 @@ impl AsyncCliCommand for CmdAppDeploymentGet {
         let client = self.env.client()?;
         let item = wasmer_api::query::app_deployment(&client, self.id).await?;
 
-        // The below is a bit hacky - the default is YAML, but this is not a good
-        // default for deployments, so we switch to table.
-        if self.fmt.format == ItemFormat::Yaml {
-            self.fmt.format = ItemFormat::Table;
-        }
-
-        println!("{}", self.fmt.format.render(&item));
+        println!("{}", self.fmt.get().render(&item));
         Ok(())
     }
 }
diff --git a/lib/cli/src/commands/app/get.rs b/lib/cli/src/commands/app/get.rs
index 73b4d9de94f..12143139a31 100644
--- a/lib/cli/src/commands/app/get.rs
+++ b/lib/cli/src/commands/app/get.rs
@@ -4,7 +4,9 @@ use wasmer_api::types::DeployApp;
 
 use super::util::AppIdentOpts;
 
-use crate::{commands::AsyncCliCommand, config::WasmerEnv, opts::ItemFormatOpts};
+use crate::{
+    commands::AsyncCliCommand, config::WasmerEnv, opts::ItemFormatOpts, utils::render::ItemFormat,
+};
 
 /// Retrieve detailed informations about an app
 #[derive(clap::Parser, Debug)]
@@ -27,7 +29,10 @@ impl AsyncCliCommand for CmdAppGet {
         let client = self.env.client()?;
         let (_ident, app) = self.ident.load_app(&client).await?;
 
-        println!("{}", self.fmt.format.render(&app));
+        println!(
+            "{}",
+            self.fmt.get_with_default(ItemFormat::Yaml).render(&app)
+        );
 
         Ok(app)
     }
diff --git a/lib/cli/src/commands/app/version/get.rs b/lib/cli/src/commands/app/version/get.rs
index 83d80edffa2..aa199644c10 100644
--- a/lib/cli/src/commands/app/version/get.rs
+++ b/lib/cli/src/commands/app/version/get.rs
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ use crate::{
     commands::{app::util::AppIdentOpts, AsyncCliCommand},
     config::WasmerEnv,
     opts::ItemFormatOpts,
+    utils::render::ItemFormat,
 };
 
 /// Show information for a specific app version.
@@ -41,7 +42,10 @@ impl AsyncCliCommand for CmdAppVersionGet {
         .await?
         .with_context(|| format!("Could not find app version '{}'", self.name))?;
 
-        println!("{}", self.fmt.format.render(&version));
+        println!(
+            "{}",
+            self.fmt.get_with_default(ItemFormat::Yaml).render(&version)
+        );
 
         Ok(())
     }
diff --git a/lib/cli/src/commands/namespace/create.rs b/lib/cli/src/commands/namespace/create.rs
index adc6b3017f4..4770eaaf381 100644
--- a/lib/cli/src/commands/namespace/create.rs
+++ b/lib/cli/src/commands/namespace/create.rs
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ impl AsyncCliCommand for CmdNamespaceCreate {
         };
         let namespace = wasmer_api::query::create_namespace(&client, vars).await?;
 
-        println!("{}", self.fmt.format.render(&namespace));
+        println!("{}", self.fmt.get().render(&namespace));
 
         Ok(())
     }
diff --git a/lib/cli/src/commands/namespace/get.rs b/lib/cli/src/commands/namespace/get.rs
index 48138de8309..9ca3a0cfcc7 100644
--- a/lib/cli/src/commands/namespace/get.rs
+++ b/lib/cli/src/commands/namespace/get.rs
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ impl AsyncCliCommand for CmdNamespaceGet {
             .await?
             .context("namespace not found")?;
 
-        println!("{}", self.fmt.format.render(&namespace));
+        println!("{}", self.fmt.get().render(&namespace));
 
         Ok(())
     }
diff --git a/lib/cli/src/opts.rs b/lib/cli/src/opts.rs
index cc9844a2197..8b0a983c085 100644
--- a/lib/cli/src/opts.rs
+++ b/lib/cli/src/opts.rs
@@ -1,9 +1,30 @@
+use crate::utils::render::ItemFormat;
+
 /// Formatting options for a single item.
 #[derive(clap::Parser, Debug, Default)]
 pub struct ItemFormatOpts {
     /// Output format. (yaml, json, table)
-    #[clap(short = 'f', long, default_value = "yaml")]
-    pub format: crate::utils::render::ItemFormat,
+    ///
+    /// This value is optional instead of using a default value to allow code
+    /// to distinguish between the user not specifying a value and a generic
+    /// default.
+    ///
+    /// Code should usually use [`Self::get`] to use the same default format.
+    #[clap(short = 'f', long)]
+    pub format: Option<ItemFormat>,
+}
+
+impl ItemFormatOpts {
+    /// Get the output format, defaulting to `ItemFormat::Yaml`.
+    pub fn get(&self) -> crate::utils::render::ItemFormat {
+        self.format
+            .unwrap_or(crate::utils::render::ItemFormat::Table)
+    }
+
+    /// Get the output format, defaulting to the given value if not specified.
+    pub fn get_with_default(&self, default: ItemFormat) -> crate::utils::render::ItemFormat {
+        self.format.unwrap_or(default)
+    }
 }
 
 /// Formatting options for a single item.