[BUG] Invalid json output when using `npm search <search term> --json`

Is there an existing issue for this?

• I have searched the existing issues

This issue exists in the latest npm version

• I am using the latest npm

Current Behavior

When running npm search <search term> --json, the output can include invalid json that cannot be parsed using JSON.parse

Expected Behavior

When running npm search <search term> --json, the output should include valid json that can be parsed using JSON.parse

Steps To Reproduce

1. Run npm search @khanacademy/wonder-blocks --json --searchlimit=1000
2. Notice that the output includes invalid json:

> npm search @khanacademy/wonder-blocks --json --searchlimit=1000
[
  ...,
  {
    "name":"@automattic/newspack-blocks",
     // ... other fields
    "sanitized_name":***@automattic/newspack-blocks" // missing quotation between the : and ***
  },
  ...,
]

Environment

• npm: 11.11.0
• Node.js: 24.13.1
• OS Name: Tahoe 26.3.1
• System Model Name: Macbook Pro
• npm config:

; "user" config from /Users/beaesguerra/.npmrc

@khan:registry = "https://npm.pkg.github.com"
//npm.pkg.github.com/:_authToken = (protected)

Reproduce the issue with npm search @khanacademy/wonder-blocks --json --searchlimit=1000 and inspect the npm search command's JSON output path. Compare the emitted output with what JSON.parse accepts, then verify that the command consistently produces valid JSON for the reported search.