diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 31244ab..1a27688 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ This project uses [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 - Repository audit engine with 13 weighted checks.
 - Text, JSON, and GitHub-flavored Markdown renderers.
 - Configurable minimum score and stable exit codes.
+- Explicit UTF-8 report files through `--output PATH`.
 - Composite GitHub Action.
 - CI matrix and tag-driven GitHub Release workflow.
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4b4552b..cb96230 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -58,6 +58,15 @@ Write a pull request or GitHub Actions job summary:
 repoready . --format markdown >> "$GITHUB_STEP_SUMMARY"
 ```
 
+Write output directly without shell redirection:
+
+```bash
+repoready . --format json --output reports/repoready.json
+```
+
+RepoReady does not create missing parent directories. Write failures return exit
+code `2` with the destination path and operating-system error.
+
 Exit codes:
 
 | Code | Meaning |
diff --git a/action.yml b/action.yml
index 60825aa..031e933 100644
--- a/action.yml
+++ b/action.yml
@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@ inputs:
     description: Output format: text, json, or markdown
     required: false
     default: text
+  output:
+    description: Destination path, or - for stdout
+    required: false
+    default: "-"
 
 runs:
   using: composite
@@ -30,8 +34,10 @@ runs:
         REPOREADY_INPUT_PATH: ${{ inputs.path }}
         REPOREADY_INPUT_SCORE: ${{ inputs.min-score }}
         REPOREADY_INPUT_FORMAT: ${{ inputs.format }}
+        REPOREADY_INPUT_OUTPUT: ${{ inputs.output }}
       run: |
         export PYTHONPATH="${REPOREADY_ACTION_PATH}/src${PYTHONPATH:+:${PYTHONPATH}}"
         python -m repoready "${REPOREADY_INPUT_PATH}" \
           --min-score "${REPOREADY_INPUT_SCORE}" \
-          --format "${REPOREADY_INPUT_FORMAT}"
+          --format "${REPOREADY_INPUT_FORMAT}" \
+          --output "${REPOREADY_INPUT_OUTPUT}"
diff --git a/src/repoready/cli.py b/src/repoready/cli.py
index 350b1b5..8a8509e 100644
--- a/src/repoready/cli.py
+++ b/src/repoready/cli.py
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 import argparse
 import sys
 from collections.abc import Sequence
+from pathlib import Path
 
 from . import __version__
 from .checks import audit_repository
@@ -44,6 +45,12 @@ def build_parser() -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
         default=80,
         help="minimum score required for exit code 0 (default: 80)",
     )
+    parser.add_argument(
+        "--output",
+        default="-",
+        metavar="PATH",
+        help="write report to PATH instead of stdout; use - for stdout (default: -)",
+    )
     parser.add_argument(
         "--version",
         action="version",
@@ -67,7 +74,16 @@ def main(argv: Sequence[str] | None = None) -> int:
         "text": render_text,
     }
     renderer = renderers[args.format]
-    print(renderer(report))
+    output = renderer(report)
+    if args.output == "-":
+        print(output)
+    else:
+        destination = Path(args.output).expanduser()
+        try:
+            destination.write_text(f"{output}\n", encoding="utf-8")
+        except OSError as error:
+            parser.error(f"Could not write report to {destination}: {error}")
+
     return 0 if report.passes_threshold else 1
 
 
diff --git a/tests/test_cli.py b/tests/test_cli.py
index ae318d2..cd7a878 100644
--- a/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -49,6 +49,51 @@ def test_markdown_format(self) -> None:
         self.assertEqual(exit_code, 0)
         self.assertIn("| Status | Check | Points | Detail |", stdout.getvalue())
 
+    def test_writes_selected_format_to_output_file(self) -> None:
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as directory:
+            destination = Path(directory) / "reports" / "repoready.md"
+            destination.parent.mkdir()
+            stdout = io.StringIO()
+            with contextlib.redirect_stdout(stdout):
+                exit_code = main(
+                    [
+                        directory,
+                        "--format",
+                        "markdown",
+                        "--min-score",
+                        "0",
+                        "--output",
+                        str(destination),
+                    ]
+                )
+
+            output = destination.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+
+        self.assertEqual(exit_code, 0)
+        self.assertEqual(stdout.getvalue(), "")
+        self.assertTrue(output.startswith("## RepoReady:"))
+        self.assertTrue(output.endswith("\n"))
+        self.assertFalse(output.endswith("\n\n"))
+
+    def test_output_file_requires_existing_parent(self) -> None:
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as directory:
+            destination = Path(directory) / "missing" / "report.json"
+            stderr = io.StringIO()
+            with contextlib.redirect_stderr(stderr):
+                with self.assertRaises(SystemExit) as raised:
+                    main(
+                        [
+                            directory,
+                            "--format",
+                            "json",
+                            "--output",
+                            str(destination),
+                        ]
+                    )
+
+        self.assertEqual(raised.exception.code, 2)
+        self.assertIn("Could not write report", stderr.getvalue())
+
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     unittest.main()