Command line JSON interpretation can be confusing. Python's json library (2.6+) provides a simple prettifier: $ echo '{"json":"obj"}' | python -mjson.tool { "json": "obj" } Or facetiously (from the obligatory Internet Chuck Norris Database): $ curl -s "http://api.icndb.com/jokes/random?firstName=Andrew&lastName=Martin" | python -mjson.tool { "type": "success", "value": { "categories": [ "nerdy", "