diff --git a/acceptance_tests/output-format.sh b/acceptance_tests/output-format.sh
index a238dc0b..400668db 100755
--- a/acceptance_tests/output-format.sh
+++ b/acceptance_tests/output-format.sh
@@ -48,6 +48,55 @@ EOM
   assertEquals "$expected" "$X"
 }
 
+testOutputYamlRawDefault() {
+  cat >test.yml <<EOL
+a: "cat"
+EOL
+
+  X=$(./yq e  '.a' test.yml)
+  assertEquals "cat" "$X"
+
+  X=$(./yq ea '.a' test.yml)
+  assertEquals "cat" "$X"
+}
+
+testOutputYamlRawOff() {
+  cat >test.yml <<EOL
+a: "cat"
+EOL
+
+  X=$(./yq e -r=false '.a' test.yml)
+  assertEquals "\"cat\"" "$X"
+
+  X=$(./yq ea -r=false '.a' test.yml)
+  assertEquals "\"cat\"" "$X"
+}
+
+testOutputJsonRaw() {
+  cat >test.yml <<EOL
+a: cat
+EOL
+
+  X=$(./yq e -r --output-format=json '.a' test.yml)
+  assertEquals "cat" "$X"
+
+  X=$(./yq ea -r --output-format=json '.a' test.yml)
+  assertEquals "cat" "$X"
+}
+
+testOutputJsonDefault() {
+  cat >test.yml <<EOL
+a: cat
+EOL
+
+  X=$(./yq e --output-format=json '.a' test.yml)
+  assertEquals "\"cat\"" "$X"
+
+  X=$(./yq ea --output-format=json '.a' test.yml)
+  assertEquals "\"cat\"" "$X"
+}
+
+
 testOutputJsonShort() {
   cat >test.yml <<EOL
 a: {b: ["cat"]}
@@ -72,11 +121,11 @@ EOM
 
 testOutputProperties() {
   cat >test.yml <<EOL
-a: {b: {c: ["cat"]}}
+a: {b: {c: ["cat cat"]}}
 EOL
 
   read -r -d '' expected << EOM
-a.b.c.0 = cat
+a.b.c.0 = cat cat
 EOM
 
   X=$(./yq e --output-format=props test.yml)
@@ -86,13 +135,30 @@ EOM
   assertEquals "$expected" "$X"
 }
 
-testOutputPropertiesShort() {
+testOutputPropertiesDontUnwrap() {
   cat >test.yml <<EOL
-a: {b: {c: ["cat"]}}
+a: {b: {c: ["cat cat"]}}
 EOL
 
   read -r -d '' expected << EOM
-a.b.c.0 = cat
+a.b.c.0 = "cat cat"
+EOM
+
+  X=$(./yq e -r=false --output-format=props test.yml)
+  assertEquals "$expected" "$X"
+
+  X=$(./yq ea -r=false --output-format=props test.yml)
+  assertEquals "$expected" "$X"
+}
+
+
+testOutputPropertiesShort() {
+  cat >test.yml <<EOL
+a: {b: {c: ["cat cat"]}}
+EOL
+
+  read -r -d '' expected << EOM
+a.b.c.0 = cat cat
 EOM
 
   X=$(./yq e -o=p test.yml)
diff --git a/cmd/constant.go b/cmd/constant.go
index a3bec40a..1c6e216b 100644
--- a/cmd/constant.go
+++ b/cmd/constant.go
@@ -1,6 +1,53 @@
 package cmd
 
-var unwrapScalar = true
+import (
+	"strconv"
+
+	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
+)
+
+type boolFlag interface {
+	pflag.Value
+	IsExplicitySet() bool
+	IsSet() bool
+}
+
+type unwrapScalarFlagStrc struct {
+	explicitySet bool
+	value        bool
+}
+
+func newFlag() boolFlag {
+	return &unwrapScalarFlagStrc{value: true}
+}
+
+func (f *unwrapScalarFlagStrc) IsExplicitySet() bool {
+	return f.explicitySet
+}
+
+func (f *unwrapScalarFlagStrc) IsSet() bool {
+	return f.value
+}
+
+func (f *unwrapScalarFlagStrc) String() string {
+	return strconv.FormatBool(f.value)
+}
+
+func (f *unwrapScalarFlagStrc) Set(value string) error {
+
+	v, err := strconv.ParseBool(value)
+	f.value = v
+	f.explicitySet = true
+	return err
+}
+
+func (*unwrapScalarFlagStrc) Type() string {
+	return "bool"
+}
+
+var unwrapScalarFlag = newFlag()
+
+var unwrapScalar = false
 
 var writeInplace = false
 var outputToJSON = false
diff --git a/cmd/root.go b/cmd/root.go
index 24ef066d..558a90b4 100644
--- a/cmd/root.go
+++ b/cmd/root.go
@@ -60,6 +60,14 @@ yq -P sample.json
 					"`+` please set that value explicityly with --xml-attribute-prefix.")
 			}
 
+			if outputFormat == "y" || outputFormat == "yaml" ||
+				outputFormat == "p" || outputFormat == "props" {
+				unwrapScalar = true
+			}
+			if unwrapScalarFlag.IsExplicitySet() {
+				unwrapScalar = unwrapScalarFlag.IsSet()
+			}
+
 			//copy preference form global setting
 			yqlib.ConfiguredYamlPreferences.UnwrapScalar = unwrapScalar
 
@@ -94,7 +102,9 @@ yq -P sample.json
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().IntVarP(&indent, "indent", "I", 2, "sets indent level for output")
 	rootCmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&version, "version", "V", false, "Print version information and quit")
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolVarP(&writeInplace, "inplace", "i", false, "update the file inplace of first file given.")
-	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolVarP(&unwrapScalar, "unwrapScalar", "r", true, "unwrap scalar, print the value with no quotes, colors or comments")
+	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().VarP(unwrapScalarFlag, "unwrapScalar", "r", "unwrap scalar, print the value with no quotes, colors or comments. Defaults to true for yaml")
+	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().Lookup("unwrapScalar").NoOptDefVal = "true"
+
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolVarP(&prettyPrint, "prettyPrint", "P", false, "pretty print, shorthand for '... style = \"\"'")
 	rootCmd.PersistentFlags().BoolVarP(&exitStatus, "exit-status", "e", false, "set exit status if there are no matches or null or false is returned")
 
diff --git a/cmd/utils.go b/cmd/utils.go
index c6f5b2ab..8dad7c30 100644
--- a/cmd/utils.go
+++ b/cmd/utils.go
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ func configurePrinterWriter(format yqlib.PrinterOutputFormat, out io.Writer) (yq
 func configureEncoder(format yqlib.PrinterOutputFormat) yqlib.Encoder {
 	switch format {
 	case yqlib.JSONOutputFormat:
-		return yqlib.NewJSONEncoder(indent, colorsEnabled)
+		return yqlib.NewJSONEncoder(indent, colorsEnabled, unwrapScalar)
 	case yqlib.PropsOutputFormat:
 		return yqlib.NewPropertiesEncoder(unwrapScalar)
 	case yqlib.CSVOutputFormat:
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 4bf19da4..1bd85ce5 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/magiconair/properties v1.8.6
 	github.com/pkg/diff v0.0.0-20210226163009-20ebb0f2a09e
 	github.com/spf13/cobra v1.6.1
+	github.com/spf13/pflag v1.0.5
 	golang.org/x/net v0.0.0-20220708220712-1185a9018129
 	gopkg.in/op/go-logging.v1 v1.0.0-20160211212156-b2cb9fa56473
 	gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.1
@@ -22,7 +23,6 @@ require (
 	github.com/inconshreveable/mousetrap v1.0.1 // indirect
 	github.com/mattn/go-colorable v0.1.12 // indirect
 	github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.14 // indirect
-	github.com/spf13/pflag v1.0.5 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20220712014510-0a85c31ab51e // indirect
 	golang.org/x/text v0.3.7 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/xerrors v0.0.0-20220609144429-65e65417b02f // indirect
diff --git a/pkg/yqlib/encoder_json.go b/pkg/yqlib/encoder_json.go
index aca9f082..9f5b71ac 100644
--- a/pkg/yqlib/encoder_json.go
+++ b/pkg/yqlib/encoder_json.go
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 type jsonEncoder struct {
 	indentString string
 	colorise     bool
+	UnwrapScalar bool
 }
 
 func mapKeysToStrings(node *yaml.Node) {
@@ -28,14 +29,14 @@ func mapKeysToStrings(node *yaml.Node) {
 	}
 }
 
-func NewJSONEncoder(indent int, colorise bool) Encoder {
+func NewJSONEncoder(indent int, colorise bool, unwrapScalar bool) Encoder {
 	var indentString = ""
 
 	for index := 0; index < indent; index++ {
 		indentString = indentString + " "
 	}
 
-	return &jsonEncoder{indentString, colorise}
+	return &jsonEncoder{indentString, colorise, unwrapScalar}
 }
 
 func (je *jsonEncoder) CanHandleAliases() bool {
@@ -52,6 +53,10 @@ func (je *jsonEncoder) PrintLeadingContent(writer io.Writer, content string) err
 
 func (je *jsonEncoder) Encode(writer io.Writer, node *yaml.Node) error {
 
+	if node.Kind == yaml.ScalarNode && je.UnwrapScalar {
+		return writeString(writer, node.Value+"\n")
+	}
+
 	destination := writer
 	tempBuffer := bytes.NewBuffer(nil)
 	if je.colorise {
diff --git a/pkg/yqlib/encoder_test.go b/pkg/yqlib/encoder_test.go
index 7cc0b35d..a17c51a9 100644
--- a/pkg/yqlib/encoder_test.go
+++ b/pkg/yqlib/encoder_test.go
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ func yamlToJSON(sampleYaml string, indent int) string {
 	var output bytes.Buffer
 	writer := bufio.NewWriter(&output)
 
-	var jsonEncoder = NewJSONEncoder(indent, false)
+	var jsonEncoder = NewJSONEncoder(indent, false, false)
 	inputs, err := readDocuments(strings.NewReader(sampleYaml), "sample.yml", 0, NewYamlDecoder(ConfiguredYamlPreferences))
 	if err != nil {
 		panic(err)
diff --git a/pkg/yqlib/json_test.go b/pkg/yqlib/json_test.go
index ec19c901..6745bc53 100644
--- a/pkg/yqlib/json_test.go
+++ b/pkg/yqlib/json_test.go
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ func documentRoundtripNdJsonScenario(w *bufio.Writer, s formatScenario, indent i
 
 	writeOrPanic(w, "will output\n")
 
-	writeOrPanic(w, fmt.Sprintf("```yaml\n%v```\n\n", mustProcessFormatScenario(s, NewJSONDecoder(), NewJSONEncoder(indent, false))))
+	writeOrPanic(w, fmt.Sprintf("```yaml\n%v```\n\n", mustProcessFormatScenario(s, NewJSONDecoder(), NewJSONEncoder(indent, false, false))))
 }
 
 func documentDecodeNdJsonScenario(w *bufio.Writer, s formatScenario) {
@@ -293,16 +293,16 @@ func decodeJSON(t *testing.T, jsonString string) *CandidateNode {
 func testJSONScenario(t *testing.T, s formatScenario) {
 	switch s.scenarioType {
 	case "encode", "decode":
-		test.AssertResultWithContext(t, s.expected, mustProcessFormatScenario(s, NewYamlDecoder(ConfiguredYamlPreferences), NewJSONEncoder(s.indent, false)), s.description)
+		test.AssertResultWithContext(t, s.expected, mustProcessFormatScenario(s, NewYamlDecoder(ConfiguredYamlPreferences), NewJSONEncoder(s.indent, false, false)), s.description)
 	case "":
 		var actual = resultToString(t, decodeJSON(t, s.input))
 		test.AssertResultWithContext(t, s.expected, actual, s.description)
 	case "decode-ndjson":
 		test.AssertResultWithContext(t, s.expected, mustProcessFormatScenario(s, NewJSONDecoder(), NewYamlEncoder(2, false, ConfiguredYamlPreferences)), s.description)
 	case "roundtrip-ndjson":
-		test.AssertResultWithContext(t, s.expected, mustProcessFormatScenario(s, NewJSONDecoder(), NewJSONEncoder(0, false)), s.description)
+		test.AssertResultWithContext(t, s.expected, mustProcessFormatScenario(s, NewJSONDecoder(), NewJSONEncoder(0, false, false)), s.description)
 	case "roundtrip-multi":
-		test.AssertResultWithContext(t, s.expected, mustProcessFormatScenario(s, NewJSONDecoder(), NewJSONEncoder(2, false)), s.description)
+		test.AssertResultWithContext(t, s.expected, mustProcessFormatScenario(s, NewJSONDecoder(), NewJSONEncoder(2, false, false)), s.description)
 
 	default:
 		panic(fmt.Sprintf("unhandled scenario type %q", s.scenarioType))
@@ -385,7 +385,7 @@ func documentJSONEncodeScenario(w *bufio.Writer, s formatScenario) {
 	}
 	writeOrPanic(w, "will output\n")
 
-	writeOrPanic(w, fmt.Sprintf("```json\n%v```\n\n", mustProcessFormatScenario(s, NewYamlDecoder(ConfiguredYamlPreferences), NewJSONEncoder(s.indent, false))))
+	writeOrPanic(w, fmt.Sprintf("```json\n%v```\n\n", mustProcessFormatScenario(s, NewYamlDecoder(ConfiguredYamlPreferences), NewJSONEncoder(s.indent, false, false))))
 }
 
 func TestJSONScenarios(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/pkg/yqlib/operator_encoder_decoder.go b/pkg/yqlib/operator_encoder_decoder.go
index 92e60369..8f41389b 100644
--- a/pkg/yqlib/operator_encoder_decoder.go
+++ b/pkg/yqlib/operator_encoder_decoder.go
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import (
 func configureEncoder(format PrinterOutputFormat, indent int) Encoder {
 	switch format {
 	case JSONOutputFormat:
-		return NewJSONEncoder(indent, false)
+		return NewJSONEncoder(indent, false, false)
 	case PropsOutputFormat:
 		return NewPropertiesEncoder(true)
 	case CSVOutputFormat:
diff --git a/pkg/yqlib/printer_test.go b/pkg/yqlib/printer_test.go
index 88f86c77..cc7b3dbe 100644
--- a/pkg/yqlib/printer_test.go
+++ b/pkg/yqlib/printer_test.go
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ func TestPrinterMultipleDocsJson(t *testing.T) {
 	var writer = bufio.NewWriter(&output)
 	// note printDocSeparators is true, it should still not print document separators
 	// when outputing JSON.
-	printer := NewPrinter(NewJSONEncoder(0, false), NewSinglePrinterWriter(writer))
+	printer := NewPrinter(NewJSONEncoder(0, false, false), NewSinglePrinterWriter(writer))
 
 	inputs, err := readDocuments(strings.NewReader(multiDocSample), "sample.yml", 0, NewYamlDecoder(ConfiguredYamlPreferences))
 	if err != nil {