diff --git a/src/cmds/cloud/curl_cmd.rs b/src/cmds/cloud/curl_cmd.rs
index d6930ef6..438bb959 100644
--- a/src/cmds/cloud/curl_cmd.rs
+++ b/src/cmds/cloud/curl_cmd.rs
@@ -54,35 +54,30 @@ pub fn run(args: &[String], verbose: u8) -> Result<i32> {
 fn filter_curl_output(output: &str) -> String {
     let trimmed = output.trim();
 
-    // Try JSON detection: starts with { or [
+    // JSON output: pass through unchanged to preserve validity for piping (#1015)
     if (trimmed.starts_with('{') || trimmed.starts_with('['))
         && (trimmed.ends_with('}') || trimmed.ends_with(']'))
     {
-        if let Ok(schema) = json_cmd::filter_json_string(trimmed, 5) {
-            // Only use schema if it's actually shorter than the original (#297)
-            if schema.len() <= trimmed.len() {
-                return schema;
-            }
-        }
+        return trimmed.to_string();
     }
 
-    // Not JSON: truncate long output
+    // Non-JSON: truncate long output
     let lines: Vec<&str> = trimmed.lines().collect();
-    if lines.len() > 30 {
-        let mut result: Vec<&str> = lines[..30].to_vec();
+    if lines.len() > 50 {
+        let mut result: Vec<&str> = lines[..50].to_vec();
         result.push("");
         let msg = format!(
             "... ({} more lines, {} bytes total)",
-            lines.len() - 30,
+            lines.len() - 50,
             trimmed.len()
         );
         return format!("{}\n{}", result.join("\n"), msg);
     }
 
-    // Short output: return as-is but truncate long lines
+    // Short non-JSON output: truncate long lines
     lines
         .iter()
-        .map(|l| truncate(l, 200))
+        .map(|l| truncate(l, 300))
         .collect::<Vec<_>>()
         .join("\n")
 }
@@ -92,20 +87,15 @@ mod tests {
     use super::*;
 
     #[test]
-    fn test_filter_curl_json() {
-        // Large JSON where schema is shorter than original — schema should be returned
-        let output = r#"{"name": "a very long user name here", "count": 42, "items": [1, 2, 3], "description": "a very long description that takes up many characters in the original JSON payload", "status": "active", "url": "https://example.com/api/v1/users/123"}"#;
+    fn test_filter_curl_json_preserves_valid_json() {
+        // curl output must remain valid JSON for downstream parsers (#1015)
+        let output = r#"{"name": "test", "count": 42, "items": [1, 2, 3]}"#;
         let result = filter_curl_output(output);
-        assert!(result.contains("name"));
-        assert!(result.contains("string"));
-        assert!(result.contains("int"));
-    }
-
-    #[test]
-    fn test_filter_curl_json_array() {
-        let output = r#"[{"id": 1}, {"id": 2}]"#;
-        let result = filter_curl_output(output);
-        assert!(result.contains("id"));
+        assert!(result.contains("\"name\""));
+        assert!(result.contains("42"));
+        // Must be parseable as JSON
+        assert!(serde_json::from_str::<serde_json::Value>(&result).is_ok(),
+            "curl output must be valid JSON: {}", result);
     }
 
     #[test]
@@ -118,21 +108,18 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[test]
     fn test_filter_curl_json_small_returns_original() {
-        // Small JSON where schema would be larger than original (issue #297)
         let output = r#"{"r2Ready":true,"status":"ok"}"#;
         let result = filter_curl_output(output);
-        // Schema would be "{\n  r2Ready: bool,\n  status: string\n}" which is longer
-        // Should return the original JSON unchanged
         assert_eq!(result.trim(), output.trim());
     }
 
     #[test]
     fn test_filter_curl_long_output() {
-        let lines: Vec<String> = (0..50).map(|i| format!("Line {}", i)).collect();
+        let lines: Vec<String> = (0..80).map(|i| format!("Line {}", i)).collect();
         let output = lines.join("\n");
         let result = filter_curl_output(&output);
         assert!(result.contains("Line 0"));
-        assert!(result.contains("Line 29"));
+        assert!(result.contains("Line 49"));
         assert!(result.contains("more lines"));
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/cmds/system/json_cmd.rs b/src/cmds/system/json_cmd.rs
index 4e887417..b6e700bc 100644
--- a/src/cmds/system/json_cmd.rs
+++ b/src/cmds/system/json_cmd.rs
@@ -250,12 +250,12 @@ fn extract_schema(value: &Value, depth: usize, max_depth: usize) -> String {
 
                     if is_simple {
                         if i < keys.len() - 1 {
-                            lines.push(format!("{}  {}: {},", indent, key, val_trimmed));
+                            lines.push(format!("{}  \"{}\": {},", indent, key, val_trimmed));
                         } else {
-                            lines.push(format!("{}  {}: {}", indent, key, val_trimmed));
+                            lines.push(format!("{}  \"{}\": {}", indent, key, val_trimmed));
                         }
                     } else {
-                        lines.push(format!("{}  {}:", indent, key));
+                        lines.push(format!("{}  \"{}\":", indent, key));
                         lines.push(val_schema);
                     }
 
@@ -316,16 +316,30 @@ mod tests {
     fn test_extract_schema_simple() {
         let json: Value = serde_json::from_str(r#"{"name": "test", "count": 42}"#).unwrap();
         let schema = extract_schema(&json, 0, 5);
-        assert!(schema.contains("name"));
+        assert!(schema.contains("\"name\""));
         assert!(schema.contains("string"));
         assert!(schema.contains("int"));
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn test_extract_schema_keys_are_quoted() {
+        let json: Value =
+            serde_json::from_str(r#"{"id": 1, "status": "open", "nested": {"key": "val"}}"#)
+                .unwrap();
+        let schema = extract_schema(&json, 0, 5);
+        assert!(schema.contains("\"id\":"), "keys must be double-quoted: {}", schema);
+        assert!(schema.contains("\"status\":"), "keys must be double-quoted: {}", schema);
+        assert!(schema.contains("\"nested\":"), "keys must be double-quoted: {}", schema);
+        assert!(schema.contains("\"key\":"), "nested keys must be double-quoted: {}", schema);
+        // Verify the output is parseable as valid JSON (values replaced with types)
+        // At minimum, keys should be properly quoted
+    }
+
     #[test]
     fn test_extract_schema_array() {
         let json: Value = serde_json::from_str(r#"{"items": [1, 2, 3]}"#).unwrap();
         let schema = extract_schema(&json, 0, 5);
-        assert!(schema.contains("items"));
+        assert!(schema.contains("\"items\""));
         assert!(schema.contains("(3)"));
     }
 }