diff --git a/CHANGELOG b/CHANGELOG
index b52231418b..6de2c496f1 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG
+++ b/CHANGELOG
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@ git-annex (10.20230408) UNRELEASED; urgency=medium
   * Control characters in information coming from the repository or other
     possible untrusted sources are filtered out of the display of many
     commands.
+  * find, findkeys, examinekey: When outputting to a terminal and --format
+    is not used, quote unusual characters. 
+    (Similar to the behavior of GNU find.)
   * addurl --preserve-filename now rejects filenames that contain other
     control characters, besides the escape sequences it already rejected.
 
diff --git a/Command/ExamineKey.hs b/Command/ExamineKey.hs
index bd91a8823e..73dd77f7c5 100644
--- a/Command/ExamineKey.hs
+++ b/Command/ExamineKey.hs
@@ -5,6 +5,8 @@
  - Licensed under the GNU AGPL version 3 or higher.
  -}
 
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
+
 module Command.ExamineKey where
 
 import Command
@@ -14,6 +16,7 @@ import Annex.Link
 import Backend
 import Types.Backend
 import Types.Key
+import Utility.SafeOutput
 
 import Data.Char
 import qualified Data.ByteString as B
@@ -54,7 +57,8 @@ run o _ input = do
 	
 	objectpath <- calcRepo $ gitAnnexLocation k
 	let objectpointer = formatPointer k
-	showFormatted (format o) (serializeKey' k) $
+	isterminal <- liftIO $ checkIsTerminal stdout
+	showFormatted isterminal (format o) (serializeKey' k) $
 		[ ("objectpath", fromRawFilePath objectpath)
 		, ("objectpointer", fromRawFilePath objectpointer)
 		] ++ formatVars k af
diff --git a/Command/Find.hs b/Command/Find.hs
index 8a7fbb6a11..05bd17f76f 100644
--- a/Command/Find.hs
+++ b/Command/Find.hs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 {- git-annex command
  -
- - Copyright 2010-2018 Joey Hess <id@joeyh.name>
+ - Copyright 2010-2023 Joey Hess <id@joeyh.name>
  -
  - Licensed under the GNU AGPL version 3 or higher.
  -}
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import Types.Key
 import Git.FilePath
 import qualified Utility.Format
 import Utility.DataUnits
+import Utility.SafeOutput
 
 cmd :: Command
 cmd = withAnnexOptions [annexedMatchingOptions] $ mkCommand $
@@ -60,14 +61,15 @@ seek :: FindOptions -> CommandSeek
 seek o = do
 	unless (isJust (keyOptions o)) $
 		checkNotBareRepo
+	isterminal <- liftIO $ checkIsTerminal stdout
 	seeker <- contentPresentUnlessLimited $ AnnexedFileSeeker
-		{ startAction = start o
+		{ startAction = start o isterminal
 		, checkContentPresent = Nothing
 		, usesLocationLog = False
 		}
 	case batchOption o of
 		NoBatch -> withKeyOptions (keyOptions o) False seeker
-			(commandAction . startKeys o)
+			(commandAction . startKeys o isterminal)
 			(withFilesInGitAnnex ww seeker)
 			=<< workTreeItems ww (findThese o)
 		Batch fmt -> batchOnly (keyOptions o) (findThese o) $
@@ -86,22 +88,25 @@ contentPresentUnlessLimited s = do
 			else Just True
 		}
 
-start :: FindOptions -> SeekInput -> RawFilePath -> Key -> CommandStart
-start o _ file key = startingCustomOutput key $ do
-	showFormatted (formatOption o) file 
+start :: FindOptions -> IsTerminal -> SeekInput -> RawFilePath -> Key -> CommandStart
+start o isterminal _ file key = startingCustomOutput key $ do
+	showFormatted isterminal (formatOption o) file
 		(formatVars key (AssociatedFile (Just file)))
 	next $ return True
 
-startKeys :: FindOptions -> (SeekInput, Key, ActionItem) -> CommandStart
-startKeys o (si, key, ActionItemBranchFilePath (BranchFilePath _ topf) _) = 
-	start o si (getTopFilePath topf) key
-startKeys _ _ = stop
+startKeys :: FindOptions -> IsTerminal -> (SeekInput, Key, ActionItem) -> CommandStart
+startKeys o isterminal (si, key, ActionItemBranchFilePath (BranchFilePath _ topf) _) = 
+	start o isterminal si (getTopFilePath topf) key
+startKeys _ _ _ = stop
 
-showFormatted :: Maybe Utility.Format.Format -> S.ByteString -> [(String, String)] -> Annex ()
-showFormatted format unformatted vars =
+showFormatted :: IsTerminal -> Maybe Utility.Format.Format -> S.ByteString -> [(String, String)] -> Annex ()
+showFormatted (IsTerminal isterminal) format unformatted vars =
 	unlessM (showFullJSON $ JSONChunk vars) $
 		case format of
-			Nothing -> liftIO $ S8.putStrLn unformatted
+			Nothing -> do
+				liftIO $ S8.putStrLn $ if isterminal
+					then Utility.Format.escapedFormat unformatted
+					else unformatted
 			Just formatter -> liftIO $ putStr $
 				Utility.Format.format formatter $
 					M.fromList vars
diff --git a/Command/FindKeys.hs b/Command/FindKeys.hs
index f6b892c91d..f2a86cde50 100644
--- a/Command/FindKeys.hs
+++ b/Command/FindKeys.hs
@@ -8,8 +8,9 @@
 module Command.FindKeys where
 
 import Command
-import qualified Utility.Format
 import qualified Command.Find
+import qualified Utility.Format
+import Utility.SafeOutput
 
 cmd :: Command
 cmd = withAnnexOptions [keyMatchingOptions] $ Command.Find.mkCommand $
@@ -26,22 +27,23 @@ optParser _ = FindKeysOptions
 
 seek :: FindKeysOptions -> CommandSeek
 seek o = do
+	isterminal <- liftIO $ checkIsTerminal stdout
 	seeker <- Command.Find.contentPresentUnlessLimited $ AnnexedFileSeeker
 		{ checkContentPresent = Nothing
 		, usesLocationLog = False
 		-- startAction is not actually used since this
 		-- is not used to seek files
-		, startAction = \_ _ key -> start' o key
+		, startAction = \_ _ key -> start' o isterminal key
 		}
 	withKeyOptions (Just WantAllKeys) False seeker
-		(commandAction . start o)
+		(commandAction . start o isterminal)
 		(const noop) (WorkTreeItems [])
 
-start :: FindKeysOptions -> (SeekInput, Key, ActionItem) -> CommandStart
-start o (_si, key, _ai) = start' o key
+start :: FindKeysOptions -> IsTerminal -> (SeekInput, Key, ActionItem) -> CommandStart
+start o isterminal (_si, key, _ai) = start' o isterminal key
 
-start' :: FindKeysOptions -> Key -> CommandStart
-start' o key = startingCustomOutput key $ do
-	Command.Find.showFormatted (formatOption o) (serializeKey' key)
+start' :: FindKeysOptions -> IsTerminal -> Key -> CommandStart
+start' o isterminal key = startingCustomOutput key $ do
+	Command.Find.showFormatted isterminal (formatOption o) (serializeKey' key)
 		(Command.Find.formatVars key (AssociatedFile Nothing))
 	next $ return True
diff --git a/Command/Whereis.hs b/Command/Whereis.hs
index 5f9c9b51db..9052147249 100644
--- a/Command/Whereis.hs
+++ b/Command/Whereis.hs
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ import Remote.Web (getWebUrls)
 import Annex.UUID
 import qualified Utility.Format
 import qualified Command.Find
-import Utility.SafeOutput
 
 import qualified Data.Map as M
 import qualified Data.Vector as V
diff --git a/Utility/Format.hs b/Utility/Format.hs
index a85ab12fb1..930b7ee226 100644
--- a/Utility/Format.hs
+++ b/Utility/Format.hs
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ module Utility.Format (
 	Format,
 	gen,
 	format,
+	escapedFormat,
 	formatContainsVar,
 	decode_c,
 	encode_c,
@@ -53,7 +54,7 @@ format f vars = concatMap expand f
   where
 	expand (Const s) = s
 	expand (Var name j esc)
-		| esc = justify j $ decodeBS $ encode_c needescape $
+		| esc = justify j $ decodeBS $ escapedFormat $
 			encodeBS $ getvar name
 		| otherwise = justify j $ getvar name
 	getvar name = fromMaybe "" $ M.lookup name vars
@@ -62,6 +63,10 @@ format f vars = concatMap expand f
 	justify (RightJustified i) s = pad i s ++ s
 	pad i s = take (i - length s) spaces
 	spaces = repeat ' '
+
+escapedFormat :: S.ByteString -> S.ByteString
+escapedFormat = encode_c needescape
+  where
 	needescape c = isUtf8Byte c ||
 		isSpace (chr (fromIntegral c)) ||
 		c == fromIntegral (ord '"')
diff --git a/Utility/SafeOutput.hs b/Utility/SafeOutput.hs
index 0ca2d87549..fae36c274e 100644
--- a/Utility/SafeOutput.hs
+++ b/Utility/SafeOutput.hs
@@ -6,13 +6,25 @@
  - License: BSD-2-clause
  -}
 
-{-# LANGUAGE TypeSynonymInstances, FlexibleInstances #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE TypeSynonymInstances, FlexibleInstances, CPP #-}
 {-# OPTIONS_GHC -fno-warn-tabs #-}
 
-module Utility.SafeOutput (safeOutput) where
+module Utility.SafeOutput (
+	safeOutput,
+	IsTerminal(..),
+	checkIsTerminal,
+) where
 
 import Data.Char
 import qualified Data.ByteString as S
+import System.IO
+#ifdef mingw32_HOST_OS
+import System.Win32.MinTTY (isMinTTYHandle)
+import System.Win32.File
+import System.Win32.Types
+import Graphics.Win32.Misc
+import Control.Exception
+#endif
 
 class SafeOutputtable t where
 	safeOutput :: t -> t
@@ -22,3 +34,25 @@ instance SafeOutputtable String where
 
 instance SafeOutputtable S.ByteString where
 	safeOutput = S.filter (not . isControl . chr . fromIntegral)
+
+newtype IsTerminal = IsTerminal Bool
+
+checkIsTerminal :: Handle -> IO IsTerminal
+checkIsTerminal h = do
+#ifndef mingw32_HOST_OS
+	b <- hIsTerminalDevice h
+	return (IsTerminal b)
+#else
+	b <- hIsTerminalDevice h
+	if b
+		then return (IsTerminal b)
+		else do
+			h' <- getStdHandle sTD_OUTPUT_HANDLE
+				`catch` \(_ :: IOError) ->
+					return nullHANDLE
+			if h == nullHANDLE
+				then return (IsTerminal False)
+				else do
+					b' <- isMinTTYHandle h'
+					return (IsTerminal b)
+#endif
diff --git a/doc/git-annex-examinekey.mdwn b/doc/git-annex-examinekey.mdwn
index f2c7a095fb..a35f341216 100644
--- a/doc/git-annex-examinekey.mdwn
+++ b/doc/git-annex-examinekey.mdwn
@@ -33,6 +33,9 @@ that can be determined purely by looking at the key.
   provided to examinekey).
 
   Also, '\\n' is a newline, '\\000' is a NULL, etc.
+  
+  The default output format is the same as `--format='${escapedkey}\\n'`
+  when outputting to the terminal, and otherwise `--format='${key}\\n'`
 
 * `--json`
 
diff --git a/doc/git-annex-find.mdwn b/doc/git-annex-find.mdwn
index dde58ff61b..c16240d4e7 100644
--- a/doc/git-annex-find.mdwn
+++ b/doc/git-annex-find.mdwn
@@ -50,7 +50,8 @@ finds files in the current directory and its subdirectories.
 
   Also, '\\n' is a newline, '\\000' is a NULL, etc.
 
-  The default output format is the same as `--format='${file}\\n'`
+  The default output format is the same as `--format='${escaped_file}\\n'`
+  when outputting to the terminal, and otherwise `--format='${file}\\n'`
 
 * `--json`
 
diff --git a/doc/git-annex-findkeys.mdwn b/doc/git-annex-findkeys.mdwn
index 45419e8f1a..819206e77d 100644
--- a/doc/git-annex-findkeys.mdwn
+++ b/doc/git-annex-findkeys.mdwn
@@ -45,7 +45,8 @@ Outputs a list of keys known to git-annex.
 
   Also, '\\n' is a newline, '\\000' is a NULL, etc.
 
-  The default output format is the same as `--format='${key}\\n'`
+  The default output format is the same as `--format='${escapedkey}\\n'`
+  when outputting to the terminal, and otherwise `--format='${key}\\n'`
 
 * `--json`