diff --git a/cmd/version.go b/cmd/version.go
index 5bde0c673..b64dae77e 100644
--- a/cmd/version.go
+++ b/cmd/version.go
@@ -1,6 +1,9 @@
 package cmd
 
 import (
+	"encoding/json"
+	"fmt"
+
 	"github.com/qri-io/ioes"
 	"github.com/qri-io/qri/version"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
@@ -8,6 +11,8 @@ import (
 
 // NewVersionCommand creates a new `qri version` cobra command that prints the current qri version
 func NewVersionCommand(_ Factory, ioStreams ioes.IOStreams) *cobra.Command {
+	var format string
+
 	cmd := &cobra.Command{
 		Use:   "version",
 		Short: "print the version number",
@@ -19,9 +24,22 @@ For updates & further information check https://github.com/qri-io/qri/releases`,
 		},
 		Args: cobra.NoArgs,
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-			printInfo(ioStreams.Out, version.Summary())
+			switch format {
+			case "json":
+				data, err := json.Marshal(version.Map())
+				if err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
+				printInfo(ioStreams.Out, string(data))
+			case "pretty":
+				printInfo(ioStreams.Out, version.Summary())
+			default:
+				return fmt.Errorf("unrecognized output format: %q", format)
+			}
 			return nil
 		},
 	}
+
+	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&format, "format", "pretty", "output format. One of (pretty|json)")
 	return cmd
 }
diff --git a/version/version.go b/version/version.go
index f38fba7d3..c18a6abda 100644
--- a/version/version.go
+++ b/version/version.go
@@ -19,10 +19,23 @@ var (
 	GolangVersion = "n/a"
 )
 
+// Map returns a summary of build info as a string map
+func Map() map[string]string {
+	return map[string]string{
+		"version":       Version,
+		"gitCommit":     GitCommit,
+		"gitBranch":     GitBranch,
+		"gitState":      GitState,
+		"gitSummary":    GitSummary,
+		"buildDate":     BuildDate,
+		"golangVersion": GolangVersion,
+	}
+}
+
 // Summary prints a summary of all build info.
 func Summary() string {
 	return fmt.Sprintf(
-		"version:\t%s\n\nbuild date:\t%s\ngit summary:\t%s\ngit branch:\t%s\ngit commit:\t%s\ngit state:\t%s\ngolang version:\t%s",
+		"version:\t%s\nbuild date:\t%s\ngit summary:\t%s\ngit branch:\t%s\ngit commit:\t%s\ngit state:\t%s\ngolang version:\t%s",
 		Version,
 		BuildDate,
 		GitSummary,