diff --git a/elastic_recheck/cmd/graph.py b/elastic_recheck/cmd/graph.py
index 7c03ef45..5b9a4d7a 100755
--- a/elastic_recheck/cmd/graph.py
+++ b/elastic_recheck/cmd/graph.py
@@ -235,7 +235,9 @@ def main():
         out = sys.stdout
 
     try:
-        out.write(json.dumps(jsondata))
+        # indent the json output if we're writing to a file
+        indent = 4 if args.output else None
+        out.write(json.dumps(jsondata, indent=indent))
     finally:
         out.close()