diff --git a/src/json_ui.cc b/src/json_ui.cc
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..67b21bda
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/json_ui.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,407 @@
+#include "json_ui.hh"
+
+#include "display_buffer.hh"
+#include "keys.hh"
+#include "file.hh"
+#include "event_manager.hh"
+#include "value.hh"
+#include "unit_tests.hh"
+
+#include <utility>
+
+namespace Kakoune
+{
+
+template<typename T>
+String to_json(ArrayView<const T> array)
+{
+    String res;
+    for (auto& elem : array)
+    {
+        if (not res.empty())
+            res += ", ";
+        res += to_json(elem);
+    }
+    return "[" + res + "]";
+}
+
+template<typename T, MemoryDomain D>
+String to_json(const Vector<T, D>& vec) { return to_json(ArrayView<const T>{vec}); }
+
+String to_json(int i) { return to_string(i); }
+String to_json(StringView s) { return format(R"("{}")", escape(s, "\"", '\\')); }
+
+String to_json(Color color)
+{
+    if (color.color == Kakoune::Color::RGB)
+    {
+        char buffer[10];
+        sprintf(buffer, R"("#%02x%02x%02x")", color.r, color.g, color.b);
+        return buffer;
+    }
+    return to_json(color_to_str(color));
+}
+
+String to_json(Attribute attributes)
+{
+    struct { Attribute attr; StringView name; }
+    attrs[] { 
+        { Attribute::Exclusive, "exclusive" },
+        { Attribute::Underline, "underline" },
+        { Attribute::Reverse, "reverse" },
+        { Attribute::Blink, "blink" },
+        { Attribute::Bold, "bold" },
+        { Attribute::Dim, "dim" },
+        { Attribute::Italic, "italic" },
+    };
+
+    String res;
+    for (auto& attr : attrs)
+    {
+        if (not (attributes & attr.attr))
+            continue;
+
+        if (not res.empty())
+            res += ", ";
+        res += to_json(attr.name);
+    }
+    return "[" + res + "]";
+}
+
+String to_json(Face face)
+{
+    return format(R"(\{ "fg": {}, "bg": {}, "attributes": {} })",
+                  to_json(face.fg), to_json(face.bg), to_json(face.attributes));
+}
+
+String to_json(const DisplayAtom& atom)
+{
+    return format(R"(\{ "face": {}, "contents": {} })", to_json(atom.face), to_json(atom.content()));
+}
+
+String to_json(const DisplayLine& line)
+{
+    return to_json(line.atoms());
+}
+
+String to_json(CharCoord coord)
+{
+    return format(R"(\{ "line": {}, "column": {} })", coord.line, coord.column);
+}
+
+String to_json(MenuStyle style)
+{
+    switch (style)
+    {
+        case MenuStyle::Prompt: return R"("prompt")";
+        case MenuStyle::Inline: return R"("inline")";
+    }
+    return "";
+}
+
+String to_json(InfoStyle style)
+{
+    switch (style)
+    {
+        case InfoStyle::Prompt: return R"("prompt")";
+        case InfoStyle::Inline: return R"("inline")";
+        case InfoStyle::InlineAbove: return R"("inlineAbove")";
+        case InfoStyle::InlineBelow: return R"("inlineBelow")";
+        case InfoStyle::MenuDoc: return R"("menuDoc")";
+    }
+    return "";
+}
+
+String concat()
+{
+    return "";
+}
+
+template<typename First, typename... Args>
+String concat(First&& first, Args&&... args)
+{
+    if (sizeof...(Args) != 0)
+        return to_json(first) + ", " + concat(args...);
+    return to_json(first);
+}
+
+template<typename... Args>
+void rpc_call(StringView method, Args&&... args)
+{
+    auto q = format(R"(\{ "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "{}", "params": [{}] }{})",
+                    method, concat(std::forward<Args>(args)...), "\n");
+
+    write_stdout(q);
+}
+
+JsonUI::JsonUI()
+    : m_stdin_watcher{0, [this](FDWatcher&, EventMode mode) {
+        parse_requests(mode);
+      }}, m_dimensions{24, 80}
+{
+    set_signal_handler(SIGINT, SIG_DFL);
+}
+
+void JsonUI::draw(const DisplayBuffer& display_buffer,
+                  const Face& default_face)
+{
+    rpc_call("draw", display_buffer.lines(), default_face);
+}
+
+void JsonUI::draw_status(const DisplayLine& status_line,
+                         const DisplayLine& mode_line,
+                         const Face& default_face)
+{
+    rpc_call("draw_status", status_line, mode_line, default_face);
+}
+
+bool JsonUI::is_key_available()
+{
+    return not m_pending_keys.empty();
+}
+
+Key JsonUI::get_key()
+{
+    kak_assert(not m_pending_keys.empty());
+    Key key = m_pending_keys.front();
+    m_pending_keys.erase(m_pending_keys.begin());
+    return key;
+}
+
+void JsonUI::menu_show(ConstArrayView<DisplayLine> items,
+                       CharCoord anchor, Face fg, Face bg,
+                       MenuStyle style)
+{
+    rpc_call("menu_show", items, anchor, fg, bg, style);
+}
+
+void JsonUI::menu_select(int selected)
+{
+    rpc_call("menu_show", selected);
+}
+
+void JsonUI::menu_hide()
+{
+    rpc_call("menu_hide");
+}
+
+void JsonUI::info_show(StringView title, StringView content,
+                       CharCoord anchor, Face face,
+                       InfoStyle style)
+{
+    rpc_call("info_show", title, content, anchor, face, style);
+}
+
+void JsonUI::info_hide()
+{
+    rpc_call("info_hide");
+}
+
+void JsonUI::refresh()
+{
+    rpc_call("refresh");
+}
+
+void JsonUI::set_input_callback(InputCallback callback)
+{
+    m_input_callback = std::move(callback);
+}
+
+void JsonUI::set_ui_options(const Options& options)
+{
+    // rpc_call("set_ui_options", options);
+}
+
+CharCoord JsonUI::dimensions()
+{
+    return m_dimensions;
+}
+
+using JsonArray = Vector<Value>;
+using JsonObject = IdMap<Value>;
+
+static bool is_digit(char c) { return c >= '0' and c <= '9'; }
+
+std::tuple<Value, const char*>
+parse_json(const char* pos, const char* end)
+{
+    using Result = std::tuple<Value, const char*>;
+
+    if (not skip_while(pos, end, is_blank))
+        return {};
+
+    if (is_digit(*pos))
+    {
+        auto digit_end = pos;
+        skip_while(digit_end, end, is_digit);
+        return Result{ Value{str_to_int({pos, end})}, digit_end };
+    }
+    if (*pos == '"')
+    {
+        String value;
+        bool escaped = false;
+        ++pos;
+        for (auto string_end = pos; string_end != end; ++string_end)
+        {
+            if (escaped)
+            {
+                escaped = false;
+                value += StringView{pos, string_end};
+                value.back() = *string_end;
+                pos = string_end+1;
+                continue;
+            }
+            if (*string_end == '\\')
+                escaped = true;
+            if (*string_end == '"')
+            {
+                value += StringView{pos, string_end};
+                return Result{std::move(value), string_end+1};
+            }
+        }
+        return {};
+    }
+    if (*pos == '[')
+    {
+        JsonArray array;
+        ++pos;
+        while (true)
+        {
+            Value element;
+            std::tie(element, pos) = parse_json(pos, end);
+            if (not element)
+                return {};
+            array.push_back(std::move(element));
+            if (not skip_while(pos, end, is_blank))
+                return {};
+
+            if (*pos == ',')
+            {
+                ++pos;
+                continue;
+            }
+            if (*pos == ']')
+                return Result{std::move(array), pos+1};
+            else
+                throw runtime_error("unable to parse array, expected , or ]");
+        }
+    }
+    if (*pos == '{')
+    {
+        JsonObject object;
+        ++pos;
+        while (true)
+        {
+            Value name_value;
+            std::tie(name_value, pos) = parse_json(pos, end);
+            if (not name_value)
+                return {};
+
+            String& name = name_value.as<String>();
+            if (not skip_while(pos, end, is_blank))
+                return {};
+            if (*pos++ != ':')
+                throw runtime_error("expected :");
+
+            Value element;
+            std::tie(element, pos) = parse_json(pos, end);
+            if (not element)
+                return {};
+            object.append({ std::move(name), std::move(element) });
+            if (not skip_while(pos, end, is_blank))
+                return {};
+
+            if (*pos == ',')
+            {
+                ++pos;
+                continue;
+            }
+            if (*pos == '}')
+                return Result{std::move(object), pos+1};
+            else
+                throw runtime_error("unable to parse object, expected , or }");
+        }
+    }
+    return {};
+}
+
+void JsonUI::eval_json(const Value& json)
+{
+    const JsonObject& object = json.as<JsonObject>();
+    auto json_it = object.find("jsonrpc");
+    if (json_it == object.end() or json_it->value.as<String>() != "2.0")
+        throw runtime_error("invalid json rpc request");
+
+    auto method_it = object.find("method");
+    if (method_it == object.end())
+        throw runtime_error("invalid json rpc request (method missing)");
+    StringView method = method_it->value.as<String>();
+
+    auto params_it = object.find("params");
+    if (params_it == object.end())
+        throw runtime_error("invalid json rpc request (params missing)");
+    const JsonArray& params = params_it->value.as<JsonArray>();
+
+    if (method == "keys")
+    {
+        for (auto& key_val : params)
+        {
+            for (auto& key : parse_keys(key_val.as<String>()))
+                m_pending_keys.push_back(key);
+        }
+    }
+    else
+        throw runtime_error("unknown method");
+}
+
+static bool stdin_ready()
+{
+    fd_set  rfds;
+    FD_ZERO(&rfds);
+    FD_SET(0, &rfds);
+
+    timeval tv;
+    tv.tv_sec = 0;
+    tv.tv_usec = 0;
+
+    return select(1, &rfds, nullptr, nullptr, &tv) == 1;
+}
+
+void JsonUI::parse_requests(EventMode mode)
+{
+    constexpr size_t bufsize = 1024;
+    char buf[bufsize];
+    while (stdin_ready())
+    {
+        ssize_t size = read(0, buf, bufsize);
+        if (size == -1 or size == 0)
+            break;
+
+        m_incoming_text += StringView{buf, buf + size};
+    }
+
+    if (not m_incoming_text.empty())
+    {
+        Value json;
+        const char* pos;
+        std::tie(json, pos) = parse_json(m_incoming_text.begin(), m_incoming_text.end());
+        if (json)
+        {
+            eval_json(json);
+            m_incoming_text = String{pos, m_incoming_text.end()};
+        }
+    }
+
+    while (not m_pending_keys.empty())
+        m_input_callback(mode);
+}
+
+UnitTest test_json_parser{[]()
+{
+    StringView json = R"({ "jsonrpc": "2.0", "method": "keys", "params": [ "b", "l", "a", "h" ] })";
+    auto value = std::get<0>(parse_json(json.begin(), json.end()));
+    kak_assert(value);
+}};
+
+
+}
diff --git a/src/json_ui.hh b/src/json_ui.hh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7e2af6d0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/json_ui.hh
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+#ifndef json_ui_hh_INCLUDED
+#define json_ui_hh_INCLUDED
+
+#include "user_interface.hh"
+#include "event_manager.hh"
+#include "coord.hh"
+
+namespace Kakoune
+{
+
+class Value;
+
+class JsonUI : public UserInterface
+{
+public:
+    JsonUI();
+
+    JsonUI(const JsonUI&) = delete;
+    JsonUI& operator=(const JsonUI&) = delete;
+
+    void draw(const DisplayBuffer& display_buffer,
+              const Face& default_face) override;
+
+    void draw_status(const DisplayLine& status_line,
+                     const DisplayLine& mode_line,
+                     const Face& default_face) override;
+
+    bool is_key_available() override;
+    Key  get_key() override;
+
+    void menu_show(ConstArrayView<DisplayLine> items,
+                   CharCoord anchor, Face fg, Face bg,
+                   MenuStyle style) override;
+    void menu_select(int selected) override;
+    void menu_hide() override;
+
+    void info_show(StringView title, StringView content,
+                   CharCoord anchor, Face face,
+                   InfoStyle style) override;
+    void info_hide() override;
+
+    void refresh() override;
+
+    void set_input_callback(InputCallback callback) override;
+
+    void set_ui_options(const Options& options) override;
+
+    CharCoord dimensions() override;
+
+private:
+    void parse_requests(EventMode mode);
+    void eval_json(const Value& value);
+
+    InputCallback m_input_callback;
+    FDWatcher m_stdin_watcher;
+    Vector<Key> m_pending_keys;
+    CharCoord m_dimensions;
+    String m_incoming_text;
+};
+
+}
+
+#endif // json_ui_hh_INCLUDED
diff --git a/src/main.cc b/src/main.cc
index 11f6c11d..3f1cd10b 100644
--- a/src/main.cc
+++ b/src/main.cc
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 #include "insert_completer.hh"
 #include "shared_string.hh"
 #include "ncurses_ui.hh"
+#include "json_ui.hh"
 #include "parameters_parser.hh"
 #include "register_manager.hh"
 #include "remote.hh"
@@ -406,13 +407,18 @@ void signal_handler(int signal)
         abort();
 }
 
-int run_client(StringView session, StringView init_command)
+int run_client(StringView session, StringView init_command, bool json_ui = false)
 {
     try
     {
         EventManager event_manager;
-        RemoteClient client{session, make_unique<NCursesUI>(),
-                            get_env_vars(), init_command};
+        std::unique_ptr<UserInterface> ui;
+        if (json_ui)
+            ui = make_unique<JsonUI>();
+        else
+            ui = make_unique<NCursesUI>();
+
+        RemoteClient client{session, std::move(ui), get_env_vars(), init_command};
         while (true)
             event_manager.handle_next_events(EventMode::Normal);
     }
@@ -700,6 +706,7 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[])
                    { "f", { true,  "act as a filter, executing given keys on given files" } },
                    { "q", { false, "in filter mode, be quiet about errors applying keys" } },
                    { "u", { false, "use a dummy user interface, for testing purposes" } },
+                   { "j", { false, "use a jsonrpc user interface, only available in client mode" } },
                    { "l", { false, "list existing sessions" } } }
     };
     try
@@ -754,7 +761,7 @@ int main(int argc, char* argv[])
             for (auto name : parser)
                 new_files += format("edit '{}';", escape(real_path(name), "'", '\\'));
 
-            return run_client(*server_session, new_files + init_command);
+            return run_client(*server_session, new_files + init_command, (bool)parser.get_switch("j"));
         }
         else
         {