Powershell has the upper hand here! Still, bash can try to keep up using json.bash. :) $ source json.bash $ declare -A greeting=([Hello]=World) $

Powershell has the upper hand here! Still, bash can try to keep up using json.bash. :) $ source json.bash $ declare -A greeting=([Hello]=World) $ json ...@greeting:{} {"Hello":"World"} ... is splatting the greeting associative array entries into the object created by the json call. Without the ... the greeting would be a nested object. Probably more clear with multiple entries: $ declare -A greeting=([Hello]=World [How]="are you?") $ json @greeting:{} {"greeting":{"Hello":"World","How":"are you?"}} Vs: $ json ...@greeting:{} {"Hello":"World","How":"are you?"}