diff --git a/src/curl.c b/src/curl.c
index e9e51ad9..edc04580 100644
--- a/src/curl.c
+++ b/src/curl.c
@@ -681,7 +681,12 @@ static int retry_download_loop(const char *url, char *filename, struct curl_file
  */
 int swupd_curl_get_file(const char *url, char *filename)
 {
-	return retry_download_loop(url, filename, NULL, false);
+	int ret;
+
+	ret = retry_download_loop(url, filename, NULL, false);
+	clean_spinner();
+
+	return ret;
 }
 
 /*
@@ -691,7 +696,12 @@ int swupd_curl_get_file(const char *url, char *filename)
  */
 int swupd_curl_get_file_memory(const char *url, struct curl_file_data *file_data)
 {
-	return retry_download_loop(url, NULL, file_data, false);
+	int ret;
+
+	ret = retry_download_loop(url, NULL, file_data, false);
+	clean_spinner();
+
+	return ret;
 }
 
 static CURLcode swupd_curl_set_security_opts(CURL *curl)
diff --git a/src/progress.c b/src/progress.c
index 503d2fd7..b42a9783 100644
--- a/src/progress.c
+++ b/src/progress.c
@@ -49,6 +49,13 @@ struct spinner_data {
 	int index;
 } spinner_data;
 
+void clean_spinner(void)
+{
+	if (current_type == PROGRESS_UNDEFINED) {
+		info("    \r");
+	}
+}
+
 static int progress_spinner_callback(void *clientp, int64_t UNUSED_PARAM dltotal, int64_t UNUSED_PARAM dlnow, int64_t UNUSED_PARAM ultotal, int64_t UNUSED_PARAM ulnow)
 {
 	const char spinner[4] = { '|', '/', '-', '\\' };
@@ -70,6 +77,9 @@ static void progress_spinner_end(void)
 		return;
 	}
 
+	/* clean the spinner from the screen */
+	clean_spinner();
+
 	swupd_curl_download_set_progress_callback(NULL, NULL);
 }
 
diff --git a/src/progress.h b/src/progress.h
index c0c75177..bc9a71a3 100644
--- a/src/progress.h
+++ b/src/progress.h
@@ -85,6 +85,11 @@ void progress_report(double count, double max);
  */
 void progress_set_enabled(bool enabled);
 
+/**
+ * @brief Cleans a spinner from the screen.
+ */
+void clean_spinner(void);
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/test/functional/diagnose/diagnose-json.bats b/test/functional/diagnose/diagnose-json.bats
index b295f9a8..b40185d5 100755
--- a/test/functional/diagnose/diagnose-json.bats
+++ b/test/functional/diagnose/diagnose-json.bats
@@ -22,79 +22,79 @@ test_setup() {
 
 	assert_status_is "$SWUPD_NO"
 	expected_output=$(cat <<-EOM
-		\[
-		\{ "type" : "start", "section" : "diagnose" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 1, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : -1, "stepDescription" : "load_manifests" \},
-		\{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "Diagnosing version 10" \},
-		\{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "Downloading missing manifests..." \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 1, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 100, "stepDescription" : "load_manifests" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 0, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " Checking for missing files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 5, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 11, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " -> Missing file: .*/baz" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 17, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 23, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 29, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " -> Missing file: .*/foo/test-file1" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 35, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 41, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 47, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 52, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 58, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 64, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 70, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 76, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 82, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 88, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 94, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 100, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 0, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " Checking for corrupt files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 5, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 11, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 17, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 23, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 29, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 35, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 41, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 47, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 52, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 58, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 64, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 70, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 76, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 82, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 88, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 94, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 100, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 0, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " Checking for extraneous files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 5, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 11, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 17, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 23, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 29, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 35, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 41, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 47, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 52, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 58, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 64, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 70, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 76, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 82, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 88, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 94, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 100, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " Inspected 17 files" \},
-		\{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "  2 files were missing" \},
-		\{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " Use 'swupd repair' to correct the problems in the system" \},
-		\{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " Diagnose successful" \},
-		\{ "type" : "end", "section" : "diagnose", "status" : 1 \}
-		\]
+		[
+		{ "type" : "start", "section" : "diagnose" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 1, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : -1, "stepDescription" : "load_manifests" },
+		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "Diagnosing version 10" },
+		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "Downloading missing manifests..." },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 1, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 100, "stepDescription" : "load_manifests" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 0, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
+		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " Checking for missing files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 5, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 11, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
+		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " -> Missing file: $PATH_PREFIX/baz" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 17, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 23, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 29, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
+		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " -> Missing file: $PATH_PREFIX/foo/test-file1" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 35, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 41, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 47, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 52, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 58, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 64, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 70, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 76, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 82, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 88, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 94, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 2, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 100, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 0, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
+		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "Checking for corrupt files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 5, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 11, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 17, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 23, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 29, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 35, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 41, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 47, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 52, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 58, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 64, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 70, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 76, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 82, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 88, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 94, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 3, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 100, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 0, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
+		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "Checking for extraneous files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 5, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 11, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 17, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 23, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 29, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 35, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 41, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 47, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 52, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 58, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 64, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 70, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 76, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 82, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 88, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 94, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
+		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 4, "totalSteps" : 4, "stepCompletion" : 100, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
+		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "Inspected 17 files" },
+		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "  2 files were missing" },
+		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " Use 'swupd repair' to correct the problems in the system" },
+		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " Diagnose successful" },
+		{ "type" : "end", "section" : "diagnose", "status" : 1 }
+		]
 	EOM
 	)
-	assert_regex_in_output "$expected_output"
+	assert_is_output "$expected_output"
 
 }
diff --git a/test/functional/os-install/install-json.bats b/test/functional/os-install/install-json.bats
index 76768451..c1176926 100755
--- a/test/functional/os-install/install-json.bats
+++ b/test/functional/os-install/install-json.bats
@@ -52,10 +52,10 @@ test_setup() {
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 7, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : -1, "stepDescription" : "extract_fullfiles" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 7, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 100, "stepDescription" : "extract_fullfiles" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 8, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 0, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
-		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " Installing base OS and selected bundles" },
+		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "Installing base OS and selected bundles" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 8, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 50, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 8, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 100, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
-		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " Inspected 2 files" },
+		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "Inspected 2 files" },
 		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "  2 files were missing" },
 		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "    2 of 2 missing files were installed" },
 		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "    0 of 2 missing files were not installed" },
diff --git a/test/functional/repair/repair-json.bats b/test/functional/repair/repair-json.bats
index be5744b1..0d2c3bb1 100755
--- a/test/functional/repair/repair-json.bats
+++ b/test/functional/repair/repair-json.bats
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ test_setup() {
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 5, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : -1, "stepDescription" : "extract_fullfiles" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 5, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 100, "stepDescription" : "extract_fullfiles" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 6, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 0, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
-		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " Adding any missing files" },
+		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "Adding any missing files" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 6, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 5, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 6, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 11, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
 		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " -> Missing file: $PATH_PREFIX/baz" },
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ test_setup() {
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 6, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 94, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 6, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 100, "stepDescription" : "add_missing_files" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 7, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 0, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
-		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " Repairing corrupt files" },
+		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "Repairing corrupt files" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 7, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 5, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 7, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 11, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 7, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 17, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ test_setup() {
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 7, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 94, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 7, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 100, "stepDescription" : "fix_files" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 8, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 0, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
-		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " Removing extraneous files" },
+		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "Removing extraneous files" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 8, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 5, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 8, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 11, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 8, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 17, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
@@ -136,14 +136,14 @@ test_setup() {
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 8, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 94, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 8, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 100, "stepDescription" : "remove_extraneous_files" },
 		{ "type" : "progress", "currentStep" : 9, "totalSteps" : 9, "stepCompletion" : 0, "stepDescription" : "remove_extra_files" },
-		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " Removing extra files under $PATH_PREFIX/usr" },
+		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "Removing extra files under $PATH_PREFIX/usr" },
 		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " -> Extra file: $PATH_PREFIX/usr/share/defaults/swupd/versionurl" },
 		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " -> deleted" },
 		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " -> Extra file: $PATH_PREFIX/usr/share/defaults/swupd/contenturl" },
 		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " -> deleted" },
 		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " -> Extra file: $PATH_PREFIX/usr/extraneous-file" },
 		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " -> deleted" },
-		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : " Inspected 20 files" },
+		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "Inspected 20 files" },
 		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "  2 files were missing" },
 		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "    2 of 2 missing files were replaced" },
 		{ "type" : "info", "msg" : "    0 of 2 missing files were not replaced" },
diff --git a/test/functional/testlib.bash b/test/functional/testlib.bash
index 5a51620e..eb5808a7 100644
--- a/test/functional/testlib.bash
+++ b/test/functional/testlib.bash
@@ -3612,10 +3612,15 @@ use_ignore_list() {
 	local filtered_output
 	validate_param "$ignore_enabled"
 
+	# remove the "    \r" that could have been inserted to the output when
+	# cleaning up the spinner (this should be done regardless of if we are
+	# filtering more things otherwise the assertions would fail)
+	filtered_output="$(printf "%s" "$output" | sed 's/    \r//g')"
+
 	# if selected, remove things in the ignore list from the actual output
 	if [ "$ignore_enabled" = true ]; then
-		# always remove blank lines, lines with only dots and lines with progress percentage
-		filtered_output=$(echo "$output" | sed -E '/^$/d' | sed -E '/^\.+$/d' | sed -E '/^\t\.\.\.[0-9]{1,3}%$/d')
+		# always remove blank lines, lines with only dots or spaces and lines with progress percentage
+		filtered_output=$(echo "$filtered_output" | sed -E '/^$/d' | sed -E '/^\.+$/d' | sed -E '/^\t\.\.\.[0-9]{1,3}%$/d')
 		# now remove lines that are included in any of the ignore-lists
 		# there are 3 possible ignore-lists that the function is going
 		# to recognize (in order of precedence):
@@ -3638,8 +3643,9 @@ use_ignore_list() {
 		done < "$ignore_list"
 	else
 		debug_msg "The use of ignore lists is disabled"
-		filtered_output="$output"
+		filtered_output="$filtered_output"
 	fi
+
 	echo "$filtered_output"
 
 }
@@ -3793,7 +3799,7 @@ assert_is_output() { # assertion
 	if [[ ! "$actual_output" == "$expected_output" ]]; then
 		print_assert_failure "The following text was not the command output:\\n$sep\\n$expected_output\\n$sep"
 		echo -e "Difference:\\n$sep"
-		diff -u <(echo "$expected_output") <(echo "$actual_output")
+		diff -u <(echo -e "$expected_output") <(echo -e "$actual_output") || true
 		return 1
 	fi
 
@@ -3812,7 +3818,7 @@ assert_is_not_output() { # assertion
 	if [[ "$actual_output" == "$expected_output" ]]; then
 		print_assert_failure "The following text was the command output and should not have:\\n$sep\\n$expected_output\\n$sep"
 		echo -e "Difference:\\n$sep"
-		diff -u <(echo "$expected_output") <(echo "$actual_output")
+		diff -u <(echo "$expected_output") <(echo "$actual_output") || true
 		return 1
 	fi
 
@@ -3831,7 +3837,7 @@ assert_regex_in_output() { # assertion
 	if [[ ! "$actual_output" =~ $expected_output ]]; then
 		print_assert_failure "The following text (regex) was not found in the command output:\\n$sep\\n$expected_output\\n$sep"
 		echo -e "Difference:\\n$sep"
-		diff -u <(echo "$expected_output") <(echo "$actual_output")
+		diff -u <(echo "$expected_output") <(echo "$actual_output") || true
 		return 1
 	fi
 
@@ -3850,7 +3856,7 @@ assert_regex_not_in_output() { # assertion
 	if [[ "$actual_output" =~ $expected_output ]]; then
 		print_assert_failure "The following text (regex) was found in the command output and should not have:\\n$sep\\n$expected_output\\n$sep"
 		echo -e "Difference:\\n$sep"
-		diff -u <(echo "$expected_output") <(echo "$actual_output")
+		diff -u <(echo "$expected_output") <(echo "$actual_output") || true
 		return 1
 	fi
 
@@ -3869,7 +3875,7 @@ assert_regex_is_output() { # assertion
 	if [[ ! "$actual_output" =~ ^$expected_output$ ]]; then
 		print_assert_failure "The following text (regex) was not the command output:\\n$sep\\n$expected_output\\n$sep"
 		echo -e "Difference:\\n$sep"
-		diff -u <(echo "$expected_output") <(echo "$actual_output")
+		diff -u <(echo "$expected_output") <(echo "$actual_output") || true
 		return 1
 	fi
 
@@ -3888,7 +3894,7 @@ assert_regex_is_not_output() { # assertion
 	if [[ "$actual_output" =~ ^$expected_output$ ]]; then
 		print_assert_failure "The following text (regex) was the command output and should not have:\\n$sep\\n$expected_output\\n$sep"
 		echo -e "Difference:\\n$sep"
-		diff -u <(echo "$expected_output") <(echo "$actual_output")
+		diff -u <(echo "$expected_output") <(echo "$actual_output") || true
 		return 1
 	fi