diff --git a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/subscribe.go b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/subscribe.go
index c15c7ad..fba48a9 100644
--- a/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/subscribe.go
+++ b/cmd/signaldctl/cmd/subscribe.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package cmd
 
 import (
 	"encoding/json"
+	"log"
 	"os"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
@@ -24,6 +25,10 @@ var (
 			if accountIdentifier == "" {
 				accountIdentifier = config.Config.DefaultAccount
 			}
+			if accountIdentifier == "" {
+				common.Must(cmd.Help())
+				log.Fatal("No account specified. Please specify with --account or set a default")
+			}
 		},
 		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 			incoming := make(chan client_protocol.BasicResponse)
@@ -36,9 +41,14 @@ var (
 			}
 
 			for msg := range incoming {
-				err := json.NewEncoder(os.Stdout).Encode(msg)
-				if err != nil {
-					panic(err)
+				switch common.OutputFormat {
+				case common.OutputFormatJSON, common.OutputFormatDefault:
+					err := json.NewEncoder(os.Stdout).Encode(msg)
+					if err != nil {
+						panic(err)
+					}
+				default:
+					log.Fatal("unsupported output format")
 				}
 			}
 			return nil
diff --git a/signald/client-protocol/protocol.go b/signald/client-protocol/protocol.go
index f6f763f..c0cb562 100644
--- a/signald/client-protocol/protocol.go
+++ b/signald/client-protocol/protocol.go
@@ -5,10 +5,10 @@ import (
 )
 
 type BasicResponse struct {
-	ID        string `json:"id,omitempty"`
-	Type      string `json:"type,omitempty"`
-	ErrorType string `json:"error_type,omitempty"`
+	ID        string          `json:"id,omitempty"`
+	Type      string          `json:"type,omitempty"`
+	ErrorType string          `json:"error_type,omitempty"`
 	Error     json.RawMessage `json:"error,omitempty"`
 	Data      json.RawMessage `json:"data,omitempty"`
-	Account   string `json:"account,omitempty"`
+	Account   string          `json:"account,omitempty"`
 }