diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 9381694c1..ba96c7cb0 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ module github.com/cli/cli/v2
 go 1.22
 
 require (
-	dario.cat/mergo v1.0.0
 	github.com/AlecAivazis/survey/v2 v2.3.7
 	github.com/MakeNowJust/heredoc v1.0.0
 	github.com/briandowns/spinner v1.18.1
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index bfd00f3a8..1c759cbeb 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -7,8 +7,6 @@ cloud.google.com/go/iam v1.1.5 h1:1jTsCu4bcsNsE4iiqNT5SHwrDRCfRmIaaaVFhRveTJI=
 cloud.google.com/go/iam v1.1.5/go.mod h1:rB6P/Ic3mykPbFio+vo7403drjlgvoWfYpJhMXEbzv8=
 cloud.google.com/go/kms v1.15.5 h1:pj1sRfut2eRbD9pFRjNnPNg/CzJPuQAzUujMIM1vVeM=
 cloud.google.com/go/kms v1.15.5/go.mod h1:cU2H5jnp6G2TDpUGZyqTCoy1n16fbubHZjmVXSMtwDI=
-dario.cat/mergo v1.0.0 h1:AGCNq9Evsj31mOgNPcLyXc+4PNABt905YmuqPYYpBWk=
-dario.cat/mergo v1.0.0/go.mod h1:uNxQE+84aUszobStD9th8a29P2fMDhsBdgRYvZOxGmk=
 filippo.io/edwards25519 v1.1.0 h1:FNf4tywRC1HmFuKW5xopWpigGjJKiJSV0Cqo0cJWDaA=
 filippo.io/edwards25519 v1.1.0/go.mod h1:BxyFTGdWcka3PhytdK4V28tE5sGfRvvvRV7EaN4VDT4=
 github.com/AdamKorcz/go-fuzz-headers-1 v0.0.0-20230919221257-8b5d3ce2d11d h1:zjqpY4C7H15HjRPEenkS4SAn3Jy2eRRjkjZbGR30TOg=
diff --git a/internal/jsonmerge/array.go b/internal/jsonmerge/array.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 3a8c2c744..000000000
--- a/internal/jsonmerge/array.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,76 +0,0 @@
-package jsonmerge
-
-import "io"
-
-type arrayMerger struct {
-	isFirstPage bool
-}
-
-// NewArrayMerger creates a Merger for JSON arrays.
-func NewArrayMerger() Merger {
-	return &arrayMerger{
-		isFirstPage: true,
-	}
-}
-
-func (merger *arrayMerger) NewPage(r io.Reader, isLastPage bool) io.ReadCloser {
-	return &arrayMergerPage{
-		merger:     merger,
-		Reader:     r,
-		isLastPage: isLastPage,
-	}
-}
-
-func (m *arrayMerger) Close() error {
-	// arrayMerger merges when reading, so any output was already written
-	// and there's nothing to do on Close.
-	return nil
-}
-
-type arrayMergerPage struct {
-	merger *arrayMerger
-
-	io.Reader
-	isLastPage bool
-
-	isSubsequentRead bool
-	cachedByte       byte
-}
-
-func (page *arrayMergerPage) Read(p []byte) (int, error) {
-	var n int
-	var err error
-
-	if page.cachedByte != 0 && len(p) > 0 {
-		p[0] = page.cachedByte
-		n, err = page.Reader.Read(p[1:])
-		n += 1
-		page.cachedByte = 0
-	} else {
-		n, err = page.Reader.Read(p)
-	}
-
-	if !page.isSubsequentRead && !page.merger.isFirstPage && n > 0 && p[0] == '[' {
-		if n > 1 && p[1] == ']' {
-			// Empty array case.
-			p[0] = ' '
-		} else {
-			// Avoid starting a new array and continue with a comma instead.
-			p[0] = ','
-		}
-	}
-
-	if !page.isLastPage && n > 0 && p[n-1] == ']' {
-		// Avoid closing off an array in case we determine we are at EOF.
-		page.cachedByte = p[n-1]
-		n -= 1
-	}
-
-	page.isSubsequentRead = true
-	return n, err
-}
-
-func (page *arrayMergerPage) Close() error {
-	page.merger.isFirstPage = false
-	return nil
-}
diff --git a/internal/jsonmerge/array_test.go b/internal/jsonmerge/array_test.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 8106ded30..000000000
--- a/internal/jsonmerge/array_test.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,86 +0,0 @@
-package jsonmerge
-
-import (
-	"bytes"
-	"io"
-	"testing"
-
-	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
-	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
-)
-
-func TestArrayMerger_singleEmptyArray(t *testing.T) {
-	merger := NewArrayMerger()
-	w := &bytes.Buffer{}
-
-	r1 := bytes.NewBufferString(`[]`)
-	p1 := merger.NewPage(r1, true)
-	n, err := io.Copy(w, p1)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(2), n)
-	assert.NoError(t, p1.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, `[]`, w.String())
-
-	require.NoError(t, merger.Close())
-}
-
-func TestArrayMerger_finalEmptyArray(t *testing.T) {
-	merger := NewArrayMerger()
-	w := &bytes.Buffer{}
-
-	r1 := bytes.NewBufferString(`["a","b"]`)
-	p1 := merger.NewPage(r1, false)
-	n, err := io.Copy(w, p1)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(8), n)
-	assert.NoError(t, p1.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, `["a","b"`, w.String())
-
-	r2 := bytes.NewBufferString(`[]`)
-	p2 := merger.NewPage(r2, true)
-	n, err = io.Copy(w, p2)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(2), n)
-	assert.NoError(t, p2.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, `["a","b" ]`, w.String())
-
-	require.NoError(t, merger.Close())
-}
-
-func TestArrayMerger_multiplePages(t *testing.T) {
-	merger := NewArrayMerger()
-	w := &bytes.Buffer{}
-
-	r1 := bytes.NewBufferString(`["a","b"]`)
-	p1 := merger.NewPage(r1, false)
-	n, err := io.Copy(w, p1)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(8), n)
-	assert.NoError(t, p1.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, `["a","b"`, w.String())
-
-	r2 := bytes.NewBufferString(`["c","d"]`)
-	p2 := merger.NewPage(r2, true)
-	n, err = io.Copy(w, p2)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(9), n)
-	assert.NoError(t, p2.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, `["a","b","c","d"]`, w.String())
-
-	require.NoError(t, merger.Close())
-}
-
-func TestArrayMerger_emptyObject(t *testing.T) {
-	merger := NewArrayMerger()
-	w := &bytes.Buffer{}
-
-	r1 := bytes.NewBufferString(`{}`)
-	p1 := merger.NewPage(r1, true)
-	n, err := io.Copy(w, p1)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(2), n)
-	assert.NoError(t, p1.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, `{}`, w.String())
-
-	require.NoError(t, merger.Close())
-}
diff --git a/internal/jsonmerge/merge.go b/internal/jsonmerge/merge.go
deleted file mode 100644
index a40e4ee08..000000000
--- a/internal/jsonmerge/merge.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
-// jsonmerge implements readers to merge JSON arrays or objects.
-package jsonmerge
-
-import (
-	"io"
-)
-
-// Merger is implemented to merge JSON arrays or objects.
-type Merger interface {
-	NewPage(r io.Reader, isLastPage bool) io.ReadCloser
-	Close() error
-}
diff --git a/internal/jsonmerge/nop.go b/internal/jsonmerge/nop.go
deleted file mode 100644
index d11a545b9..000000000
--- a/internal/jsonmerge/nop.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,19 +0,0 @@
-package jsonmerge
-
-import (
-	"io"
-)
-
-type nopMerger struct{}
-
-func NewNopMerger() Merger {
-	return &nopMerger{}
-}
-
-func (m *nopMerger) NewPage(r io.Reader, _ bool) io.ReadCloser {
-	return io.NopCloser(r)
-}
-
-func (m *nopMerger) Close() error {
-	return nil
-}
diff --git a/internal/jsonmerge/nop_test.go b/internal/jsonmerge/nop_test.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 713ac5501..000000000
--- a/internal/jsonmerge/nop_test.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,114 +0,0 @@
-package jsonmerge
-
-import (
-	"bytes"
-	"io"
-	"testing"
-
-	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
-	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
-)
-
-func TestNopMerger_nothingWritten(t *testing.T) {
-	w := &bytes.Buffer{}
-	merger := NewNopMerger()
-
-	require.NoError(t, merger.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, ``, w.String())
-}
-
-func TestNopMerger_singleEmptyObject(t *testing.T) {
-	w := &bytes.Buffer{}
-	merger := NewNopMerger()
-
-	r1 := bytes.NewBufferString(`{}`)
-	p1 := merger.NewPage(r1, true)
-	n, err := io.Copy(w, p1)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(2), n)
-	assert.NoError(t, p1.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, `{}`, w.String())
-
-	require.NoError(t, merger.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, `{}`, w.String())
-}
-
-func TestNopMerger_finalEmptyObject(t *testing.T) {
-	w := &bytes.Buffer{}
-	merger := NewNopMerger()
-
-	r1 := bytes.NewBufferString(`{"a":1,"b":2}`)
-	p1 := merger.NewPage(r1, false)
-	n, err := io.Copy(w, p1)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(13), n)
-	assert.NoError(t, p1.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, `{"a":1,"b":2}`, w.String())
-
-	r2 := bytes.NewBufferString(`{"c":3}`)
-	p2 := merger.NewPage(r2, true)
-	n, err = io.Copy(w, p2)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(7), n)
-	assert.NoError(t, p2.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, `{"a":1,"b":2}{"c":3}`, w.String())
-
-	require.NoError(t, merger.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, `{"a":1,"b":2}{"c":3}`, w.String())
-}
-
-func TestNopMerger_invalidJSON(t *testing.T) {
-	w := &bytes.Buffer{}
-	merger := NewNopMerger()
-
-	r1 := bytes.NewBufferString(`invalid`)
-	p1 := merger.NewPage(r1, true)
-	n, err := io.Copy(w, p1)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(7), n)
-	assert.NoError(t, p1.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, `invalid`, w.String())
-
-	require.NoError(t, merger.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, `invalid`, w.String())
-}
-
-func TestNopMerger_singleEmptyArray(t *testing.T) {
-	w := &bytes.Buffer{}
-	merger := NewNopMerger()
-
-	r1 := bytes.NewBufferString(`[]`)
-	p1 := merger.NewPage(r1, true)
-	n, err := io.Copy(w, p1)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(2), n)
-	assert.NoError(t, p1.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, `[]`, w.String())
-
-	require.NoError(t, merger.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, `[]`, w.String())
-}
-
-func TestNopMerger_finalEmptyArray(t *testing.T) {
-	w := &bytes.Buffer{}
-	merger := NewNopMerger()
-
-	r1 := bytes.NewBufferString(`["a","b"]`)
-	p1 := merger.NewPage(r1, false)
-	n, err := io.Copy(w, p1)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(9), n)
-	assert.NoError(t, p1.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, `["a","b"]`, w.String())
-
-	r2 := bytes.NewBufferString(`[]`)
-	p2 := merger.NewPage(r2, true)
-	n, err = io.Copy(w, p2)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(2), n)
-	assert.NoError(t, p2.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, `["a","b"][]`, w.String())
-
-	require.NoError(t, merger.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, `["a","b"][]`, w.String())
-}
diff --git a/internal/jsonmerge/object.go b/internal/jsonmerge/object.go
deleted file mode 100644
index b8f077bbf..000000000
--- a/internal/jsonmerge/object.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,73 +0,0 @@
-package jsonmerge
-
-import (
-	"bytes"
-	"encoding/json"
-	"io"
-
-	"dario.cat/mergo"
-)
-
-type objectMerger struct {
-	io.Writer
-	dst map[string]interface{}
-}
-
-// NewObjectMerger creates a Merger for JSON objects.
-func NewObjectMerger(w io.Writer) Merger {
-	return &objectMerger{
-		Writer: w,
-	}
-}
-
-func (merger *objectMerger) NewPage(r io.Reader, isLastPage bool) io.ReadCloser {
-	return &objectMergerPage{
-		merger: merger,
-		Reader: r,
-	}
-}
-
-func (merger *objectMerger) Close() error {
-	if merger.dst == nil {
-		return nil
-	}
-
-	// Marshal to JSON and write to output.
-	buf, err := json.Marshal(merger.dst)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
-	_, err = merger.Writer.Write(buf)
-	return err
-}
-
-type objectMergerPage struct {
-	merger *objectMerger
-
-	io.Reader
-	buffer bytes.Buffer
-}
-
-// Read caches the data in an internal buffer to be merged in Close.
-// No data is copied into p so it's not written to stdout.
-func (page *objectMergerPage) Read(p []byte) (int, error) {
-	_, err := io.CopyN(&page.buffer, page.Reader, int64(len(p)))
-	return 0, err
-}
-
-// Close converts the internal buffer to a JSON object and merges it with the final JSON object.
-func (page *objectMergerPage) Close() error {
-	var src map[string]interface{}
-
-	err := json.Unmarshal(page.buffer.Bytes(), &src)
-	if err != nil {
-		return err
-	}
-
-	if page.merger.dst == nil {
-		page.merger.dst = make(map[string]interface{})
-	}
-
-	return mergo.Merge(&page.merger.dst, src, mergo.WithAppendSlice, mergo.WithOverride)
-}
diff --git a/internal/jsonmerge/object_test.go b/internal/jsonmerge/object_test.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 48074e33a..000000000
--- a/internal/jsonmerge/object_test.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,106 +0,0 @@
-package jsonmerge
-
-import (
-	"bytes"
-	"io"
-	"testing"
-
-	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
-	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
-)
-
-func TestObjectMerger_nothingWritten(t *testing.T) {
-	w := &bytes.Buffer{}
-	merger := NewObjectMerger(w)
-
-	require.NoError(t, merger.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, ``, w.String())
-}
-
-func TestObjectMerger_singleEmptyObject(t *testing.T) {
-	w := &bytes.Buffer{}
-	merger := NewObjectMerger(w)
-
-	r1 := bytes.NewBufferString(`{}`)
-	p1 := merger.NewPage(r1, true)
-	n, err := io.Copy(w, p1)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(0), n)
-	assert.NoError(t, p1.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, ``, w.String())
-
-	require.NoError(t, merger.Close())
-	assert.JSONEq(t, `{}`, w.String())
-}
-
-func TestObjectMerger_finalEmptyObject(t *testing.T) {
-	w := &bytes.Buffer{}
-	merger := NewObjectMerger(w)
-
-	r1 := bytes.NewBufferString(`{"a":1,"b":2}`)
-	p1 := merger.NewPage(r1, false)
-	n, err := io.Copy(w, p1)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(0), n)
-	assert.NoError(t, p1.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, ``, w.String())
-
-	r2 := bytes.NewBufferString(`{}`)
-	p2 := merger.NewPage(r2, true)
-	n, err = io.Copy(w, p2)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(0), n)
-	assert.NoError(t, p2.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, ``, w.String())
-
-	require.NoError(t, merger.Close())
-	assert.JSONEq(t, `{"a":1,"b":2}`, w.String())
-}
-
-func TestObjectMerger_multiplePages(t *testing.T) {
-	w := &bytes.Buffer{}
-	merger := NewObjectMerger(w)
-
-	r1 := bytes.NewBufferString(`{"a":1,"b":2,"arr":["a","b"]}`)
-	p1 := merger.NewPage(r1, false)
-	n, err := io.Copy(w, p1)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(0), n)
-	assert.NoError(t, p1.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, ``, w.String())
-
-	r2 := bytes.NewBufferString(`{"b":3,"c":{"d":4},"arr":["c","d"]}`)
-	p2 := merger.NewPage(r2, true)
-	n, err = io.Copy(w, p2)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(0), n)
-	assert.NoError(t, p2.Close())
-	assert.Equal(t, ``, w.String())
-
-	require.NoError(t, merger.Close())
-	assert.JSONEq(t, `{"a":1,"b":3,"c":{"d":4},"arr":["a","b","c","d"]}`, w.String())
-}
-
-func TestObjectMerger_invalidJSON(t *testing.T) {
-	w := &bytes.Buffer{}
-	merger := NewObjectMerger(w)
-
-	r1 := bytes.NewBufferString(`invalid`)
-	p1 := merger.NewPage(r1, true)
-	n, err := io.Copy(w, p1)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(0), n)
-	assert.Error(t, p1.Close())
-}
-
-func TestObjectMerger_array(t *testing.T) {
-	w := &bytes.Buffer{}
-	merger := NewObjectMerger(w)
-
-	r1 := bytes.NewBufferString(`[]`)
-	p1 := merger.NewPage(r1, true)
-	n, err := io.Copy(w, p1)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	assert.Equal(t, int64(0), n)
-	assert.Error(t, p1.Close())
-}
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/api/api.go b/pkg/cmd/api/api.go
index 35b99eef6..c821c84c8 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/api/api.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/api/api.go
@@ -20,7 +20,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cli/cli/v2/internal/config"
 	"github.com/cli/cli/v2/internal/ghinstance"
 	"github.com/cli/cli/v2/internal/ghrepo"
-	"github.com/cli/cli/v2/internal/jsonmerge"
 	"github.com/cli/cli/v2/pkg/cmd/factory"
 	"github.com/cli/cli/v2/pkg/cmdutil"
 	"github.com/cli/cli/v2/pkg/iostreams"
@@ -30,6 +29,10 @@ import (
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 )
 
+const (
+	ttyIndent = "  "
+)
+
 type ApiOptions struct {
 	AppVersion string
 	BaseRepo   func() (ghrepo.Interface, error)
@@ -37,7 +40,6 @@ type ApiOptions struct {
 	Config     func() (config.Config, error)
 	HttpClient func() (*http.Client, error)
 	IO         *iostreams.IOStreams
-	merger     jsonmerge.Merger
 
 	Hostname            string
 	RequestMethod       string
@@ -50,7 +52,7 @@ type ApiOptions struct {
 	Previews            []string
 	ShowResponseHeaders bool
 	Paginate            bool
-	MergePages          bool
+	Slurp               bool
 	Silent              bool
 	Template            string
 	CacheTTL            time.Duration
@@ -174,8 +176,8 @@ func NewCmdApi(f *cmdutil.Factory, runF func(*ApiOptions) error) *cobra.Command
 			'
 
 			# get the percentage of forks for the current user
-			# without --merge-pages you will get a different percentage for each page
-			$ gh api graphql --paginate --merge-pages -f query='
+			# without --slurp you will get a different percentage for each page
+			$ gh api graphql --paginate --slurp -f query='
 			  query($endCursor: String) {
 			    viewer {
 			      repositories(first: 100, after: $endCursor) {
@@ -187,8 +189,8 @@ func NewCmdApi(f *cmdutil.Factory, runF func(*ApiOptions) error) *cobra.Command
 			      }
 			    }
 			  }
-			' | jq 'def count(s): reduce s as $_ (0;.+1);
-			.data.viewer.repositories.nodes as $r | count(select($r[].isFork)) / count($r[])'
+			' | jq 'def count(e): reduce e as $_ (0;.+1);
+			[.[].data.viewer.repositories.nodes[]] as $r | count(select($r[].isFork))/count($r[])'
 		`),
 		Annotations: map[string]string{
 			"help:environment": heredoc.Doc(`
@@ -231,8 +233,17 @@ func NewCmdApi(f *cmdutil.Factory, runF func(*ApiOptions) error) *cobra.Command
 				return err
 			}
 
-			if opts.MergePages && !opts.Paginate {
-				return cmdutil.FlagErrorf("`--paginate` required when passing `--merge-pages`")
+			if opts.Slurp && !opts.Paginate {
+				return cmdutil.FlagErrorf("`--paginate` required when passing `--slurp`")
+			}
+
+			if err := cmdutil.MutuallyExclusive(
+				"the `--slurp` option is not supported with `--jq` or `--template`",
+				opts.Slurp,
+				opts.FilterOutput != "",
+				opts.Template != "",
+			); err != nil {
+				return err
 			}
 
 			if err := cmdutil.MutuallyExclusive(
@@ -259,7 +270,7 @@ func NewCmdApi(f *cmdutil.Factory, runF func(*ApiOptions) error) *cobra.Command
 	cmd.Flags().StringArrayVarP(&opts.RequestHeaders, "header", "H", nil, "Add a HTTP request header in `key:value` format")
 	cmd.Flags().StringSliceVarP(&opts.Previews, "preview", "p", nil, "GitHub API preview `names` to request (without the \"-preview\" suffix)")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVarP(&opts.ShowResponseHeaders, "include", "i", false, "Include HTTP response status line and headers in the output")
-	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&opts.MergePages, "merge-pages", false, "Use with \"--paginate\" to merge all pages of JSON arrays or objects when piping or redirecting standard output")
+	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&opts.Slurp, "slurp", false, "Use with \"--paginate\" to return an array of all pages of either JSON arrays or objects")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&opts.Paginate, "paginate", false, "Make additional HTTP requests to fetch all pages of results")
 	cmd.Flags().StringVar(&opts.RequestInputFile, "input", "", "The `file` to use as body for the HTTP request (use \"-\" to read from standard input)")
 	cmd.Flags().BoolVar(&opts.Silent, "silent", false, "Do not print the response body")
@@ -307,20 +318,16 @@ func apiRun(opts *ApiOptions) error {
 		requestPath = addPerPage(requestPath, 100, params)
 	}
 
-	// Merge JSON arrays and objects if paginating without filtering or templating.
-	// MergePages retains compatibility with older versions but may be the default behavior with future major releases.
-	if opts.Paginate && opts.FilterOutput == "" && opts.Template == "" {
-		if !isGraphQL {
-			opts.merger = jsonmerge.NewArrayMerger()
-		} else if opts.MergePages {
-			opts.merger = jsonmerge.NewObjectMerger(bodyWriter)
+	// Similar to `jq --slurp`, write all pages JSON arrays or objects into a JSON array.
+	if opts.Paginate && opts.Slurp {
+		w := &jsonArrayWriter{
+			Writer: bodyWriter,
+			color:  opts.IO.ColorEnabled(),
 		}
-	}
+		defer w.Close()
 
-	if opts.merger == nil {
-		opts.merger = jsonmerge.NewNopMerger()
+		bodyWriter = w
 	}
-	defer opts.merger.Close()
 
 	if opts.RequestInputFile != "" {
 		file, size, err := openUserFile(opts.RequestInputFile, opts.IO.In)
@@ -400,6 +407,12 @@ func apiRun(opts *ApiOptions) error {
 			requestBody = nil // prevent repeating GET parameters
 		}
 
+		// Tell optional jsonArrayWriter to start a new page.
+		err = startPage(bodyWriter)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
 		endCursor, err := processResponse(resp, opts, bodyWriter, headersWriter, tmpl, isFirstPage, !hasNextPage)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
@@ -459,7 +472,7 @@ func processResponse(resp *http.Response, opts *ApiOptions, bodyWriter, headersW
 		// TODO: reuse parsed query across pagination invocations
 		indent := ""
 		if opts.IO.IsStdoutTTY() {
-			indent = "  "
+			indent = ttyIndent
 		}
 		err = jq.EvaluateFormatted(responseBody, bodyWriter, opts.FilterOutput, indent, opts.IO.ColorEnabled())
 		if err != nil {
@@ -471,20 +484,16 @@ func processResponse(resp *http.Response, opts *ApiOptions, bodyWriter, headersW
 			return
 		}
 	} else if isJSON && opts.IO.ColorEnabled() {
-		err = jsoncolor.Write(bodyWriter, responseBody, "  ")
+		err = jsoncolor.Write(bodyWriter, responseBody, ttyIndent)
 	} else {
-		if isJSON && opts.Paginate && !opts.ShowResponseHeaders {
-			responseBody = opts.merger.NewPage(responseBody, isLastPage)
+		if isJSON && opts.Paginate && !opts.Slurp && !isGraphQLPaginate && !opts.ShowResponseHeaders {
+			responseBody = &paginatedArrayReader{
+				Reader:      responseBody,
+				isFirstPage: isFirstPage,
+				isLastPage:  isLastPage,
+			}
 		}
-
 		_, err = io.Copy(bodyWriter, responseBody)
-		if err != nil {
-			return
-		}
-
-		if closer, ok := responseBody.(io.ReadCloser); ok {
-			err = closer.Close()
-		}
 	}
 	if err != nil {
 		return
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/api/api_test.go b/pkg/cmd/api/api_test.go
index 0d02eff61..5244f04d4 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/api/api_test.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/api/api_test.go
@@ -329,8 +329,18 @@ func Test_NewCmdApi(t *testing.T) {
 			wantsErr: true,
 		},
 		{
-			name:     "--merge-pages without --paginate",
-			cli:      "user --merge-pages",
+			name:     "--slurp without --paginate",
+			cli:      "user --slurp",
+			wantsErr: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "slurp with --jq",
+			cli:      "user --paginate --slurp --jq .foo",
+			wantsErr: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "slurp with --template",
+			cli:      "user --paginate --slurp --template '{{.foo}}'",
 			wantsErr: true,
 		},
 		{
@@ -993,7 +1003,7 @@ func Test_apiRun_paginationGraphQL(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, "PAGE1_END", endCursor)
 }
 
-func Test_apiRun_paginationGraphQL_merge(t *testing.T) {
+func Test_apiRun_paginationGraphQL_slurp(t *testing.T) {
 	ios, _, stdout, stderr := iostreams.Test()
 
 	requestCount := 0
@@ -1047,121 +1057,33 @@ func Test_apiRun_paginationGraphQL_merge(t *testing.T) {
 		RequestMethod: "POST",
 		RequestPath:   "graphql",
 		Paginate:      true,
-		MergePages:    true,
+		Slurp:         true,
 	}
 
 	err := apiRun(&options)
 	require.NoError(t, err)
 
-	assert.JSONEq(t, stdout.String(), `{
-		"data": {
-			"nodes": [
-				"page one",
-				"page two"
-			],
-			"pageInfo": {
-				"endCursor": "PAGE2_END",
-				"hasNextPage": false
-			}
-		}
-	}`)
-	assert.Equal(t, "", stderr.String(), "stderr")
-
-	var requestData struct {
-		Variables map[string]interface{}
-	}
-
-	bb, err := io.ReadAll(responses[0].Request.Body)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	err = json.Unmarshal(bb, &requestData)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	_, hasCursor := requestData.Variables["endCursor"].(string)
-	assert.Equal(t, false, hasCursor)
-
-	bb, err = io.ReadAll(responses[1].Request.Body)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	err = json.Unmarshal(bb, &requestData)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-	endCursor, hasCursor := requestData.Variables["endCursor"].(string)
-	assert.Equal(t, true, hasCursor)
-	assert.Equal(t, "PAGE1_END", endCursor)
-}
-
-func Test_apiRun_paginationGraphQL_merge_tty(t *testing.T) {
-	ios, _, stdout, stderr := iostreams.Test()
-
-	// Backcompat: setting color-enabled disables merging, but not TTY.
-	ios.SetStdoutTTY(true)
-
-	requestCount := 0
-	responses := []*http.Response{
+	assert.JSONEq(t, stdout.String(), `[
 		{
-			StatusCode: 200,
-			Header:     http.Header{"Content-Type": []string{`application/json`}},
-			Body: io.NopCloser(bytes.NewBufferString(heredoc.Doc(`
-			{
-				"data": {
-					"nodes": ["page one"],
-					"pageInfo": {
-						"endCursor": "PAGE1_END",
-						"hasNextPage": true
-					}
+			"data": {
+				"nodes": ["page one"],
+				"pageInfo": {
+					"endCursor": "PAGE1_END",
+					"hasNextPage": true
 				}
-			}`))),
+			}
 		},
 		{
-			StatusCode: 200,
-			Header:     http.Header{"Content-Type": []string{`application/json`}},
-			Body: io.NopCloser(bytes.NewBufferString(heredoc.Doc(`
-			{
-				"data": {
-					"nodes": ["page two"],
-					"pageInfo": {
-						"endCursor": "PAGE2_END",
-						"hasNextPage": false
-					}
+
+			"data": {
+				"nodes": ["page two"],
+				"pageInfo": {
+					"endCursor": "PAGE2_END",
+					"hasNextPage": false
 				}
-			}`))),
-		},
-	}
-
-	options := ApiOptions{
-		IO: ios,
-		HttpClient: func() (*http.Client, error) {
-			var tr roundTripper = func(req *http.Request) (*http.Response, error) {
-				resp := responses[requestCount]
-				resp.Request = req
-				requestCount++
-				return resp, nil
-			}
-			return &http.Client{Transport: tr}, nil
-		},
-		Config: func() (config.Config, error) {
-			return config.NewBlankConfig(), nil
-		},
-
-		RawFields:     []string{"foo=bar"},
-		RequestMethod: "POST",
-		RequestPath:   "graphql",
-		Paginate:      true,
-		MergePages:    true,
-	}
-
-	err := apiRun(&options)
-	require.NoError(t, err)
-
-	assert.JSONEq(t, stdout.String(), `{
-		"data": {
-			"nodes": [
-				"page one",
-				"page two"
-			],
-			"pageInfo": {
-				"endCursor": "PAGE2_END",
-				"hasNextPage": false
 			}
 		}
-	}`)
+	]`)
 	assert.Equal(t, "", stderr.String(), "stderr")
 
 	var requestData struct {
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/api/pagination.go b/pkg/cmd/api/pagination.go
index 65d816480..bf4a2f794 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/api/pagination.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/api/pagination.go
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ import (
 	"net/url"
 	"regexp"
 	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/cli/cli/v2/pkg/jsoncolor"
 )
 
 var linkRE = regexp.MustCompile(`<([^>]+)>;\s*rel="([^"]+)"`)
@@ -106,3 +108,134 @@ func addPerPage(p string, perPage int, params map[string]interface{}) string {
 
 	return fmt.Sprintf("%s%sper_page=%d", p, sep, perPage)
 }
+
+// paginatedArrayReader wraps a Reader to omit the opening and/or the closing square bracket of a
+// JSON array in order to apply pagination context between multiple API requests.
+type paginatedArrayReader struct {
+	io.Reader
+	isFirstPage bool
+	isLastPage  bool
+
+	isSubsequentRead bool
+	cachedByte       byte
+}
+
+func (r *paginatedArrayReader) Read(p []byte) (int, error) {
+	var n int
+	var err error
+	if r.cachedByte != 0 && len(p) > 0 {
+		p[0] = r.cachedByte
+		n, err = r.Reader.Read(p[1:])
+		n += 1
+		r.cachedByte = 0
+	} else {
+		n, err = r.Reader.Read(p)
+	}
+	if !r.isSubsequentRead && !r.isFirstPage && n > 0 && p[0] == '[' {
+		if n > 1 && p[1] == ']' {
+			// empty array case
+			p[0] = ' '
+		} else {
+			// avoid starting a new array and continue with a comma instead
+			p[0] = ','
+		}
+	}
+	if !r.isLastPage && n > 0 && p[n-1] == ']' {
+		// avoid closing off an array in case we determine we are at EOF
+		r.cachedByte = p[n-1]
+		n -= 1
+	}
+	r.isSubsequentRead = true
+	return n, err
+}
+
+// jsonArrayWriter wraps a Writer which writes multiple pages of both JSON arrays
+// and objects. Call Close to write the end of the array.
+type jsonArrayWriter struct {
+	io.Writer
+	started bool
+	color   bool
+}
+
+func (w *jsonArrayWriter) Preface() []json.Delim {
+	if w.started {
+		return []json.Delim{'['}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// ReadFrom implements io.ReaderFrom to write more data than read,
+// which otherwise results in an error from io.Copy().
+func (w *jsonArrayWriter) ReadFrom(r io.Reader) (int64, error) {
+	var written int64
+	buf := make([]byte, 4069)
+	for {
+		n, err := r.Read(buf)
+		if n > 0 {
+			n, err := w.Write(buf[:n])
+			written += int64(n)
+
+			if err != nil {
+				return written, err
+			}
+		}
+		if err == io.EOF {
+			break
+		}
+		if err != nil {
+			return written, err
+		}
+	}
+
+	return written, nil
+}
+
+func (w *jsonArrayWriter) Close() error {
+	var delims string
+	if w.started {
+		delims = "]"
+	} else {
+		delims = "[]"
+	}
+
+	w.started = false
+	if w.color {
+		return jsoncolor.WriteDelims(w, delims, ttyIndent)
+	}
+
+	_, err := w.Writer.Write([]byte(delims))
+	return err
+}
+
+func startPage(w io.Writer) error {
+	if jaw, ok := w.(*jsonArrayWriter); ok {
+		var delims string
+		var indent bool
+
+		if !jaw.started {
+			delims = "["
+			jaw.started = true
+		} else {
+			delims = ","
+			indent = true
+		}
+
+		if jaw.color {
+			if indent {
+				_, err := jaw.Write([]byte(ttyIndent))
+				if err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
+			}
+
+			return jsoncolor.WriteDelims(w, delims, ttyIndent)
+		}
+
+		_, err := jaw.Write([]byte(delims))
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/api/pagination_test.go b/pkg/cmd/api/pagination_test.go
index 3bb1a8ec5..746a73c4a 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/api/pagination_test.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/api/pagination_test.go
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ import (
 	"io"
 	"net/http"
 	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 )
 
 func Test_findNextPage(t *testing.T) {
@@ -167,3 +170,107 @@ func Test_addPerPage(t *testing.T) {
 		})
 	}
 }
+
+func TestJsonArrayWriter(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name  string
+		pages []string
+		want  string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:  "empty",
+			pages: nil,
+			want:  "[]",
+		},
+		{
+			name:  "single array",
+			pages: []string{`[1,2]`},
+			want:  `[[1,2]]`,
+		},
+		{
+			name:  "multiple arrays",
+			pages: []string{`[1,2]`, `[3]`},
+			want:  `[[1,2],[3]]`,
+		},
+		{
+			name:  "single object",
+			pages: []string{`{"foo":1,"bar":"a"}`},
+			want:  `[{"foo":1,"bar":"a"}]`,
+		},
+		{
+			name:  "multiple pages",
+			pages: []string{`{"foo":1,"bar":"a"}`, `{"foo":2,"bar":"b"}`},
+			want:  `[{"foo":1,"bar":"a"},{"foo":2,"bar":"b"}]`,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			buf := &bytes.Buffer{}
+			w := &jsonArrayWriter{
+				Writer: buf,
+			}
+
+			for _, page := range tt.pages {
+				require.NoError(t, startPage(w))
+
+				n, err := w.Write([]byte(page))
+				require.NoError(t, err)
+				assert.Equal(t, len(page), n)
+			}
+
+			require.NoError(t, w.Close())
+			assert.Equal(t, tt.want, buf.String())
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func TestJsonArrayWriter_Copy(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name  string
+		limit int
+	}{
+		{
+			name: "unlimited",
+		},
+		{
+			name:  "limited",
+			limit: 2,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			buf := &bytes.Buffer{}
+			w := &jsonArrayWriter{
+				Writer: buf,
+			}
+
+			r := &noWriteToReader{
+				Reader: bytes.NewBufferString(`[1,2]`),
+				limit:  tt.limit,
+			}
+
+			require.NoError(t, startPage(w))
+
+			n, err := io.Copy(w, r)
+			require.NoError(t, err)
+			assert.Equal(t, int64(5), n)
+
+			require.NoError(t, w.Close())
+			assert.Equal(t, `[[1,2]]`, buf.String())
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+type noWriteToReader struct {
+	io.Reader
+	limit int
+}
+
+func (r *noWriteToReader) Read(p []byte) (int, error) {
+	if r.limit > 0 {
+		p = p[:r.limit]
+	}
+	return r.Reader.Read(p)
+}
diff --git a/pkg/jsoncolor/jsoncolor.go b/pkg/jsoncolor/jsoncolor.go
index dbe3d9a4b..8e20a1161 100644
--- a/pkg/jsoncolor/jsoncolor.go
+++ b/pkg/jsoncolor/jsoncolor.go
@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@ const (
 	colorBool   = "33"   // yellow
 )
 
+type JsonWriter interface {
+	Preface() []json.Delim
+}
+
 // Write colorized JSON output parsed from reader
 func Write(w io.Writer, r io.Reader, indent string) error {
 	dec := json.NewDecoder(r)
@@ -24,6 +28,10 @@ func Write(w io.Writer, r io.Reader, indent string) error {
 	var idx int
 	var stack []json.Delim
 
+	if jsonWriter, ok := w.(JsonWriter); ok {
+		stack = append(stack, jsonWriter.Preface()...)
+	}
+
 	for {
 		t, err := dec.Token()
 		if err == io.EOF {
@@ -96,6 +104,20 @@ func Write(w io.Writer, r io.Reader, indent string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// WriteDelims writes delims in color and with the appropriate indent
+// based on the stack size returned from an io.Writer that implements JsonWriter.Preface().
+func WriteDelims(w io.Writer, delims, indent string) error {
+	var stack []json.Delim
+	if jaw, ok := w.(JsonWriter); ok {
+		stack = jaw.Preface()
+	}
+
+	fmt.Fprintf(w, "\x1b[%sm%s\x1b[m", colorDelim, delims)
+	fmt.Fprint(w, "\n", strings.Repeat(indent, len(stack)))
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 // marshalJSON works like json.Marshal but with HTML-escaping disabled
 func marshalJSON(v interface{}) ([]byte, error) {
 	buf := bytes.Buffer{}