diff --git a/doc/man1/flux-kvs.adoc b/doc/man1/flux-kvs.adoc
index 1b30431f71a0..ffb4e9877124 100644
--- a/doc/man1/flux-kvs.adoc
+++ b/doc/man1/flux-kvs.adoc
@@ -44,18 +44,17 @@ COMMANDS
 --------
 *get* [-j|-r|-t] [-a treeobj] 'key' ['key...']::
 Retrieve the value stored under 'key'.  If nothing has been stored under
-'key', display an error message.  If no options, value is interpreted
-as a NULL-terminated string.  If '-j', it is interpreted as encoded JSON.
-If '-r', it is interpreted as raw data and is output without formatting.
-If '-t', the RFC 11 object is displayed.  '-a treeobj' causes the lookup
-to be relative to an RFC 11 snapshot reference.
+'key', display an error message.  If no options, value is displayed with
+a newline appended (if value length is nonzero).  If '-j', value is
+interpreted as encoded JSON and formatted accordingly.  If '-r', value
+is displayed without a newline.  If '-t', the RFC 11 object is displayed.
+'-a treeobj' causes the lookup to be relative to an RFC 11 snapshot reference.
 
 *put* [-j|-r|-t] [-n] 'key=value' ['key=value...']::
 Store 'value' under 'key' and commit it.  If it already has a value,
-overwrite it.  If no options, value is stored as a NULL-terminated string.
-If '-j', it is first encoded as JSON, then stored as a NULL-terminated string.
-If '-r', it is stored as raw data with no termination.  For raw mode only,
-a value of "-" indicates that the value should be read from standard input.
+overwrite it.  If no options, value is stored directly.  If '-j', it is
+first encoded as JSON, then stored.  If '-r', the value may be read from
+standard input if specified as "-", and may include embedded NULL bytes.
 If '-t', value is stored as a RFC 11 object.  '-n' prevents the commit
 from being merged with with other contemporaneous commits.
 
diff --git a/doc/man3/flux_kvs_lookup.adoc b/doc/man3/flux_kvs_lookup.adoc
index dd8bee9817b5..dee2add8374c 100644
--- a/doc/man3/flux_kvs_lookup.adoc
+++ b/doc/man3/flux_kvs_lookup.adoc
@@ -55,18 +55,17 @@ than once on the same future, and they may be intermixed to probe a result
 or interpret it in different ways.  Results remain valid until
 `flux_future_destroy()` is called.
 
-`flux_kvs_lookup_get()` interprets the result as a NULL-terminated string
-value.  The value is assigned to _value_.  If the value is empty, NULL
-is assigned.
-
-`flux_kvs_lookup_get_unpack()` interprets the result as a NULL-terminated
-string value, then as encoded JSON (not necessarily enclosed in an object).
-The value is parsed according to variable arguments in Jansson `json_unpack()`
-format.
-
-`flux_kvs_lookup_get_raw()` interprets the result as a raw, opaque value,
-which it assigns to _buf_ and its length to _len_.  The value may be any
-byte sequence.  If the value has zero length, NULL is assigned to _buf_.
+`flux_kvs_lookup_get()` interprets the result as a value.  If the value
+has length greater than zero, a NULL is appended and it is assigned
+to _value_, otherwise NULL is assigned to _value_.
+
+`flux_kvs_lookup_get_unpack()` interprets the result as a value, which
+it decodes as JSON according to variable arguments in Jansson
+`json_unpack()` format.
+
+`flux_kvs_lookup_get_raw()` interprets the result as a value.  If the value
+has length greater than zero, the value and its length are assigned to
+_buf_ and _len_, respectively.  Otherwise NULL and zero are assigned.
 
 `flux_kvs_lookup_get_dir()` interprets the result as a directory,
 e.g. in response to a lookup with the FLUX_KVS_READDIR flag set.
diff --git a/src/common/libkvs/kvs_lookup.c b/src/common/libkvs/kvs_lookup.c
index b8652b8f68b1..1bb2874cf2d8 100644
--- a/src/common/libkvs/kvs_lookup.c
+++ b/src/common/libkvs/kvs_lookup.c
@@ -165,14 +165,6 @@ flux_future_t *flux_kvs_lookupat (flux_t *h, int flags, const char *key,
     return f;
 }
 
-static bool value_is_string (const char *s, int len)
-{
-    if (len < 1 || s[len - 1] != '\0')
-        return false;
-    else
-        return true;
-}
-
 static int decode_treeobj (flux_future_t *f, json_t **treeobj)
 {
     json_t *obj;
@@ -204,10 +196,7 @@ int flux_kvs_lookup_get (flux_future_t *f, const char **value)
                                               &ctx->val_len) < 0)
             return -1;
         ctx->val_valid = true;
-    }
-    if (ctx->val_data && !value_is_string (ctx->val_data, ctx->val_len)) {
-        errno = EINVAL;
-        return -1;
+        // N.B. val_data includes xtra 0 byte term not reflected in val_len
     }
     if (value)
         *value = ctx->val_data;
@@ -256,11 +245,7 @@ int flux_kvs_lookup_get_unpack (flux_future_t *f, const char *fmt, ...)
         ctx->val_valid = true;
     }
     if (!ctx->val_obj) {
-        if (!value_is_string (ctx->val_data, ctx->val_len)) {
-            errno = EINVAL;
-            return -1;
-        }
-        if (!(ctx->val_obj = json_loads (ctx->val_data,
+        if (!(ctx->val_obj = json_loadb (ctx->val_data, ctx->val_len,
                                          JSON_DECODE_ANY, NULL))) {
             errno = EINVAL;
             return -1;
diff --git a/src/common/libkvs/kvs_txn.c b/src/common/libkvs/kvs_txn.c
index 219f4c225937..6b96ee3dbfa4 100644
--- a/src/common/libkvs/kvs_txn.c
+++ b/src/common/libkvs/kvs_txn.c
@@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ int flux_kvs_txn_put (flux_kvs_txn_t *txn, int flags,
     }
     if (validate_flags (flags, 0) < 0)
         goto error;
-    if (!(dirent = treeobj_create_val (value, value ? strlen (value) + 1 : 0)))
+    if (!(dirent = treeobj_create_val (value, value ? strlen (value) : 0)))
         goto error;
     if (append_op_to_txn (txn, flags, key, dirent) < 0)
         goto error;
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ int flux_kvs_txn_vpack (flux_kvs_txn_t *txn, int flags,
         goto error;
     }
     json_decref (val);
-    if (!(dirent = treeobj_create_val (s, strlen (s) + 1))) {
+    if (!(dirent = treeobj_create_val (s, strlen (s)))) {
         free (s);
         goto error;
     }
diff --git a/src/common/libkvs/kvs_watch.c b/src/common/libkvs/kvs_watch.c
index e3fb6e6db8aa..5ad32f6de98a 100644
--- a/src/common/libkvs/kvs_watch.c
+++ b/src/common/libkvs/kvs_watch.c
@@ -259,7 +259,7 @@ static flux_future_t *kvs_watch_rpc (flux_t *h, const char *key,
 /* val will be one of three things:
  * 1) JSON_NULL, set json_str to string-encoded object (NULL)
  * 2) RFC 11 dir object, set json_str to string-encoded object
- * 3) RFC 11 val object, unbase64, verify NULL termination, set json_str
+ * 3) RFC 11 val object, unbase64, set json_str
  * The caller must free returned json_str (if any)
  */
 static int decode_val_object (json_t *val, char **json_str)
@@ -285,11 +285,6 @@ static int decode_val_object (json_t *val, char **json_str)
             goto error;
         if (treeobj_decode_val (val, (void **)&s, &len) < 0)
             goto error;
-        if (s[len - 1] != '\0') {
-            free (s);
-            errno = EPROTO;
-            goto error;
-        }
     }
     else {
         errno = EPROTO;
@@ -348,7 +343,7 @@ int flux_kvs_watch_once (flux_t *h, const char *key, char **valp)
     }
     val_in = *valp;
     if (val_in) {
-        if (!(xval_obj = treeobj_create_val (val_in, strlen (val_in) + 1)))
+        if (!(xval_obj = treeobj_create_val (val_in, strlen (val_in))))
             goto done;
         if (!(xval_str = treeobj_encode (xval_obj)))
             goto done;
diff --git a/src/common/libkvs/test/kvs_txn.c b/src/common/libkvs/test/kvs_txn.c
index a6c535bf11c6..7d753a37451f 100644
--- a/src/common/libkvs/test/kvs_txn.c
+++ b/src/common/libkvs/test/kvs_txn.c
@@ -51,12 +51,7 @@ int check_int_value (json_t *dirent, int expected)
         diag ("%s: initial base64 decode failed", __FUNCTION__);
         return -1;
     }
-    if (len == 0 || data[len - 1] != '\0') {
-        diag ("%s: data not null terminated", __FUNCTION__);
-        free (data);
-        return -1;
-    }
-    if (!(val = json_loads (data, JSON_DECODE_ANY, NULL))) {
+    if (!(val = json_loadb (data, len, JSON_DECODE_ANY, NULL))) {
         diag ("%s: couldn't decode JSON", __FUNCTION__);
         free (data);
         return -1;
@@ -90,12 +85,7 @@ int check_string_value (json_t *dirent, const char *expected)
         diag ("%s: initial base64 decode failed", __FUNCTION__);
         return -1;
     }
-    if (len == 0 || data[len - 1] != '\0') {
-        diag ("%s: data not null terminated", __FUNCTION__);
-        free (data);
-        return -1;
-    }
-    if (!(val = json_loads (data, JSON_DECODE_ANY, NULL))) {
+    if (!(val = json_loadb (data, len, JSON_DECODE_ANY, NULL))) {
         diag ("%s: couldn't decode JSON", __FUNCTION__);
         free (data);
         return -1;
diff --git a/src/common/libkvs/test/treeobj.c b/src/common/libkvs/test/treeobj.c
index f6418da7a3d4..53480e9fd7c7 100644
--- a/src/common/libkvs/test/treeobj.c
+++ b/src/common/libkvs/test/treeobj.c
@@ -173,6 +173,8 @@ void test_val (void)
         "and returned size same as input");
     ok (memcmp (buf, outbuf, outlen) == 0,
         "and returned data same as input");
+    ok (outbuf[outlen] == '\0',
+        "and includes an extra null terminator");
     free (outbuf);
     ok (treeobj_decode_val (val, (void **)&outbuf, NULL) == 0,
         "treeobj_decode_val works w/o len input");
diff --git a/src/common/libkvs/treeobj.c b/src/common/libkvs/treeobj.c
index 10e8629da109..4f5d91ceb9ac 100644
--- a/src/common/libkvs/treeobj.c
+++ b/src/common/libkvs/treeobj.c
@@ -152,7 +152,7 @@ int treeobj_decode_val (json_t *obj, void **dp, int *lp)
 {
     const char *type, *xdatastr;
     json_t *xdata;
-    int len, xlen;
+    int buflen, len, xlen;
     char *data;
 
     if (treeobj_unpack (obj, &type, &xdata) < 0
@@ -162,20 +162,20 @@ int treeobj_decode_val (json_t *obj, void **dp, int *lp)
     }
     xdatastr = json_string_value (xdata);
     xlen = strlen (xdatastr);
-    len = base64_decode_length (xlen);
-    if (len > 1) {
-        if (!(data = malloc (len))) {
-            errno = ENOMEM;
-            return -1;
-        }
-        if (base64_decode_block (data, &len, xdatastr, xlen) < 0) {
-            free (data);
-            errno = EINVAL;
-            return -1;
-        }
+    buflen = base64_decode_length (xlen); // an *estimate*, includes space
+    assert (buflen > 0);                  //  for '\0' term
+    if (!(data = malloc (buflen)))
+        return -1;
+    len = buflen;                         // len is an in/out parameter
+    if (base64_decode_block (data, &len, xdatastr, xlen) < 0) {
+        free (data);
+        errno = EINVAL;
+        return -1;
     }
-    else {
-        len = 0;
+    assert (len < buflen);                // len does not account
+    assert (data[len] == '\0');           //  for '\0' term
+    if (len == 0) {
+        free (data);
         data = NULL;
     }
     if (lp)
diff --git a/src/common/libkvs/treeobj.h b/src/common/libkvs/treeobj.h
index 5aaa425ec29f..58fbcf91178d 100644
--- a/src/common/libkvs/treeobj.h
+++ b/src/common/libkvs/treeobj.h
@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@ bool treeobj_is_dirref (json_t *obj);
 json_t *treeobj_get_data (json_t *obj);
 
 /* get decoded val data.
+ * If len == 0, data will be NULL.
+ * If len > 0, data will be followed by an extra NULL byte in memory.
  * Caller must free returned data.
  */
 int treeobj_decode_val (json_t *obj, void **data, int *len);
diff --git a/t/t1000-kvs.t b/t/t1000-kvs.t
index cd7bafed28cc..f571dfbcd9a3 100755
--- a/t/t1000-kvs.t
+++ b/t/t1000-kvs.t
@@ -420,11 +420,11 @@ test_expect_success 'kvs: zero-length value NOT handled by get --json' '
 	flux kvs put --raw $DIR.a= &&
 	test_must_fail flux kvs get --json $DIR.a
 '
-test_expect_success 'kvs: zero-length value NOT made by put with no options' '
+test_expect_success 'kvs: zero-length value is made by put with no options' '
 	flux kvs unlink -Rf $DIR &&
 	flux kvs put $DIR.a= &&
-	flux kvs get --raw $DIR.a >onenull.output &&
-	test_must_fail diff -q /dev/null onenull.output
+	flux kvs get --raw $DIR.a >empty3.output &&
+	test_cmp /dev/null empty3.output
 '
 test_expect_success 'kvs: zero-length value does not cause dir to fail' '
 	flux kvs unlink -Rf $DIR &&
@@ -437,39 +437,6 @@ test_expect_success 'kvs: zero-length value does not cause ls -FR to fail' '
 	flux kvs ls -FR $DIR
 '
 
-#
-# empty string values
-#
-test_expect_success 'kvs: empty string value made by put with no options' '
-	flux kvs unlink -Rf $DIR &&
-	flux kvs put $DIR.a= &&
-	dd if=/dev/zero count=1 bs=1 of=empty.expected &&
-	flux kvs get --raw $DIR.a >empty.actual &&
-	test_cmp empty.expected empty.actual
-'
-test_expect_success 'kvs: empty string value can be retrieved by get' '
-	flux kvs unlink -Rf $DIR &&
-	flux kvs put $DIR.a= &&
-	echo >empty2.expected &&
-	flux kvs get $DIR.a >empty2.actual &&
-	test_cmp empty2.expected empty2.actual
-'
-test_expect_success 'kvs: empty string value NOT handled by get --json' '
-	flux kvs unlink -Rf $DIR &&
-	flux kvs put $DIR.a= &&
-	test_must_fail flux kvs get --json $DIR.a
-'
-test_expect_success 'kvs: empty string value does not cause dir to fail' '
-	flux kvs unlink -Rf $DIR &&
-	flux kvs put $DIR.a= &&
-	flux kvs dir $DIR | grep -q "a ="
-'
-test_expect_success 'kvs: empty string value does not cause ls -FR to fail' '
-	flux kvs unlink -Rf $DIR &&
-	flux kvs put $DIR.a= &&
-	flux kvs ls -FR $DIR | grep -q "a"
-'
-
 #
 # raw value tests
 #
diff --git a/t/t1002-kvs-extra.t b/t/t1002-kvs-extra.t
index 57dd8e2b0a02..8ce1a84dc636 100755
--- a/t/t1002-kvs-extra.t
+++ b/t/t1002-kvs-extra.t
@@ -272,9 +272,8 @@ test_expect_success 'kvs: kvsdir_get_size works' '
 
 # kvs reads/writes of raw data to/from content store work
 
-# largevalhash includes string quotes and NUL char at end
 largeval="abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"
-largevalhash="sha1-79da8e5c9dbe65c6460377d3f09b8f535ceb7d9d"
+largevalhash="sha1-0b22e9fecf9c832032fe976e67058df0322dcc5c"
 
 test_expect_success 'kvs: large put stores raw data into content store' '
 	flux kvs unlink -Rf $TEST &&