diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index cb11d7f3..9f79d7f5 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/google/uuid v1.6.0
 	github.com/grpc-ecosystem/grpc-gateway/v2 v2.26.1
 	github.com/hashicorp/go-version v1.7.0
+	github.com/kinbiko/jsonassert v1.2.0
 	github.com/manifoldco/promptui v0.9.0
 	github.com/mohae/deepcopy v0.0.0-20170929034955-c48cc78d4826
 	github.com/opencontainers/image-spec v1.1.0
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 7284a028..c5a19894 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -207,6 +207,8 @@ github.com/josharian/intern v1.0.0/go.mod h1:5DoeVV0s6jJacbCEi61lwdGj/aVlrQvzHFF
 github.com/jpillora/backoff v0.0.0-20180909062703-3050d21c67d7/go.mod h1:2iMrUgbbvHEiQClaW2NsSzMyGHqN+rDFqY705q49KG0=
 github.com/json-iterator/go v1.1.12 h1:PV8peI4a0ysnczrg+LtxykD8LfKY9ML6u2jnxaEnrnM=
 github.com/json-iterator/go v1.1.12/go.mod h1:e30LSqwooZae/UwlEbR2852Gd8hjQvJoHmT4TnhNGBo=
+github.com/kinbiko/jsonassert v1.2.0 h1:+/JthIVXdIrThrOtSN9ry0mNtWKXMWuvxR0nU7gQ+tI=
+github.com/kinbiko/jsonassert v1.2.0/go.mod h1:pCc3uudOt+lVAbkji9O0uw8MSVt4s+1ZJ0y8Ux2F1Og=
 github.com/kisielk/errcheck v1.5.0/go.mod h1:pFxgyoBC7bSaBwPgfKdkLd5X25qrDl4LWUI2bnpBCr8=
 github.com/kisielk/gotool v1.0.0/go.mod h1:XhKaO+MFFWcvkIS/tQcRk01m1F5IRFswLeQ+oQHNcck=
 github.com/klauspost/compress v1.11.3/go.mod h1:aoV0uJVorq1K+umq18yTdKaF57EivdYsUV+/s2qKfXs=
diff --git a/internal/pkg/warewulfd/api/overlay_test.go b/internal/pkg/warewulfd/api/overlay_test.go
index ba4bd6c1..d2e981f8 100644
--- a/internal/pkg/warewulfd/api/overlay_test.go
+++ b/internal/pkg/warewulfd/api/overlay_test.go
@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 package api
 
 import (
-	"encoding/json"
 	"io"
 	"net"
 	"net/http"
 	"net/http/httptest"
 	"testing"
 
+	"github.com/kinbiko/jsonassert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/warewulf/warewulf/internal/pkg/testenv"
 	"github.com/warewulf/warewulf/internal/pkg/warewulfd"
@@ -77,20 +77,16 @@ func TestOverlayAPI(t *testing.T) {
 
 		// gid and uid values may vary depending on where this test is run. (local box, github, etc)
 		// Assert the keys exist, but ignore the values.
-		var data map[string]interface{}
-		err = json.Unmarshal([]byte(body), &data)
-		assert.NoError(t, err)
-		assert.Contains(t, data, "gid")
-		assert.Contains(t, data, "uid")
-
-		// delete gid and uid from the map for comparison
-		delete(data, "gid")
-		delete(data, "uid")
-
-		body2, err := json.Marshal(data)
-		assert.NoError(t, err)
-
-		assert.JSONEq(t, `{"perms":420, "overlay":"testoverlay","path":"email.ww","contents":"\n{{ if .Tags.email }}eMail: {{ .Tags.email }}{{else}} noMail{{- end }}\n"}`, string(body2))
+		ja := jsonassert.New(t)
+		ja.Assert(string(body), `
+		{
+			"overlay": "testoverlay",
+			"path": "email.ww",
+			"contents": "\n{{ if .Tags.email }}eMail: {{ .Tags.email }}{{else}} noMail{{- end }}\n",
+			"perms": "<<PRESENCE>>",
+			"uid": "<<PRESENCE>>",
+			"gid": "<<PRESENCE>>"
+		}`)
 	})
 
 	t.Run("create an overlay", func(t *testing.T) {