diff --git a/file b/file
index 2872d3879c7..4e52cf39c85 100755
--- a/file
+++ b/file
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ except ImportError:
     HAVE_SELINUX=False
 
 def dump_kv(vars):
-    return " ".join("%s=%s" % (k,v) for (k,v) in vars.items())
+    return " ".join("%s='%s'" % (k,v) for (k,v) in vars.items())
 
 def exit_kv(rc=0, **kwargs):
     if 'path' in kwargs: