diff --git a/cmd/restic/cmd_backup.go b/cmd/restic/cmd_backup.go
index fe3ace448..09dbab183 100644
--- a/cmd/restic/cmd_backup.go
+++ b/cmd/restic/cmd_backup.go
@@ -523,7 +523,7 @@ func runBackup(ctx context.Context, opts BackupOptions, gopts GlobalOptions, ter
 		progressPrinter = backup.NewTextProgress(term, gopts.verbosity)
 	}
 	progressReporter := backup.NewProgress(progressPrinter,
-		calculateProgressInterval(!gopts.Quiet, gopts.JSON))
+		calculateProgressInterval(!gopts.Quiet, gopts.JSON, term.CanUpdateStatus()))
 	defer progressReporter.Done()
 
 	// rejectByNameFuncs collect functions that can reject items from the backup based on path only
diff --git a/cmd/restic/cmd_check.go b/cmd/restic/cmd_check.go
index 8b9937b69..5fddcfc0c 100644
--- a/cmd/restic/cmd_check.go
+++ b/cmd/restic/cmd_check.go
@@ -540,5 +540,6 @@ func (p *jsonErrorPrinter) E(msg string, args ...interface{}) {
 }
 func (*jsonErrorPrinter) S(_ string, _ ...interface{})  {}
 func (*jsonErrorPrinter) P(_ string, _ ...interface{})  {}
+func (*jsonErrorPrinter) PT(_ string, _ ...interface{}) {}
 func (*jsonErrorPrinter) V(_ string, _ ...interface{})  {}
 func (*jsonErrorPrinter) VV(_ string, _ ...interface{}) {}
diff --git a/cmd/restic/cmd_dump.go b/cmd/restic/cmd_dump.go
index 6a2a2cce8..2cd15c06f 100644
--- a/cmd/restic/cmd_dump.go
+++ b/cmd/restic/cmd_dump.go
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/restic/restic/internal/dump"
 	"github.com/restic/restic/internal/errors"
 	"github.com/restic/restic/internal/restic"
-	"github.com/restic/restic/internal/terminal"
 	"github.com/restic/restic/internal/ui"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
@@ -180,7 +179,7 @@ func runDump(ctx context.Context, opts DumpOptions, gopts GlobalOptions, args []
 	}
 
 	outputFileWriter := term.OutputRaw()
-	canWriteArchiveFunc := checkStdoutArchive
+	canWriteArchiveFunc := checkStdoutArchive(term)
 
 	if opts.Target != "" {
 		file, err := os.Create(opts.Target)
@@ -204,9 +203,9 @@ func runDump(ctx context.Context, opts DumpOptions, gopts GlobalOptions, args []
 	return nil
 }
 
-func checkStdoutArchive() error {
-	if terminal.StdoutIsTerminal() {
-		return fmt.Errorf("stdout is the terminal, please redirect output")
+func checkStdoutArchive(term ui.Terminal) func() error {
+	if term.OutputIsTerminal() {
+		return func() error { return fmt.Errorf("stdout is the terminal, please redirect output") }
 	}
-	return nil
+	return func() error { return nil }
 }
diff --git a/cmd/restic/cmd_generate.go b/cmd/restic/cmd_generate.go
index 328b937ad..477910507 100644
--- a/cmd/restic/cmd_generate.go
+++ b/cmd/restic/cmd_generate.go
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/restic/restic/internal/errors"
-	"github.com/restic/restic/internal/terminal"
 	"github.com/restic/restic/internal/ui"
 	"github.com/restic/restic/internal/ui/progress"
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
@@ -76,9 +75,7 @@ func writeManpages(root *cobra.Command, dir string, printer progress.Printer) er
 }
 
 func writeCompletion(filename string, shell string, generate func(w io.Writer) error, printer progress.Printer, gopts GlobalOptions) (err error) {
-	if terminal.StdoutIsTerminal() {
-		printer.P("writing %s completion file to %v", shell, filename)
-	}
+	printer.PT("writing %s completion file to %v", shell, filename)
 	var outWriter io.Writer
 	if filename != "-" {
 		var outFile *os.File
diff --git a/cmd/restic/cmd_restore.go b/cmd/restic/cmd_restore.go
index 888226c8e..d0bf76d85 100644
--- a/cmd/restic/cmd_restore.go
+++ b/cmd/restic/cmd_restore.go
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ func runRestore(ctx context.Context, opts RestoreOptions, gopts GlobalOptions,
 		printer = restoreui.NewTextProgress(term, gopts.verbosity)
 	}
 
-	progress := restoreui.NewProgress(printer, calculateProgressInterval(!gopts.Quiet, gopts.JSON))
+	progress := restoreui.NewProgress(printer, calculateProgressInterval(!gopts.Quiet, gopts.JSON, term.CanUpdateStatus()))
 	res := restorer.NewRestorer(repo, sn, restorer.Options{
 		DryRun:    opts.DryRun,
 		Sparse:    opts.Sparse,
diff --git a/cmd/restic/cmd_tag_integration_test.go b/cmd/restic/cmd_tag_integration_test.go
index 5d58f89c4..cbb08c5bf 100644
--- a/cmd/restic/cmd_tag_integration_test.go
+++ b/cmd/restic/cmd_tag_integration_test.go
@@ -6,10 +6,13 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/restic/restic/internal/restic"
 	rtest "github.com/restic/restic/internal/test"
+	"github.com/restic/restic/internal/ui"
 )
 
 func testRunTag(t testing.TB, opts TagOptions, gopts GlobalOptions) {
-	rtest.OK(t, runTag(context.TODO(), opts, gopts, nil, []string{}))
+	rtest.OK(t, withTermStatus(gopts, func(ctx context.Context, term ui.Terminal) error {
+		return runTag(context.TODO(), opts, gopts, term, []string{})
+	}))
 }
 
 func TestTag(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/cmd/restic/global.go b/cmd/restic/global.go
index 391e1edf6..e3419fedc 100644
--- a/cmd/restic/global.go
+++ b/cmd/restic/global.go
@@ -267,9 +267,7 @@ func ReadPassword(ctx context.Context, opts GlobalOptions, prompt string, printe
 	if terminal.StdinIsTerminal() {
 		password, err = terminal.ReadPassword(ctx, os.Stdin, os.Stderr, prompt)
 	} else {
-		if terminal.StdoutIsTerminal() {
-			printer.P("reading repository password from stdin")
-		}
+		printer.PT("reading repository password from stdin")
 		password, err = readPassword(os.Stdin)
 	}
 
@@ -385,19 +383,15 @@ func OpenRepository(ctx context.Context, opts GlobalOptions, printer progress.Pr
 		return nil, errors.Fatalf("%s", err)
 	}
 
-	if terminal.StdoutIsTerminal() && !opts.JSON {
-		id := s.Config().ID
-		if len(id) > 8 {
-			id = id[:8]
-		}
-		if !opts.JSON {
-			extra := ""
-			if s.Config().Version >= 2 {
-				extra = ", compression level " + opts.Compression.String()
-			}
-			printer.P("repository %v opened (version %v%s)", id, s.Config().Version, extra)
-		}
+	id := s.Config().ID
+	if len(id) > 8 {
+		id = id[:8]
 	}
+	extra := ""
+	if s.Config().Version >= 2 {
+		extra = ", compression level " + opts.Compression.String()
+	}
+	printer.PT("repository %v opened (version %v%s)", id, s.Config().Version, extra)
 
 	if opts.NoCache {
 		return s, nil
@@ -409,8 +403,8 @@ func OpenRepository(ctx context.Context, opts GlobalOptions, printer progress.Pr
 		return s, nil
 	}
 
-	if c.Created && !opts.JSON && terminal.StdoutIsTerminal() {
-		printer.P("created new cache in %v", c.Base)
+	if c.Created {
+		printer.PT("created new cache in %v", c.Base)
 	}
 
 	// start using the cache
@@ -428,9 +422,7 @@ func OpenRepository(ctx context.Context, opts GlobalOptions, printer progress.Pr
 
 	// cleanup old cache dirs if instructed to do so
 	if opts.CleanupCache {
-		if terminal.StdoutIsTerminal() && !opts.JSON {
-			printer.P("removing %d old cache dirs from %v", len(oldCacheDirs), c.Base)
-		}
+		printer.PT("removing %d old cache dirs from %v", len(oldCacheDirs), c.Base)
 		for _, item := range oldCacheDirs {
 			dir := filepath.Join(c.Base, item.Name())
 			err = os.RemoveAll(dir)
@@ -439,10 +431,8 @@ func OpenRepository(ctx context.Context, opts GlobalOptions, printer progress.Pr
 			}
 		}
 	} else {
-		if terminal.StdoutIsTerminal() {
-			printer.P("found %d old cache directories in %v, run `restic cache --cleanup` to remove them",
-				len(oldCacheDirs), c.Base)
-		}
+		printer.PT("found %d old cache directories in %v, run `restic cache --cleanup` to remove them",
+			len(oldCacheDirs), c.Base)
 	}
 
 	return s, nil
diff --git a/cmd/restic/progress.go b/cmd/restic/progress.go
index 37ba0e623..f72a052ae 100644
--- a/cmd/restic/progress.go
+++ b/cmd/restic/progress.go
@@ -6,7 +6,6 @@ import (
 	"strconv"
 	"time"
 
-	"github.com/restic/restic/internal/terminal"
 	"github.com/restic/restic/internal/ui"
 	"github.com/restic/restic/internal/ui/progress"
 )
@@ -14,7 +13,7 @@ import (
 // calculateProgressInterval returns the interval configured via RESTIC_PROGRESS_FPS
 // or if unset returns an interval for 60fps on interactive terminals and 0 (=disabled)
 // for non-interactive terminals or when run using the --quiet flag
-func calculateProgressInterval(show bool, json bool) time.Duration {
+func calculateProgressInterval(show bool, json bool, canUpdateStatus bool) time.Duration {
 	interval := time.Second / 60
 	fps, err := strconv.ParseFloat(os.Getenv("RESTIC_PROGRESS_FPS"), 64)
 	if err == nil && fps > 0 {
@@ -22,7 +21,7 @@ func calculateProgressInterval(show bool, json bool) time.Duration {
 			fps = 60
 		}
 		interval = time.Duration(float64(time.Second) / fps)
-	} else if !json && !terminal.StdoutCanUpdateStatus() || !show {
+	} else if !json && !canUpdateStatus || !show {
 		interval = 0
 	}
 	return interval
@@ -33,7 +32,7 @@ func newTerminalProgressMax(show bool, max uint64, description string, term ui.T
 	if !show {
 		return nil
 	}
-	interval := calculateProgressInterval(show, false)
+	interval := calculateProgressInterval(show, false, term.CanUpdateStatus())
 
 	return progress.NewCounter(interval, max, func(v uint64, max uint64, d time.Duration, final bool) {
 		var status string
@@ -65,7 +64,7 @@ func (t *terminalProgressPrinter) NewCounter(description string) *progress.Count
 }
 
 func (t *terminalProgressPrinter) NewCounterTerminalOnly(description string) *progress.Counter {
-	return newTerminalProgressMax(t.show && terminal.StdoutIsTerminal(), 0, description, t.term)
+	return newTerminalProgressMax(t.show && t.term.OutputIsTerminal(), 0, description, t.term)
 }
 
 func newTerminalProgressPrinter(json bool, verbosity uint, term ui.Terminal) progress.Printer {
diff --git a/internal/terminal/stdio.go b/internal/terminal/stdio.go
index 70e465ccb..1ee33e025 100644
--- a/internal/terminal/stdio.go
+++ b/internal/terminal/stdio.go
@@ -10,18 +10,11 @@ func StdinIsTerminal() bool {
 	return term.IsTerminal(int(os.Stdin.Fd()))
 }
 
-func StdoutIsTerminal() bool {
+func OutputIsTerminal(fd uintptr) bool {
 	// mintty on windows can use pipes which behave like a posix terminal,
-	// but which are not a terminal handle
-	return term.IsTerminal(int(os.Stdout.Fd())) || StdoutCanUpdateStatus()
-}
-
-func StdoutCanUpdateStatus() bool {
-	return CanUpdateStatus(os.Stdout.Fd())
-}
-
-func StdoutWidth() int {
-	return Width(os.Stdout.Fd())
+	// but which are not a terminal handle. Thus also check `CanUpdateStatus`,
+	// which is able to detect such pipes.
+	return term.IsTerminal(int(fd)) || CanUpdateStatus(fd)
 }
 
 func Width(fd uintptr) int {
diff --git a/internal/ui/message.go b/internal/ui/message.go
index 612fd72a2..d186c3859 100644
--- a/internal/ui/message.go
+++ b/internal/ui/message.go
@@ -30,8 +30,17 @@ func (m *Message) S(msg string, args ...interface{}) {
 	m.term.Print(fmt.Sprintf(msg, args...))
 }
 
-// P prints a message if verbosity >= 1 (neither --quiet nor --verbose is specified),
-// this is used for normal messages which are not errors.
+// PT prints a message if verbosity >= 1  (neither --quiet nor --verbose is specified)
+// and stdout points to a terminal.
+// This is used for informational messages.
+func (m *Message) PT(msg string, args ...interface{}) {
+	if m.term.OutputIsTerminal() && m.v >= 1 {
+		m.term.Print(fmt.Sprintf(msg, args...))
+	}
+}
+
+// P prints a message if verbosity >= 1 (neither --quiet nor --verbose is specified).
+// This is used for normal messages which are not errors.
 func (m *Message) P(msg string, args ...interface{}) {
 	if m.v >= 1 {
 		m.term.Print(fmt.Sprintf(msg, args...))
diff --git a/internal/ui/mock.go b/internal/ui/mock.go
index 36452f4be..fc5488792 100644
--- a/internal/ui/mock.go
+++ b/internal/ui/mock.go
@@ -28,3 +28,7 @@ func (m *MockTerminal) CanUpdateStatus() bool {
 func (m *MockTerminal) OutputRaw() io.Writer {
 	return nil
 }
+
+func (m *MockTerminal) OutputIsTerminal() bool {
+	return true
+}
diff --git a/internal/ui/progress/printer.go b/internal/ui/progress/printer.go
index 37d81f4d6..edcf7256b 100644
--- a/internal/ui/progress/printer.go
+++ b/internal/ui/progress/printer.go
@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@ type Printer interface {
 	// that are not errors. The message is even printed if --quiet is specified.
 	// Appends a newline if not present.
 	S(msg string, args ...interface{})
+	// PT prints a message if verbosity >= 1  (neither --quiet nor --verbose is specified)
+	// and stdout points to a terminal.
+	// This is used for informational messages.
+	PT(msg string, args ...interface{})
 	// P prints a message if verbosity >= 1 (neither --quiet nor --verbose is specified),
 	// this is used for normal messages which are not errors. Appends a newline if not present.
 	P(msg string, args ...interface{})
@@ -47,6 +51,8 @@ func (*NoopPrinter) E(_ string, _ ...interface{}) {}
 
 func (*NoopPrinter) S(_ string, _ ...interface{}) {}
 
+func (*NoopPrinter) PT(_ string, _ ...interface{}) {}
+
 func (*NoopPrinter) P(_ string, _ ...interface{}) {}
 
 func (*NoopPrinter) V(_ string, _ ...interface{}) {}
@@ -82,6 +88,10 @@ func (p *TestPrinter) S(msg string, args ...interface{}) {
 	p.t.Logf("stdout: "+msg, args...)
 }
 
+func (p *TestPrinter) PT(msg string, args ...interface{}) {
+	p.t.Logf("stdout(terminal): "+msg, args...)
+}
+
 func (p *TestPrinter) P(msg string, args ...interface{}) {
 	p.t.Logf("print: "+msg, args...)
 }
diff --git a/internal/ui/terminal.go b/internal/ui/terminal.go
index 262f1bcf7..845e36508 100644
--- a/internal/ui/terminal.go
+++ b/internal/ui/terminal.go
@@ -17,4 +17,5 @@ type Terminal interface {
 	// other option. Must not be used in combination with Print, Error, SetStatus
 	// or any other method that writes to the terminal.
 	OutputRaw() io.Writer
+	OutputIsTerminal() bool
 }
diff --git a/internal/ui/termstatus/status.go b/internal/ui/termstatus/status.go
index dc47c880a..f1cbd7ef4 100644
--- a/internal/ui/termstatus/status.go
+++ b/internal/ui/termstatus/status.go
@@ -16,13 +16,14 @@ var _ ui.Terminal = &Terminal{}
 // updated. When the output is redirected to a file, the status lines are not
 // printed.
 type Terminal struct {
-	wr              io.Writer
-	fd              uintptr
-	errWriter       io.Writer
-	msg             chan message
-	status          chan status
-	canUpdateStatus bool
-	lastStatusLen   int
+	wr               io.Writer
+	fd               uintptr
+	errWriter        io.Writer
+	msg              chan message
+	status           chan status
+	outputIsTerminal bool
+	canUpdateStatus  bool
+	lastStatusLen    int
 
 	// will be closed when the goroutine which runs Run() terminates, so it'll
 	// yield a default value immediately
@@ -65,12 +66,17 @@ func New(wr io.Writer, errWriter io.Writer, disableStatus bool) *Terminal {
 		return t
 	}
 
-	if d, ok := wr.(fder); ok && terminal.CanUpdateStatus(d.Fd()) {
-		// only use the fancy status code when we're running on a real terminal.
-		t.canUpdateStatus = true
-		t.fd = d.Fd()
-		t.clearCurrentLine = terminal.ClearCurrentLine(t.fd)
-		t.moveCursorUp = terminal.MoveCursorUp(t.fd)
+	if d, ok := wr.(fder); ok {
+		if terminal.CanUpdateStatus(d.Fd()) {
+			// only use the fancy status code when we're running on a real terminal.
+			t.canUpdateStatus = true
+			t.fd = d.Fd()
+			t.clearCurrentLine = terminal.ClearCurrentLine(t.fd)
+			t.moveCursorUp = terminal.MoveCursorUp(t.fd)
+		}
+		if terminal.OutputIsTerminal(d.Fd()) {
+			t.outputIsTerminal = true
+		}
 	}
 
 	return t
@@ -88,6 +94,11 @@ func (t *Terminal) OutputRaw() io.Writer {
 	return t.wr
 }
 
+// OutputIsTerminal returns whether the output is a terminal.
+func (t *Terminal) OutputIsTerminal() bool {
+	return t.outputIsTerminal
+}
+
 // Run updates the screen. It should be run in a separate goroutine. When
 // ctx is cancelled, the status lines are cleanly removed.
 func (t *Terminal) Run(ctx context.Context) {