diff --git a/monitor.c b/monitor.c
index 62b17475a7..733440115f 100644
--- a/monitor.c
+++ b/monitor.c
@@ -513,10 +513,10 @@ static int do_qmp_capabilities(Monitor *mon, const QDict *params,
 
 static void handle_user_command(Monitor *mon, const char *cmdline);
 
-static int do_hmp_passthrough(Monitor *mon, const QDict *params,
-                              QObject **ret_data)
+char *qmp_human_monitor_command(const char *command_line, bool has_cpu_index,
+                                int64_t cpu_index, Error **errp)
 {
-    int ret = 0;
+    char *output = NULL;
     Monitor *old_mon, hmp;
     CharDriverState mchar;
 
@@ -527,25 +527,30 @@ static int do_hmp_passthrough(Monitor *mon, const QDict *params,
     old_mon = cur_mon;
     cur_mon = &hmp;
 
-    if (qdict_haskey(params, "cpu-index")) {
-        ret = monitor_set_cpu(qdict_get_int(params, "cpu-index"));
+    if (has_cpu_index) {
+        int ret = monitor_set_cpu(cpu_index);
         if (ret < 0) {
             cur_mon = old_mon;
-            qerror_report(QERR_INVALID_PARAMETER_VALUE, "cpu-index", "a CPU number");
+            error_set(errp, QERR_INVALID_PARAMETER_VALUE, "cpu-index",
+                      "a CPU number");
             goto out;
         }
     }
 
-    handle_user_command(&hmp, qdict_get_str(params, "command-line"));
+    handle_user_command(&hmp, command_line);
     cur_mon = old_mon;
 
     if (qemu_chr_mem_osize(hmp.chr) > 0) {
-        *ret_data = QOBJECT(qemu_chr_mem_to_qs(hmp.chr));
+        QString *str = qemu_chr_mem_to_qs(hmp.chr);
+        output = g_strdup(qstring_get_str(str));
+        QDECREF(str);
+    } else {
+        output = g_strdup("");
     }
 
 out:
     qemu_chr_close_mem(hmp.chr);
-    return ret;
+    return output;
 }
 
 static int compare_cmd(const char *name, const char *list)
diff --git a/qapi-schema.json b/qapi-schema.json
index 0ed39f360f..39bcc06c38 100644
--- a/qapi-schema.json
+++ b/qapi-schema.json
@@ -1099,3 +1099,31 @@
 ##
 { 'command': 'blockdev-snapshot-sync',
   'data': { 'device': 'str', 'snapshot-file': 'str', '*format': 'str' } }
+
+##
+# @human-monitor-command:
+#
+# Execute a command on the human monitor and return the output.
+#
+# @command-line: the command to execute in the human monitor
+#
+# @cpu-index: #optional The CPU to use for commands that require an implicit CPU
+#
+# Returns: the output of the command as a string
+#
+# Since: 0.14.0
+#
+# Notes: This command only exists as a stop-gap.  It's use is highly
+#        discouraged.  The semantics of this command are not guaranteed.
+#
+#        Known limitations:
+#
+#        o This command is stateless, this means that commands that depend
+#          on state information (such as getfd) might not work
+#
+#       o Commands that prompt the user for data (eg. 'cont' when the block
+#         device is encrypted) don't currently work
+##
+{ 'command': 'human-monitor-command',
+  'data': {'command-line': 'str', '*cpu-index': 'int'},
+  'returns': 'str' } 
diff --git a/qmp-commands.hx b/qmp-commands.hx
index 9d68206732..d101426ccc 100644
--- a/qmp-commands.hx
+++ b/qmp-commands.hx
@@ -970,10 +970,7 @@ EQMP
     {
         .name       = "human-monitor-command",
         .args_type  = "command-line:s,cpu-index:i?",
-        .params     = "",
-        .help       = "",
-        .user_print = monitor_user_noop,
-        .mhandler.cmd_new = do_hmp_passthrough,
+        .mhandler.cmd_new = qmp_marshal_input_human_monitor_command,
     },
 
 SQMP