diff --git a/ais/prxdsort.go b/ais/prxdsort.go
index 871f4bd618..22dbb74218 100644
--- a/ais/prxdsort.go
+++ b/ais/prxdsort.go
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ import (
 // POST /v1/sort
 func (p *proxy) proxyStartSortHandler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	rs := &dsort.RequestSpec{}
-	if cmn.ReadJSON(w, r, &rs) != nil {
+	if cmn.ReadJSON(w, r, rs) != nil {
 		return
 	}
 	parsedRS, err := rs.Parse()
diff --git a/ais/test/dsort_test.go b/ais/test/dsort_test.go
index d425993725..22679ef5f2 100644
--- a/ais/test/dsort_test.go
+++ b/ais/test/dsort_test.go
@@ -43,6 +43,11 @@ const (
 	scopeSpec   = "spec"
 )
 
+const (
+	startingDS = "starting distributed sort"
+	finishedDS = "finished distributed sort"
+)
+
 var (
 	dsortDescCurPrefix = fmt.Sprintf("%s-%d-", dsortDescAllPrefix, os.Getpid())
 
@@ -259,11 +264,10 @@ func (df *dsortFramework) gen() dsort.RequestSpec {
 
 func (df *dsortFramework) start() {
 	var (
-		err error
-		rs  = df.gen()
+		err  error
+		spec = df.gen()
 	)
-
-	df.managerUUID, err = api.StartDSort(df.baseParams, rs)
+	df.managerUUID, err = api.StartDSort(df.baseParams, &spec)
 	tassert.CheckFatal(df.m.t, err)
 }
 
@@ -337,7 +341,7 @@ func (df *dsortFramework) checkOutputShards(zeros int) {
 		baseParams = tools.BaseAPIParams(df.m.proxyURL)
 		records    = make(map[string]int, 100)
 	)
-	tlog.Logln("checking if files are sorted...")
+	tlog.Logln("checking that files are sorted...")
 	for i := 0; i < df.outputShardCnt; i++ {
 		var (
 			buffer    bytes.Buffer
@@ -573,12 +577,12 @@ func dispatchDSortJob(m *ioContext, dsorterType string, i int) {
 	df.init()
 	df.createInputShards()
 
-	tlog.Logln("starting distributed sort...")
+	tlog.Logln(startingDS)
 	df.start()
 
 	_, err := tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 	tassert.CheckFatal(m.t, err)
-	tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+	tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 	df.checkMetrics(false /* expectAbort */)
 	df.checkOutputShards(5)
@@ -666,12 +670,12 @@ func testDsort(t *testing.T, ext, lr string) {
 				df.missingShards = cmn.AbortReaction // (when shards are explicitly enumerated...)
 			}
 
-			tlog.Logln("starting distributed sort ...")
+			tlog.Logln(startingDS)
 			df.start()
 
 			_, err := tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-			tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+			tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 			df.checkMetrics(false /* expectAbort */)
 			df.checkOutputShards(5)
@@ -709,9 +713,9 @@ func TestDistributedSortNonExistingBuckets(t *testing.T) {
 			// Create local output bucket
 			tools.CreateBucketWithCleanup(t, m.proxyURL, df.outputBck, nil)
 
-			tlog.Logln("starting distributed sort...")
-			rs := df.gen()
-			if _, err := api.StartDSort(df.baseParams, rs); err == nil {
+			tlog.Logln(startingDS)
+			spec := df.gen()
+			if _, err := api.StartDSort(df.baseParams, &spec); err == nil {
 				t.Errorf("expected %s job to fail when input bucket does not exist", dsort.DSortName)
 			}
 
@@ -720,7 +724,7 @@ func TestDistributedSortNonExistingBuckets(t *testing.T) {
 			tools.CreateBucketWithCleanup(t, m.proxyURL, m.bck, nil)
 
 			tlog.Logln("starting second distributed sort...")
-			if _, err := api.StartDSort(df.baseParams, rs); err == nil {
+			if _, err := api.StartDSort(df.baseParams, &spec); err == nil {
 				t.Errorf("expected %s job to fail when output bucket does not exist", dsort.DSortName)
 			}
 		},
@@ -752,12 +756,12 @@ func TestDistributedSortEmptyBucket(t *testing.T) {
 
 			df.init()
 
-			tlog.Logln("starting distributed sort...")
+			tlog.Logln(startingDS)
 			df.start()
 
 			_, err := tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-			tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+			tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 			df.checkMetrics(reaction == cmn.AbortReaction /*expectAbort*/)
 			df.checkReactionResult(reaction, df.shardCnt)
@@ -804,7 +808,7 @@ func TestDistributedSortOutputBucket(t *testing.T) {
 
 			_, err := tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-			tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+			tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 			df.checkMetrics(false /* expectAbort */)
 			df.checkOutputShards(5)
@@ -898,7 +902,7 @@ func TestDistributedSortShuffle(t *testing.T) {
 
 			_, err := tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-			tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+			tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 			df.checkMetrics(false /* expectAbort */)
 			df.checkOutputShards(5)
@@ -935,7 +939,7 @@ func TestDistributedSortDisk(t *testing.T) {
 
 			_, err := tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-			tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+			tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 			allMetrics := df.checkMetrics(false /* expectAbort */)
 			for target, metrics := range allMetrics {
@@ -982,7 +986,7 @@ func TestDistributedSortCompressionDisk(t *testing.T) {
 
 					_, err := tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 					tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-					tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+					tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 					df.checkMetrics(false /* expectAbort */)
 					df.checkOutputShards(5)
@@ -1031,7 +1035,7 @@ func TestDistributedSortMemDisk(t *testing.T) {
 
 	_, err = tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 	tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-	tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+	tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 	allMetrics := df.checkMetrics(false /* expectAbort */)
 	var (
@@ -1094,7 +1098,7 @@ func TestDistributedSortMemDiskTarCompression(t *testing.T) {
 
 			_, err = tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-			tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+			tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 			allMetrics := df.checkMetrics(false /*expectAbort*/)
 			var (
@@ -1154,7 +1158,7 @@ func TestDistributedSortZipLz4(t *testing.T) {
 
 					_, err = tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 					tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-					tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+					tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 					df.checkMetrics(false /* expectAbort */)
 					df.checkOutputShards(5)
@@ -1199,7 +1203,7 @@ func TestDistributedSortTarCompression(t *testing.T) {
 
 					_, err = tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 					tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-					tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+					tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 					df.checkMetrics(false /* expectAbort */)
 					df.checkOutputShards(5)
@@ -1274,7 +1278,8 @@ func TestDistributedSortContent(t *testing.T) {
 					allMetrics, err := api.MetricsDSort(df.baseParams, df.managerUUID)
 					tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
 					if len(allMetrics) != m.originalTargetCount {
-						t.Errorf("number of metrics %d is not same as number of targets %d", len(allMetrics), m.originalTargetCount)
+						t.Errorf("number of metrics %d is not same as the number of targets %d",
+							len(allMetrics), m.originalTargetCount)
 					}
 
 					for target, metrics := range allMetrics {
@@ -1526,7 +1531,8 @@ func TestDistributedSortManipulateMountpathDuringPhases(t *testing.T) {
 								tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
 							} else {
 								tlog.Logf("removing mountpath %q from %s...\n", mpath, target.ID())
-								err := api.DetachMountpath(df.baseParams, target, mpath, false /*dont-resil*/)
+								err := api.DetachMountpath(df.baseParams, target,
+									mpath, false /*dont-resil*/)
 								tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
 							}
 						}
@@ -1629,7 +1635,7 @@ func TestDistributedSortMetricsAfterFinish(t *testing.T) {
 
 			_, err := tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-			tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+			tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 			df.checkMetrics(false /* expectAbort */)
 			df.checkOutputShards(0)
@@ -1672,7 +1678,7 @@ func TestDistributedSortSelfAbort(t *testing.T) {
 
 			_, err := tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-			tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+			tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 			// Wait a while for all targets to abort
 			time.Sleep(2 * time.Second)
@@ -1723,7 +1729,7 @@ func TestDistributedSortOnOOM(t *testing.T) {
 
 			_, err = tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-			tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+			tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 			df.checkMetrics(false /* expectAbort */)
 			df.checkOutputShards(5)
@@ -1789,7 +1795,7 @@ func TestDistributedSortMissingShards(t *testing.T) {
 
 					_, err := tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 					tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-					tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+					tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 					df.checkReactionResult(reaction, df.shardCntToSkip)
 				},
@@ -1854,7 +1860,7 @@ func TestDistributedSortDuplications(t *testing.T) {
 
 					_, err := tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 					tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-					tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+					tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 					df.checkReactionResult(reaction, df.recordDuplicationsCnt)
 				},
@@ -1935,13 +1941,13 @@ func TestDistributedSortOrderFile(t *testing.T) {
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
 
 			tlog.Logln("starting distributed sort...")
-			rs := df.gen()
-			managerUUID, err := api.StartDSort(baseParams, rs)
+			spec := df.gen()
+			managerUUID, err := api.StartDSort(baseParams, &spec)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
 
 			_, err = tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, managerUUID)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-			tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+			tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 			allMetrics, err := api.MetricsDSort(baseParams, managerUUID)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
@@ -1959,7 +1965,8 @@ func TestDistributedSortOrderFile(t *testing.T) {
 						match = match || fmt.Sprintf(ekm[recordName], i) == shard.name
 					}
 					if !match {
-						t.Errorf("record %q was not part of any shard with format %q but was in shard %q", recordName, ekm[recordName], shard.name)
+						t.Errorf("record %q was not part of any shard with format %q but was in shard %q",
+							recordName, ekm[recordName], shard.name)
 					}
 				}
 			}
@@ -2042,18 +2049,19 @@ func TestDistributedSortOrderJSONFile(t *testing.T) {
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
 
 			tlog.Logln("starting distributed sort...")
-			rs := df.gen()
-			managerUUID, err := api.StartDSort(baseParams, rs)
+			spec := df.gen()
+			managerUUID, err := api.StartDSort(baseParams, &spec)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
 
 			_, err = tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, managerUUID)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-			tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+			tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 			allMetrics, err := api.MetricsDSort(baseParams, managerUUID)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
 			if len(allMetrics) != m.originalTargetCount {
-				t.Errorf("number of metrics %d is not same as number of targets %d", len(allMetrics), m.originalTargetCount)
+				t.Errorf("number of metrics %d is not same as number of targets %d",
+					len(allMetrics), m.originalTargetCount)
 			}
 
 			tlog.Logln("checking if all records are in specified shards...")
@@ -2066,7 +2074,8 @@ func TestDistributedSortOrderJSONFile(t *testing.T) {
 						match = match || fmt.Sprintf(ekm[recordName], i) == shard.name
 					}
 					if !match {
-						t.Errorf("record %q was not part of any shard with format %q but was in shard %q", recordName, ekm[recordName], shard.name)
+						t.Errorf("record %q was not part of any shard with format %q but was in shard %q",
+							recordName, ekm[recordName], shard.name)
 					}
 				}
 			}
@@ -2106,7 +2115,7 @@ func TestDistributedSortDryRun(t *testing.T) {
 
 			_, err := tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-			tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+			tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 			df.checkMetrics(false /* expectAbort */)
 		},
@@ -2145,7 +2154,7 @@ func TestDistributedSortDryRunDisk(t *testing.T) {
 
 			_, err := tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-			tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+			tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 			df.checkMetrics(false /* expectAbort */)
 		},
@@ -2187,7 +2196,7 @@ func TestDistributedSortLongerExt(t *testing.T) {
 
 			_, err := tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-			tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+			tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 			df.checkMetrics(false /*expectAbort*/)
 			df.checkOutputShards(5)
@@ -2229,7 +2238,7 @@ func TestDistributedSortAutomaticallyCalculateOutputShards(t *testing.T) {
 
 			_, err := tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-			tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+			tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 			df.checkMetrics(false /*expectAbort*/)
 			df.checkOutputShards(0)
@@ -2270,12 +2279,12 @@ func TestDistributedSortWithTarFormats(t *testing.T) {
 			df.init()
 			df.createInputShards()
 
-			tlog.Logln("starting distributed sort...")
+			tlog.Logln(startingDS)
 			df.start()
 
 			_, err := tools.WaitForDSortToFinish(m.proxyURL, df.managerUUID)
 			tassert.CheckFatal(t, err)
-			tlog.Logln("finished distributed sort")
+			tlog.Logln(finishedDS)
 
 			df.checkMetrics(false /* expectAbort */)
 			df.checkOutputShards(5)
diff --git a/api/dsort.go b/api/dsort.go
index 18688aa0ad..da6586907a 100644
--- a/api/dsort.go
+++ b/api/dsort.go
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/NVIDIA/aistore/ext/dsort"
 )
 
-func StartDSort(bp BaseParams, rs dsort.RequestSpec) (id string, err error) {
+func StartDSort(bp BaseParams, rs *dsort.RequestSpec) (id string, err error) {
 	bp.Method = http.MethodPost
 	reqParams := AllocRp()
 	{
diff --git a/bench/aisloader/bootstrap.go b/bench/aisloader/bootstrap.go
index 1998a0717a..f44ada6e3f 100644
--- a/bench/aisloader/bootstrap.go
+++ b/bench/aisloader/bootstrap.go
@@ -589,22 +589,22 @@ func parseCmdLine() (params, error) {
 func printArguments(set *flag.FlagSet) {
 	w := tabwriter.NewWriter(os.Stdout, 0, 8, 1, '\t', 0)
 
-	_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(w, "==== COMMAND LINE ARGUMENTS ====\n")
-	_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(w, "=========== DEFAULTS ===========\n")
+	fmt.Fprintf(w, "==== COMMAND LINE ARGUMENTS ====\n")
+	fmt.Fprintf(w, "=========== DEFAULTS ===========\n")
 	set.VisitAll(func(f *flag.Flag) {
 		if f.Value.String() == f.DefValue {
 			_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s:\t%s\n", f.Name, f.Value.String())
 		}
 	})
-	_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(w, "============ CUSTOM ============\n")
+	fmt.Fprintf(w, "============ CUSTOM ============\n")
 	set.VisitAll(func(f *flag.Flag) {
 		if f.Value.String() != f.DefValue {
 			_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(w, "%s:\t%s\n", f.Name, f.Value.String())
 		}
 	})
 	fmt.Fprintf(w, "HTTP trace:\t%v\n", runParams.traceHTTP)
-	_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(w, "=================================\n\n")
-	_ = w.Flush()
+	fmt.Fprintf(w, "=================================\n\n")
+	w.Flush()
 }
 
 // newStats returns a new stats object with given time as the starting point
diff --git a/cmd/aisfs/go.mod b/cmd/aisfs/go.mod
index 613af39167..2d6f43d342 100644
--- a/cmd/aisfs/go.mod
+++ b/cmd/aisfs/go.mod
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ go 1.20
 
 // direct
 require (
-	github.com/NVIDIA/aistore v1.3.19-0.20230729013522-e1958544e15c
+	github.com/NVIDIA/aistore v1.3.19-0.20230731152016-da82c5b61baf
 	github.com/OneOfOne/xxhash v1.2.8
 	github.com/jacobsa/daemonize v0.0.0-20160101105449-e460293e890f
 	github.com/jacobsa/fuse v0.0.0-20230124164109-5e0f2e6b432b
diff --git a/cmd/aisfs/go.sum b/cmd/aisfs/go.sum
index a9959b598c..f0c85394a8 100644
--- a/cmd/aisfs/go.sum
+++ b/cmd/aisfs/go.sum
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@ cloud.google.com/go v0.34.0/go.mod h1:aQUYkXzVsufM+DwF1aE+0xfcU+56JwCaLick0ClmMT
 code.cloudfoundry.org/bytefmt v0.0.0-20190710193110-1eb035ffe2b6/go.mod h1:wN/zk7mhREp/oviagqUXY3EwuHhWyOvAdsn5Y4CzOrc=
 github.com/BurntSushi/toml v0.3.1/go.mod h1:xHWCNGjB5oqiDr8zfno3MHue2Ht5sIBksp03qcyfWMU=
 github.com/BurntSushi/toml v1.2.1/go.mod h1:CxXYINrC8qIiEnFrOxCa7Jy5BFHlXnUU2pbicEuybxQ=
-github.com/NVIDIA/aistore v1.3.19-0.20230729013522-e1958544e15c h1:4Dli+IHuxs88xxdsz7FW3/S9miVVyDGpOTMFHteYC04=
-github.com/NVIDIA/aistore v1.3.19-0.20230729013522-e1958544e15c/go.mod h1:tZvUalPk4wL/+5+5psJkZRHBqu3i2KV9g97HYyHvwc4=
+github.com/NVIDIA/aistore v1.3.19-0.20230731152016-da82c5b61baf h1:+1ya6Fv62YltZDBAdNYVPQtiMcaPGkNNSjGGOM5XNzU=
+github.com/NVIDIA/aistore v1.3.19-0.20230731152016-da82c5b61baf/go.mod h1:tZvUalPk4wL/+5+5psJkZRHBqu3i2KV9g97HYyHvwc4=
 github.com/OneOfOne/xxhash v1.2.2/go.mod h1:HSdplMjZKSmBqAxg5vPj2TmRDmfkzw+cTzAElWljhcU=
 github.com/OneOfOne/xxhash v1.2.8 h1:31czK/TI9sNkxIKfaUfGlU47BAxQ0ztGgd9vPyqimf8=
 github.com/OneOfOne/xxhash v1.2.8/go.mod h1:eZbhyaAYD41SGSSsnmcpxVoRiQ/MPUTjUdIIOT9Um7Q=
diff --git a/cmd/cli/cli/config_hdlr.go b/cmd/cli/cli/config_hdlr.go
index 915a956d47..cc4bd6d4ef 100644
--- a/cmd/cli/cli/config_hdlr.go
+++ b/cmd/cli/cli/config_hdlr.go
@@ -429,11 +429,11 @@ func showCfgCLI(c *cli.Context) (err error) {
 		return
 	}
 
-	flat := flattenConfig(cfg, c.Args().Get(0))
+	flat := flattenJSON(cfg, c.Args().Get(0))
 	sort.Slice(flat, func(i, j int) bool {
 		return flat[i].Name < flat[j].Name
 	})
-	return teb.Print(flat, teb.ConfigTmpl)
+	return teb.Print(flat, teb.FlatTmpl)
 }
 
 func setCfgCLI(c *cli.Context) (err error) {
@@ -449,14 +449,14 @@ func setCfgCLI(c *cli.Context) (err error) {
 		return err
 	}
 
-	flatOld := flattenConfig(cfg, "")
+	flatOld := flattenJSON(cfg, "")
 	for k, v := range nvs {
 		if err := cmn.UpdateFieldValue(cfg, k, v); err != nil {
 			return err
 		}
 	}
 
-	flatNew := flattenConfig(cfg, "")
+	flatNew := flattenJSON(cfg, "")
 	diff := diffConfigs(flatNew, flatOld)
 	for _, val := range diff {
 		if val.Old == "-" {
diff --git a/cmd/cli/cli/dsort.go b/cmd/cli/cli/dsort.go
index 2c524cb9a7..2fc51ee661 100644
--- a/cmd/cli/cli/dsort.go
+++ b/cmd/cli/cli/dsort.go
@@ -6,10 +6,13 @@
 package cli
 
 import (
+	"bytes"
 	jsonStd "encoding/json"
+	"errors"
 	"fmt"
 	"io"
 	"math"
+	"os"
 	"sort"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -20,9 +23,37 @@ import (
 	"github.com/NVIDIA/aistore/cmn"
 	"github.com/NVIDIA/aistore/cmn/cos"
 	"github.com/NVIDIA/aistore/ext/dsort"
+	jsoniter "github.com/json-iterator/go"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
 	"github.com/vbauerster/mpb/v4"
 	"github.com/vbauerster/mpb/v4/decor"
+	"gopkg.in/yaml.v2"
+)
+
+type (
+	dsortResult struct {
+		dur      time.Duration
+		created  int64
+		errors   []string
+		warnings []string
+		aborted  bool
+	}
+	dsortPhaseState struct {
+		total    int64
+		progress int64
+		bar      *mpb.Bar
+	}
+	dsortPB struct {
+		id          string
+		apiBP       api.BaseParams
+		refreshTime time.Duration
+		p           *mpb.Progress
+		dur         time.Duration
+		phases      map[string]*dsortPhaseState
+		warnings    []string
+		errors      []string
+		aborted     bool
+	}
 )
 
 var phasesOrdered = []string{
@@ -31,6 +62,125 @@ var phasesOrdered = []string{
 	dsort.CreationPhase,
 }
 
+func startDsortHandler(c *cli.Context) (err error) {
+	var (
+		id             string
+		specPath       string
+		specBytes      []byte
+		shift          int
+		srcbck, dstbck cmn.Bck
+		spec           dsort.RequestSpec
+	)
+	// parse command line
+	specPath = parseStrFlag(c, dsortSpecFlag)
+	if c.NArg() == 0 && specPath == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("missing %q argument (see %s for details and usage examples)",
+			c.Command.ArgsUsage, qflprn(cli.HelpFlag))
+	}
+	if specPath == "" {
+		// spec is inline
+		specBytes = []byte(c.Args().Get(0))
+		shift = 1
+	}
+	if c.NArg() > shift {
+		srcbck, err = parseBckURI(c, c.Args().Get(shift), true)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to parse source bucket: %v\n(see %s for details)",
+				err, qflprn(cli.HelpFlag))
+		}
+	}
+	if c.NArg() > shift+1 {
+		dstbck, err = parseBckURI(c, c.Args().Get(shift+1), true)
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("failed to parse destination bucket: %v\n(see %s for details)",
+				err, qflprn(cli.HelpFlag))
+		}
+	}
+
+	// load spec from file or standard input
+	if specPath != "" {
+		var r io.Reader
+		if specPath == fileStdIO {
+			r = os.Stdin
+		} else {
+			f, err := os.Open(specPath)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			defer f.Close()
+			r = f
+		}
+
+		var b bytes.Buffer
+		// Read at most 1MB so we don't blow up when reading don't know what
+		if _, errV := io.CopyN(&b, r, cos.MiB); errV == nil {
+			return errors.New("file too big")
+		} else if errV != io.EOF {
+			return errV
+		}
+		specBytes = b.Bytes()
+	}
+	if errj := jsoniter.Unmarshal(specBytes, &spec); errj != nil {
+		if erry := yaml.Unmarshal(specBytes, &spec); erry != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf(
+				"failed to determine the type of the job specification, errs: (%v, %v)",
+				errj, erry,
+			)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// NOTE: args SRC_BUCKET and DST_BUCKET, if defined, override specBytes/specPath (`dsort.RequestSpec`)
+	if !srcbck.IsEmpty() {
+		spec.Bck = srcbck
+	}
+	if !dstbck.IsEmpty() {
+		spec.OutputBck = dstbck
+	}
+
+	// print resulting spec TODO -- FIXME
+	if flagIsSet(c, verboseFlag) {
+		flat := _flattenSpec(&spec)
+		err = teb.Print(flat, teb.FlatTmpl)
+		time.Sleep(time.Second / 2)
+	}
+
+	// execute
+	if id, err = api.StartDSort(apiBP, &spec); err == nil {
+		fmt.Fprintln(c.App.Writer, id)
+	}
+	return
+}
+
+// with minor editing
+func _flattenSpec(spec *dsort.RequestSpec) (flat nvpairList) {
+	var src, dst cmn.Bck
+	cmn.IterFields(spec, func(tag string, field cmn.IterField) (error, bool) {
+		v := _toStr(field.Value())
+		switch {
+		case tag == "bck.name":
+			src.Name = v
+		case tag == "bck.provider":
+			src.Provider = v
+		case tag == "output_bck.name":
+			dst.Name = v
+		case tag == "output_bck.provider":
+			dst.Provider = v
+		default:
+			flat = append(flat, nvpair{tag, v})
+		}
+		return nil, false
+	})
+	if dst.IsEmpty() {
+		dst = src
+	}
+	flat = append(flat, nvpair{"bck", src.Cname("")}, nvpair{"output_bck", dst.Cname("")})
+	sort.Slice(flat, func(i, j int) bool {
+		di, dj := flat[i], flat[j]
+		return di.Name < dj.Name
+	})
+	return
+}
+
 // Creates bucket if not exists. If exists uses it or deletes and creates new
 // one if cleanup flag was set.
 func setupBucket(c *cli.Context, bck cmn.Bck) error {
@@ -55,14 +205,6 @@ func setupBucket(c *cli.Context, bck cmn.Bck) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-type dsortResult struct {
-	dur      time.Duration
-	created  int64
-	errors   []string
-	warnings []string
-	aborted  bool
-}
-
 func (d dsortResult) String() string {
 	if d.aborted {
 		return dsort.DSortName + " job was aborted"
@@ -83,27 +225,6 @@ func (d dsortResult) String() string {
 	return sb.String()
 }
 
-type dsortPhaseState struct {
-	total    int64
-	progress int64
-	bar      *mpb.Bar
-}
-
-type dsortPB struct {
-	id          string
-	apiBP       api.BaseParams
-	refreshTime time.Duration
-
-	p *mpb.Progress
-
-	dur     time.Duration
-	phases  map[string]*dsortPhaseState
-	aborted bool
-
-	warnings []string
-	errors   []string
-}
-
 func newPhases() map[string]*dsortPhaseState {
 	phases := make(map[string]*dsortPhaseState, 3)
 	phases[dsort.ExtractionPhase] = &dsortPhaseState{}
diff --git a/cmd/cli/cli/job_hdlr.go b/cmd/cli/cli/job_hdlr.go
index 6bea8b9f64..fb5bfa99e4 100644
--- a/cmd/cli/cli/job_hdlr.go
+++ b/cmd/cli/cli/job_hdlr.go
@@ -6,10 +6,8 @@
 package cli
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
-	"io"
 	"os"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -26,7 +24,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/NVIDIA/aistore/xact"
 	jsoniter "github.com/json-iterator/go"
 	"github.com/urfave/cli"
-	"gopkg.in/yaml.v2"
 )
 
 const (
@@ -92,6 +89,7 @@ var (
 		},
 		cmdDsort: {
 			dsortSpecFlag,
+			verboseFlag,
 		},
 		commandPrefetch: append(
 			listrangeFlags,
@@ -634,88 +632,6 @@ func waitDownload(c *cli.Context, id string) (err error) {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func startDsortHandler(c *cli.Context) (err error) {
-	var (
-		id             string
-		specPath       string
-		specBytes      []byte
-		shift          int
-		srcbck, dstbck cmn.Bck
-		rs             dsort.RequestSpec
-	)
-	// parse command line
-	specPath = parseStrFlag(c, dsortSpecFlag)
-	if c.NArg() == 0 && specPath == "" {
-		return fmt.Errorf("missing %q argument (see %s for details and usage examples)",
-			c.Command.ArgsUsage, qflprn(cli.HelpFlag))
-	}
-	if specPath == "" {
-		// spec is inline
-		specBytes = []byte(c.Args().Get(0))
-		shift = 1
-	}
-	if c.NArg() > shift {
-		srcbck, err = parseBckURI(c, c.Args().Get(shift), true)
-		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("failed to parse source bucket: %v\n(see %s for details)",
-				err, qflprn(cli.HelpFlag))
-		}
-	}
-	if c.NArg() > shift+1 {
-		dstbck, err = parseBckURI(c, c.Args().Get(shift+1), true)
-		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("failed to parse destination bucket: %v\n(see %s for details)",
-				err, qflprn(cli.HelpFlag))
-		}
-	}
-
-	// load spec from file or standard input
-	if specPath != "" {
-		var r io.Reader
-		if specPath == fileStdIO {
-			r = os.Stdin
-		} else {
-			f, err := os.Open(specPath)
-			if err != nil {
-				return err
-			}
-			defer f.Close()
-			r = f
-		}
-
-		var b bytes.Buffer
-		// Read at most 1MB so we don't blow up when reading don't know what
-		if _, errV := io.CopyN(&b, r, cos.MiB); errV == nil {
-			return errors.New("file too big")
-		} else if errV != io.EOF {
-			return errV
-		}
-		specBytes = b.Bytes()
-	}
-	if errj := jsoniter.Unmarshal(specBytes, &rs); errj != nil {
-		if erry := yaml.Unmarshal(specBytes, &rs); erry != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf(
-				"failed to determine the type of the job specification, errs: (%v, %v)",
-				errj, erry,
-			)
-		}
-	}
-
-	// NOTE: command-line SRC_BUCKET and DST_BUCKET override the spec
-	if !srcbck.IsEmpty() {
-		rs.Bck = srcbck
-	}
-	if !dstbck.IsEmpty() {
-		rs.OutputBck = dstbck
-	}
-
-	// execute
-	if id, err = api.StartDSort(apiBP, rs); err == nil {
-		fmt.Fprintln(c.App.Writer, id)
-	}
-	return
-}
-
 func startLRUHandler(c *cli.Context) (err error) {
 	if !flagIsSet(c, lruBucketsFlag) {
 		return startXactionHandler(c)
diff --git a/cmd/cli/cli/show_hdlr.go b/cmd/cli/cli/show_hdlr.go
index 7656642ec8..4d895f34eb 100644
--- a/cmd/cli/cli/show_hdlr.go
+++ b/cmd/cli/cli/show_hdlr.go
@@ -679,8 +679,8 @@ func showClusterConfig(c *cli.Context, section string) error {
 	if usejs {
 		return teb.Print(cluConfig, "", teb.Jopts(usejs))
 	}
-	flat := flattenConfig(cluConfig, section)
-	err = teb.Print(flat, teb.ConfigTmpl)
+	flat := flattenJSON(cluConfig, section)
+	err = teb.Print(flat, teb.FlatTmpl)
 	if err == nil && section == "" {
 		msg := fmt.Sprintf("(Hint: use '[SECTION] %s' to show config section(s), see %s for details)",
 			flprn(jsonFlag), qflprn(cli.HelpFlag))
@@ -772,18 +772,18 @@ func showNodeConfig(c *cli.Context) error {
 	// fill-in `data`
 	switch scope {
 	case cfgScopeLocal:
-		data.LocalConfigPairs = flattenConfig(config.LocalConfig, section)
+		data.LocalConfigPairs = flattenJSON(config.LocalConfig, section)
 	default: // cfgScopeInherited | cfgScopeAll
 		cluConf, err := api.GetClusterConfig(apiBP)
 		if err != nil {
 			return V(err)
 		}
 		// diff cluster <=> this node
-		flatNode := flattenConfig(config.ClusterConfig, section)
-		flatCluster := flattenConfig(cluConf, section)
+		flatNode := flattenJSON(config.ClusterConfig, section)
+		flatCluster := flattenJSON(cluConf, section)
 		data.ClusterConfigDiff = diffConfigs(flatNode, flatCluster)
 		if scope == cfgScopeAll {
-			data.LocalConfigPairs = flattenConfig(config.LocalConfig, section)
+			data.LocalConfigPairs = flattenJSON(config.LocalConfig, section)
 		}
 	}
 	// show "flat" diff-s
diff --git a/cmd/cli/cli/utils.go b/cmd/cli/cli/utils.go
index 6b21a1817c..9cd1d9004e 100644
--- a/cmd/cli/cli/utils.go
+++ b/cmd/cli/cli/utils.go
@@ -619,9 +619,9 @@ func parseURLtoBck(strURL string) (bck cmn.Bck) {
 }
 
 // see also authNConfPairs
-func flattenConfig(cfg any, section string) (flat nvpairList) {
+func flattenJSON(jstruct any, section string) (flat nvpairList) {
 	flat = make(nvpairList, 0, 40)
-	cmn.IterFields(cfg, func(tag string, field cmn.IterField) (error, bool) {
+	cmn.IterFields(jstruct, func(tag string, field cmn.IterField) (error, bool) {
 		if section == "" || strings.HasPrefix(tag, section) {
 			v := _toStr(field.Value())
 			flat = append(flat, nvpair{tag, v})
@@ -759,7 +759,7 @@ func defaultBckProps(bck cmn.Bck) (*cmn.BucketProps, error) {
 	return props, nil
 }
 
-// see also flattenConfig
+// see also flattenJSON
 func authNConfPairs(conf *authn.Config, prefix string) (nvpairList, error) {
 	flat := make(nvpairList, 0, 8)
 	err := cmn.IterFields(conf, func(tag string, field cmn.IterField) (error, bool) {
diff --git a/cmd/cli/go.mod b/cmd/cli/go.mod
index 6d12b4b781..d4b88abb12 100644
--- a/cmd/cli/go.mod
+++ b/cmd/cli/go.mod
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ go 1.20
 
 // direct
 require (
-	github.com/NVIDIA/aistore v1.3.19-0.20230729013522-e1958544e15c
+	github.com/NVIDIA/aistore v1.3.19-0.20230731152016-da82c5b61baf
 	github.com/fatih/color v1.14.1
 	github.com/json-iterator/go v1.1.12
 	github.com/onsi/ginkgo v1.16.5
diff --git a/cmd/cli/go.sum b/cmd/cli/go.sum
index 922ea0ad5b..c7132e865c 100644
--- a/cmd/cli/go.sum
+++ b/cmd/cli/go.sum
@@ -3,8 +3,8 @@ cloud.google.com/go v0.34.0/go.mod h1:aQUYkXzVsufM+DwF1aE+0xfcU+56JwCaLick0ClmMT
 code.cloudfoundry.org/bytefmt v0.0.0-20190710193110-1eb035ffe2b6/go.mod h1:wN/zk7mhREp/oviagqUXY3EwuHhWyOvAdsn5Y4CzOrc=
 github.com/BurntSushi/toml v0.3.1/go.mod h1:xHWCNGjB5oqiDr8zfno3MHue2Ht5sIBksp03qcyfWMU=
 github.com/BurntSushi/toml v1.2.1/go.mod h1:CxXYINrC8qIiEnFrOxCa7Jy5BFHlXnUU2pbicEuybxQ=
-github.com/NVIDIA/aistore v1.3.19-0.20230729013522-e1958544e15c h1:4Dli+IHuxs88xxdsz7FW3/S9miVVyDGpOTMFHteYC04=
-github.com/NVIDIA/aistore v1.3.19-0.20230729013522-e1958544e15c/go.mod h1:tZvUalPk4wL/+5+5psJkZRHBqu3i2KV9g97HYyHvwc4=
+github.com/NVIDIA/aistore v1.3.19-0.20230731152016-da82c5b61baf h1:+1ya6Fv62YltZDBAdNYVPQtiMcaPGkNNSjGGOM5XNzU=
+github.com/NVIDIA/aistore v1.3.19-0.20230731152016-da82c5b61baf/go.mod h1:tZvUalPk4wL/+5+5psJkZRHBqu3i2KV9g97HYyHvwc4=
 github.com/OneOfOne/xxhash v1.2.2/go.mod h1:HSdplMjZKSmBqAxg5vPj2TmRDmfkzw+cTzAElWljhcU=
 github.com/OneOfOne/xxhash v1.2.8 h1:31czK/TI9sNkxIKfaUfGlU47BAxQ0ztGgd9vPyqimf8=
 github.com/OneOfOne/xxhash v1.2.8/go.mod h1:eZbhyaAYD41SGSSsnmcpxVoRiQ/MPUTjUdIIOT9Um7Q=
diff --git a/cmd/cli/teb/templates.go b/cmd/cli/teb/templates.go
index 5ed40628b7..7bb03e290e 100644
--- a/cmd/cli/teb/templates.go
+++ b/cmd/cli/teb/templates.go
@@ -79,11 +79,12 @@ const (
 		indent1 + "Version:\t{{ ( Versions .Status) }}\n" +
 		indent1 + "Build:\t{{ ( BuildTimes .Status) }}\n"
 
-	// Config
-	ConfigTmpl = "PROPERTY\t VALUE\n{{range $item := .}}" +
+	// any JSON struct (e.g. config)
+	FlatTmpl = "PROPERTY\t VALUE\n{{range $item := .}}" +
 		"{{ $item.Name }}\t {{ $item.Value }}\n" +
 		"{{end}}\n"
 
+	// Config
 	DaemonConfigTmpl = "{{ if .ClusterConfigDiff }}PROPERTY\t VALUE\t DEFAULT\n{{range $item := .ClusterConfigDiff }}" +
 		"{{ $item.Name }}\t {{ $item.Current }}\t {{ $item.Old }}\n" +
 		"{{end}}\n{{end}}" +
diff --git a/ext/dsort/api.go b/ext/dsort/api.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e5d8401034
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ext/dsort/api.go
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+// Package dsort provides distributed massively parallel resharding for very large datasets.
+/*
+ * Copyright (c) 2018-2023, NVIDIA CORPORATION. All rights reserved.
+ */
+package dsort
+
+import (
+	"github.com/NVIDIA/aistore/api/apc"
+	"github.com/NVIDIA/aistore/cmn"
+)
+
+const (
+	algDefault   = ""             // default (alphanumeric, decreasing)
+	Alphanumeric = "alphanumeric" // string comparison (decreasing or increasing)
+	None         = "none"         // none (used for resharding)
+	MD5          = "md5"          // compare md5(name)
+	Shuffle      = "shuffle"      // random shuffle (use with the same seed to reproduce)
+	Content      = "content"      // extract (int, string, float) from a given file, and compare
+)
+
+var algorithms = []string{algDefault, Alphanumeric, MD5, Shuffle, Content, None}
+
+type Algorithm struct {
+	// one of the `algorithms` above
+	Kind string `json:"kind"`
+
+	// used with two sorting alg-s: Alphanumeric and Content
+	Decreasing bool `json:"decreasing"`
+
+	// when sort is a random shuffle
+	Seed string `json:"seed"`
+
+	// exclusively with Content sorting
+	// e.g. usage: ".cls" to provide sorting key for each record (sample) - see next
+	Ext string `json:"extension"`
+
+	// ditto: Content only
+	// `extract.contentKeyTypes` enum values: {"int", "string", "float" }
+	ContentKeyType string `json:"content_key_type"`
+}
+
+// RequestSpec defines the user specification for requests to the endpoint /v1/sort.
+type RequestSpec struct {
+	// Required
+	Bck             cmn.Bck       `json:"bck" yaml:"bck"`
+	Extension       string        `json:"extension" yaml:"extension"`
+	InputFormat     apc.ListRange `json:"input_format" yaml:"input_format"`
+	OutputFormat    string        `json:"output_format" yaml:"output_format"`
+	OutputShardSize string        `json:"output_shard_size" yaml:"output_shard_size"`
+
+	// Optional
+	Description string `json:"description" yaml:"description"`
+	// Default: same as `bck` field
+	OutputBck cmn.Bck `json:"output_bck" yaml:"output_bck"`
+	// Default: alphanumeric, increasing
+	Algorithm Algorithm `json:"algorithm" yaml:"algorithm"`
+	// Default: ""
+	OrderFileURL string `json:"order_file" yaml:"order_file"`
+	// Default: "\t"
+	OrderFileSep string `json:"order_file_sep" yaml:"order_file_sep"`
+	// Default: "80%"
+	MaxMemUsage string `json:"max_mem_usage" yaml:"max_mem_usage"`
+	// Default: calcMaxLimit()
+	ExtractConcMaxLimit int `json:"extract_concurrency_max_limit" yaml:"extract_concurrency_max_limit"`
+	// Default: calcMaxLimit()
+	CreateConcMaxLimit int `json:"create_concurrency_max_limit" yaml:"create_concurrency_max_limit"`
+	// Default: bundle.Multiplier
+	StreamMultiplier int `json:"stream_multiplier" yaml:"stream_multiplier"`
+	// Default: false
+	ExtendedMetrics bool `json:"extended_metrics" yaml:"extended_metrics"`
+
+	// debug
+	DSorterType string `json:"dsorter_type"`
+	DryRun      bool   `json:"dry_run"` // Default: false
+
+	cmn.DSortConf
+}
diff --git a/ext/dsort/request_spec.go b/ext/dsort/request_spec.go
index 0635919a24..55b2045dc1 100644
--- a/ext/dsort/request_spec.go
+++ b/ext/dsort/request_spec.go
@@ -29,43 +29,6 @@ type parsedOutputTemplate struct {
 	Template cos.ParsedTemplate
 }
 
-// RequestSpec defines the user specification for requests to the endpoint /v1/sort.
-type RequestSpec struct {
-	// Required
-	Bck             cmn.Bck       `json:"bck" yaml:"bck"`
-	Extension       string        `json:"extension" yaml:"extension"`
-	InputFormat     apc.ListRange `json:"input_format" yaml:"input_format"`
-	OutputFormat    string        `json:"output_format" yaml:"output_format"`
-	OutputShardSize string        `json:"output_shard_size" yaml:"output_shard_size"`
-
-	// Optional
-	Description string `json:"description" yaml:"description"`
-	// Default: same as `bck` field
-	OutputBck cmn.Bck `json:"output_bck" yaml:"output_bck"`
-	// Default: alphanumeric, increasing
-	Algorithm Algorithm `json:"algorithm" yaml:"algorithm"`
-	// Default: ""
-	OrderFileURL string `json:"order_file" yaml:"order_file"`
-	// Default: "\t"
-	OrderFileSep string `json:"order_file_sep" yaml:"order_file_sep"`
-	// Default: "80%"
-	MaxMemUsage string `json:"max_mem_usage" yaml:"max_mem_usage"`
-	// Default: calcMaxLimit()
-	ExtractConcMaxLimit int `json:"extract_concurrency_max_limit" yaml:"extract_concurrency_max_limit"`
-	// Default: calcMaxLimit()
-	CreateConcMaxLimit int `json:"create_concurrency_max_limit" yaml:"create_concurrency_max_limit"`
-	// Default: bundle.Multiplier
-	StreamMultiplier int `json:"stream_multiplier" yaml:"stream_multiplier"`
-	// Default: false
-	ExtendedMetrics bool `json:"extended_metrics" yaml:"extended_metrics"`
-
-	// debug
-	DSorterType string `json:"dsorter_type"`
-	DryRun      bool   `json:"dry_run"` // Default: false
-
-	cmn.DSortConf
-}
-
 type ParsedRequestSpec struct {
 	Bck                 cmn.Bck               `json:"bck"`
 	Description         string                `json:"description"`
diff --git a/ext/dsort/sort.go b/ext/dsort/sort.go
index ee9a9cb613..e6ac6bae35 100644
--- a/ext/dsort/sort.go
+++ b/ext/dsort/sort.go
@@ -14,36 +14,6 @@ import (
 	"github.com/NVIDIA/aistore/ext/dsort/extract"
 )
 
-const (
-	algDefault   = ""             // default (alphanumeric, decreasing)
-	Alphanumeric = "alphanumeric" // string comparison (decreasing or increasing)
-	None         = "none"         // none (used for resharding)
-	MD5          = "md5"          // compare md5(name)
-	Shuffle      = "shuffle"      // random shuffle (use with the same seed to reproduce)
-	Content      = "content"      // extract (int, string, float) from a given file, and compare
-)
-
-var algorithms = []string{algDefault, Alphanumeric, MD5, Shuffle, Content, None}
-
-type Algorithm struct {
-	// one of the `algorithms` above
-	Kind string `json:"kind"`
-
-	// used with two sorting alg-s: Alphanumeric and Content
-	Decreasing bool `json:"decreasing"`
-
-	// when sort is a random shuffle
-	Seed string `json:"seed"`
-
-	// exclusively with Content sorting
-	// e.g. usage: ".cls" to provide sorting key for each record (sample) - see next
-	Ext string `json:"extension"`
-
-	// ditto: Content only
-	// `extract.contentKeyTypes` enum values: {"int", "string", "float" }
-	ContentKeyType string `json:"content_key_type"`
-}
-
 type (
 	alphaByKey struct {
 		err        error