diff --git a/tests/test_helpers.bash b/tests/test_helpers.bash
index 7a3d891..e604930 100644
--- a/tests/test_helpers.bash
+++ b/tests/test_helpers.bash
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
     local expected_output=$1
     shift
     local actual_output=$("$@")
+    actual_output="${actual_output//[$'\t\r\n']}" # remove newlines
     if ! [ "$actual_output" = "$expected_output" ]; then
         echo "expected: \"$expected_output\""
         echo "actual:   \"$actual_output\""