diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 1339e34e..27c37a72 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -30,7 +30,6 @@ classifiers = [
 ]
 dependencies = [
   "azure-identity>=1.22.0",
-  "black>=25.12.0",
   "colorama>=0.4.6",
   "mcp[cli]>=1.12.1",
   "numpy>=2.2.6",
@@ -81,6 +80,7 @@ known_local_folder = ["conftest"]
 dev = [
   "azure-mgmt-authorization>=4.0.0",
   "azure-mgmt-keyvault>=12.1.1",
+  "black>=25.12.0",
   "coverage[toml]>=7.9.1",
   "google-api-python-client>=2.184.0",
   "google-auth-httplib2>=0.2.0",
diff --git a/src/typeagent/aitools/utils.py b/src/typeagent/aitools/utils.py
index eb21f9ec..51621f79 100644
--- a/src/typeagent/aitools/utils.py
+++ b/src/typeagent/aitools/utils.py
@@ -44,27 +44,24 @@ def timelog(label: str, verbose: bool = True):
 
 
 def pretty_print(obj: object, prefix: str = "", suffix: str = "") -> None:
-    """Pretty-print an object using black.
+    """Pretty-print an object using pprint."""
+    import pprint
 
-    NOTE: Only works if its repr() is a valid Python expression.
-    """
-    print(prefix + format_code(repr(obj)) + suffix)
+    line_width = min(200, shutil.get_terminal_size().columns)
+    print(pprint.pformat(obj, width=line_width))
 
 
 def format_code(text: str, line_width=None) -> str:
-    """Format a block of code using black, then reindent to 2 spaces.
+    """Format a Python literal expression using pprint.
 
-    NOTE: The text must be a valid Python expression or code block.
+    NOTE: The text must be a valid Python literal expression (as produced by repr()).
     """
-    import black
+    import ast
+    import pprint
 
     if line_width is None:
-        # Use the terminal width, but cap it to 200 characters.
         line_width = min(200, shutil.get_terminal_size().columns)
-    formatted_text = black.format_str(
-        text, mode=black.Mode(line_length=line_width)
-    ).rstrip()
-    return reindent(formatted_text)
+    return pprint.pformat(ast.literal_eval(text), width=line_width)
 
 
 def reindent(text: str) -> str:
diff --git a/src/typeagent/knowpro/answers.py b/src/typeagent/knowpro/answers.py
index 58a536ed..eb77e12f 100644
--- a/src/typeagent/knowpro/answers.py
+++ b/src/typeagent/knowpro/answers.py
@@ -125,12 +125,12 @@ def create_question_prompt(question: str) -> str:
 
 def create_context_prompt(context: AnswerContext) -> str:
     # TODO: Use a more compact representation of the context than JSON.
-    import black
+    import pprint
 
     prompt = [
         "[ANSWER CONTEXT]",
         "===",
-        black.format_str(str(dictify(context)), mode=black.Mode(line_length=200)),
+        pprint.pformat(dictify(context), width=200),
         "===",
     ]
     return "\n".join(prompt)
diff --git a/tests/test_utils.py b/tests/test_utils.py
index 7f806f74..4c3edbe5 100644
--- a/tests/test_utils.py
+++ b/tests/test_utils.py
@@ -24,14 +24,36 @@ def test_timelog():
 
 
 def test_pretty_print():
-    # Use a simple object and check output is formatted by black
     obj = {"a": 1}
     buf = StringIO()
     with redirect_stdout(buf):
         utils.pretty_print(obj)
     out = buf.getvalue()
-    # Should be valid Python and contain the dict
-    assert out == '{"a": 1}\n', out
+    assert out == "{'a': 1}\n", out
+
+
+def test_pretty_print_nested():
+    obj = {"b": [1, 2], "a": {"nested": True}}
+    buf = StringIO()
+    with redirect_stdout(buf):
+        utils.pretty_print(obj)
+    out = buf.getvalue()
+    # pprint sorts keys and formats nested structures
+    assert "'a'" in out
+    assert "'nested'" in out
+
+
+def test_format_code_simple():
+    text = repr({"a": 1})
+    result = utils.format_code(text)
+    assert result == "{'a': 1}"
+
+
+def test_format_code_nested():
+    obj = {"b": [1, 2, 3], "a": {"nested": True}}
+    result = utils.format_code(repr(obj))
+    parsed = eval(result)
+    assert parsed == obj
 
 
 def test_load_dotenv(really_needs_auth):