Add native Windows compatibility layer

.gitattributes

@@ -1,2 +1,27 @@
-*.sh text eol=lf
+# Normalize line endings so a Windows checkout (git core.autocrlf=true) can't
+# corrupt shell-script shebangs. A CRLF `#!/bin/sh\r` makes the kernel look for
+# an interpreter literally named "/bin/sh\r", producing the Docker startup error
+# "exec /usr/local/bin/entrypoint.sh: no such file or directory" (issues #150, #77).
+* text=auto
+
+# Shell scripts must stay LF on every platform (run by sh/bash, incl. in Docker).
+*.sh   text eol=lf
+*.bash text eol=lf
+entrypoint.sh text eol=lf
 docker/entrypoint.sh text eol=lf
+
+# Windows-native scripts stay CRLF.
+*.ps1 text eol=crlf
+*.cmd text eol=crlf
+*.bat text eol=crlf
+
+# Binary assets — never normalize.
+*.png  binary
+*.jpg  binary
+*.jpeg binary
+*.gif  binary
+*.webp binary
+*.pdf  binary
+*.ico  binary
+*.woff binary
+*.woff2 binary

.gitignore

@@ -76,6 +76,8 @@ research_data/
 
 # Internal dev/review notes — not for public repo
 dev-docs/
+# Windows-port working docs (local only, not for public repo)
+docs/windows-port/
 
 # Local config
 compound.config.json

README.md

@@ -152,6 +152,40 @@ do not run on macOS. MLX-only models are not served by Odysseus.
 
 </details>
 
+### Native Windows
+
+**One-command launcher** (creates the venv, installs deps, runs setup, starts the
+server; safe to re-run):
+
+```powershell
+git clone https://github.com/pewdiepie-archdaemon/odysseus.git
+cd odysseus
+powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\launch-windows.ps1
+```
+
+Or do it by hand:
+
+```powershell
+git clone https://github.com/pewdiepie-archdaemon/odysseus.git
+cd odysseus
+python -m venv venv
+venv\Scripts\Activate.ps1
+pip install -r requirements.txt
+python setup.py
+python -m uvicorn app:app --host 127.0.0.1 --port 7000
+```
+
+**Requirements:** Python 3.11+. The core app (chat, agent, memory, documents,
+email, calendar, deep research) runs fully native. For full **Cookbook** background
+model downloads and the agent shell tool, also install
+[Git for Windows](https://git-scm.com/download/win) (provides `bash.exe`).
+Local GPU *serving* of vLLM/SGLang needs Linux/WSL2; for a local model on Windows,
+[Ollama](https://ollama.com/download) is the easiest path — point Odysseus at
+`http://localhost:11434/v1` in Settings.
+
+Open `http://localhost:7000`, log in with the generated admin password,
+and configure everything else inside **Settings**.
+
 ## Security Notes
 Odysseus is a self-hosted workspace with powerful local tools: shell access, file uploads, model downloads, web research, email/calendar integrations, and API tokens. Treat it like an admin console.
 

app.py

@@ -1,7 +1,22 @@
 # app.py — slim orchestrator
-from dotenv import load_dotenv
-load_dotenv()
 import os
+
+# Windows: force HuggingFace/fastembed to COPY model files instead of symlinking.
+# On a network-share/UNC data dir Windows can't follow HF's symlinks ([WinError
+# 1463]), so the ONNX embedding model fails to load. huggingface_hub reads this
+# at import time, so set it before anything pulls it in. (Mirrored in
+# src/embeddings.py for non-server entrypoints.)
+if os.name == "nt":
+    os.environ.setdefault("HF_HUB_DISABLE_SYMLINKS", "1")
+    os.environ.setdefault("HF_HUB_DISABLE_SYMLINKS_WARNING", "1")
+
+from dotenv import load_dotenv
+# encoding="utf-8-sig" tolerates a UTF-8 BOM in .env — a common Windows gotcha
+# when the file is saved from Notepad. Without this, the first key parses as
+# "AUTH_ENABLED" instead of "AUTH_ENABLED", so AUTH_ENABLED=false (etc.)
+# is silently ignored and the user is unexpectedly forced to log in (issue #142).
+# utf-8-sig reads plain UTF-8 (no BOM) identically, so this is safe everywhere.
+load_dotenv(encoding="utf-8-sig")
 import uuid
 
 import asyncio
@@ -170,6 +185,31 @@ if AUTH_ENABLED:
         _token_cache.update(new_map)
         app.state._token_cache_dirty = False
 
+    # Headers that prove a request was forwarded by a proxy/tunnel (cloudflared,
+    # nginx, Caddy, Tailscale Funnel, …). cloudflared connects to the app FROM
+    # 127.0.0.1, so without this check every tunneled request would look like
+    # loopback and could bypass auth.
+    _PROXY_FWD_HEADERS = (
+        "cf-connecting-ip", "cf-ray", "cf-visitor",
+        "x-forwarded-for", "x-forwarded-host", "x-real-ip", "forwarded",
+    )
+
+    def _is_trusted_loopback(request: Request) -> bool:
+        """True ONLY for a DIRECT loopback connection with no proxy/tunnel
+        forwarding headers. A bare ``client.host in ('127.0.0.1','::1')`` check is
+        unsafe behind a Cloudflare tunnel / reverse proxy: those connect from
+        loopback, so a remote visitor would otherwise inherit local trust and
+        slip past LOCALHOST_BYPASS or spoof the internal-tool path. Odysseus's own
+        in-process agent loopback calls carry none of these headers, so they still
+        qualify."""
+        host = request.client.host if request.client else None
+        if host not in ("127.0.0.1", "::1"):
+            return False
+        for _h in _PROXY_FWD_HEADERS:
+            if request.headers.get(_h):
+                return False
+        return True
+
     class AuthMiddleware(BaseHTTPMiddleware):
         async def dispatch(self, request: Request, call_next):
             path = request.url.path
@@ -182,8 +222,7 @@ if AUTH_ENABLED:
             try:
                 from core.middleware import INTERNAL_TOOL_HEADER, INTERNAL_TOOL_TOKEN as _ITT
                 _hdr = request.headers.get(INTERNAL_TOOL_HEADER)
-                _client_host = request.client.host if request.client else None
-                if _hdr and _hdr == _ITT and _client_host in ("127.0.0.1", "::1"):
+                if _hdr and _hdr == _ITT and _is_trusted_loopback(request):
                     # Impersonation: when the agent's loopback call sets
                     # X-Odysseus-Owner, attribute the request to that
                     # user so notes/calendar/etc. land in their account
@@ -196,12 +235,13 @@ if AUTH_ENABLED:
                     return await call_next(request)
             except Exception:
                 pass
-            # Allow localhost requests (internal service calls from heartbeats etc.)
-            # Disable with LOCALHOST_BYPASS=false when exposing via reverse proxy / Tailscale Funnel
-            if LOCALHOST_BYPASS:
-                client_host = request.client.host if request.client else None
-                if client_host in ("127.0.0.1", "::1"):
-                    return await call_next(request)
+            # Allow DIRECT localhost requests (internal service calls from
+            # heartbeats etc.). Tunnel/proxy-forwarded requests are excluded by
+            # _is_trusted_loopback so LOCALHOST_BYPASS can't be abused over a
+            # Cloudflare tunnel / reverse proxy. Keep LOCALHOST_BYPASS=false for
+            # network-exposed deployments regardless.
+            if LOCALHOST_BYPASS and _is_trusted_loopback(request):
+                return await call_next(request)
             if not auth_manager.is_configured:
                 # No users yet — redirect to login for first-time setup
                 if not path.startswith("/api/"):
@@ -819,7 +859,7 @@ async def startup_event():
         try:
             import json as _json
             auth_path = "data/auth.json"
-            with open(auth_path) as f:
+            with open(auth_path, encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 users = _json.load(f).get("users", {})
             owners.update(users.keys())
         except Exception as e:
@@ -866,7 +906,7 @@ async def startup_event():
     try:
         import json as _json
         auth_path = "data/auth.json"
-        with open(auth_path) as f:
+        with open(auth_path, encoding="utf-8") as f:
             users = _json.load(f).get("users", {})
         primary_owner = None
         for uname, udata in users.items():

core/atomic_io.py

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ def atomic_write_json(path: str, data: Any, *, indent: Optional[int] = None) ->
     """
     os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(path) or ".", exist_ok=True)
     tmp = f"{path}.tmp.{os.getpid()}"
-    with open(tmp, "w") as f:
+    with open(tmp, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
         json.dump(data, f, indent=indent)
         f.flush()
         os.fsync(f.fileno())
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ def atomic_write_json(path: str, data: Any, *, indent: Optional[int] = None) ->
 def atomic_write_text(path: str, text: str) -> None:
     os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(path) or ".", exist_ok=True)
     tmp = f"{path}.tmp.{os.getpid()}"
-    with open(tmp, "w") as f:
+    with open(tmp, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
         f.write(text)
         f.flush()
         os.fsync(f.fileno())

core/auth.py

@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ class AuthManager:
     def _load(self):
         try:
             if os.path.exists(self.auth_path):
-                with open(self.auth_path, "r") as f:
+                with open(self.auth_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                     self._config = json.load(f)
                 logger.info("Auth config loaded")
             else:
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ class AuthManager:
         """Load persisted session tokens from disk, pruning expired ones."""
         try:
             if os.path.exists(self._sessions_path):
-                with open(self._sessions_path, "r") as f:
+                with open(self._sessions_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                     data = json.load(f)
                 now = time.time()
                 self._sessions = {k: v for k, v in data.items() if v.get("expiry", 0) > now}

core/database.py

@@ -996,7 +996,7 @@ def _migrate_assign_legacy_owner():
         auth_path = os.path.join("data", "auth.json")
     admin_user = None
     try:
-        with open(auth_path, "r") as f:
+        with open(auth_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
             auth_data = _json.load(f)
         users = auth_data.get("users", {})
         if users:
@@ -1067,12 +1067,12 @@ def _migrate_assign_legacy_owner():
     prefs_path = os.path.join("data", "user_prefs.json")
     try:
         if os.path.exists(prefs_path):
-            with open(prefs_path, "r") as f:
+            with open(prefs_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 prefs = _json.load(f)
             if "_users" not in prefs and prefs:
                 # Flat format → nest under admin user
                 new_prefs = {"_users": {admin_user: prefs}}
-                with open(prefs_path, "w") as f:
+                with open(prefs_path, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                     _json.dump(new_prefs, f, indent=2)
                 logger.info(f"Migrated user_prefs.json to per-user format under '{admin_user}'")
     except Exception as e:
@@ -1437,7 +1437,7 @@ def _migrate_seed_email_account():
         if not settings_file.exists():
             return
         try:
-            s = _json.loads(settings_file.read_text())
+            s = _json.loads(settings_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
         except Exception:
             return
 

core/platform_compat.py

@@ -0,0 +1,203 @@
+"""Cross-platform OS compatibility helpers.
+
+Odysseus began as a Linux/macOS/Docker-only app. This module centralizes the
+small set of OS differences needed to run it *natively* on Windows so the rest
+of the codebase can stay platform-agnostic. Import from here instead of
+sprinkling ``os.name == "nt"`` checks (and POSIX-only calls) across modules.
+
+Design rules:
+  * Stdlib + ctypes only — no new third-party deps (no psutil/pywinpty).
+  * POSIX behaviour is unchanged; Windows gets a faithful equivalent or a
+    safe, documented no-op.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import os
+import shutil
+import subprocess
+from pathlib import Path
+from typing import List, Optional
+
+IS_WINDOWS = os.name == "nt"
+IS_POSIX = not IS_WINDOWS
+
+
+# ── File permissions ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+def safe_chmod(path, mode: int) -> bool:
+    """``os.chmod`` that is a harmless no-op on Windows.
+
+    On POSIX we apply the mode — used to lock secret/key files down to 0o600.
+    Windows has no POSIX permission bits; files under the user profile are
+    already ACL-restricted to that user, so we skip rather than raise. Returns
+    True when the mode was actually applied.
+    """
+    if IS_WINDOWS:
+        return False
+    try:
+        os.chmod(path, mode)
+        return True
+    except OSError:
+        return False
+
+
+# ── Process detach / liveness / teardown ────────────────────────────────────
+def detached_popen_kwargs() -> dict:
+    """Keyword args for :class:`subprocess.Popen` that fully detach a child so
+    it outlives the request/stream that launched it.
+
+    POSIX: ``start_new_session=True`` (setsid) — new session + process group.
+    Windows: ``CREATE_NEW_PROCESS_GROUP | DETACHED_PROCESS`` — the child gets
+    its own process group (so it isn't killed when the parent's console closes)
+    and is detached from any console.
+    """
+    if IS_WINDOWS:
+        flags = (
+            getattr(subprocess, "CREATE_NEW_PROCESS_GROUP", 0x00000200)
+            | getattr(subprocess, "DETACHED_PROCESS", 0x00000008)
+        )
+        return {"creationflags": flags}
+    return {"start_new_session": True}
+
+
+def pid_alive(pid: Optional[int]) -> bool:
+    """True if a process with ``pid`` is currently running.
+
+    POSIX uses the classic ``os.kill(pid, 0)`` probe. That is **unsafe on
+    Windows**: CPython's ``os.kill`` calls ``TerminateProcess(handle, sig)`` for
+    any signal other than CTRL_C/CTRL_BREAK, so ``os.kill(pid, 0)`` would *kill*
+    the process it is checking. We instead open the process and read its exit
+    code via the Win32 API.
+    """
+    if not pid:
+        return False
+    if IS_WINDOWS:
+        import ctypes
+        from ctypes import wintypes
+
+        PROCESS_QUERY_LIMITED_INFORMATION = 0x1000
+        STILL_ACTIVE = 259
+        kernel32 = ctypes.windll.kernel32
+        handle = kernel32.OpenProcess(
+            PROCESS_QUERY_LIMITED_INFORMATION, False, int(pid)
+        )
+        if not handle:
+            return False
+        try:
+            code = wintypes.DWORD()
+            if kernel32.GetExitCodeProcess(handle, ctypes.byref(code)):
+                return code.value == STILL_ACTIVE
+            return False
+        finally:
+            kernel32.CloseHandle(handle)
+    try:
+        os.kill(pid, 0)
+        return True
+    except (OSError, ProcessLookupError):
+        return False
+
+
+def kill_process_tree(pid: Optional[int]) -> None:
+    """Terminate ``pid`` and all of its descendants.
+
+    POSIX: signal the whole process group (``killpg``), falling back to a plain
+    ``kill`` if the pid isn't a group leader.
+    Windows: ``taskkill /T /F`` walks and kills the child tree (there is no
+    process-group signalling).
+    """
+    if not pid:
+        return
+    if IS_WINDOWS:
+        try:
+            subprocess.run(
+                ["taskkill", "/F", "/T", "/PID", str(pid)],
+                stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL,
+                stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL,
+                creationflags=getattr(subprocess, "CREATE_NO_WINDOW", 0),
+            )
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+        return
+    import signal
+
+    try:
+        os.killpg(os.getpgid(pid), signal.SIGTERM)
+    except Exception:
+        try:
+            os.kill(pid, signal.SIGTERM)
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+
+
+# ── Shell / executable resolution ───────────────────────────────────────────
+_BASH_CACHE: Optional[str] = None
+_BASH_PROBED = False
+
+# Common Git-for-Windows install locations to probe when bash isn't on PATH.
+_WINDOWS_BASH_FALLBACKS = (
+    r"C:\Program Files\Git\bin\bash.exe",
+    r"C:\Program Files\Git\usr\bin\bash.exe",
+    r"C:\Program Files (x86)\Git\bin\bash.exe",
+)
+
+
+def find_bash() -> Optional[str]:
+    """Locate a real ``bash`` interpreter, or None.
+
+    On Windows this is typically Git Bash / WSL. Many Odysseus features (the
+    agent ``bash`` tool, background jobs, Cookbook scripts) emit bash syntax, so
+    when a bash is present we use it and keep full parity with POSIX. Result is
+    cached.
+    """
+    global _BASH_CACHE, _BASH_PROBED
+    if _BASH_PROBED:
+        return _BASH_CACHE
+    _BASH_PROBED = True
+    found = shutil.which("bash")
+    if not found and IS_WINDOWS:
+        for cand in _WINDOWS_BASH_FALLBACKS:
+            if os.path.exists(cand):
+                found = cand
+                break
+    _BASH_CACHE = found
+    return found
+
+
+def has_bash() -> bool:
+    return find_bash() is not None
+
+
+def which_tool(name: str) -> Optional[str]:
+    """``shutil.which`` that also tries Windows executable suffixes.
+
+    On Windows, Node/npm shims are ``npx.cmd``/``npm.cmd`` and binaries end in
+    ``.exe``; a bare ``which("npx")`` can miss them depending on PATHEXT. We try
+    the bare name first, then the common suffixes.
+    """
+    found = shutil.which(name)
+    if found:
+        return found
+    if IS_WINDOWS:
+        for ext in (".cmd", ".exe", ".bat"):
+            found = shutil.which(name + ext)
+            if found:
+                return found
+    return None
+
+
+def run_script_argv(script_path) -> List[str]:
+    """argv to execute a shell *script file*.
+
+    Prefers bash (so existing ``.sh`` wrappers work verbatim, including on
+    Windows via Git Bash). On Windows with no bash available, falls back to
+    ``cmd.exe /c`` — simple commands still run, but bash-specific syntax won't.
+    Callers that need guaranteed bash should check :func:`has_bash` first and
+    surface a clear "install Git Bash" message.
+    """
+    bash = find_bash()
+    if bash:
+        return [bash, str(script_path)]
+    if IS_WINDOWS:
+        comspec = os.environ.get("ComSpec", "cmd.exe")
+        return [comspec, "/c", str(script_path)]
+    return ["sh", str(script_path)]

launch-windows.ps1

@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+#Requires -Version 5.1
+<#
+  Odysseus - native Windows launcher (no Docker).
+
+  One command to: create a virtualenv, install dependencies, run first-time
+  setup (prints an admin password on first run), and start the server.
+  Safe to re-run - it skips whatever already exists.
+
+  Usage:
+    powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\launch-windows.ps1
+    powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\launch-windows.ps1 -Port 7000 -BindHost 127.0.0.1
+
+  Tip: bind 127.0.0.1 (default) for local-only use. Use 0.0.0.0 only when you
+  intentionally want other devices on your LAN to reach it.
+#>
+param(
+    [int]$Port = 7000,
+    [string]$BindHost = "127.0.0.1"
+)
+
+$ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
+Set-Location -Path $PSScriptRoot
+
+function Write-Step($msg) { Write-Host ""; Write-Host ("==> " + $msg) -ForegroundColor Cyan }
+function Fail($msg) {
+    Write-Host ""
+    Write-Host ("ERROR: " + $msg) -ForegroundColor Red
+    Write-Host ""
+    Read-Host "Press Enter to exit"
+    exit 1
+}
+
+# 1. Locate a Python interpreter (3.11+ recommended)
+Write-Step "Checking for Python"
+$pyExe = $null
+foreach ($c in @("python", "py")) {
+    $cmd = Get-Command $c -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
+    if ($cmd) { $pyExe = $cmd.Source; break }
+}
+if (-not $pyExe) {
+    Fail "Python not found on PATH. Install Python 3.11+ from https://www.python.org/downloads/ (check 'Add to PATH'), then re-run this script."
+}
+Write-Host ("Using Python: " + $pyExe)
+
+# 2. Create the virtualenv if missing
+$venvPy = Join-Path $PSScriptRoot "venv\Scripts\python.exe"
+if (-not (Test-Path $venvPy)) {
+    Write-Step "Creating virtual environment (venv)"
+    & $pyExe -m venv venv
+    if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0 -or -not (Test-Path $venvPy)) { Fail "Failed to create the virtual environment." }
+} else {
+    Write-Host "venv already exists - skipping creation."
+}
+
+# 3. Install / update dependencies
+Write-Step "Installing dependencies (first run can take a few minutes)"
+& $venvPy -m pip install --upgrade pip --quiet
+& $venvPy -m pip install -r requirements.txt
+if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { Fail "Dependency install failed. Scroll up for the pip error." }
+
+# 4. First-time setup (creates data dirs, DB, .env, admin user)
+Write-Step "Running first-time setup"
+& $venvPy setup.py
+if ($LASTEXITCODE -ne 0) { Fail "setup.py failed." }
+
+# 5. Friendly note about Git Bash (full Cookbook / agent-shell parity)
+if (-not (Get-Command bash -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue)) {
+    Write-Host ""
+    Write-Host "NOTE: Git Bash (bash.exe) was not found on PATH." -ForegroundColor Yellow
+    Write-Host "      The core app works without it. For full Cookbook background" -ForegroundColor Yellow
+    Write-Host "      downloads and the agent shell tool, install Git for Windows:" -ForegroundColor Yellow
+    Write-Host "      https://git-scm.com/download/win" -ForegroundColor Yellow
+}
+
+# 6. Start the server (use `python -m uvicorn` - bare `uvicorn` may not be on PATH)
+Write-Step ("Starting Odysseus at http://{0}:{1}" -f $BindHost, $Port)
+Write-Host "Press Ctrl+C to stop."
+Write-Host ""
+& $venvPy -m uvicorn app:app --host $BindHost --port $Port

mcp_servers/email_server.py

@@ -197,7 +197,7 @@ def _load_config(account: str | None = None) -> dict:
         try:
             settings_path = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / "data" / "settings.json"
             if settings_path.exists():
-                settings = json.loads(settings_path.read_text())
+                settings = json.loads(settings_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
                 for key in (
                     "imap_host", "imap_port", "imap_user", "imap_password",
                     "smtp_host", "smtp_port", "smtp_user", "smtp_password",

routes/admin_wipe_routes.py

@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ def _wipe_memory_files():
             continue
         try:
             if name == "memory.json":
-                with open(p, "w") as f:
+                with open(p, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                     json.dump([], f)
             else:
                 os.remove(p)

routes/contacts_routes.py

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ LOCAL_CONTACTS_FILE = DATA_DIR / "contacts.json"
 
 def _load_settings():
     if SETTINGS_FILE.exists():
-        return json.loads(SETTINGS_FILE.read_text())
+        return json.loads(SETTINGS_FILE.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
     return {}
 
 
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ def _load_local_contacts() -> List[Dict]:
     try:
         if not LOCAL_CONTACTS_FILE.exists():
             return []
-        data = json.loads(LOCAL_CONTACTS_FILE.read_text())
+        data = json.loads(LOCAL_CONTACTS_FILE.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
         rows = data.get("contacts", data) if isinstance(data, dict) else data
         return [_normalize_contact(c) for c in (rows or []) if isinstance(c, dict)]
     except Exception as e:

routes/cookbook_routes.py

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import os
 import re
 import shlex
 import shutil
+import subprocess
 import sys
 import uuid
 from pathlib import Path
@@ -17,6 +18,15 @@ from src.auth_helpers import require_user
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 
 from core.middleware import require_admin
+from core.platform_compat import (
+    IS_WINDOWS,
+    detached_popen_kwargs,
+    find_bash,
+    kill_process_tree,
+    pid_alive,
+    safe_chmod,
+    which_tool,
+)
 from routes.shell_routes import TMUX_LOG_DIR
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
@@ -208,16 +218,20 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
         if not _cookbook_state_path.exists():
             return ""
         try:
-            state = json.loads(_cookbook_state_path.read_text())
+            state = json.loads(_cookbook_state_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
             env = state.get("env") if isinstance(state, dict) else {}
             return _decrypt_secret(env.get("hfToken") if isinstance(env, dict) else "")
         except Exception:
             return ""
 
     def _cookbook_ssh_dir() -> Path:
-        app_ssh = Path("/app/.ssh")
-        if Path("/app").exists():
-            return app_ssh
+        # The Docker image keeps cookbook keys under /app/.ssh; that path only
+        # exists inside the container. On Windows (and any non-container host)
+        # fall back to the user profile's ~/.ssh, which OpenSSH on Win10+ uses.
+        if not IS_WINDOWS:
+            app_ssh = Path("/app/.ssh")
+            if Path("/app").exists():
+                return app_ssh
         return Path.home() / ".ssh"
 
     def _cookbook_ssh_key_path() -> Path:
@@ -244,13 +258,15 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
         ssh_dir = _cookbook_ssh_dir()
         key_path = _cookbook_ssh_key_path()
         ssh_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-        try:
-            os.chmod(ssh_dir, 0o700)
-        except Exception:
-            pass
+        # safe_chmod no-ops on Windows (~/.ssh is already ACL-restricted to the
+        # user profile); applies 0o700 on POSIX.
+        safe_chmod(ssh_dir, 0o700)
         if not key_path.exists():
+            # ssh-keygen ships with the OpenSSH client on Win10+; resolve it via
+            # which_tool so the .exe is found even when PATHEXT is unusual.
+            ssh_keygen = which_tool("ssh-keygen") or "ssh-keygen"
             proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
-                "ssh-keygen", "-t", "ed25519", "-N", "", "-C", "odysseus-cookbook", "-f", str(key_path),
+                ssh_keygen, "-t", "ed25519", "-N", "", "-C", "odysseus-cookbook", "-f", str(key_path),
                 stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
                 stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
             )
@@ -258,11 +274,8 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
             if proc.returncode != 0:
                 detail = (stderr or stdout).decode("utf-8", errors="replace").strip()[-500:]
                 return {"ok": False, "error": detail or "Failed to generate SSH key"}
-        try:
-            os.chmod(key_path, 0o600)
-            os.chmod(key_path.with_suffix(".pub"), 0o644)
-        except Exception:
-            pass
+        safe_chmod(key_path, 0o600)
+        safe_chmod(key_path.with_suffix(".pub"), 0o644)
         return {"ok": True, "public_key": _read_cookbook_public_key()}
 
     def _user_shell_path_bootstrap() -> list[str]:
@@ -314,6 +327,56 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
             return await _remote_binary_available(remote, ssh_port, binary, windows=windows)
         return shutil.which(binary) is not None
 
+    def _launch_local_detached(session_id: str, bash_lines: list[str]) -> dict:
+        """Windows-native stand-in for a LOCAL tmux session (tmux doesn't exist
+        on Windows). Mirrors shell_routes._generate_win_detached / bg_jobs.launch:
+        runs the wrapper detached so it survives a browser/SSE disconnect (the
+        whole point of the tmux feature for long downloads/serves), writing a
+        <session>.log the status poller tails and a <session>.pid for liveness.
+
+        `bash_lines` is the same bash wrapper used on POSIX. Prefers Git Bash
+        for full command-syntax parity; falls back to a cmd.exe wrapper that
+        runs the script through whatever bash is reachable, else best-effort
+        directly (simple commands only). Returns the launched job record."""
+        log_path = TMUX_LOG_DIR / f"{session_id}.log"
+        pid_path = TMUX_LOG_DIR / f"{session_id}.pid"
+        bash = find_bash()
+        if bash:
+            # Run the existing bash wrapper verbatim through Git Bash, redirecting
+            # all output to the log the poller reads. Paths handed to bash use
+            # POSIX form + shell-quoting so drive paths / spaces survive.
+            inner = TMUX_LOG_DIR / f"{session_id}_run.sh"
+            inner.write_text("\n".join(bash_lines) + "\n", encoding="utf-8")
+            lp = shlex.quote(log_path.as_posix())
+            ip = shlex.quote(inner.as_posix())
+            script_path = TMUX_LOG_DIR / f"{session_id}.sh"
+            script_path.write_text(
+                f"bash {ip} > {lp} 2>&1\n",
+                encoding="utf-8",
+            )
+            argv = [bash, str(script_path)]
+        else:
+            # No bash on this Windows host: the bash wrapper can't run. Fall back
+            # to a cmd.exe wrapper that just records a clear error to the log so
+            # the UI surfaces "install Git Bash" instead of silently hanging.
+            script_path = TMUX_LOG_DIR / f"{session_id}.cmd"
+            script_path.write_text(
+                "@echo off\r\n"
+                f'echo Cookbook LOCAL execution on Windows needs Git Bash ^(bash.exe^) on PATH. > "{log_path}" 2>&1\r\n'
+                f'echo Install Git for Windows, then retry. >> "{log_path}"\r\n',
+                encoding="utf-8",
+            )
+            argv = [os.environ.get("ComSpec", "cmd.exe"), "/c", str(script_path)]
+        proc = subprocess.Popen(
+            argv,
+            stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL,
+            stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL,
+            stdin=subprocess.DEVNULL,
+            **detached_popen_kwargs(),
+        )
+        pid_path.write_text(str(proc.pid), encoding="utf-8")
+        return {"pid": proc.pid, "log_path": str(log_path)}
+
     @router.post("/api/model/download")
     async def model_download(request: Request, req: ModelDownloadRequest):
         """Download a HuggingFace model in a tmux session.
@@ -379,9 +442,12 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
 
         remote = req.remote_host  # None for local
         is_windows = req.platform == "windows"
+        # LOCAL execution on a native-Windows host never uses tmux (it uses the
+        # detached-process path below), regardless of the UI-supplied platform.
+        local_windows = IS_WINDOWS and not remote
         logger.info(f"Download request: repo={req.repo_id}, remote={remote}, ssh_port={req.ssh_port}, platform={req.platform}")
 
-        if not is_windows and not await _binary_available("tmux", remote, req.ssh_port):
+        if not is_windows and not local_windows and not await _binary_available("tmux", remote, req.ssh_port):
             return {
                 "ok": False,
                 "error": _missing_binary_message("tmux", remote or "local server"),
@@ -425,7 +491,7 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
             ps_lines.append('}}')
             ps_lines.append(f'Remove-Item -Force "$HOME\\{remote_runner}" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue')
             runner_path = TMUX_LOG_DIR / f"{session_id}_run.ps1"
-            runner_path.write_text("\r\n".join(ps_lines) + "\r\n")
+            runner_path.write_text("\r\n".join(ps_lines) + "\r\n", encoding="utf-8")
 
             # scp the .ps1 script, then launch it as a detached process with log + pid files
             _port = req.ssh_port
@@ -492,8 +558,10 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
             runner_lines.append(f"rm -f {remote_runner}")
             runner_lines.append('exec "${SHELL:-/bin/bash}"')
             runner_path = TMUX_LOG_DIR / f"{session_id}_run.sh"
-            runner_path.write_text("\n".join(runner_lines) + "\n")
-            runner_path.chmod(0o755)
+            runner_path.write_text("\n".join(runner_lines) + "\n", encoding="utf-8")
+            # Local temp file is scp'd then chmod'd on the remote; the local bit
+            # is irrelevant (no-op on Windows).
+            safe_chmod(runner_path, 0o755)
 
             # scp the runner script, then create tmux session on the remote
             _port = req.ssh_port
@@ -504,7 +572,8 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
                 f"ssh {_spf}{remote} 'chmod +x {remote_runner} && tmux new-session -d -s {session_id} \"./{remote_runner}\"'"
             )
         else:
-            # Local: run hf download in a local tmux session
+            # Local: run hf download in the background (tmux on POSIX, a detached
+            # process + logfile on Windows where tmux doesn't exist).
             if req.env_prefix:
                 lines.append(_safe_env_prefix(req.env_prefix))
             else:
@@ -512,29 +581,43 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
             # Show whether the HF token reached this run (masked) — tells a gated
             # "not authorized" failure apart from a missing token.
             lines.append(_HF_TOKEN_STATUS_SNIPPET)
-            # < /dev/null suppresses interactive "update available? [Y/n]" prompt
-            lines.append(f"{hf_cmd} < /dev/null")
-            lines.append('if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then echo ""; echo "DOWNLOAD_OK"; else echo ""; echo "DOWNLOAD_FAILED (exit $?)"; fi')
-            lines.append(f"rm -f '{wrapper_script}'")
-            lines.append('exec "${SHELL:-/bin/bash}"')
-            wrapper_script.write_text("\n".join(lines) + "\n")
-            wrapper_script.chmod(0o755)
-            setup_cmd = f"tmux new-session -d -s {session_id} {shlex.quote(str(wrapper_script))}"
+            if IS_WINDOWS:
+                # Detached path: no controlling TTY, so skip `< /dev/null`
+                # (handled by Popen stdin=DEVNULL) and don't keep a shell open.
+                lines.append(hf_cmd)
+                lines.append('if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then echo ""; echo "DOWNLOAD_OK"; else echo ""; echo "DOWNLOAD_FAILED (exit $?)"; fi')
+            else:
+                # < /dev/null suppresses interactive "update available? [Y/n]" prompt
+                lines.append(f"{hf_cmd} < /dev/null")
+                lines.append('if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then echo ""; echo "DOWNLOAD_OK"; else echo ""; echo "DOWNLOAD_FAILED (exit $?)"; fi')
+                lines.append(f"rm -f '{wrapper_script}'")
+                lines.append('exec "${SHELL:-/bin/bash}"')
+                wrapper_script.write_text("\n".join(lines) + "\n", encoding="utf-8")
+                wrapper_script.chmod(0o755)
+            setup_cmd = None if IS_WINDOWS else f"tmux new-session -d -s {session_id} {shlex.quote(str(wrapper_script))}"
 
         logger.info(f"Model download: {req.repo_id} (include={req.include}, session={session_id}, remote={remote})")
         logger.info(f"Download setup_cmd: {setup_cmd}")
 
-        proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_shell(
-            setup_cmd,
-            stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
-            stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
-        )
-        await proc.wait()
+        if setup_cmd is None:
+            # LOCAL Windows: launch the bash wrapper detached; no tmux setup_cmd.
+            try:
+                _launch_local_detached(session_id, lines)
+            except Exception as e:
+                logger.error(f"Local detached download launch failed: {e}")
+                return {"ok": False, "error": str(e), "session_id": session_id}
+        else:
+            proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_shell(
+                setup_cmd,
+                stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
+                stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
+            )
+            await proc.wait()
 
-        if proc.returncode != 0:
-            stderr = (await proc.stderr.read()).decode(errors="replace")
-            logger.error(f"Download failed (rc={proc.returncode}): {stderr}")
-            return {"ok": False, "error": stderr, "session_id": session_id}
+            if proc.returncode != 0:
+                stderr = (await proc.stderr.read()).decode(errors="replace")
+                logger.error(f"Download failed (rc={proc.returncode}): {stderr}")
+                return {"ok": False, "error": stderr, "session_id": session_id}
 
         # Log to assistant
         try:
@@ -643,7 +726,7 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
         paths_code += "print(json.dumps(models))\n"
 
         scan_py = TMUX_LOG_DIR / "scan_cache.py"
-        scan_py.write_text(paths_code)
+        scan_py.write_text(paths_code, encoding="utf-8")
 
         if host:
             _pf = f"-p {ssh_port} " if ssh_port and ssh_port != "22" else ""
@@ -652,15 +735,27 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
                 cmd = f'ssh {_pf}{host} "python -" < \'{scan_py}\''
             else:
                 cmd = f"ssh {_pf}{host} 'python3 -' < '{scan_py}'"
+            proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_shell(
+                cmd,
+                stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
+                stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
+                cwd=str(Path.home()),
+            )
         else:
-            cmd = f"python3 '{scan_py}'"
-
-        proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_shell(
-            cmd,
-            stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
-            stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
-            cwd=str(Path.home()),
-        )
+            # LOCAL scan: run the interpreter directly. `python3` isn't a thing on
+            # Windows (it's `python`/`py`), and shell single-quoting of the path
+            # doesn't survive cmd.exe — so resolve the interpreter and exec it
+            # with the script path as an argv element (no shell quoting needed).
+            local_py = (
+                which_tool("python3") or which_tool("python")
+                or which_tool("py") or "python"
+            )
+            proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
+                local_py, str(scan_py),
+                stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
+                stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
+                cwd=str(Path.home()),
+            )
         stdout_b, stderr_b = await asyncio.wait_for(proc.communicate(), timeout=60)
 
         models = []
@@ -785,8 +880,11 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
         session_id = f"serve-{uuid.uuid4().hex[:8]}"
         remote = req.remote_host
         is_windows = req.platform == "windows"
+        # LOCAL execution on a native-Windows host never uses tmux (detached
+        # process path below), regardless of the UI-supplied platform.
+        local_windows = IS_WINDOWS and not remote
 
-        if not is_windows and not await _binary_available("tmux", remote, req.ssh_port):
+        if not is_windows and not local_windows and not await _binary_available("tmux", remote, req.ssh_port):
             return {
                 "ok": False,
                 "error": _missing_binary_message("tmux", remote or "local server"),
@@ -832,7 +930,7 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
             ps_lines.append('Write-Host ""')
             ps_lines.append('Write-Host "=== Process exited with code $LASTEXITCODE ==="')
             runner_path = TMUX_LOG_DIR / f"{session_id}_run.ps1"
-            runner_path.write_text("\r\n".join(ps_lines) + "\r\n")
+            runner_path.write_text("\r\n".join(ps_lines) + "\r\n", encoding="utf-8")
 
             _port = req.ssh_port
             _Pf = f"-P {_port} " if _port and _port != "22" else ""
@@ -956,14 +1054,24 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
                 runner_lines.append('fi')
 
             runner_lines.append(req.cmd)
-            # Keep shell open after exit so user can see errors
-            runner_lines.append('echo ""; echo "=== Process exited with code $? ==="; exec "${SHELL:-/bin/bash}"')
+            if local_windows:
+                # Detached background process — no interactive shell to keep open.
+                # Print the exit marker the status poller looks for, then stop.
+                runner_lines.append('echo ""; echo "=== Process exited with code $? ==="')
+            else:
+                # Keep shell open after exit so user can see errors
+                runner_lines.append('echo ""; echo "=== Process exited with code $? ==="; exec "${SHELL:-/bin/bash}"')
 
             runner_path = TMUX_LOG_DIR / f"{session_id}_run.sh"
-            runner_path.write_text("\n".join(runner_lines) + "\n")
-            runner_path.chmod(0o755)
+            runner_path.write_text("\n".join(runner_lines) + "\n", encoding="utf-8")
+            # chmod is a no-op on Windows; bash on Windows runs the script
+            # regardless of the executable bit.
+            safe_chmod(runner_path, 0o755)
 
-            if remote:
+            if local_windows:
+                # LOCAL Windows: launch the bash runner detached (tmux replacement).
+                setup_cmd = None
+            elif remote:
                 remote_runner = f".{session_id}_run.sh"
                 # If command references scripts/, scp those too
                 scp_extras = ""
@@ -976,9 +1084,10 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
                     if diff_script.exists():
                         scp_extras = f"scp -O {_Pf}-q '{diff_script}' {remote}:.diffusion_server.py && "
                         runner_path.write_text(
-                            runner_path.read_text().replace(
+                            runner_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8").replace(
                                 "scripts/diffusion_server.py", ".diffusion_server.py"
-                            )
+                            ),
+                            encoding="utf-8",
                         )
                 setup_cmd = (
                     f"{scp_extras}"
@@ -988,16 +1097,24 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
             else:
                 setup_cmd = f"tmux new-session -d -s {session_id} {shlex.quote(str(runner_path))}"
 
-        proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_shell(
-            setup_cmd,
-            stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
-            stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
-        )
-        await proc.wait()
+        if setup_cmd is None:
+            # LOCAL Windows: launch the bash runner detached; no tmux setup_cmd.
+            try:
+                _launch_local_detached(session_id, runner_lines)
+            except Exception as e:
+                logger.error(f"Local detached serve launch failed: {e}")
+                return {"ok": False, "error": str(e), "session_id": session_id}
+        else:
+            proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_shell(
+                setup_cmd,
+                stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
+                stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
+            )
+            await proc.wait()
 
-        if proc.returncode != 0:
-            stderr = (await proc.stderr.read()).decode(errors="replace")
-            return {"ok": False, "error": stderr, "session_id": session_id}
+            if proc.returncode != 0:
+                stderr = (await proc.stderr.read()).decode(errors="replace")
+                return {"ok": False, "error": stderr, "session_id": session_id}
 
         # Auto-register as model endpoint if serving a diffusion model
         endpoint_id = None
@@ -1404,6 +1521,16 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
                 proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_shell(
                     cmd, stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE, stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE
                 )
+            elif IS_WINDOWS:
+                # No `kill` binary / POSIX signals on Windows. taskkill /F /T tears
+                # down the PID and its children. There's no graceful-vs-force
+                # distinction, so TERM/KILL/INT all map to the same forced kill.
+                # NB: never use os.kill(pid, 0) to probe here — on Windows that
+                # routes to TerminateProcess and would kill the process.
+                if not pid_alive(req.pid):
+                    return {"ok": False, "error": f"PID {req.pid} is not running"}
+                await asyncio.to_thread(kill_process_tree, req.pid)
+                return {"ok": True, "pid": req.pid, "signal": sig}
             else:
                 proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
                     "kill", f"-{sig}", str(req.pid),
@@ -1427,7 +1554,7 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
         require_admin(request)
         if _cookbook_state_path.exists():
             try:
-                return _state_for_client(json.loads(_cookbook_state_path.read_text()))
+                return _state_for_client(json.loads(_cookbook_state_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")))
             except Exception:
                 return {}
         return {}
@@ -1456,7 +1583,7 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
                 data = {}
             try:
                 if _cookbook_state_path.exists():
-                    on_disk = json.loads(_cookbook_state_path.read_text())
+                    on_disk = json.loads(_cookbook_state_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
                 else:
                     on_disk = {}
             except Exception:
@@ -1636,7 +1763,7 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
         tasks = []
         if _cookbook_state_path.exists():
             try:
-                state = json.loads(_cookbook_state_path.read_text())
+                state = json.loads(_cookbook_state_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
                 saved_tasks = state.get("tasks", [])
                 if isinstance(saved_tasks, list):
                     tasks = saved_tasks
@@ -1705,26 +1832,36 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
                     ssh_base.extend(["-p", str(_tport)])
                 check_cmd = ssh_base + [remote, "tmux", "has-session", "-t", session_id]
                 capture_cmd = ssh_base + [remote, "tmux", "capture-pane", "-t", session_id, "-p", "-S", "-50"]
+            elif IS_WINDOWS:
+                # LOCAL Windows task: launched as a detached process (no tmux).
+                # Liveness comes from the <session>.pid file, output from the
+                # <session>.log file the wrapper redirects into. No subprocess.
+                check_cmd = None
+                capture_cmd = None
             else:
                 check_cmd = ["tmux", "has-session", "-t", session_id]
                 capture_cmd = ["tmux", "capture-pane", "-t", session_id, "-p", "-S", "-50"]
 
-            try:
-                alive = subprocess.run(check_cmd, timeout=10, capture_output=True)
-                is_alive = alive.returncode == 0
-            except Exception:
-                is_alive = False
+            local_win_task = (not remote) and IS_WINDOWS
 
-            # Capture last lines for progress. Prefer the "Downloading" line
-            # (real aggregate bytes) over "Fetching N files" (whole-file count that
-            # lags with hf_transfer). Falls back to the true last line otherwise.
             progress_text = ""
             full_snapshot = ""
-            if is_alive:
+
+            if local_win_task:
+                # File-based liveness + output for the detached-process model.
+                pid_path = TMUX_LOG_DIR / f"{session_id}.pid"
+                log_path = TMUX_LOG_DIR / f"{session_id}.log"
+                task_pid = None
                 try:
-                    cap = subprocess.run(capture_cmd, timeout=10, capture_output=True, text=True)
-                    if cap.returncode == 0:
-                        full_snapshot = cap.stdout.strip()
+                    task_pid = int(pid_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8").strip())
+                except Exception:
+                    task_pid = None
+                is_alive = pid_alive(task_pid)
+                try:
+                    if log_path.exists():
+                        full_snapshot = log_path.read_text(
+                            encoding="utf-8", errors="replace"
+                        ).strip()[-12000:]
                         lines = [l.strip() for l in full_snapshot.split('\n') if l.strip()]
                         downloading_lines = [l for l in lines if l.startswith("Downloading")]
                         if downloading_lines:
@@ -1733,10 +1870,36 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
                             progress_text = lines[-1]
                 except Exception:
                     pass
+            else:
+                try:
+                    alive = subprocess.run(check_cmd, timeout=10, capture_output=True)
+                    is_alive = alive.returncode == 0
+                except Exception:
+                    is_alive = False
 
-            # Determine status
+                # Capture last lines for progress. Prefer the "Downloading" line
+                # (real aggregate bytes) over "Fetching N files" (whole-file count that
+                # lags with hf_transfer). Falls back to the true last line otherwise.
+                if is_alive:
+                    try:
+                        cap = subprocess.run(capture_cmd, timeout=10, capture_output=True, text=True)
+                        if cap.returncode == 0:
+                            full_snapshot = cap.stdout.strip()
+                            lines = [l.strip() for l in full_snapshot.split('\n') if l.strip()]
+                            downloading_lines = [l for l in lines if l.startswith("Downloading")]
+                            if downloading_lines:
+                                progress_text = downloading_lines[-1]
+                            elif lines:
+                                progress_text = lines[-1]
+                    except Exception:
+                        pass
+
+            # Determine status. For the local-Windows detached model the log file
+            # persists after the process exits, so a finished download still has a
+            # snapshot to classify (DOWNLOAD_OK / exit marker) — evaluate it even
+            # when the PID is gone instead of blindly reporting "stopped".
             status = "unknown"
-            if is_alive:
+            if is_alive or (local_win_task and full_snapshot):
                 lower = full_snapshot.lower()
                 has_exit = "=== process exited with code" in lower
                 has_error = "error" in lower or "failed" in lower or "traceback" in lower
@@ -1754,6 +1917,9 @@ def setup_cookbook_routes() -> APIRouter:
                     status = "completed"
                 elif "application startup complete" in lower:
                     status = "ready"
+                elif not is_alive:
+                    # local-Windows: process gone, log has no success/ready marker.
+                    status = "stopped"
                 else:
                     status = "running"
             else:

routes/document_helpers.py

@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ def _locate_upload(upload_dir: str, file_id: str):
     try:
         idx_path = os.path.join(upload_dir, "uploads.json")
         if os.path.exists(idx_path):
-            with open(idx_path, "r") as f:
+            with open(idx_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 idx = _json.load(f)
             for meta in (idx.values() if isinstance(idx, dict) else []):
                 if meta.get("id") == file_id:

routes/email_helpers.py

@@ -444,7 +444,7 @@ _init_scheduled_db()
 
 def _load_settings():
     if SETTINGS_FILE.exists():
-        return json.loads(SETTINGS_FILE.read_text())
+        return json.loads(SETTINGS_FILE.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
     return {}
 
 

routes/email_routes.py

@@ -2834,7 +2834,7 @@ def setup_email_routes():
         if not path.exists():
             return {"total_unread": 0, "total_urgent": 0, "max_score": 0, "per_uid": {}}
         try:
-            data = _json.loads(path.read_text())
+            data = _json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
         except Exception:
             return {"total_unread": 0, "total_urgent": 0, "max_score": 0, "per_uid": {}}
         # Drop `notified_uids` from the payload — it's an internal scheduler

routes/embedding_routes.py

@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ def _load_custom_endpoint() -> dict:
     """Load the saved custom embedding endpoint, if any."""
     try:
         if os.path.exists(_ENDPOINT_FILE):
-            return json.loads(Path(_ENDPOINT_FILE).read_text())
+            return json.loads(Path(_ENDPOINT_FILE).read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
     except Exception:
         pass
     return {}
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ def _load_custom_endpoint() -> dict:
 
 def _save_custom_endpoint(data: dict):
     Path(_ENDPOINT_FILE).parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-    Path(_ENDPOINT_FILE).write_text(json.dumps(data, indent=2))
+    Path(_ENDPOINT_FILE).write_text(json.dumps(data, indent=2), encoding="utf-8")
 
 
 def setup_embedding_routes():

routes/mcp_routes.py

@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ def setup_mcp_routes(mcp_manager: McpManager):
                         }
                     }
                     filepath = os.path.join(oauth_dir, oauth_filename)
-                    with open(filepath, "w") as f:
+                    with open(filepath, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                         json.dump(creds, f, indent=2)
                     logger.info(f"Wrote OAuth credentials to {filepath}")
                     parsed_env.pop("GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID", None)
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ def setup_mcp_routes(mcp_manager: McpManager):
             if not keys_file or not os.path.exists(keys_file):
                 raise HTTPException(400, "OAuth keys file not found")
 
-            with open(keys_file) as f:
+            with open(keys_file, encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 keys_data = json.load(f)
             keys = keys_data.get("installed") or keys_data.get("web")
             if not keys:
@@ -427,7 +427,7 @@ def setup_mcp_routes(mcp_manager: McpManager):
             keys_file = os.path.expanduser(oauth_cfg.get("keys_file", ""))
             token_file = os.path.expanduser(oauth_cfg.get("token_file", ""))
 
-            with open(keys_file) as f:
+            with open(keys_file, encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 keys_data = json.load(f)
             keys = keys_data.get("installed") or keys_data.get("web")
             client_id = keys["client_id"]
@@ -457,7 +457,7 @@ def setup_mcp_routes(mcp_manager: McpManager):
 
             # Save tokens to the file the MCP package expects
             os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(token_file), exist_ok=True)
-            with open(token_file, "w") as f:
+            with open(token_file, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 json.dump(tokens, f, indent=2)
             logger.info(f"Saved OAuth tokens to {token_file}")
 

routes/note_routes.py

@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ async def dispatch_reminder(
             _slug = "".join(c if (c.isalnum() or c in "-_.@") else "_" for c in (owner or "default"))
             cache_path = _P(f"data/note_pings_{_slug}.json")
             if cache_path.exists():
-                cache = _json.loads(cache_path.read_text())
+                cache = _json.loads(cache_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
             last = cache.get(cache_key)
             if last:
                 last_channel = None
@@ -428,7 +428,7 @@ async def dispatch_reminder(
                 _STATE = _P(f"data/note_pings_{_slug}.json")
             _STATE.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
             try:
-                _cache = cache or (_json.loads(_STATE.read_text()) if _STATE.exists() else {})
+                _cache = cache or (_json.loads(_STATE.read_text(encoding="utf-8")) if _STATE.exists() else {})
             except Exception:
                 _cache = {}
             sent_channel = "email" if email_sent else "ntfy" if ntfy_sent else "browser"
@@ -436,7 +436,7 @@ async def dispatch_reminder(
                 "at": _dt.now(_tz.utc).isoformat(),
                 "channel": sent_channel,
             }
-            _STATE.write_text(_json.dumps(_cache))
+            _STATE.write_text(_json.dumps(_cache), encoding="utf-8")
         except Exception as _e:
             logger.debug(f"dispatch_reminder: cache write failed: {_e}")
 

routes/prefs_routes.py

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ PREFS_FILE = os.path.join("data", "user_prefs.json")
 def _load():
     """Load the raw prefs file (internal use only)."""
     try:
-        with open(PREFS_FILE, "r") as f:
+        with open(PREFS_FILE, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
             return json.load(f)
     except (FileNotFoundError, json.JSONDecodeError):
         return {}
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ def _load():
 
 def _save(prefs):
     os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(PREFS_FILE), exist_ok=True)
-    with open(PREFS_FILE, "w") as f:
+    with open(PREFS_FILE, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
         json.dump(prefs, f, indent=2)
 
 

routes/research_routes.py

@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ def setup_research_routes(research_handler, session_manager=None) -> APIRouter:
         if not path.exists():
             return False
         try:
-            return json.loads(path.read_text()).get("owner") == user
+            return json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")).get("owner") == user
         except Exception:
             return False
 
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ def setup_research_routes(research_handler, session_manager=None) -> APIRouter:
         if not path.exists():
             raise HTTPException(404, "Research not found")
         try:
-            owner = json.loads(path.read_text()).get("owner")
+            owner = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")).get("owner")
         except Exception:
             raise HTTPException(404, "Research not found")
         if owner != user:
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ def setup_research_routes(research_handler, session_manager=None) -> APIRouter:
         items = []
         for p in data_dir.glob("*.json"):
             try:
-                d = json.loads(p.read_text())
+                d = json.loads(p.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
                 # SECURITY: only show research belonging to this user. Legacy
                 # JSONs without an `owner` field are hidden — auth was the only
                 # gate before, so every user saw every other user's reports.
@@ -239,7 +239,7 @@ def setup_research_routes(research_handler, session_manager=None) -> APIRouter:
         if not path.exists():
             raise HTTPException(404, "Research not found")
         try:
-            data = json.loads(path.read_text())
+            data = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
         except Exception as e:
             raise HTTPException(500, f"Failed to read research: {e}")
         # SECURITY: 404 (not 403) so we don't leak that the report exists.
@@ -255,11 +255,11 @@ def setup_research_routes(research_handler, session_manager=None) -> APIRouter:
         if not path.exists():
             raise HTTPException(404, "Research not found")
         try:
-            data = json.loads(path.read_text())
+            data = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
             if data.get("owner") != user:
                 raise HTTPException(404, "Research not found")
             data["archived"] = bool(archived)
-            path.write_text(json.dumps(data))
+            path.write_text(json.dumps(data), encoding="utf-8")
         except HTTPException:
             raise
         except Exception as e:
@@ -276,7 +276,7 @@ def setup_research_routes(research_handler, session_manager=None) -> APIRouter:
         if json_path.exists():
             # SECURITY: verify ownership before letting the caller delete it.
             try:
-                data = json.loads(json_path.read_text())
+                data = json.loads(json_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
                 if data.get("owner") != user:
                     raise HTTPException(404, "Research not found")
             except HTTPException:
@@ -452,7 +452,7 @@ def setup_research_routes(research_handler, session_manager=None) -> APIRouter:
         if result is None:
             p = Path("data/deep_research") / f"{session_id}.json"
             if p.exists():
-                d = json.loads(p.read_text())
+                d = json.loads(p.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
                 return {
                     "result": d.get("result", ""),
                     "sources": d.get("sources", []),
@@ -486,7 +486,7 @@ def setup_research_routes(research_handler, session_manager=None) -> APIRouter:
         path = Path("data/deep_research") / f"{session_id}.json"
         if path.exists():
             try:
-                disk = json.loads(path.read_text())
+                disk = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
                 if not result:
                     result = disk.get("result")
                 if not sources:

routes/shell_routes.py

@@ -6,11 +6,17 @@ import logging
 import os
 import shlex
 import shutil
+import subprocess
 import uuid
 import tempfile
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Dict, Any
 
+# POSIX-only: `pty`/`fcntl` transitively import `termios`, which does NOT exist
+# on Windows, so importing them unconditionally crashed app startup there
+# (ModuleNotFoundError: termios — issues #140/#92/#63/#149/#150). The PTY code
+# path is only reachable on POSIX; Windows uses pipe streaming + a detached-job
+# fallback for the tmux feature (see _generate_win_detached).
 try:
     import fcntl
     import pty
@@ -25,6 +31,12 @@ from fastapi import APIRouter, Request, HTTPException
 from fastapi.responses import StreamingResponse
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 
+from core.platform_compat import (
+    IS_WINDOWS,
+    detached_popen_kwargs,
+    find_bash,
+)
+
 
 def _require_admin(request: Request):
     """Reject non-admin callers. Shell exec is admin-only — never expose to
@@ -78,11 +90,25 @@ class ShellExecRequest(BaseModel):
     use_tmux: bool = False      # run in tmux session (survives browser disconnect)
 
 
+async def _create_shell(command: str, **kwargs):
+    """Spawn a shell subprocess for `command`.
+
+    POSIX: /bin/sh via create_subprocess_shell (unchanged behaviour).
+    Windows: prefer a real bash (Git Bash/WSL) so bash-syntax commands behave
+    the same as on Linux; fall back to cmd.exe when no bash is installed.
+    """
+    if IS_WINDOWS:
+        bash = find_bash()
+        if bash:
+            return await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(bash, "-c", command, **kwargs)
+    return await asyncio.create_subprocess_shell(command, **kwargs)
+
+
 async def _exec_shell(command: str, timeout: int = EXEC_TIMEOUT) -> Dict[str, Any]:
     """Run a shell command and return stdout/stderr/exit_code."""
     proc = None
     try:
-        proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_shell(
+        proc = await _create_shell(
             command,
             stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
             stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
@@ -355,6 +381,93 @@ async def _generate_tmux(cmd: str, request: Request):
         pass
 
 
+async def _generate_win_detached(cmd: str, request: Request):
+    """Windows stand-in for the tmux path (issues #84/#162).
+
+    tmux doesn't exist on Windows, so we run the command in a *detached* child
+    (DETACHED_PROCESS — survives browser disconnect, same as the tmux session)
+    that writes output to a log file, and tail that log over SSE. Prefers bash
+    (Git Bash) for command-syntax parity; falls back to cmd.exe. There's no
+    `tmux attach` equivalent, but the "keeps running if you disconnect" contract
+    holds, which is the point of the feature for long Cookbook downloads."""
+    TMUX_LOG_DIR.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    session_id = f"cookbook-{uuid.uuid4().hex[:8]}"
+    log_path = TMUX_LOG_DIR / f"{session_id}.log"
+    exit_path = TMUX_LOG_DIR / f"{session_id}.exit"
+
+    bash = find_bash()
+    if bash:
+        script_path = TMUX_LOG_DIR / f"{session_id}.sh"
+        script_path.write_text(
+            f"{cmd} > {shlex.quote(str(log_path))} 2>&1\n"
+            f"echo $? > {shlex.quote(str(exit_path))}\n",
+            encoding="utf-8",
+        )
+        argv = [bash, str(script_path)]
+    else:
+        script_path = TMUX_LOG_DIR / f"{session_id}.cmd"
+        # cmd.exe wrapper: run, redirect all output to the log, record exit code.
+        script_path.write_text(
+            "@echo off\r\n"
+            f'call {cmd} > "{log_path}" 2>&1\r\n'
+            f'echo %ERRORLEVEL%> "{exit_path}"\r\n',
+            encoding="utf-8",
+        )
+        argv = [os.environ.get("ComSpec", "cmd.exe"), "/c", str(script_path)]
+
+    try:
+        subprocess.Popen(
+            argv,
+            stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL,
+            stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL,
+            stdin=subprocess.DEVNULL,
+            **detached_popen_kwargs(),
+        )
+    except Exception as e:
+        yield f"data: {json.dumps({'stream': 'stderr', 'data': f'Failed to launch background job: {e}'})}\n\n"
+        yield f"data: {json.dumps({'exit_code': -1})}\n\n"
+        return
+
+    yield f"data: {json.dumps({'stream': 'stdout', 'data': f'Started background job: {session_id}'})}\n\n"
+
+    lines_sent = 0
+    exit_code = None
+    while True:
+        if await request.is_disconnected():
+            yield f"data: {json.dumps({'stream': 'stdout', 'data': f'Disconnected. Background job {session_id} continues running.'})}\n\n"
+            return
+        try:
+            if log_path.exists():
+                lines = log_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace").splitlines()
+                for line in lines[lines_sent:]:
+                    yield f"data: {json.dumps({'stream': 'stdout', 'data': line})}\n\n"
+                lines_sent = len(lines)
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.debug("win detached log read error: %s", e)
+
+        if exit_path.exists():
+            # Drain any final lines, then read the recorded exit code.
+            await asyncio.sleep(0.3)
+            try:
+                if log_path.exists():
+                    lines = log_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace").splitlines()
+                    for line in lines[lines_sent:]:
+                        yield f"data: {json.dumps({'stream': 'stdout', 'data': line})}\n\n"
+                    lines_sent = len(lines)
+                exit_code = int((exit_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace").strip() or "0"))
+            except Exception:
+                exit_code = 0
+            break
+        await asyncio.sleep(1.0)
+
+    yield f"data: {json.dumps({'exit_code': exit_code})}\n\n"
+    for p in (log_path, exit_path, script_path):
+        try:
+            p.unlink(missing_ok=True)
+        except Exception:
+            pass
+
+
 def setup_shell_routes() -> APIRouter:
     router = APIRouter(tags=["shell"])
 
@@ -393,22 +506,24 @@ def setup_shell_routes() -> APIRouter:
         )
 
         if use_tmux:
-            return StreamingResponse(
-                _generate_tmux(cmd, request),
-                media_type="text/event-stream",
-            )
+            # tmux is POSIX-only; Windows uses a detached-process + logfile tail
+            # that preserves the "survives disconnect" behaviour.
+            gen = _generate_win_detached(cmd, request) if IS_WINDOWS else _generate_tmux(cmd, request)
+            return StreamingResponse(gen, media_type="text/event-stream")
 
-        if use_pty:
+        if use_pty and not IS_WINDOWS:
             return StreamingResponse(
                 _generate_pty(cmd, timeout, request),
                 media_type="text/event-stream",
             )
+        # Windows has no PTY; fall through to pipe streaming below (output still
+        # streams line-by-line, just without live in-place progress-bar redraws).
 
         async def generate():
             proc = None
             reader_tasks = []
             try:
-                proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_shell(
+                proc = await _create_shell(
                     cmd,
                     stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
                     stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,

routes/upload_routes.py

@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ def setup_upload_routes(upload_handler):
         info = None
         uploads_db = os.path.join(UPLOAD_DIR, "uploads.json")
         if os.path.exists(uploads_db):
-            with open(uploads_db) as f:
+            with open(uploads_db, encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 db = json.load(f)
             info = next((fi for fi in db.values() if fi["id"] == file_id), None)
             if info:
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ def setup_upload_routes(upload_handler):
         info = None
         uploads_db = os.path.join(UPLOAD_DIR, "uploads.json")
         if os.path.exists(uploads_db):
-            with open(uploads_db) as f:
+            with open(uploads_db, encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 db = json.load(f)
             info = next((fi for fi in db.values() if fi["id"] == file_id), None)
         return info
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ def setup_upload_routes(upload_handler):
         cache_path = _vision_cache_path(file_id)
         if not force and os.path.exists(cache_path):
             try:
-                with open(cache_path) as f:
+                with open(cache_path, encoding="utf-8") as f:
                     return {"text": f.read(), "cached": True}
             except Exception as e:
                 logger.warning(f"Vision cache read failed for {file_id}: {e}")
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ def setup_upload_routes(upload_handler):
             logger.error(f"Vision analysis failed for {file_id}: {e}")
             raise HTTPException(500, f"Vision analysis failed: {e}")
         try:
-            with open(cache_path, "w") as f:
+            with open(cache_path, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 f.write(text)
         except Exception as e:
             logger.warning(f"Vision cache write failed for {file_id}: {e}")
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ def setup_upload_routes(upload_handler):
         text = (body or {}).get("text", "")
         if not isinstance(text, str):
             raise HTTPException(400, "text must be a string")
-        with open(_vision_cache_path(file_id), "w") as f:
+        with open(_vision_cache_path(file_id), "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
             f.write(text)
         return {"ok": True}
 

routes/vault_routes.py

@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ from fastapi import APIRouter, Request
 from pydantic import BaseModel
 
 from core.middleware import require_admin
+from core.platform_compat import IS_WINDOWS, safe_chmod, which_tool
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -23,10 +24,23 @@ VAULT_FILE = Path("data/vault.json")
 
 
 def _find_bw() -> str:
-    """Locate the bw binary, checking PATH and common npm-global locations."""
-    p = shutil.which("bw")
+    """Locate the bw binary, checking PATH and common npm-global locations.
+
+    On Windows the Bitwarden CLI shim is `bw.cmd`/`bw.exe`, resolved by
+    which_tool via PATHEXT.
+    """
+    p = which_tool("bw")
     if p:
         return p
+    if IS_WINDOWS:
+        appdata = os.environ.get("APPDATA", os.path.expanduser("~"))
+        for candidate in (
+            os.path.join(appdata, "npm", "bw.cmd"),
+            os.path.join(appdata, "npm", "bw.exe"),
+        ):
+            if os.path.isfile(candidate):
+                return candidate
+        return "bw"
     home = os.path.expanduser("~")
     for candidate in (
         f"{home}/.npm-global/bin/bw",
@@ -47,7 +61,7 @@ def _find_bw() -> str:
 def _load_config() -> dict:
     if VAULT_FILE.exists():
         try:
-            return json.loads(VAULT_FILE.read_text())
+            return json.loads(VAULT_FILE.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
         except Exception:
             pass
     return {}
@@ -55,11 +69,10 @@ def _load_config() -> dict:
 
 def _save_config(cfg: dict):
     VAULT_FILE.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-    VAULT_FILE.write_text(json.dumps(cfg, indent=2))
-    try:
-        os.chmod(str(VAULT_FILE), 0o600)
-    except Exception:
-        pass
+    VAULT_FILE.write_text(json.dumps(cfg, indent=2), encoding="utf-8")
+    # POSIX: restrict the BW_SESSION store to 0o600. Windows: no-op (profile dir
+    # is ACL-restricted already).
+    safe_chmod(str(VAULT_FILE), 0o600)
 
 
 async def _run_bw(args: list, session: str = None, input_text: str = None) -> tuple:

scripts/add_hwfit_models.py

@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ def _entry_from_modelinfo(mi, overrides):
 
 
 def main():
-    with open(DATA_PATH) as f:
+    with open(DATA_PATH, encoding="utf-8") as f:
         catalog = json.load(f)
     by_name = {m["name"]: m for m in catalog}
     existing = set(by_name)
@@ -214,12 +214,12 @@ def main():
         return
 
     # Backup + merge
-    with open(DATA_PATH + ".bak", "w") as f:
+    with open(DATA_PATH + ".bak", "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
         json.dump(catalog, f, indent=2)
     for name, entry in to_add.items():
         by_name[name] = entry
     merged = list(by_name.values())
-    with open(DATA_PATH, "w") as f:
+    with open(DATA_PATH, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
         json.dump(merged, f, indent=2)
 
     print(f"\nAdded/updated {len(to_add)} models. Catalog now {len(merged)} (was {len(catalog)}).")

scripts/claim_ownerless.py

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ def main():
         if not os.path.exists(path):
             print(f"  {label}: not found, skipping")
             continue
-        with open(path, "r") as f:
+        with open(path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
             entries = json.load(f)
         count = 0
         for e in entries:
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ def main():
                 e["owner"] = owner
                 count += 1
         if count:
-            with open(path, "w") as f:
+            with open(path, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 json.dump(entries, f, ensure_ascii=False, indent=2)
         print(f"  {label}: claimed {count} entries")
 

scripts/diffusion_server.py

@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ def load_model():
     cls_name_from_index = ""
     if model_index.exists():
         try:
-            idx = json.loads(model_index.read_text())
+            idx = json.loads(model_index.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
             cls_name_from_index = idx.get("_class_name", "")
             if hasattr(diffusers, cls_name_from_index):
                 pipeline_cls = getattr(diffusers, cls_name_from_index)

scripts/migrate_faiss_to_chroma.py

@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ def migrate_memories():
         logger.info("No memory FAISS index found, skipping memory migration")
         return
 
-    ids = json.loads(open(ids_path).read())
+    ids = json.loads(open(ids_path, encoding="utf-8").read())
     if not ids:
         logger.info("Memory FAISS index is empty, skipping")
         return
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ def migrate_memories():
     # Load memory texts
     memories = {}
     if os.path.exists(memory_path):
-        for mem in json.loads(open(memory_path).read()):
+        for mem in json.loads(open(memory_path, encoding="utf-8").read()):
             memories[mem.get("id", "")] = mem
 
     embed = get_embedding_client()
@@ -97,7 +97,7 @@ def migrate_rag():
         logger.info("No RAG DocStore found, skipping RAG migration")
         return
 
-    data = json.loads(open(docs_path).read())
+    data = json.loads(open(docs_path, encoding="utf-8").read())
     ids = data.get("ids", [])
     documents = data.get("documents", [])
     metadatas = data.get("metadatas", [])

services/hwfit/hardware.py

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import os
 import platform
+import shutil
 import subprocess
 import time
 
@@ -138,7 +139,7 @@ def _detect_amd():
             val = _run(["cat", path])
             return val.strip() if val else None
         try:
-            with open(path) as f:
+            with open(path, encoding="utf-8", errors="replace") as f:
                 return f.read().strip()
         except Exception:
             return None
@@ -285,7 +286,7 @@ def _read_file(path):
     if _remote_host:
         return _run(["cat", path])
     try:
-        with open(path) as f:
+        with open(path, encoding="utf-8", errors="replace") as f:
             return f.read()
     except Exception:
         return None
@@ -314,7 +315,9 @@ def _get_ram_gb():
     if "MemTotal" in meminfo:
         return meminfo["MemTotal"] / (1024**2)
 
-    if not _remote_host:
+    # os.sysconf only exists on Unix; on Windows it's absent (AttributeError)
+    # and these constants aren't defined — guard so this never raises there.
+    if not _remote_host and hasattr(os, "sysconf") and "SC_PHYS_PAGES" in getattr(os, "sysconf_names", {}):
         try:
             pages = os.sysconf("SC_PHYS_PAGES")
             page_size = os.sysconf("SC_PAGE_SIZE")
@@ -375,8 +378,20 @@ def _get_cpu_count():
     return os.cpu_count() or 1
 
 
+def _powershell_exe():
+    """Pick the best PowerShell executable for LOCAL execution: prefer pwsh
+    (PowerShell 7+), fall back to Windows PowerShell 5.1. Returns an absolute
+    path so we don't depend on a particular PATH ordering."""
+    return shutil.which("pwsh") or shutil.which("powershell") or "powershell"
+
+
 def _detect_windows():
-    """Detect Windows hardware in a single SSH call using PowerShell."""
+    """Detect Windows hardware via PowerShell/WMI.
+
+    Works for BOTH local (host="") and remote (SSH) detection:
+      * remote  -> `_run` ships the string to the host over SSH.
+      * local   -> `_run` executes a list argv directly (no shell quoting hell).
+    """
     # Single PowerShell command that gathers all hardware info at once
     ps_cmd = (
         "$r = @{}; "
@@ -413,22 +428,43 @@ def _detect_windows():
         "}; "
         "$r | ConvertTo-Json -Compress"
     )
-    out = _run(f'powershell -Command "{ps_cmd}"')
+    if _remote_host:
+        # Remote: ship a single command string over SSH. The remote shell parses
+        # the quoting; PowerShell on the far side runs the -Command payload.
+        out = _run(f'powershell -Command "{ps_cmd}"')
+    else:
+        # Local: pass a LIST argv straight to subprocess so the OS hands ps_cmd
+        # to PowerShell verbatim — no fragile string-level quote escaping. Prefer
+        # pwsh (PS7), else Windows PowerShell 5.1.
+        out = _run([_powershell_exe(), "-NoProfile", "-NonInteractive", "-Command", ps_cmd])
     if not out:
         return None
     import json as _json
     try:
         d = _json.loads(out)
+        # PowerShell's Measure-Object .Sum / .Count come back as JSON numbers and
+        # decode to float; the Linux path returns plain ints for these — coerce
+        # so the dict shape (and downstream int math) matches across platforms.
+        def _as_int(v, default):
+            try:
+                return int(v)
+            except (TypeError, ValueError):
+                return default
+        _cpu_name = (d.get("cpu_name") or "unknown")
+        if isinstance(_cpu_name, str):
+            _cpu_name = _cpu_name.strip() or "unknown"
         result = {
             "total_ram_gb": d.get("ram_gb", 0),
             "available_ram_gb": d.get("avail_gb", 0),
-            "cpu_cores": d.get("cpu_cores", 1),
-            "cpu_name": d.get("cpu_name", "unknown"),
+            "cpu_cores": _as_int(d.get("cpu_cores"), 1),
+            "cpu_name": _cpu_name,
             "has_gpu": bool(d.get("gpu_name")),
             "gpu_name": d.get("gpu_name"),
             "gpu_vram_gb": d.get("gpu_vram_gb"),
-            "gpu_count": d.get("gpu_count", 0),
+            "gpu_count": _as_int(d.get("gpu_count"), 0),
             "backend": d.get("gpu_backend", "cpu_x86"),
+            "homogeneous": True,
+            "gpu_error": None,
         }
         # PowerShell only reports aggregate GPU info, not per-card detail, so we
         # can't tell a mixed box from a uniform one here — assume one homogeneous
@@ -490,6 +526,18 @@ def detect_system(host="", ssh_port="", platform="", fresh=False):
         _cache_by_host[cache_key] = (now, result)
         return result
 
+    # Local Windows: the Linux /proc + /sys + os.sysconf path returns 0 GB RAM,
+    # "unknown" CPU and no GPU on Windows (and os.sysconf doesn't even exist),
+    # so detect locally via PowerShell/WMI instead. _detect_windows() runs the
+    # same probe used for remote Windows, but _run() executes it locally.
+    if not _remote_host and os.name == "nt":
+        result = _detect_windows()
+        if result:
+            _cache_by_host[cache_key] = (now, result)
+            return result
+        # PowerShell probe failed entirely — fall through to the generic path
+        # below so we at least return a well-shaped dict rather than crashing.
+
     # Linux/Termux: existing multi-command detection
     total_ram = round(_get_ram_gb(), 1)
     # If remote host returns 0 RAM, connection likely failed

services/hwfit/models.py

@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ def get_models():
     if _models_cache is None:
         data_path = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(__file__), "data", "hf_models.json")
         try:
-            with open(data_path) as f:
+            with open(data_path, encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 _models_cache = json.load(f)
         except (FileNotFoundError, json.JSONDecodeError):
             _models_cache = []

services/memory/memory_extractor.py

@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ def _fingerprint_entries(entries) -> str:
 def _load_tidy_state(memory_manager) -> dict:
     path = _tidy_state_path(memory_manager)
     try:
-        with open(path, "r") as f:
+        with open(path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
             data = json.load(f)
         return data if isinstance(data, dict) else {}
     except (FileNotFoundError, json.JSONDecodeError):
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ def _save_tidy_state(memory_manager, owner: Optional[str], fingerprint: str) ->
     state = _load_tidy_state(memory_manager)
     state[owner or ""] = {"fingerprint": fingerprint}
     try:
-        with open(path, "w") as f:
+        with open(path, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
             json.dump(state, f, indent=2)
     except OSError as e:
         logger.warning(f"Could not persist tidy fingerprint: {e}")

services/memory/skills.py

@@ -89,7 +89,7 @@ class SkillsManager:
         if not os.path.exists(self.usage_file):
             return {}
         try:
-            with open(self.usage_file) as f:
+            with open(self.usage_file, encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 d = json.load(f)
             return d if isinstance(d, dict) else {}
         except Exception:
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ class SkillsManager:
             atomic_write_json(self.usage_file, usage, indent=2)
         except Exception:
             tmp = self.usage_file + ".tmp"
-            with open(tmp, "w") as f:
+            with open(tmp, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 json.dump(usage, f, indent=2)
             os.replace(tmp, self.usage_file)
 
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ class SkillsManager:
 
     def _read_skill(self, path: str) -> Optional[Skill]:
         try:
-            with open(path) as f:
+            with open(path, encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 text = f.read()
             return Skill.from_markdown(text, path=path)
         except Exception as e:
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ class SkillsManager:
         # Legacy JSON entries — surfaced as draft, not editable from new flow
         if os.path.exists(self.legacy_file):
             try:
-                with open(self.legacy_file) as f:
+                with open(self.legacy_file, encoding="utf-8") as f:
                     legacy = json.load(f)
                 if isinstance(legacy, list):
                     for row in legacy:
@@ -461,7 +461,7 @@ class SkillsManager:
             sk = self._read_skill(path)
             if sk and sk.name == name:
                 try:
-                    with open(path) as f:
+                    with open(path, encoding="utf-8") as f:
                         return f.read()
                 except Exception:
                     return None
@@ -481,7 +481,7 @@ class SkillsManager:
             if not os.path.isfile(target):
                 return None
             try:
-                with open(target) as f:
+                with open(target, encoding="utf-8") as f:
                     return f.read()
             except Exception:
                 return None

services/research/research_handler.py

@@ -114,7 +114,7 @@ class ResearchHandler:
         path = RESEARCH_DATA_DIR / f"{session_id}.json"
         if path.exists():
             try:
-                data = json.loads(path.read_text())
+                data = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
                 return {
                     "status": data.get("status", "done"),
                     "progress": {},
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ class ResearchHandler:
         path = RESEARCH_DATA_DIR / f"{session_id}.json"
         if path.exists():
             try:
-                data = json.loads(path.read_text())
+                data = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
                 return data.get("result")
             except Exception:
                 pass
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ class ResearchHandler:
         path = RESEARCH_DATA_DIR / f"{session_id}.json"
         if path.exists():
             try:
-                data = json.loads(path.read_text())
+                data = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
                 return data.get("sources")
             except Exception:
                 pass
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ class ResearchHandler:
                 "started_at": entry["started_at"],
                 "completed_at": time.time(),
             }
-            path.write_text(json.dumps(data))
+            path.write_text(json.dumps(data), encoding="utf-8")
             logger.info(f"Research result saved to {path}")
         except Exception as e:
             logger.error(f"Failed to save research result: {e}")

setup.py

@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ def create_default_admin():
                 }
             }
         }
-        with open(auth_path, "w") as f:
+        with open(auth_path, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
             json.dump(auth_data, f, indent=2)
         print(f"  [ok] Initial admin user created ({username})")
         print(f"        Temporary password: {password}")

src/api_key_manager.py

@@ -38,14 +38,14 @@ class APIKeyManager:
         """Save encrypted API key to file"""
         keys = self.load()
         keys[provider] = self.encrypt_api_key(api_key)
-        with open(self.api_keys_file, 'w') as f:
+        with open(self.api_keys_file, 'w', encoding="utf-8") as f:
             json.dump(keys, f)
     
     def load(self) -> Dict[str, str]:
         """Load and decrypt API keys"""
         if not os.path.exists(self.api_keys_file):
             return {}
-        with open(self.api_keys_file, 'r') as f:
+        with open(self.api_keys_file, 'r', encoding="utf-8") as f:
             encrypted_keys = json.load(f)
         return {
             provider: self.decrypt_api_key(key)

src/bg_jobs.py

@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 import json
 import os
-import signal
+import shlex
 import subprocess
 import time
 import uuid
@@ -30,6 +30,12 @@ from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional
 
 from core.atomic_io import atomic_write_json
+from core.platform_compat import (
+    detached_popen_kwargs,
+    find_bash,
+    kill_process_tree,
+    pid_alive,
+)
 
 _DATA_DIR = Path(os.environ.get("DATA_DIR", "data"))
 _JOBS_DIR = _DATA_DIR / "bg_jobs"
@@ -49,7 +55,7 @@ _RETENTION_S = 3600  # 1 hour after follow-up
 def _load() -> Dict[str, Dict[str, Any]]:
     try:
         if _STORE.exists():
-            return json.loads(_STORE.read_text()) or {}
+            return json.loads(_STORE.read_text(encoding="utf-8")) or {}
     except Exception:
         pass
     return {}
@@ -60,13 +66,11 @@ def _save(jobs: Dict[str, Dict[str, Any]]) -> None:
 
 
 def _pid_alive(pid: Optional[int]) -> bool:
-    if not pid:
-        return False
-    try:
-        os.kill(pid, 0)
-        return True
-    except (OSError, ProcessLookupError):
-        return False
+    # Delegates to the platform-safe probe. NB: a bare os.kill(pid, 0) is unsafe
+    # on Windows — CPython routes it to TerminateProcess, which would KILL the
+    # job we're only trying to check. core.platform_compat.pid_alive handles
+    # both OSes correctly.
+    return pid_alive(pid)
 
 
 def launch(command: str, session_id: str, cwd: Optional[str] = None,
@@ -88,22 +92,46 @@ def launch(command: str, session_id: str, cwd: Optional[str] = None,
     # command in `( … )` — the wrapper can't be broken by an unbalanced paren or
     # a trailing line-continuation in the command. `$?` is the child's real
     # exit status.
-    cmd_path = _JOBS_DIR / f"{job_id}.cmd.sh"
-    cmd_path.write_text(command + "\n")
-    wrapper = (
-        f"bash {cmd_path} > {log_path} 2>&1\n"
-        f"echo $? > {exit_path}\n"
-    )
-    script_path = _JOBS_DIR / f"{job_id}.sh"
-    script_path.write_text(wrapper)
+    bash = find_bash()
+    if bash:
+        # POSIX, or Windows with Git Bash/WSL. The user command goes in its OWN
+        # script file, run as a child `bash` — an `exit` inside it only ends
+        # that child (so the wrapper still records the exit code), and an
+        # unbalanced paren / trailing line-continuation in the command can't
+        # break the wrapper. `$?` is the child's real exit status. Paths are
+        # emitted as POSIX (forward-slash) + shell-quoted so Git Bash on Windows
+        # handles drive paths and spaces correctly.
+        cmd_path = _JOBS_DIR / f"{job_id}.cmd.sh"
+        cmd_path.write_text(command + "\n", encoding="utf-8")
+        lp, xp, cp = (shlex.quote(p.as_posix()) for p in (log_path, exit_path, cmd_path))
+        script_path = _JOBS_DIR / f"{job_id}.sh"
+        script_path.write_text(
+            f"bash {cp} > {lp} 2>&1\n"
+            f"echo $? > {xp}\n",
+            encoding="utf-8",
+        )
+        argv = [bash, str(script_path)]
+    else:
+        # Windows without any bash installed: cmd.exe wrapper. The command runs
+        # in its own child .cmd so %ERRORLEVEL% is the command's real exit code.
+        child_path = _JOBS_DIR / f"{job_id}.child.cmd"
+        child_path.write_text("@echo off\r\n" + command + "\r\n", encoding="utf-8")
+        script_path = _JOBS_DIR / f"{job_id}.cmd"
+        script_path.write_text(
+            "@echo off\r\n"
+            f'call "{child_path}" > "{log_path}" 2>&1\r\n'
+            f'echo %ERRORLEVEL%> "{exit_path}"\r\n',
+            encoding="utf-8",
+        )
+        argv = [os.environ.get("ComSpec", "cmd.exe"), "/c", str(script_path)]
 
     proc = subprocess.Popen(
-        ["bash", str(script_path)],
+        argv,
         stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL,
         stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL,
         stdin=subprocess.DEVNULL,
         cwd=cwd or None,
-        start_new_session=True,  # setsid — detach from the request lifecycle
+        **detached_popen_kwargs(),  # detach from the request lifecycle (setsid / DETACHED_PROCESS)
     )
 
     rec = {
@@ -128,7 +156,7 @@ def launch(command: str, session_id: str, cwd: Optional[str] = None,
 
 def _read_output(rec: Dict[str, Any]) -> str:
     try:
-        txt = Path(rec["log_path"]).read_text(errors="replace")
+        txt = Path(rec["log_path"]).read_text(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace")
     except Exception:
         return ""
     if len(txt) > _MAX_OUTPUT_CHARS:
@@ -198,15 +226,8 @@ def refresh() -> Dict[str, Dict[str, Any]]:
 
 
 def _kill(pid: Optional[int]) -> None:
-    if not pid:
-        return
-    try:
-        os.killpg(os.getpgid(pid), signal.SIGTERM)
-    except Exception:
-        try:
-            os.kill(pid, signal.SIGTERM)
-        except Exception:
-            pass
+    # Cross-platform process-tree teardown (POSIX killpg / Windows taskkill /T).
+    kill_process_tree(pid)
 
 
 def pending_followups() -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:

src/builtin_actions.py

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ from datetime import datetime
 from typing import Tuple
 
 from src.auth_helpers import owner_filter
+from core.platform_compat import IS_WINDOWS, find_bash
 
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
@@ -266,6 +267,11 @@ async def action_ssh_command(owner: str, command: str = "", host: str = "localho
     if not command:
         return "No command specified", False
     if host in ("localhost", "127.0.0.1", "local"):
+        if IS_WINDOWS:
+            bash = find_bash()
+            if bash:
+                return await _run_subprocess([bash, "-c", command], timeout=120, label="Command")
+            return await _run_subprocess(command, shell=True, timeout=120, label="Command")
         return await _run_subprocess(["bash", "-c", command], timeout=120, label="Command")
     return await _run_subprocess(
         ["ssh", "-o", "ConnectTimeout=10", host, command], timeout=120, label="Command",
@@ -278,6 +284,8 @@ async def action_run_script(owner: str, script: str = "", host: str = "", **kwar
         return "No script specified", False
     target_host = (host or os.getenv("ODYSSEUS_SCRIPT_HOST", "localhost")).strip()
     if target_host in ("", "localhost", "127.0.0.1", "local"):
+        if IS_WINDOWS and find_bash():
+            return await _run_subprocess([find_bash(), "-c", script], timeout=300, label="Script")
         return await _run_subprocess(script, shell=True, timeout=300, label="Script")
     return await _run_subprocess(["ssh", target_host, script], timeout=300, label="Script")
 
@@ -286,6 +294,8 @@ async def action_run_local(owner: str, script: str = "", **kwargs) -> Tuple[str,
     """Run a script locally (no SSH)."""
     if not script:
         return "No script specified", False
+    if IS_WINDOWS and find_bash():
+        return await _run_subprocess([find_bash(), "-c", script], timeout=300, label="Script")
     return await _run_subprocess(script, shell=True, timeout=300, label="Script")
 
 

src/builtin_mcp.py

@@ -11,15 +11,36 @@ import shutil
 import sys
 import asyncio
 
+from core.platform_compat import IS_WINDOWS, which_tool
+
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 
 def _find_npx() -> str:
-    """Find npx binary, checking common locations if not on PATH."""
-    npx = shutil.which("npx")
+    """Find the npx binary, checking common locations if not on PATH.
+
+    On Windows the shim is `npx.cmd`, which `which_tool` resolves via PATHEXT.
+    """
+    npx = which_tool("npx")
     if npx:
         return npx
-    # Common locations when PATH is minimal (e.g. systemd)
+    if IS_WINDOWS:
+        # Minimal-PATH fallbacks: npm's global bin lives under %APPDATA%\npm,
+        # and node's installer dir carries npx.cmd alongside node.exe.
+        appdata = os.environ.get("APPDATA", os.path.expanduser("~"))
+        for candidate in (
+            os.path.join(appdata, "npm", "npx.cmd"),
+            r"C:\Program Files\nodejs\npx.cmd",
+        ):
+            if os.path.isfile(candidate):
+                return candidate
+        node = which_tool("node")
+        if node:
+            cand = os.path.join(os.path.dirname(node), "npx.cmd")
+            if os.path.isfile(cand):
+                return cand
+        return "npx.cmd"  # fallback, will fail with a clear error
+    # Common POSIX locations when PATH is minimal (e.g. systemd)
     for candidate in [
         os.path.expanduser("~/.npm-global/bin/npx"),
         os.path.expanduser("~/.local/bin/npx"),

src/chat_handler.py

@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ class ChatHandler:
         if att_ids:
             uploads_db_path = os.path.join(UPLOAD_DIR, "uploads.json")
             try:
-                with open(uploads_db_path, "r") as f:
+                with open(uploads_db_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                     _all_files = json.load(f)
                 files_by_id = {fi["id"]: fi for fi in _all_files.values() if "id" in fi}
             except (FileNotFoundError, json.JSONDecodeError):
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ class ChatHandler:
                         _vcache = os.path.join(UPLOAD_DIR, ".vision", att_id + ".txt")
                         if os.path.exists(_vcache):
                             try:
-                                with open(_vcache) as _vf:
+                                with open(_vcache, encoding="utf-8") as _vf:
                                     _vtext = _vf.read().strip()
                                 if _vtext:
                                     enhanced_message += f"\n[User-corrected caption / OCR for this image — treat as authoritative]:\n{_vtext}"
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@ class ChatHandler:
                         vl_model = get_setting("vision_model", "") or ""
                         if os.path.exists(_vcache):
                             try:
-                                with open(_vcache) as _vf:
+                                with open(_vcache, encoding="utf-8") as _vf:
                                     cached_desc = _vf.read().strip()
                                 if cached_desc and not cached_desc.startswith("["):
                                     vl_desc = cached_desc
@@ -225,7 +225,7 @@ class ChatHandler:
                             if vl_desc and not vl_desc.startswith("["):
                                 try:
                                     os.makedirs(os.path.join(UPLOAD_DIR, ".vision"), exist_ok=True)
-                                    with open(_vcache, "w") as _vf:
+                                    with open(_vcache, "w", encoding="utf-8") as _vf:
                                         _vf.write(vl_desc)
                                 except Exception:
                                     pass

src/config.py

@@ -1,8 +1,19 @@
+import os
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import List, Optional
 from pydantic_settings import BaseSettings, SettingsConfigDict
 from pydantic import Field, field_validator
 
+# Cross-platform OS flag, exposed here so callers can `from src.config import
+# IS_WINDOWS`. Defined locally (a trivial `os.name == "nt"`) rather than imported
+# from core.platform_compat, to keep this dependency-light config module from
+# dragging in the whole core/__init__ + llm_core import chain. The platform
+# *helper functions* (safe_chmod, pid_alive, find_bash, ...) live solely in
+# core.platform_compat — that remains their single source of truth. Keep platform
+# branches as small inline `if IS_WINDOWS:` deltas (never parallel *_windows.py
+# files) so they stay easy to integrate with upstream changes.
+IS_WINDOWS = os.name == "nt"
+
 class DataConfig(BaseSettings):
     """Configuration for data storage and file handling."""
     # Base directory

src/embeddings.py

@@ -13,6 +13,17 @@ Set EMBEDDING_URL in .env, e.g.:
 """
 
 import os
+
+# Windows: force HuggingFace/fastembed to COPY model files rather than symlink
+# them. On a network-share/UNC cache dir Windows can't follow HF's symlinks
+# ([WinError 1463] "symbolic link cannot be followed"), so ONNX fails to load the
+# model and semantic memory dies. huggingface_hub reads this flag at import time,
+# so it must be set before huggingface_hub is first imported — hence module-top.
+# (app.py sets the same guard for the server entrypoint.)
+if os.name == "nt":
+    os.environ.setdefault("HF_HUB_DISABLE_SYMLINKS", "1")
+    os.environ.setdefault("HF_HUB_DISABLE_SYMLINKS_WARNING", "1")
+
 import logging
 import numpy as np
 import httpx
@@ -109,6 +120,35 @@ class FastEmbedClient:
             "data", "fastembed_cache",
         )
         os.makedirs(cache_dir, exist_ok=True)
+        # Windows self-heal: the HuggingFace-hub cache stores model files as
+        # symlinks (snapshots/<rev>/model.onnx -> ../../blobs/<hash>). On a
+        # network-share / UNC data dir Windows refuses to follow them
+        # ([WinError 1463] "symbolic link cannot be followed because its type is
+        # disabled"), and a cache copied between machines can carry dead symlinks
+        # too. Either way fastembed tries to load a broken symlink and fails
+        # *without* re-downloading, leaving semantic memory degraded. Detect a
+        # broken-symlink model in the cache and drop the contaminated hub dir so
+        # fastembed re-fetches (it falls back to its CDN tarball of real files,
+        # which load fine). Best-effort; only ever removes a verifiably dead link.
+        if os.name == "nt":
+            try:
+                import glob, shutil
+                for _onnx in glob.glob(os.path.join(cache_dir, "**", "*.onnx"), recursive=True):
+                    if os.path.islink(_onnx) and not os.path.exists(_onnx):
+                        _root = _onnx
+                        while os.path.basename(_root) and not os.path.basename(_root).startswith("models--"):
+                            _parent = os.path.dirname(_root)
+                            if _parent == _root:
+                                break
+                            _root = _parent
+                        if os.path.basename(_root).startswith("models--"):
+                            logger.warning(
+                                "Embedding cache has a broken symlink (%s); clearing %s "
+                                "so fastembed re-downloads real files", _onnx, _root,
+                            )
+                            shutil.rmtree(_root, ignore_errors=True)
+            except Exception as _e:
+                logger.debug("embedding cache symlink-heal skipped: %s", _e)
         kwargs = {"model_name": self.model, "cache_dir": cache_dir}
         self._embedding = TextEmbedding(**kwargs)
         self._dim: Optional[int] = None
@@ -152,7 +192,7 @@ def _load_persisted_endpoint() -> dict:
         )
         if os.path.exists(endpoint_file):
             import json
-            data = json.loads(open(endpoint_file).read())
+            data = json.loads(open(endpoint_file, encoding="utf-8").read())
             if data.get("url"):
                 return data
     except Exception:

src/integrations.py

@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ def load_integrations() -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
     if not os.path.exists(DATA_FILE):
         return []
     try:
-        with open(DATA_FILE, "r") as f:
+        with open(DATA_FILE, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
             return json.load(f)
     except (json.JSONDecodeError, IOError) as exc:
         log.error("Failed to load integrations: %s", exc)
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ def load_integrations() -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
 def save_integrations(integrations: List[Dict[str, Any]]) -> None:
     """Persist integrations list to disk."""
     _ensure_data_dir()
-    with open(DATA_FILE, "w") as f:
+    with open(DATA_FILE, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
         json.dump(integrations, f, indent=2)
 
 
@@ -409,7 +409,7 @@ def migrate_from_settings() -> None:
         return
 
     try:
-        with open(settings_path, "r") as f:
+        with open(settings_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
             settings = json.load(f)
     except (json.JSONDecodeError, IOError):
         return
@@ -436,7 +436,7 @@ def migrate_from_settings() -> None:
     # Clear migrated keys
     settings.pop("miniflux_url", None)
     settings.pop("miniflux_api_key", None)
-    with open(settings_path, "w") as f:
+    with open(settings_path, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
         json.dump(settings, f, indent=2)
 
     log.info("Migrated Miniflux integration from settings.json")

src/pdf_form_doc.py

@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ def save_field_sidecar(pdf_path: str, fields: list[dict[str, Any]]) -> str:
     """Persist the field schema next to its source PDF. Returns the sidecar path."""
     path = sidecar_path(pdf_path)
     try:
-        with open(path, "w") as f:
+        with open(path, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
             json.dump(fields, f, indent=2)
     except Exception as e:
         logger.warning(f"Failed to write field sidecar {path}: {e}")
@@ -155,7 +155,7 @@ def load_field_sidecar(pdf_path: str) -> Optional[list[dict[str, Any]]]:
     if not os.path.exists(path):
         return None
     try:
-        with open(path) as f:
+        with open(path, encoding="utf-8") as f:
             return json.load(f)
     except Exception as e:
         logger.warning(f"Failed to read field sidecar {path}: {e}")

src/personal_docs.py

@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ class PersonalDocsManager:
         """Load the list of indexed directories from persistent storage."""
         try:
             if os.path.exists(self.directories_file):
-                with open(self.directories_file, 'r') as f:
+                with open(self.directories_file, 'r', encoding="utf-8") as f:
                     self.indexed_directories = json.load(f)
                 logger.info(f"Loaded {len(self.indexed_directories)} indexed directories")
             else:
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ class PersonalDocsManager:
     def save_directories(self):
         """Save the list of indexed directories to persistent storage."""
         try:
-            with open(self.directories_file, 'w') as f:
+            with open(self.directories_file, 'w', encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 json.dump(self.indexed_directories, f, indent=2)
             logger.info(f"Saved {len(self.indexed_directories)} indexed directories")
         except Exception as e:
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ class PersonalDocsManager:
         """Load the set of excluded file paths from persistent storage."""
         try:
             if os.path.exists(self._excluded_file):
-                with open(self._excluded_file, 'r') as f:
+                with open(self._excluded_file, 'r', encoding="utf-8") as f:
                     self.excluded_files = set(json.load(f))
             else:
                 self.excluded_files = set()
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ class PersonalDocsManager:
 
     def _save_excluded(self):
         try:
-            with open(self._excluded_file, 'w') as f:
+            with open(self._excluded_file, 'w', encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 json.dump(list(self.excluded_files), f)
         except Exception as e:
             logger.error(f"Error saving excluded files: {e}")

src/preset_manager.py

@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ Use precise language. Show causal relationships explicitly. Quantify uncertainty
             return self.DEFAULT_PRESETS.copy()
         
         try:
-            with open(self.presets_file, 'r') as f:
+            with open(self.presets_file, 'r', encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 presets = json.load(f)
             custom = presets.get("custom") if isinstance(presets, dict) else None
             if isinstance(custom, dict) and "enabled" not in custom:
@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@ Use precise language. Show causal relationships explicitly. Quantify uncertainty
         """Save presets to file"""
         try:
             os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(self.presets_file), exist_ok=True)
-            with open(self.presets_file, 'w') as f:
+            with open(self.presets_file, 'w', encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 json.dump(presets, f, indent=2)
             self.presets = presets
             return True

src/research_handler.py

@@ -299,7 +299,7 @@ class ResearchHandler:
         path = RESEARCH_DATA_DIR / f"{session_id}.json"
         if path.exists():
             try:
-                data = json.loads(path.read_text())
+                data = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
                 if data.get("consumed"):
                     return None
                 return {
@@ -338,7 +338,7 @@ class ResearchHandler:
         path = RESEARCH_DATA_DIR / f"{session_id}.json"
         if path.exists():
             try:
-                data = json.loads(path.read_text())
+                data = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
                 if data.get("consumed"):
                     return None
                 return data.get("result")
@@ -360,7 +360,7 @@ class ResearchHandler:
         path = RESEARCH_DATA_DIR / f"{session_id}.json"
         if path.exists():
             try:
-                data = json.loads(path.read_text())
+                data = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
                 return data.get("sources")
             except Exception:
                 pass
@@ -377,7 +377,7 @@ class ResearchHandler:
         path = RESEARCH_DATA_DIR / f"{session_id}.json"
         if path.exists():
             try:
-                data = json.loads(path.read_text())
+                data = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
                 return data.get("raw_findings")
             except Exception as e:
                 logger.warning(f"Failed to read raw findings for {session_id}: {e}")
@@ -425,7 +425,7 @@ class ResearchHandler:
         try:
             for p in RESEARCH_DATA_DIR.glob("*.json"):
                 try:
-                    data = json.loads(p.read_text())
+                    data = json.loads(p.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
                     if data.get("status") == "done":
                         started = data.get("started_at", 0)
                         completed = data.get("completed_at", 0)
@@ -448,9 +448,9 @@ class ResearchHandler:
         path = RESEARCH_DATA_DIR / f"{session_id}.json"
         if path.exists():
             try:
-                data = json.loads(path.read_text())
+                data = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
                 data["consumed"] = True
-                path.write_text(json.dumps(data))
+                path.write_text(json.dumps(data), encoding="utf-8")
             except Exception:
                 pass
 
@@ -481,7 +481,7 @@ class ResearchHandler:
                 # SECURITY: stamp owner so route handlers can filter by user.
                 "owner": entry.get("owner", ""),
             }
-            path.write_text(json.dumps(data))
+            path.write_text(json.dumps(data), encoding="utf-8")
             logger.info(f"Research result saved to {path}")
             try:
                 from src.event_bus import fire_event
@@ -496,7 +496,7 @@ class ResearchHandler:
         path = RESEARCH_DATA_DIR / f"{session_id}.json"
         if path.exists():
             try:
-                return json.loads(path.read_text())
+                return json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
             except Exception:
                 pass
         return None
@@ -511,7 +511,7 @@ class ResearchHandler:
         try:
             from src.visual_report import generate_visual_report
 
-            data = json.loads(json_path.read_text())
+            data = json.loads(json_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
             report_md = data.get("raw_report") or data.get("result", "")
             html_content = generate_visual_report(
                 question=data.get("query", ""),
@@ -534,12 +534,12 @@ class ResearchHandler:
         if not path.exists():
             return False
         try:
-            data = json.loads(path.read_text())
+            data = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
             hidden = data.get("hidden_images") or []
             if image_url not in hidden:
                 hidden.append(image_url)
                 data["hidden_images"] = hidden
-                path.write_text(json.dumps(data))
+                path.write_text(json.dumps(data), encoding="utf-8")
                 logger.info(f"Hid image {image_url[:80]} for research {session_id}")
             return True
         except Exception as e:
@@ -552,9 +552,9 @@ class ResearchHandler:
         if not path.exists():
             return False
         try:
-            data = json.loads(path.read_text())
+            data = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
             data["hidden_images"] = []
-            path.write_text(json.dumps(data))
+            path.write_text(json.dumps(data), encoding="utf-8")
             logger.info(f"Cleared hidden_images for research {session_id}")
             return True
         except Exception as e:

src/secret_storage.py

@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ from pathlib import Path
 
 from cryptography.fernet import Fernet, InvalidToken
 
+from core.platform_compat import safe_chmod
+
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 _KEY_PATH = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent / "data" / ".app_key"
@@ -37,10 +39,9 @@ def _load_or_create_key() -> bytes:
     _KEY_PATH.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
     key = Fernet.generate_key()
     _KEY_PATH.write_bytes(key)
-    try:
-        os.chmod(_KEY_PATH, 0o600)
-    except Exception:
-        pass
+    # POSIX: lock the key to 0o600. Windows: no-op (the user-profile data dir is
+    # already ACL-restricted); safe_chmod swallows both cases.
+    safe_chmod(_KEY_PATH, 0o600)
     logger.info(f"Generated new app key at {_KEY_PATH}")
     return key
 

src/settings.py

@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ def load_settings() -> dict:
     if _settings_cache and (now - _settings_cache[0]) < _CACHE_TTL:
         return _settings_cache[1]
     try:
-        with open(SETTINGS_FILE, "r") as f:
+        with open(SETTINGS_FILE, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
             saved = json.load(f)
         merged = {**DEFAULT_SETTINGS, **saved}
     except (FileNotFoundError, json.JSONDecodeError):
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ def load_features() -> dict:
     if _features_cache and (now - _features_cache[0]) < _CACHE_TTL:
         return _features_cache[1]
     try:
-        with open(FEATURES_FILE, "r") as f:
+        with open(FEATURES_FILE, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
             saved = json.load(f)
         merged = {**DEFAULT_FEATURES, **saved}
     except (FileNotFoundError, json.JSONDecodeError):

src/task_scheduler.py

@@ -1013,7 +1013,7 @@ class TaskScheduler:
             from pathlib import Path as _P
             integrations_file = _P("data/integrations.json")
             if integrations_file.exists():
-                integrations = json.loads(integrations_file.read_text())
+                integrations = json.loads(integrations_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
                 for integ in integrations:
                     if not integ.get("enabled"):
                         continue
@@ -1616,7 +1616,7 @@ class TaskScheduler:
                 "task_id": task.id,
                 "task_name": task.name,
             }
-            (RESEARCH_DATA_DIR / f"{session_id}.json").write_text(json.dumps(payload))
+            (RESEARCH_DATA_DIR / f"{session_id}.json").write_text(json.dumps(payload), encoding="utf-8")
             try:
                 from src.event_bus import fire_event
                 fire_event("research_completed", task.owner or None)

src/tool_execution.py

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import collections
 import json
 import logging
 import os
+import sys
 import time
 from typing import Any, Awaitable, Callable, Dict, Optional, Tuple
 
@@ -348,7 +349,9 @@ async def _direct_fallback(
             # can't take the whole server down. -I = isolated mode (skip
             # user site, no PYTHONPATH inheritance) for hygiene.
             proc = await asyncio.create_subprocess_exec(
-                "python3", "-I", "-c", content,
+                # Use the running interpreter — there is no `python3.exe` on
+                # Windows, which made the agent's `python` tool fail there.
+                (sys.executable or "python"), "-I", "-c", content,
                 stdout=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
                 stderr=asyncio.subprocess.PIPE,
                 env=_subproc_env,

src/tool_implementations.py

@@ -3639,7 +3639,7 @@ async def do_manage_research(content: str, owner: Optional[str] = None) -> Dict:
 
     def _load(p):
         try:
-            return _json.loads(p.read_text())
+            return _json.loads(p.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
         except Exception:
             return None
 
@@ -3874,7 +3874,7 @@ def _load_vault_config() -> Dict:
     p = Path("data/vault.json")
     if p.exists():
         try:
-            return json.loads(p.read_text())
+            return json.loads(p.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
         except Exception:
             pass
     return {}
@@ -4027,13 +4027,13 @@ async def do_vault_unlock(content: str, owner: Optional[str] = None) -> Dict:
     cfg = {}
     if p.exists():
         try:
-            cfg = json.loads(p.read_text())
+            cfg = json.loads(p.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
         except Exception:
             pass
     cfg["session"] = session
     from datetime import datetime as _dt
     cfg["unlocked_at"] = _dt.utcnow().isoformat()
-    p.write_text(json.dumps(cfg, indent=2))
+    p.write_text(json.dumps(cfg, indent=2), encoding="utf-8")
     try:
         import os as _os
         _os.chmod(str(p), 0o600)

src/upload_handler.py

@@ -269,7 +269,7 @@ class UploadHandler:
             
             uploads_db_path = os.path.join(self.upload_dir, "uploads.json")
             if os.path.exists(uploads_db_path):
-                with open(uploads_db_path, "r") as f:
+                with open(uploads_db_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                     files = json.load(f)
                 
                 total_files = len(files)
@@ -352,7 +352,7 @@ class UploadHandler:
         
         if os.path.exists(uploads_db_path):
             try:
-                with open(uploads_db_path, "r") as f:
+                with open(uploads_db_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                     existing_files = json.load(f)
             except Exception as e:
                 logger.warning(f"Failed to read uploads database: {e}")
@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@ class UploadHandler:
             existing_files[existing_key] = existing_file
             
             try:
-                with open(uploads_db_path, "w") as f:
+                with open(uploads_db_path, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                     json.dump(existing_files, f, indent=2)
             except Exception as e:
                 logger.warning(f"Failed to update uploads database: {e}")
@@ -439,7 +439,7 @@ class UploadHandler:
         try:
             if os.path.exists(uploads_db_path):
                 try:
-                    with open(uploads_db_path, "r") as f:
+                    with open(uploads_db_path, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                         all_files = json.load(f)
                 except Exception:
                     all_files = {}
@@ -449,7 +449,7 @@ class UploadHandler:
             storage_key = f"{owner}:{file_hash}" if owner else file_hash
             all_files[storage_key] = file_metadata
             
-            with open(uploads_db_path, "w") as f:
+            with open(uploads_db_path, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
                 json.dump(all_files, f, indent=2)
                 
         except Exception as e:

tests/test_auth_regressions.py

@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ def test_admin_only_actions_set_contains_shell_runners():
     # `_ADMIN_ONLY_ACTIONS` is a closure constant. Easiest pin: re-read
     # the source and check for the three risky entries + the admin gate
     # wording.
-    src = open(task_routes.__file__).read()
+    src = open(task_routes.__file__, encoding="utf-8").read()
     assert '"run_local"' in src
     assert '"run_script"' in src
     assert '"ssh_command"' in src
@@ -249,8 +249,8 @@ def test_ship_paused_housekeeping_stays_paused_by_default():
     from routes import task_routes
     from src import task_scheduler
 
-    route_src = open(task_routes.__file__).read()
-    scheduler_src = open(task_scheduler.__file__).read()
+    route_src = open(task_routes.__file__, encoding="utf-8").read()
+    scheduler_src = open(task_scheduler.__file__, encoding="utf-8").read()
     assert '"ship_paused": True' in scheduler_src
     assert 'defs.get("ship_paused")' in scheduler_src
     assert 'defs.get("ship_paused")' in route_src
@@ -259,5 +259,5 @@ def test_ship_paused_housekeeping_stays_paused_by_default():
 def test_task_payload_exposes_crew_member_id_for_ui_category():
     from routes import task_routes
 
-    src = open(task_routes.__file__).read()
+    src = open(task_routes.__file__, encoding="utf-8").read()
     assert '"crew_member_id"' in src

tests/test_security_regressions.py

@@ -96,6 +96,11 @@ def test_secret_storage_corrupt_token_returns_empty(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
     assert ss.decrypt("enc:not-a-valid-fernet-token") == ""
 
 
+@pytest.mark.skipif(
+    sys.platform == "win32",
+    reason="POSIX mode bits (0o600) don't exist on Windows; the key file is "
+    "protected by the user-profile NTFS ACL instead, and safe_chmod no-ops there.",
+)
 def test_secret_storage_key_created_with_safe_mode(tmp_path, monkeypatch):
     """The auto-generated key file must be mode 0o600 — anyone who can
     read it can decrypt every stored secret."""