diff --git a/.cursorrules b/.cursorrules
index 70cb37ea..0f62596f 100644
--- a/.cursorrules
+++ b/.cursorrules
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 - Instead of `Optional` use `| None`
 - Create a `__init__.py` file in each folder
 - Never pass literals, e.g., `error_msg`, directly to `Exceptions`, but instead assign them to variables and pass them to the exception, e.g., `raise FileNotFoundError(error_msg)` instead of `raise FileNotFoundError(f"Thread {thread_id} not found")`
+- Always specify `encoding="utf-8"` for all file read and write operations (e.g., `Path.read_text()`, `Path.write_text()`, `open()`, etc.) to ensure proper handling of Unicode characters across all platforms
 
 ## FastAPI
 - Instead of defining `response_model` within route annotation, use the model as the response type in the function signature
@@ -16,6 +17,15 @@
 # Testing
 - Use `pytest-mock` for mocking in tests wherever you need to mock something and pytest-mock can do the job.
 
+# Git
+- Never use `git add .` - always explicitly add files that are related to the task using `git add <file1> <file2> ...`
+- Use conventional commits format for commit messages (e.g., `feat:`, `fix:`, `docs:`, `style:`, `refactor:`, `test:`, `chore:`)
+- Always run linting/pdm commands before committing to ensure code quality. The following commands must pass:
+  - `pdm run format` - code formatting with ruff (must pass)
+  - `pdm run lint` - linting with ruff (must pass, or use `pdm run lint:fix` to auto-fix issues)
+  - `pdm run typecheck:all` - type checking with mypy (may have pre-existing errors from venv/optional dependencies, but should not introduce new errors)
+  - Alternatively, use `pdm run qa:fix` which runs `typecheck:all`, `format`, and `lint:fix`
+
 # Documentation
 
 ## Docstrings
diff --git a/src/askui/chat/api/workflows/service.py b/src/askui/chat/api/workflows/service.py
index 29aaa1aa..31e6862d 100644
--- a/src/askui/chat/api/workflows/service.py
+++ b/src/askui/chat/api/workflows/service.py
@@ -70,7 +70,9 @@ def retrieve(
     ) -> Workflow:
         try:
             workflow_path = self._get_workflow_path(workflow_id)
-            workflow = Workflow.model_validate_json(workflow_path.read_text())
+            workflow = Workflow.model_validate_json(
+                workflow_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+            )
 
             # Check workspace access
             if workspace_id is not None and workflow.workspace_id != workspace_id:
diff --git a/src/askui/models/askui/ai_element_utils.py b/src/askui/models/askui/ai_element_utils.py
index 48800e4b..25fc96d5 100644
--- a/src/askui/models/askui/ai_element_utils.py
+++ b/src/askui/models/askui/ai_element_utils.py
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ def from_json_file(cls, json_file_path: pathlib.Path) -> "AiElement":
             image=Image.open(image_path),
             image_path=image_path,
             json_path=json_file_path,
-            metadata=json.loads(json_file_path.read_text()),
+            metadata=json.loads(json_file_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")),
         )
 
 
diff --git a/src/askui/reporting.py b/src/askui/reporting.py
index ae3cd52b..1116f009 100644
--- a/src/askui/reporting.py
+++ b/src/askui/reporting.py
@@ -736,7 +736,7 @@ def generate(self) -> None:
             f"{random.randint(0, 1000):03}.html"
         )
         self.report_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-        report_path.write_text(html)
+        report_path.write_text(html, encoding="utf-8")
 
 
 class AllureReporter(Reporter):
diff --git a/src/askui/telemetry/anonymous_id.py b/src/askui/telemetry/anonymous_id.py
index 2f6c6572..03b92b50 100644
--- a/src/askui/telemetry/anonymous_id.py
+++ b/src/askui/telemetry/anonymous_id.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ def _read_anonymous_id_from_file() -> str | None:
     """Read anonymous ID from file if it exists."""
     try:
         if _ANONYMOUS_ID_FILE_PATH.exists():
-            return _ANONYMOUS_ID_FILE_PATH.read_text().strip()
+            return _ANONYMOUS_ID_FILE_PATH.read_text(encoding="utf-8").strip()
     except OSError as e:
         logger.warning("Failed to read anonymous ID from file", extra={"error": str(e)})
     return None
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ def _write_anonymous_id_to_file(anonymous_id: str) -> bool:
     """Write anonymous ID to file, creating directories if needed."""
     try:
         _ANONYMOUS_ID_FILE_PATH.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-        _ANONYMOUS_ID_FILE_PATH.write_text(anonymous_id)
+        _ANONYMOUS_ID_FILE_PATH.write_text(anonymous_id, encoding="utf-8")
     except OSError as e:
         logger.warning("Failed to write anonymous ID to file", extra={"error": str(e)})
     else:
diff --git a/src/askui/tools/askui/askui_controller_settings.py b/src/askui/tools/askui/askui_controller_settings.py
index 376b2c60..6ad23769 100644
--- a/src/askui/tools/askui/askui_controller_settings.py
+++ b/src/askui/tools/askui/askui_controller_settings.py
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ def _find_remote_device_controller_by_component_registry_file(
             return None
 
         component_registry = AskUiComponentRegistry.model_validate_json(
-            self.component_registry_file.read_text()
+            self.component_registry_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
         )
         return (
             component_registry.installed_packages.remote_device_controller_uuid.executables.askui_remote_device_controller  # noqa: E501
diff --git a/src/askui/tools/testing/execution_service.py b/src/askui/tools/testing/execution_service.py
index 22639b2e..7348b1fa 100644
--- a/src/askui/tools/testing/execution_service.py
+++ b/src/askui/tools/testing/execution_service.py
@@ -59,7 +59,9 @@ def list_(self, query: ExecutionListQuery) -> ListResponse[Execution]:
     def retrieve(self, execution_id: ExecutionId) -> Execution:
         try:
             execution_path = self._get_execution_path(execution_id)
-            return Execution.model_validate_json(execution_path.read_text())
+            return Execution.model_validate_json(
+                execution_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+            )
         except FileNotFoundError as e:
             error_msg = f"Execution {execution_id} not found"
             raise NotFoundError(error_msg) from e
diff --git a/src/askui/tools/testing/feature_service.py b/src/askui/tools/testing/feature_service.py
index ba9520db..97862170 100644
--- a/src/askui/tools/testing/feature_service.py
+++ b/src/askui/tools/testing/feature_service.py
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ def list_(
     def retrieve(self, feature_id: FeatureId) -> Feature:
         try:
             feature_path = self._get_feature_path(feature_id)
-            return Feature.model_validate_json(feature_path.read_text())
+            return Feature.model_validate_json(feature_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
         except FileNotFoundError as e:
             error_msg = f"Feature {feature_id} not found"
             raise NotFoundError(error_msg) from e
diff --git a/src/askui/tools/testing/scenario_service.py b/src/askui/tools/testing/scenario_service.py
index e0680683..8c1e0891 100644
--- a/src/askui/tools/testing/scenario_service.py
+++ b/src/askui/tools/testing/scenario_service.py
@@ -62,7 +62,9 @@ def list_(self, query: ScenarioListQuery) -> ListResponse[Scenario]:
     def retrieve(self, scenario_id: ScenarioId) -> Scenario:
         try:
             scenario_path = self._get_scenario_path(scenario_id)
-            return Scenario.model_validate_json(scenario_path.read_text())
+            return Scenario.model_validate_json(
+                scenario_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+            )
         except FileNotFoundError as e:
             error_msg = f"Scenario {scenario_id} not found"
             raise NotFoundError(error_msg) from e