diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/electron.vite.config.ts b/auto-claude-ui/electron.vite.config.ts
index 6fc4aa22..7d3b23aa 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/electron.vite.config.ts
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/electron.vite.config.ts
@@ -5,13 +5,21 @@ import { resolve } from 'path';
 export default defineConfig({
   main: {
     plugins: [externalizeDepsPlugin({
-      exclude: []
+      // Bundle these packages into the main process (they won't be in node_modules in packaged app)
+      exclude: [
+        'uuid',
+        'chokidar',
+        'ioredis',
+        'electron-updater',
+        '@electron-toolkit/utils'
+      ]
     })],
     build: {
       rollupOptions: {
         input: {
           index: resolve(__dirname, 'src/main/index.ts')
         },
+        // Only node-pty needs to be external (native module rebuilt by electron-builder)
         external: ['node-pty']
       }
     }
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/package-lock.json b/auto-claude-ui/package-lock.json
index 92920912..32602cef 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/package-lock.json
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/package-lock.json
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@
         "ioredis": "^5.8.2",
         "lucide-react": "^0.560.0",
         "motion": "^12.23.26",
-        "node-pty": "^1.0.0",
+        "node-pty": "^1.1.0-beta42",
         "react": "^19.2.3",
         "react-dom": "^19.2.3",
         "react-markdown": "^10.1.0",
@@ -150,6 +150,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-e7jT4DxYvIDLk1ZHmU/m/mB19rex9sv0c2ftBtjSBv+kVM/902eh0fINUzD7UwLLNR+jU585GxUJ8/EBfAM5fw==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "@babel/code-frame": "^7.27.1",
         "@babel/generator": "^7.28.5",
@@ -535,6 +536,7 @@
         }
       ],
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=18"
       },
@@ -558,6 +560,7 @@
         }
       ],
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=18"
       }
@@ -597,6 +600,7 @@
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@dnd-kit/core/-/core-6.3.1.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-xkGBRQQab4RLwgXxoqETICr6S5JlogafbhNsidmrkVv2YRs5MLwpjoF2qpiGjQt8S9AoxtIV603s0GIUpY5eYQ==",
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "@dnd-kit/accessibility": "^3.1.1",
         "@dnd-kit/utilities": "^3.2.2",
@@ -991,7 +995,6 @@
       "dev": true,
       "license": "BSD-2-Clause",
       "optional": true,
-      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "cross-dirname": "^0.1.0",
         "debug": "^4.3.4",
@@ -1013,7 +1016,6 @@
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
       "optional": true,
-      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "graceful-fs": "^4.2.0",
         "jsonfile": "^6.0.1",
@@ -3928,8 +3930,7 @@
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/aria-query/-/aria-query-5.0.4.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-rfT93uj5s0PRL7EzccGMs3brplhcrghnDoV26NqKhCAS1hVo+WdNsPvE/yb6ilfr5hi2MEk6d5EWJTKdxg8jVw==",
       "dev": true,
-      "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true
+      "license": "MIT"
     },
     "node_modules/@types/babel__core": {
       "version": "7.20.5",
@@ -4126,6 +4127,7 @@
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@types/react/-/react-19.2.7.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-MWtvHrGZLFttgeEj28VXHxpmwYbor/ATPYbBfSFZEIRK0ecCFLl2Qo55z52Hss+UV9CRN7trSeq1zbgx7YDWWg==",
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "csstype": "^3.2.2"
       }
@@ -4136,6 +4138,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-jp2L/eY6fn+KgVVQAOqYItbF0VY/YApe5Mz2F0aykSO8gx31bYCZyvSeYxCHKvzHG5eZjc+zyaS5BrBWya2+kQ==",
       "devOptional": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "peerDependencies": {
         "@types/react": "^19.2.0"
       }
@@ -4227,6 +4230,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-N9lBGA9o9aqb1hVMc9hzySbhKibHmB+N3IpoShyV6HyQYRGIhlrO5rQgttypi+yEeKsKI4idxC8Jw6gXKD4THA==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "@typescript-eslint/scope-manager": "8.49.0",
         "@typescript-eslint/types": "8.49.0",
@@ -4626,7 +4630,8 @@
       "version": "5.5.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/@xterm/xterm/-/xterm-5.5.0.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-hqJHYaQb5OptNunnyAnkHyM8aCjZ1MEIDTQu1iIbbTD/xops91NB5yq1ZK/dC2JDbVWtF23zUtl9JE2NqwT87A==",
-      "license": "MIT"
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true
     },
     "node_modules/7zip-bin": {
       "version": "5.2.0",
@@ -4648,6 +4653,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-NZyJarBfL7nWwIq+FDL6Zp/yHEhePMNnnJ0y3qfieCrmNvYct8uvtiV41UvlSe6apAfk0fY1FbWx+NwfmpvtTg==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "bin": {
         "acorn": "bin/acorn"
       },
@@ -4708,6 +4714,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-j3fVLgvTo527anyYyJOGTYJbG+vnnQYvE0m5mmkc1TK+nxAppkCLMIL0aZ4dblVCNoGShhm+kzE4ZUykBoMg4g==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "fast-deep-equal": "^3.1.1",
         "fast-json-stable-stringify": "^2.0.0",
@@ -4880,7 +4887,6 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-b0P0sZPKtyu8HkeRAfCq0IfURZK+SuwMjY1UXGBU27wpAiTwQAIlq56IbIO+ytk/JjS1fMR14ee5WBBfKi5J6A==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "Apache-2.0",
-      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "dequal": "^2.0.3"
       }
@@ -5265,6 +5271,7 @@
         }
       ],
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "baseline-browser-mapping": "^2.9.0",
         "caniuse-lite": "^1.0.30001759",
@@ -5944,8 +5951,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-+R08/oI0nl3vfPcqftZRpytksBXDzOUveBq/NBVx0sUp1axwzPQrKinNx5yd5sxPu8j1wIy8AfnVQ+5eFdha6Q==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
-      "optional": true,
-      "peer": true
+      "optional": true
     },
     "node_modules/cross-spawn": {
       "version": "7.0.6",
@@ -6289,6 +6295,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-59CAAjAhTaIMCN8y9kD573vDkxbs1uhDcrFLHSgutYdPcGOU35Rf95725snvzEOy4BFB7+eLJ8djCNPmGwG67w==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "app-builder-lib": "26.0.12",
         "builder-util": "26.0.11",
@@ -6346,8 +6353,7 @@
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/dom-accessibility-api/-/dom-accessibility-api-0.5.16.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-X7BJ2yElsnOJ30pZF4uIIDfBEVgF4XEBxL9Bxhy6dnrm5hkzqmsWHGTiHqRiITNhMyFLyAiWndIJP7Z1NTteDg==",
       "dev": true,
-      "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true
+      "license": "MIT"
     },
     "node_modules/dotenv": {
       "version": "16.6.1",
@@ -6423,6 +6429,7 @@
       "dev": true,
       "hasInstallScript": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "@electron/get": "^2.0.0",
         "@types/node": "^22.7.7",
@@ -6551,7 +6558,6 @@
       "dev": true,
       "hasInstallScript": true,
       "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "@electron/asar": "^3.2.1",
         "debug": "^4.1.1",
@@ -6572,7 +6578,6 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-YJDaCJZEnBmcbw13fvdAM9AwNOJwOzrE4pqMqBq5nFiEqXUqHwlK4B+3pUw6JNvfSPtX05xFHtYy/1ni01eGCw==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "graceful-fs": "^4.1.2",
         "jsonfile": "^4.0.0",
@@ -6588,7 +6593,6 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-m6F1R3z8jjlf2imQHS2Qez5sjKWQzbuuhuJ/FKYFRZvPE3PuHcSMVZzfsLhGVOkfd20obL5SWEBew5ShlquNxg==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true,
       "optionalDependencies": {
         "graceful-fs": "^4.1.6"
       }
@@ -6599,7 +6603,6 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-rBJeI5CXAlmy1pV+617WB9J63U6XcazHHF2f2dbJix4XzpUF0RS3Zbj0FGIOCAva5P/d/GBOYaACQ1w+0azUkg==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">= 4.0.0"
       }
@@ -6969,6 +6972,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-LEyamqS7W5HB3ujJyvi0HQK/dtVINZvd5mAAp9eT5S/ujByGjiZLCzPcHVzuXbpJDJF/cxwHlfceVUDZ2lnSTw==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "@eslint-community/eslint-utils": "^4.8.0",
         "@eslint-community/regexpp": "^4.12.1",
@@ -8988,6 +8992,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-Cvc9WUhxSMEo4McES3P7oK3QaXldCfNWp7pl2NNeiIFlCoLr3kfq9kb1fxftiwk1FLV7CvpvDfonxtzUDeSOPg==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "cssstyle": "^4.2.1",
         "data-urls": "^5.0.0",
@@ -9931,7 +9936,6 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-h5bgJWpxJNswbU7qCrV0tIKQCaS3blPDrqKWx+QxzuzL1zGUzij9XCWLrSLsJPu5t+eWA/ycetzYAO5IOMcWAQ==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true,
       "bin": {
         "lz-string": "bin/bin.js"
       }
@@ -11198,12 +11202,6 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-6FlzubTLZG3J2a/NVCAleEhjzq5oxgHyaCU9yYXvcLsvoVaHJq/s5xXI6/XXP6tz7R9xAOtHnSO/tXtF3WRTlA==",
       "license": "MIT"
     },
-    "node_modules/nan": {
-      "version": "2.24.0",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/nan/-/nan-2.24.0.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-Vpf9qnVW1RaDkoNKFUvfxqAbtI8ncb8OJlqZ9wwpXzWPEsvsB1nvdUi6oYrHIkQ1Y/tMDnr1h4nczS0VB9Xykg==",
-      "license": "MIT"
-    },
     "node_modules/nano-spawn": {
       "version": "2.0.0",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/nano-spawn/-/nano-spawn-2.0.0.tgz",
@@ -11285,15 +11283,21 @@
       }
     },
     "node_modules/node-pty": {
-      "version": "1.0.0",
-      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/node-pty/-/node-pty-1.0.0.tgz",
-      "integrity": "sha512-wtBMWWS7dFZm/VgqElrTvtfMq4GzJ6+edFI0Y0zyzygUSZMgZdraDUMUhCIvkjhJjme15qWmbyJbtAx4ot4uZA==",
+      "version": "1.1.0-beta42",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/node-pty/-/node-pty-1.1.0-beta42.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-59KoV6xxhJciRVpo4lQ9wnP38SPaBlXgwszYS8nlHAHrt02d14peg+kHtJ4AOtyLWiCf8WPCeJNbxBkiA7Oy7Q==",
       "hasInstallScript": true,
       "license": "MIT",
       "dependencies": {
-        "nan": "^2.17.0"
+        "node-addon-api": "^7.1.0"
       }
     },
+    "node_modules/node-pty/node_modules/node-addon-api": {
+      "version": "7.1.1",
+      "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/node-addon-api/-/node-addon-api-7.1.1.tgz",
+      "integrity": "sha512-5m3bsyrjFWE1xf7nz7YXdN4udnVtXK6/Yfgn5qnahL6bCkf2yKt4k3nuTKAtT4r3IG8JNR2ncsIMdZuAzJjHQQ==",
+      "license": "MIT"
+    },
     "node_modules/node-releases": {
       "version": "2.0.27",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/node-releases/-/node-releases-2.0.27.tgz",
@@ -11771,6 +11775,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-5gTmgEY/sqK6gFXLIsQNH19lWb4ebPDLA4SdLP7dsWkIXHWlG66oPuVvXSGFPppYZz8ZDZq0dYYrbHfBCVUb1Q==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=12"
       },
@@ -11868,6 +11873,7 @@
         }
       ],
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "nanoid": "^3.3.11",
         "picocolors": "^1.1.1",
@@ -11904,7 +11910,6 @@
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
       "optional": true,
-      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "commander": "^9.4.0"
       },
@@ -11922,7 +11927,6 @@
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
       "optional": true,
-      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": "^12.20.0 || >=14"
       }
@@ -11943,7 +11947,6 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-Qb1gy5OrP5+zDf2Bvnzdl3jsTf1qXVMazbvCoKhtKqVs4/YK4ozX4gKQJJVyNe+cajNPn0KoC0MC3FUmaHWEmQ==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "ansi-regex": "^5.0.1",
         "ansi-styles": "^5.0.0",
@@ -11959,7 +11962,6 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-Cxwpt2SfTzTtXcfOlzGEee8O+c+MmUgGrNiBcXnuWxuFJHe6a5Hz7qwhwe5OgaSYI0IJvkLqWX1ASG+cJOkEiA==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=10"
       },
@@ -11972,8 +11974,7 @@
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/react-is/-/react-is-17.0.2.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-w2GsyukL62IJnlaff/nRegPQR94C/XXamvMWmSHRJ4y7Ts/4ocGRmTHvOs8PSE6pB3dWOrD/nueuU5sduBsQ4w==",
       "dev": true,
-      "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true
+      "license": "MIT"
     },
     "node_modules/proc-log": {
       "version": "2.0.1",
@@ -12077,6 +12078,7 @@
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/react/-/react-19.2.3.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-Ku/hhYbVjOQnXDZFv2+RibmLFGwFdeeKHFcOTlrt7xplBnya5OGn/hIRDsqDiSUcfORsDC7MPxwork8jBwsIWA==",
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "engines": {
         "node": ">=0.10.0"
       }
@@ -12086,6 +12088,7 @@
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/react-dom/-/react-dom-19.2.3.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-yELu4WmLPw5Mr/lmeEpox5rw3RETacE++JgHqQzd2dg+YbJuat3jH4ingc+WPZhxaoFzdv9y33G+F7Nl5O0GBg==",
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "scheduler": "^0.27.0"
       },
@@ -13402,7 +13405,8 @@
       "version": "4.1.18",
       "resolved": "https://registry.npmjs.org/tailwindcss/-/tailwindcss-4.1.18.tgz",
       "integrity": "sha512-4+Z+0yiYyEtUVCScyfHCxOYP06L5Ne+JiHhY2IjR2KWMIWhJOYZKLSGZaP5HkZ8+bY0cxfzwDE5uOmzFXyIwxw==",
-      "license": "MIT"
+      "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true
     },
     "node_modules/tapable": {
       "version": "2.3.0",
@@ -13459,7 +13463,6 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-yYrrsWnrXMcdsnu/7YMYAofM1ktpL5By7vZhf15CrXijWWrEYZks5AXBudalfSWJLlnen/QUJUB5aoB0kqZUGA==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "mkdirp": "^0.5.1",
         "rimraf": "~2.6.2"
@@ -13486,7 +13489,6 @@
       "deprecated": "Glob versions prior to v9 are no longer supported",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "ISC",
-      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "fs.realpath": "^1.0.0",
         "inflight": "^1.0.4",
@@ -13508,7 +13510,6 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-J7p63hRiAjw1NDEww1W7i37+ByIrOWO5XQQAzZ3VOcL0PNybwpfmV/N05zFAzwQ9USyEcX6t3UO+K5aqBQOIHw==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "ISC",
-      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "brace-expansion": "^1.1.7"
       },
@@ -13522,7 +13523,6 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-FP+p8RB8OWpF3YZBCrP5gtADmtXApB5AMLn+vdyA+PyxCjrCs00mjyUozssO33cwDeT3wNGdLxJ5M//YqtHAJw==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
-      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "minimist": "^1.2.6"
       },
@@ -13537,7 +13537,6 @@
       "deprecated": "Rimraf versions prior to v4 are no longer supported",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "ISC",
-      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "glob": "^7.1.3"
       },
@@ -13854,6 +13853,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-jl1vZzPDinLr9eUt3J/t7V6FgNEw9QjvBPdysz9KfQDD41fQrC2Y4vKQdiaUpFT4bXlb1RHhLpp8wtm6M5TgSw==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "Apache-2.0",
+      "peer": true,
       "bin": {
         "tsc": "bin/tsc",
         "tsserver": "bin/tsserver"
@@ -14194,6 +14194,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-dZwN5L1VlUBewiP6H9s2+B3e3Jg96D0vzN+Ry73sOefebhYr9f94wwkMNN/9ouoU8pV1BqA1d1zGk8928cx0rg==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "dependencies": {
         "esbuild": "^0.27.0",
         "fdir": "^6.5.0",
@@ -15227,6 +15228,7 @@
       "integrity": "sha512-Bd5fw9wlIhtqCCxotZgdTOMwGm1a0u75wARVEY9HMs1X17trvA/lMi4+MGK5EUfYkXVTbX8UDiDKW4OgzHVUZw==",
       "dev": true,
       "license": "MIT",
+      "peer": true,
       "funding": {
         "url": "https://github.com/sponsors/colinhacks"
       }
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/package.json b/auto-claude-ui/package.json
index 9da2ff1c..3d5ebb96 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/package.json
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/package.json
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@
     "ioredis": "^5.8.2",
     "lucide-react": "^0.560.0",
     "motion": "^12.23.26",
-    "node-pty": "^1.0.0",
+    "node-pty": "^1.1.0-beta42",
     "react": "^19.2.3",
     "react-dom": "^19.2.3",
     "react-markdown": "^10.1.0",
@@ -127,7 +127,18 @@
       "buildResources": "resources"
     },
     "files": [
-      "out/**/*"
+      "out/**/*",
+      "package.json"
+    ],
+    "extraResources": [
+      {
+        "from": "node_modules/node-pty",
+        "to": "node_modules/node-pty"
+      },
+      {
+        "from": "resources/icon.ico",
+        "to": "icon.ico"
+      }
     ],
     "mac": {
       "category": "public.app-category.developer-tools",
@@ -138,7 +149,7 @@
       ]
     },
     "win": {
-      "icon": "resources/icon-256.png",
+      "icon": "resources/icon.ico",
       "target": [
         "nsis",
         "zip"
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/resources/icon.ico b/auto-claude-ui/resources/icon.ico
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9d5a5ff3
Binary files /dev/null and b/auto-claude-ui/resources/icon.ico differ
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/agent/agent-process.ts b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/agent/agent-process.ts
index d0afe73e..d55b57e8 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/agent/agent-process.ts
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/agent/agent-process.ts
@@ -176,7 +176,8 @@ export class AgentProcessManager {
         ...extraEnv,
         ...profileEnv, // Include active Claude profile config
         PYTHONUNBUFFERED: '1', // Ensure real-time output
-        PYTHONIOENCODING: 'utf-8' // Ensure UTF-8 encoding on Windows
+        PYTHONIOENCODING: 'utf-8', // Ensure UTF-8 encoding on Windows
+        PYTHONUTF8: '1' // Force Python UTF-8 mode on Windows (Python 3.7+)
       }
     });
 
@@ -241,17 +242,17 @@ export class AgentProcessManager {
       }
     };
 
-    // Handle stdout
+    // Handle stdout - explicitly decode as UTF-8 for cross-platform Unicode support
     childProcess.stdout?.on('data', (data: Buffer) => {
-      const log = data.toString();
+      const log = data.toString('utf8');
       console.log('[spawnProcess] stdout:', log.substring(0, 200));
       this.emitter.emit('log', taskId, log);
       processLog(log);
     });
 
-    // Handle stderr
+    // Handle stderr - explicitly decode as UTF-8 for cross-platform Unicode support
     childProcess.stderr?.on('data', (data: Buffer) => {
-      const log = data.toString();
+      const log = data.toString('utf8');
       console.log('[spawnProcess] stderr:', log.substring(0, 200));
       // Some Python output goes to stderr (like progress bars)
       // so we treat it as log, not error
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/agent/agent-queue.ts b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/agent/agent-queue.ts
index 167151a5..7dd6cdd4 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/agent/agent-queue.ts
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/agent/agent-queue.ts
@@ -156,7 +156,9 @@ export class AgentQueueManager {
         ...process.env,
         ...combinedEnv,
         ...profileEnv,
-        PYTHONUNBUFFERED: '1'
+        PYTHONUNBUFFERED: '1',
+        PYTHONIOENCODING: 'utf-8',
+        PYTHONUTF8: '1'
       }
     });
 
@@ -193,9 +195,9 @@ export class AgentQueueManager {
     const completedTypes = new Set<string>();
     const totalTypes = 7; // Default all types
 
-    // Handle stdout
+    // Handle stdout - explicitly decode as UTF-8 for cross-platform Unicode support
     childProcess.stdout?.on('data', (data: Buffer) => {
-      const log = data.toString();
+      const log = data.toString('utf8');
       // Collect output for rate limit detection (keep last 10KB)
       allOutput = (allOutput + log).slice(-10000);
 
@@ -242,9 +244,9 @@ export class AgentQueueManager {
       });
     });
 
-    // Handle stderr - also emit as logs
+    // Handle stderr - also emit as logs, explicitly decode as UTF-8
     childProcess.stderr?.on('data', (data: Buffer) => {
-      const log = data.toString();
+      const log = data.toString('utf8');
       // Collect stderr for rate limit detection too
       allOutput = (allOutput + log).slice(-10000);
       console.error('[Ideation STDERR]', log);
@@ -354,7 +356,9 @@ export class AgentQueueManager {
         ...process.env,
         ...combinedEnv,
         ...profileEnv,
-        PYTHONUNBUFFERED: '1'
+        PYTHONUNBUFFERED: '1',
+        PYTHONIOENCODING: 'utf-8',
+        PYTHONUTF8: '1'
       }
     });
 
@@ -384,9 +388,9 @@ export class AgentQueueManager {
       }
     };
 
-    // Handle stdout
+    // Handle stdout - explicitly decode as UTF-8 for cross-platform Unicode support
     childProcess.stdout?.on('data', (data: Buffer) => {
-      const log = data.toString();
+      const log = data.toString('utf8');
       // Collect output for rate limit detection (keep last 10KB)
       allRoadmapOutput = (allRoadmapOutput + log).slice(-10000);
 
@@ -406,9 +410,9 @@ export class AgentQueueManager {
       });
     });
 
-    // Handle stderr
+    // Handle stderr - explicitly decode as UTF-8
     childProcess.stderr?.on('data', (data: Buffer) => {
-      const log = data.toString();
+      const log = data.toString('utf8');
       // Collect stderr for rate limit detection too
       allRoadmapOutput = (allRoadmapOutput + log).slice(-10000);
       console.error('[Roadmap STDERR]', log);
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/changelog/generator.ts b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/changelog/generator.ts
index 72c88e5e..3e4769a9 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/changelog/generator.ts
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/changelog/generator.ts
@@ -277,7 +277,9 @@ export class ChangelogGenerator extends EventEmitter {
       USER: process.env.USER || process.env.USERNAME || 'user',
       // Add common binary locations to PATH for claude CLI
       PATH: [process.env.PATH || '', ...pathAdditions].filter(Boolean).join(path.delimiter),
-      PYTHONUNBUFFERED: '1'
+      PYTHONUNBUFFERED: '1',
+      PYTHONIOENCODING: 'utf-8',
+      PYTHONUTF8: '1'
     };
 
     this.debug('Spawn environment', {
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/changelog/version-suggester.ts b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/changelog/version-suggester.ts
index c2ac06c8..ebb945f6 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/changelog/version-suggester.ts
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/changelog/version-suggester.ts
@@ -237,7 +237,9 @@ except Exception as e:
       ...(isWindows ? { USERPROFILE: homeDir } : { HOME: homeDir }),
       USER: process.env.USER || process.env.USERNAME || 'user',
       PATH: [process.env.PATH || '', ...pathAdditions].filter(Boolean).join(path.delimiter),
-      PYTHONUNBUFFERED: '1'
+      PYTHONUNBUFFERED: '1',
+      PYTHONIOENCODING: 'utf-8',
+      PYTHONUTF8: '1'
     };
 
     return spawnEnv;
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/index.ts b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/index.ts
index dcf8530b..a6d973e7 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/index.ts
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/index.ts
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ function getIconPath(): string {
     // Use PNG in dev mode (works better), ICNS in production
     iconName = is.dev ? 'icon-256.png' : 'icon.icns';
   } else if (process.platform === 'win32') {
-    iconName = 'icon-256.png';
+    iconName = 'icon.ico';
   } else {
     iconName = 'icon.png';
   }
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/insights/config.ts b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/insights/config.ts
index 11884379..848449f1 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/insights/config.ts
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/insights/config.ts
@@ -105,7 +105,8 @@ export class InsightsConfig {
       ...autoBuildEnv,
       ...profileEnv,
       PYTHONUNBUFFERED: '1',
-      PYTHONIOENCODING: 'utf-8'
+      PYTHONIOENCODING: 'utf-8',
+      PYTHONUTF8: '1'
     };
   }
 }
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/ipc-handlers/project-handlers.ts b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/ipc-handlers/project-handlers.ts
index 868a5b25..230fcadd 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/ipc-handlers/project-handlers.ts
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/ipc-handlers/project-handlers.ts
@@ -9,13 +9,16 @@ import type {
   ProjectSettings,
   IPCResult,
   InitializationResult,
-  AutoBuildVersionInfo
+  AutoBuildVersionInfo,
+  GitStatus
 } from '../../shared/types';
 import { projectStore } from '../project-store';
 import {
   initializeProject,
   isInitialized,
-  hasLocalSource
+  hasLocalSource,
+  checkGitStatus,
+  initializeGit
 } from '../project-initializer';
 import { PythonEnvManager, type PythonEnvStatus } from '../python-env-manager';
 import { AgentManager } from '../agent';
@@ -505,4 +508,42 @@ export function registerProjectHandlers(
       }
     }
   );
+
+  // Check git status for a project (is it a repo? has commits?)
+  ipcMain.handle(
+    IPC_CHANNELS.GIT_CHECK_STATUS,
+    async (_, projectPath: string): Promise<IPCResult<GitStatus>> => {
+      try {
+        if (!existsSync(projectPath)) {
+          return { success: false, error: 'Directory does not exist' };
+        }
+        const gitStatus = checkGitStatus(projectPath);
+        return { success: true, data: gitStatus };
+      } catch (error) {
+        return {
+          success: false,
+          error: error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'Unknown error'
+        };
+      }
+    }
+  );
+
+  // Initialize git in a project (run git init and create initial commit)
+  ipcMain.handle(
+    IPC_CHANNELS.GIT_INITIALIZE,
+    async (_, projectPath: string): Promise<IPCResult<InitializationResult>> => {
+      try {
+        if (!existsSync(projectPath)) {
+          return { success: false, error: 'Directory does not exist' };
+        }
+        const result = initializeGit(projectPath);
+        return { success: result.success, data: result, error: result.error };
+      } catch (error) {
+        return {
+          success: false,
+          error: error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'Unknown error'
+        };
+      }
+    }
+  );
 }
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/ipc-handlers/task/execution-handlers.ts b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/ipc-handlers/task/execution-handlers.ts
index cb98c302..aaade6a0 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/ipc-handlers/task/execution-handlers.ts
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/ipc-handlers/task/execution-handlers.ts
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { existsSync, readFileSync, writeFileSync, mkdirSync } from 'fs';
 import { AgentManager } from '../../agent';
 import { fileWatcher } from '../../file-watcher';
 import { findTaskAndProject } from './shared';
+import { checkGitStatus } from '../../project-initializer';
 
 /**
  * Register task execution handlers (start, stop, review, status management, recovery)
@@ -40,6 +41,27 @@ export function registerTaskExecutionHandlers(
         return;
       }
 
+      // Check git status - Auto Claude requires git for worktree-based builds
+      const gitStatus = checkGitStatus(project.path);
+      if (!gitStatus.isGitRepo) {
+        console.log('[TASK_START] Project is not a git repository:', project.path);
+        mainWindow.webContents.send(
+          IPC_CHANNELS.TASK_ERROR,
+          taskId,
+          'Git repository required. Please run "git init" in your project directory. Auto Claude uses git worktrees for isolated builds.'
+        );
+        return;
+      }
+      if (!gitStatus.hasCommits) {
+        console.log('[TASK_START] Git repository has no commits:', project.path);
+        mainWindow.webContents.send(
+          IPC_CHANNELS.TASK_ERROR,
+          taskId,
+          'Git repository has no commits. Please make an initial commit first (git add . && git commit -m "Initial commit").'
+        );
+        return;
+      }
+
       console.log('[TASK_START] Found task:', task.specId, 'status:', task.status, 'subtasks:', task.subtasks.length);
 
       // Start file watcher for this task
@@ -287,6 +309,21 @@ export function registerTaskExecutionHandlers(
         // Auto-start task when status changes to 'in_progress' and no process is running
         if (status === 'in_progress' && !agentManager.isRunning(taskId)) {
           const mainWindow = getMainWindow();
+
+          // Check git status before auto-starting
+          const gitStatusCheck = checkGitStatus(project.path);
+          if (!gitStatusCheck.isGitRepo || !gitStatusCheck.hasCommits) {
+            console.log('[TASK_UPDATE_STATUS] Git check failed, cannot auto-start task');
+            if (mainWindow) {
+              mainWindow.webContents.send(
+                IPC_CHANNELS.TASK_ERROR,
+                taskId,
+                gitStatusCheck.error || 'Git repository with commits required to run tasks.'
+              );
+            }
+            return { success: false, error: gitStatusCheck.error || 'Git repository required' };
+          }
+
           console.log('[TASK_UPDATE_STATUS] Auto-starting task:', taskId);
 
           // Start file watcher for this task
@@ -498,6 +535,23 @@ export function registerTaskExecutionHandlers(
         // Auto-restart the task if requested
         let autoRestarted = false;
         if (autoRestart && project) {
+          // Check git status before auto-restarting
+          const gitStatusForRestart = checkGitStatus(project.path);
+          if (!gitStatusForRestart.isGitRepo || !gitStatusForRestart.hasCommits) {
+            console.log('[Recovery] Git check failed, cannot auto-restart task');
+            // Recovery succeeded but we can't restart without git
+            return {
+              success: true,
+              data: {
+                taskId,
+                recovered: true,
+                newStatus,
+                message: `Task recovered but cannot restart: ${gitStatusForRestart.error || 'Git repository with commits required.'}`,
+                autoRestarted: false
+              }
+            };
+          }
+
           try {
             // Set status to in_progress for the restart
             newStatus = 'in_progress';
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/ipc-handlers/task/worktree-handlers.ts b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/ipc-handlers/task/worktree-handlers.ts
index 92371e5d..bc424886 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/ipc-handlers/task/worktree-handlers.ts
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/ipc-handlers/task/worktree-handlers.ts
@@ -315,7 +315,9 @@ export function registerWorktreeHandlers(
             env: {
               ...process.env,
               ...profileEnv, // Include active Claude profile OAuth token
-              PYTHONUNBUFFERED: '1'
+              PYTHONUNBUFFERED: '1',
+              PYTHONIOENCODING: 'utf-8',
+              PYTHONUTF8: '1'
             },
             stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'] // Don't connect stdin to avoid blocking
           });
@@ -568,7 +570,7 @@ export function registerWorktreeHandlers(
         return new Promise((resolve) => {
           const previewProcess = spawn(pythonPath, args, {
             cwd: sourcePath,
-            env: { ...process.env, ...previewProfileEnv, PYTHONUNBUFFERED: '1', DEBUG: 'true' }
+            env: { ...process.env, ...previewProfileEnv, PYTHONUNBUFFERED: '1', PYTHONIOENCODING: 'utf-8', PYTHONUTF8: '1', DEBUG: 'true' }
           });
 
           let stdout = '';
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/project-initializer.ts b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/project-initializer.ts
index 9bc687b2..2ba339ac 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/project-initializer.ts
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/project-initializer.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { existsSync, mkdirSync, writeFileSync, readFileSync, appendFileSync } from 'fs';
 import path from 'path';
+import { execSync } from 'child_process';
 
 /**
  * Debug logging - only logs when AUTO_CLAUDE_DEBUG env var is set
@@ -16,6 +17,137 @@ function debug(message: string, data?: Record<string, unknown>): void {
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Git status information for a project
+ */
+export interface GitStatus {
+  isGitRepo: boolean;
+  hasCommits: boolean;
+  currentBranch: string | null;
+  error?: string;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Check if a directory is a git repository and has at least one commit
+ */
+export function checkGitStatus(projectPath: string): GitStatus {
+  try {
+    // Check if it's a git repository
+    execSync('git rev-parse --git-dir', {
+      cwd: projectPath,
+      encoding: 'utf-8',
+      stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe']
+    });
+  } catch {
+    return {
+      isGitRepo: false,
+      hasCommits: false,
+      currentBranch: null,
+      error: 'Not a git repository. Please run "git init" to initialize git.'
+    };
+  }
+
+  // Check if there are any commits
+  let hasCommits = false;
+  try {
+    execSync('git rev-parse HEAD', {
+      cwd: projectPath,
+      encoding: 'utf-8',
+      stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe']
+    });
+    hasCommits = true;
+  } catch {
+    // No commits yet
+    hasCommits = false;
+  }
+
+  // Get current branch
+  let currentBranch: string | null = null;
+  try {
+    currentBranch = execSync('git rev-parse --abbrev-ref HEAD', {
+      cwd: projectPath,
+      encoding: 'utf-8',
+      stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe']
+    }).trim();
+  } catch {
+    // Branch detection failed
+  }
+
+  if (!hasCommits) {
+    return {
+      isGitRepo: true,
+      hasCommits: false,
+      currentBranch,
+      error: 'Git repository has no commits. Please make an initial commit first.'
+    };
+  }
+
+  return {
+    isGitRepo: true,
+    hasCommits: true,
+    currentBranch
+  };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Initialize git in a project directory and create an initial commit.
+ * This is a user-friendly way to set up git for non-technical users.
+ */
+export function initializeGit(projectPath: string): InitializationResult {
+  debug('initializeGit called', { projectPath });
+
+  // Check current git status
+  const status = checkGitStatus(projectPath);
+
+  try {
+    // Step 1: Initialize git if needed
+    if (!status.isGitRepo) {
+      debug('Initializing git repository');
+      execSync('git init', {
+        cwd: projectPath,
+        encoding: 'utf-8',
+        stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe']
+      });
+    }
+
+    // Step 2: Check if there are files to commit
+    const statusOutput = execSync('git status --porcelain', {
+      cwd: projectPath,
+      encoding: 'utf-8',
+      stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe']
+    }).trim();
+
+    // Step 3: If there are untracked/modified files, add and commit them
+    if (statusOutput || !status.hasCommits) {
+      debug('Adding files and creating initial commit');
+
+      // Add all files
+      execSync('git add -A', {
+        cwd: projectPath,
+        encoding: 'utf-8',
+        stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe']
+      });
+
+      // Create initial commit
+      execSync('git commit -m "Initial commit" --allow-empty', {
+        cwd: projectPath,
+        encoding: 'utf-8',
+        stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe']
+      });
+    }
+
+    debug('Git initialization complete');
+    return { success: true };
+  } catch (error) {
+    const errorMessage = error instanceof Error ? error.message : 'Unknown error during git initialization';
+    debug('Git initialization failed', { error: errorMessage });
+    return {
+      success: false,
+      error: errorMessage
+    };
+  }
+}
+
 /**
  * Entries to add to .gitignore when initializing a project
  */
@@ -130,6 +262,10 @@ export function isInitialized(projectPath: string): boolean {
  *
  * Creates .auto-claude/ with data directories (specs, ideation, insights, roadmap).
  * The framework code runs from the source repo - only data is stored here.
+ *
+ * Requires:
+ * - Project directory must exist
+ * - Project must be a git repository with at least one commit
  */
 export function initializeProject(projectPath: string): InitializationResult {
   debug('initializeProject called', { projectPath });
@@ -143,6 +279,16 @@ export function initializeProject(projectPath: string): InitializationResult {
     };
   }
 
+  // Check git status - Auto Claude requires git for worktree-based builds
+  const gitStatus = checkGitStatus(projectPath);
+  if (!gitStatus.isGitRepo || !gitStatus.hasCommits) {
+    debug('Git check failed', { gitStatus });
+    return {
+      success: false,
+      error: gitStatus.error || 'Git repository required. Auto Claude uses git worktrees for isolated builds.'
+    };
+  }
+
   // Check if already initialized
   const dotAutoBuildPath = path.join(projectPath, '.auto-claude');
 
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/terminal-name-generator.ts b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/terminal-name-generator.ts
index d5d8010e..d7f9153b 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/terminal-name-generator.ts
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/terminal-name-generator.ts
@@ -137,7 +137,8 @@ export class TerminalNameGenerator extends EventEmitter {
           ...autoBuildEnv,
           ...profileEnv, // Include active Claude profile config
           PYTHONUNBUFFERED: '1',
-          PYTHONIOENCODING: 'utf-8'
+          PYTHONIOENCODING: 'utf-8',
+          PYTHONUTF8: '1'
         }
       });
 
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/title-generator.ts b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/title-generator.ts
index e53fb6ee..9085604a 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/src/main/title-generator.ts
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/main/title-generator.ts
@@ -136,7 +136,8 @@ export class TitleGenerator extends EventEmitter {
           ...autoBuildEnv,
           ...profileEnv, // Include active Claude profile config
           PYTHONUNBUFFERED: '1',
-          PYTHONIOENCODING: 'utf-8'
+          PYTHONIOENCODING: 'utf-8',
+          PYTHONUTF8: '1'
         }
       });
 
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/preload/api/project-api.ts b/auto-claude-ui/src/preload/api/project-api.ts
index 6b55c47c..e8a8955d 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/src/preload/api/project-api.ts
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/preload/api/project-api.ts
@@ -15,7 +15,8 @@ import type {
   ClaudeAuthResult,
   InfrastructureStatus,
   GraphitiValidationResult,
-  GraphitiConnectionTestResult
+  GraphitiConnectionTestResult,
+  GitStatus
 } from '../../shared/types';
 
 export interface ProjectAPI {
@@ -72,6 +73,8 @@ export interface ProjectAPI {
   getGitBranches: (projectPath: string) => Promise<IPCResult<string[]>>;
   getCurrentGitBranch: (projectPath: string) => Promise<IPCResult<string | null>>;
   detectMainBranch: (projectPath: string) => Promise<IPCResult<string | null>>;
+  checkGitStatus: (projectPath: string) => Promise<IPCResult<GitStatus>>;
+  initializeGit: (projectPath: string) => Promise<IPCResult<InitializationResult>>;
 }
 
 export const createProjectAPI = (): ProjectAPI => ({
@@ -180,5 +183,11 @@ export const createProjectAPI = (): ProjectAPI => ({
     ipcRenderer.invoke(IPC_CHANNELS.GIT_GET_CURRENT_BRANCH, projectPath),
 
   detectMainBranch: (projectPath: string): Promise<IPCResult<string | null>> =>
-    ipcRenderer.invoke(IPC_CHANNELS.GIT_DETECT_MAIN_BRANCH, projectPath)
+    ipcRenderer.invoke(IPC_CHANNELS.GIT_DETECT_MAIN_BRANCH, projectPath),
+
+  checkGitStatus: (projectPath: string): Promise<IPCResult<GitStatus>> =>
+    ipcRenderer.invoke(IPC_CHANNELS.GIT_CHECK_STATUS, projectPath),
+
+  initializeGit: (projectPath: string): Promise<IPCResult<InitializationResult>> =>
+    ipcRenderer.invoke(IPC_CHANNELS.GIT_INITIALIZE, projectPath)
 });
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/renderer/components/GitSetupModal.tsx b/auto-claude-ui/src/renderer/components/GitSetupModal.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..16ac15a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/renderer/components/GitSetupModal.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,206 @@
+import { useState } from 'react';
+import { GitBranch, Terminal, CheckCircle2, AlertCircle, Loader2, FolderGit2 } from 'lucide-react';
+import { Button } from './ui/button';
+import {
+  Dialog,
+  DialogContent,
+  DialogDescription,
+  DialogFooter,
+  DialogHeader,
+  DialogTitle
+} from './ui/dialog';
+import type { Project, GitStatus } from '../../shared/types';
+
+interface GitSetupModalProps {
+  open: boolean;
+  onOpenChange: (open: boolean) => void;
+  project: Project | null;
+  gitStatus: GitStatus | null;
+  onGitInitialized: () => void;
+  onSkip?: () => void;
+}
+
+export function GitSetupModal({
+  open,
+  onOpenChange,
+  project,
+  gitStatus,
+  onGitInitialized,
+  onSkip
+}: GitSetupModalProps) {
+  const [isInitializing, setIsInitializing] = useState(false);
+  const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);
+  const [step, setStep] = useState<'info' | 'initializing' | 'success'>('info');
+
+  const needsGitInit = gitStatus && !gitStatus.isGitRepo;
+  const needsCommit = gitStatus && gitStatus.isGitRepo && !gitStatus.hasCommits;
+
+  const handleInitializeGit = async () => {
+    if (!project) return;
+
+    setIsInitializing(true);
+    setError(null);
+    setStep('initializing');
+
+    try {
+      // Call the backend to initialize git
+      const result = await window.electronAPI.initializeGit(project.path);
+
+      if (result.success) {
+        setStep('success');
+        // Wait a moment to show success, then trigger callback
+        setTimeout(() => {
+          onGitInitialized();
+          onOpenChange(false);
+          setStep('info');
+        }, 1500);
+      } else {
+        setError(result.error || 'Failed to initialize git');
+        setStep('info');
+      }
+    } catch (err) {
+      setError(err instanceof Error ? err.message : 'Failed to initialize git');
+      setStep('info');
+    } finally {
+      setIsInitializing(false);
+    }
+  };
+
+  const handleSkip = () => {
+    onSkip?.();
+    onOpenChange(false);
+  };
+
+  const renderInfoStep = () => (
+    <>
+      <DialogHeader>
+        <DialogTitle className="flex items-center gap-2">
+          <FolderGit2 className="h-5 w-5 text-primary" />
+          Git Repository Required
+        </DialogTitle>
+        <DialogDescription>
+          Auto Claude uses git to safely build features in isolated workspaces
+        </DialogDescription>
+      </DialogHeader>
+
+      <div className="py-4 space-y-4">
+        {/* Status indicator */}
+        <div className="rounded-lg bg-muted p-4">
+          <div className="flex items-start gap-3">
+            <AlertCircle className="h-5 w-5 text-warning mt-0.5 shrink-0" />
+            <div className="space-y-1">
+              <p className="font-medium text-sm">
+                {needsGitInit
+                  ? 'This folder is not a git repository'
+                  : 'Git repository has no commits'}
+              </p>
+              <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">
+                {needsGitInit
+                  ? 'Git needs to be initialized before Auto Claude can manage your code.'
+                  : 'At least one commit is required for Auto Claude to create worktrees.'}
+              </p>
+            </div>
+          </div>
+        </div>
+
+        {/* What will happen */}
+        <div className="rounded-lg border border-border p-4">
+          <p className="font-medium text-sm mb-3">We'll set up git for you:</p>
+          <ul className="space-y-2">
+            {needsGitInit && (
+              <li className="flex items-center gap-2 text-sm text-muted-foreground">
+                <GitBranch className="h-4 w-4 text-primary" />
+                Initialize a new git repository
+              </li>
+            )}
+            <li className="flex items-center gap-2 text-sm text-muted-foreground">
+              <CheckCircle2 className="h-4 w-4 text-primary" />
+              Create an initial commit with your current files
+            </li>
+          </ul>
+        </div>
+
+        {/* Manual instructions for advanced users */}
+        <details className="text-sm">
+          <summary className="cursor-pointer text-muted-foreground hover:text-foreground">
+            Prefer to do it manually?
+          </summary>
+          <div className="mt-3 rounded-lg bg-muted/50 p-3 font-mono text-xs space-y-1">
+            <p className="text-muted-foreground">Open a terminal in your project folder and run:</p>
+            {needsGitInit && <p>git init</p>}
+            <p>git add .</p>
+            <p>git commit -m "Initial commit"</p>
+          </div>
+        </details>
+
+        {error && (
+          <div className="rounded-lg bg-destructive/10 border border-destructive/20 p-3 text-sm text-destructive">
+            {error}
+          </div>
+        )}
+      </div>
+
+      <DialogFooter>
+        <Button variant="outline" onClick={handleSkip}>
+          Skip for now
+        </Button>
+        <Button onClick={handleInitializeGit} disabled={isInitializing}>
+          <GitBranch className="mr-2 h-4 w-4" />
+          Initialize Git
+        </Button>
+      </DialogFooter>
+    </>
+  );
+
+  const renderInitializingStep = () => (
+    <>
+      <DialogHeader>
+        <DialogTitle className="flex items-center gap-2">
+          <Loader2 className="h-5 w-5 animate-spin text-primary" />
+          Setting up Git
+        </DialogTitle>
+      </DialogHeader>
+
+      <div className="py-8 flex flex-col items-center justify-center">
+        <div className="space-y-3 text-center">
+          <Terminal className="h-12 w-12 text-muted-foreground mx-auto" />
+          <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">
+            Initializing git repository and creating initial commit...
+          </p>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </>
+  );
+
+  const renderSuccessStep = () => (
+    <>
+      <DialogHeader>
+        <DialogTitle className="flex items-center gap-2">
+          <CheckCircle2 className="h-5 w-5 text-success" />
+          Git Initialized
+        </DialogTitle>
+      </DialogHeader>
+
+      <div className="py-8 flex flex-col items-center justify-center">
+        <div className="space-y-3 text-center">
+          <div className="h-16 w-16 rounded-full bg-success/10 flex items-center justify-center mx-auto">
+            <CheckCircle2 className="h-8 w-8 text-success" />
+          </div>
+          <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">
+            Your project is now ready to use with Auto Claude!
+          </p>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    </>
+  );
+
+  return (
+    <Dialog open={open} onOpenChange={onOpenChange}>
+      <DialogContent className="sm:max-w-md">
+        {step === 'info' && renderInfoStep()}
+        {step === 'initializing' && renderInitializingStep()}
+        {step === 'success' && renderSuccessStep()}
+      </DialogContent>
+    </Dialog>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/renderer/components/Sidebar.tsx b/auto-claude-ui/src/renderer/components/Sidebar.tsx
index bbbd008b..f0eb41e8 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/src/renderer/components/Sidebar.tsx
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/renderer/components/Sidebar.tsx
@@ -55,8 +55,9 @@ import {
 } from '../stores/project-store';
 import { useSettingsStore, saveSettings } from '../stores/settings-store';
 import { AddProjectModal } from './AddProjectModal';
+import { GitSetupModal } from './GitSetupModal';
 import { RateLimitIndicator } from './RateLimitIndicator';
-import type { Project, AutoBuildVersionInfo } from '../../shared/types';
+import type { Project, AutoBuildVersionInfo, GitStatus } from '../../shared/types';
 
 export type SidebarView = 'kanban' | 'terminals' | 'roadmap' | 'context' | 'ideation' | 'github-issues' | 'changelog' | 'insights' | 'worktrees' | 'agent-tools' | 'agent-profiles';
 
@@ -104,6 +105,8 @@ export function Sidebar({
   const [showAddProjectModal, setShowAddProjectModal] = useState(false);
   const [showInitDialog, setShowInitDialog] = useState(false);
   const [showUpdateDialog, setShowUpdateDialog] = useState(false);
+  const [showGitSetupModal, setShowGitSetupModal] = useState(false);
+  const [gitStatus, setGitStatus] = useState<GitStatus | null>(null);
   const [pendingProject, setPendingProject] = useState<Project | null>(null);
   const [versionInfo, setVersionInfo] = useState<AutoBuildVersionInfo | null>(null);
   const [isInitializing, setIsInitializing] = useState(false);
@@ -159,6 +162,29 @@ export function Sidebar({
     checkUpdates();
   }, [selectedProjectId, settings.autoUpdateAutoBuild]);
 
+  // Check git status when project changes
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const checkGit = async () => {
+      if (selectedProject) {
+        try {
+          const result = await window.electronAPI.checkGitStatus(selectedProject.path);
+          if (result.success && result.data) {
+            setGitStatus(result.data);
+            // Show git setup modal if project is not a git repo or has no commits
+            if (!result.data.isGitRepo || !result.data.hasCommits) {
+              setShowGitSetupModal(true);
+            }
+          }
+        } catch (error) {
+          console.error('Failed to check git status:', error);
+        }
+      } else {
+        setGitStatus(null);
+      }
+    };
+    checkGit();
+  }, [selectedProject]);
+
   const handleAddProject = () => {
     setShowAddProjectModal(true);
   };
@@ -210,6 +236,20 @@ export function Sidebar({
     setVersionInfo(null);
   };
 
+  const handleGitInitialized = async () => {
+    // Refresh git status after initialization
+    if (selectedProject) {
+      try {
+        const result = await window.electronAPI.checkGitStatus(selectedProject.path);
+        if (result.success && result.data) {
+          setGitStatus(result.data);
+        }
+      } catch (error) {
+        console.error('Failed to refresh git status:', error);
+      }
+    }
+  };
+
   const handleRemoveProject = async (projectId: string, e: React.MouseEvent) => {
     e.stopPropagation();
     e.preventDefault();
@@ -518,6 +558,15 @@ export function Sidebar({
         onOpenChange={setShowAddProjectModal}
         onProjectAdded={handleProjectAdded}
       />
+
+      {/* Git Setup Modal */}
+      <GitSetupModal
+        open={showGitSetupModal}
+        onOpenChange={setShowGitSetupModal}
+        project={selectedProject || null}
+        gitStatus={gitStatus}
+        onGitInitialized={handleGitInitialized}
+      />
     </TooltipProvider>
   );
 }
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/renderer/lib/mocks/project-mock.ts b/auto-claude-ui/src/renderer/lib/mocks/project-mock.ts
index 2c8ba526..13926a44 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/src/renderer/lib/mocks/project-mock.ts
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/renderer/lib/mocks/project-mock.ts
@@ -84,5 +84,19 @@ export const projectMock = {
   detectMainBranch: async () => ({
     success: true,
     data: 'main'
+  }),
+
+  checkGitStatus: async () => ({
+    success: true,
+    data: {
+      isGitRepo: true,
+      hasCommits: true,
+      currentBranch: 'main'
+    }
+  }),
+
+  initializeGit: async () => ({
+    success: true,
+    data: { success: true }
   })
 };
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/shared/constants/ipc.ts b/auto-claude-ui/src/shared/constants/ipc.ts
index 3999b4d4..e3f2563a 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/src/shared/constants/ipc.ts
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/shared/constants/ipc.ts
@@ -258,6 +258,8 @@ export const IPC_CHANNELS = {
   GIT_GET_BRANCHES: 'git:getBranches',
   GIT_GET_CURRENT_BRANCH: 'git:getCurrentBranch',
   GIT_DETECT_MAIN_BRANCH: 'git:detectMainBranch',
+  GIT_CHECK_STATUS: 'git:checkStatus',
+  GIT_INITIALIZE: 'git:initialize',
 
   // App auto-update operations
   APP_UPDATE_CHECK: 'app-update:check',
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/shared/types/index.ts b/auto-claude-ui/src/shared/types/index.ts
index d779164b..5da875a6 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/src/shared/types/index.ts
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/shared/types/index.ts
@@ -15,8 +15,6 @@ export * from './changelog';
 export * from './insights';
 export * from './roadmap';
 export * from './integrations';
-export * from './glossary';
-export * from './status';
 export * from './app-update';
 
 // IPC types (must be last to use types from other modules)
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/shared/types/ipc.ts b/auto-claude-ui/src/shared/types/ipc.ts
index 2c82e633..44b147bc 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/src/shared/types/ipc.ts
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/shared/types/ipc.ts
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@ import type {
   ProjectEnvConfig,
   InfrastructureStatus,
   GraphitiValidationResult,
-  GraphitiConnectionTestResult
+  GraphitiConnectionTestResult,
+  GitStatus
 } from './project';
 import type {
   Task,
@@ -500,6 +501,8 @@ export interface ElectronAPI {
   getGitBranches: (projectPath: string) => Promise<IPCResult<string[]>>;
   getCurrentGitBranch: (projectPath: string) => Promise<IPCResult<string | null>>;
   detectMainBranch: (projectPath: string) => Promise<IPCResult<string | null>>;
+  checkGitStatus: (projectPath: string) => Promise<IPCResult<GitStatus>>;
+  initializeGit: (projectPath: string) => Promise<IPCResult<InitializationResult>>;
 }
 
 declare global {
diff --git a/auto-claude-ui/src/shared/types/project.ts b/auto-claude-ui/src/shared/types/project.ts
index 840cbcbf..c4675fca 100644
--- a/auto-claude-ui/src/shared/types/project.ts
+++ b/auto-claude-ui/src/shared/types/project.ts
@@ -305,6 +305,13 @@ export interface InitializationResult {
   error?: string;
 }
 
+export interface GitStatus {
+  isGitRepo: boolean;
+  hasCommits: boolean;
+  currentBranch: string | null;
+  error?: string;
+}
+
 export interface CreateProjectFolderResult {
   path: string;
   name: string;
diff --git a/auto-claude/core/worktree.py b/auto-claude/core/worktree.py
index ef7e0f80..8e3dece8 100644
--- a/auto-claude/core/worktree.py
+++ b/auto-claude/core/worktree.py
@@ -79,11 +79,15 @@ class WorktreeManager:
                 cwd=self.project_dir,
                 capture_output=True,
                 text=True,
+                encoding="utf-8",
+                errors="replace",
             )
             if result.returncode == 0:
                 return env_branch
             else:
-                print(f"Warning: DEFAULT_BRANCH '{env_branch}' not found, auto-detecting...")
+                print(
+                    f"Warning: DEFAULT_BRANCH '{env_branch}' not found, auto-detecting..."
+                )
 
         # 2. Auto-detect main/master
         for branch in ["main", "master"]:
@@ -92,15 +96,17 @@ class WorktreeManager:
                 cwd=self.project_dir,
                 capture_output=True,
                 text=True,
+                encoding="utf-8",
+                errors="replace",
             )
             if result.returncode == 0:
                 return branch
 
         # 3. Fall back to current branch with warning
         current = self._get_current_branch()
-        print(f"Warning: Could not find 'main' or 'master' branch.")
+        print("Warning: Could not find 'main' or 'master' branch.")
         print(f"Warning: Using current branch '{current}' as base for worktree.")
-        print(f"Tip: Set DEFAULT_BRANCH=your-branch in .env to avoid this.")
+        print("Tip: Set DEFAULT_BRANCH=your-branch in .env to avoid this.")
         return current
 
     def _get_current_branch(self) -> str:
@@ -110,6 +116,8 @@ class WorktreeManager:
             cwd=self.project_dir,
             capture_output=True,
             text=True,
+            encoding="utf-8",
+            errors="replace",
         )
         if result.returncode != 0:
             raise WorktreeError(f"Failed to get current branch: {result.stderr}")
@@ -124,6 +132,8 @@ class WorktreeManager:
             cwd=cwd or self.project_dir,
             capture_output=True,
             text=True,
+            encoding="utf-8",
+            errors="replace",
         )
 
     def _unstage_gitignored_files(self) -> None:
@@ -153,6 +163,8 @@ class WorktreeManager:
             input="\n".join(staged_files),
             capture_output=True,
             text=True,
+            encoding="utf-8",
+            errors="replace",
         )
 
         if result.stdout.strip():
diff --git a/auto-claude/implementation_plan/plan.py b/auto-claude/implementation_plan/plan.py
index 277cb103..46ef62eb 100644
--- a/auto-claude/implementation_plan/plan.py
+++ b/auto-claude/implementation_plan/plan.py
@@ -105,8 +105,8 @@ class ImplementationPlan:
         self.update_status_from_subtasks()
 
         path.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-        with open(path, "w") as f:
-            json.dump(self.to_dict(), f, indent=2)
+        with open(path, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+            json.dump(self.to_dict(), f, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False)
 
     def update_status_from_subtasks(self):
         """Update overall status and planStatus based on subtask completion state.
@@ -169,7 +169,7 @@ class ImplementationPlan:
     @classmethod
     def load(cls, path: Path) -> "ImplementationPlan":
         """Load plan from JSON file."""
-        with open(path) as f:
+        with open(path, encoding="utf-8") as f:
             return cls.from_dict(json.load(f))
 
     def get_available_phases(self) -> list[Phase]:
diff --git a/auto-claude/run.py b/auto-claude/run.py
index 3def46ca..f8936d74 100644
--- a/auto-claude/run.py
+++ b/auto-claude/run.py
@@ -28,6 +28,38 @@ Prerequisites:
     - Claude Code CLI installed
 """
 
+import io
+import sys
+
+# Configure safe encoding on Windows BEFORE any imports that might print
+# This handles both TTY and piped output (e.g., from Electron)
+if sys.platform == "win32":
+    for _stream_name in ("stdout", "stderr"):
+        _stream = getattr(sys, _stream_name)
+        # Method 1: Try reconfigure (works for TTY)
+        if hasattr(_stream, "reconfigure"):
+            try:
+                _stream.reconfigure(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace")
+                continue
+            except (AttributeError, io.UnsupportedOperation, OSError):
+                pass
+        # Method 2: Wrap with TextIOWrapper for piped output
+        try:
+            if hasattr(_stream, "buffer"):
+                _new_stream = io.TextIOWrapper(
+                    _stream.buffer,
+                    encoding="utf-8",
+                    errors="replace",
+                    line_buffering=True,
+                )
+                setattr(sys, _stream_name, _new_stream)
+        except (AttributeError, io.UnsupportedOperation, OSError):
+            pass
+    # Clean up temporary variables
+    del _stream_name, _stream
+    if "_new_stream" in dir():
+        del _new_stream
+
 from cli import main
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
diff --git a/auto-claude/runners/spec_runner.py b/auto-claude/runners/spec_runner.py
index 928b7354..c4426465 100644
--- a/auto-claude/runners/spec_runner.py
+++ b/auto-claude/runners/spec_runner.py
@@ -34,10 +34,40 @@ Usage:
 """
 
 import asyncio
+import io
 import os
 import sys
 from pathlib import Path
 
+# Configure safe encoding on Windows BEFORE any imports that might print
+# This handles both TTY and piped output (e.g., from Electron)
+if sys.platform == "win32":
+    for _stream_name in ("stdout", "stderr"):
+        _stream = getattr(sys, _stream_name)
+        # Method 1: Try reconfigure (works for TTY)
+        if hasattr(_stream, "reconfigure"):
+            try:
+                _stream.reconfigure(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace")
+                continue
+            except (AttributeError, io.UnsupportedOperation, OSError):
+                pass
+        # Method 2: Wrap with TextIOWrapper for piped output
+        try:
+            if hasattr(_stream, "buffer"):
+                _new_stream = io.TextIOWrapper(
+                    _stream.buffer,
+                    encoding="utf-8",
+                    errors="replace",
+                    line_buffering=True,
+                )
+                setattr(sys, _stream_name, _new_stream)
+        except (AttributeError, io.UnsupportedOperation, OSError):
+            pass
+    # Clean up temporary variables
+    del _stream_name, _stream
+    if "_new_stream" in dir():
+        del _new_stream
+
 # Add auto-claude to path (parent of runners/)
 sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).parent.parent))
 
@@ -230,7 +260,9 @@ Examples:
                 print(
                     f"  {muted('Or re-run spec_runner with --auto-approve to skip review:')}"
                 )
-                example_cmd = 'python auto-claude/spec_runner.py --task "..." --auto-approve'
+                example_cmd = (
+                    'python auto-claude/spec_runner.py --task "..." --auto-approve'
+                )
                 print(f"  {highlight(example_cmd)}")
                 sys.exit(1)
 
diff --git a/auto-claude/spec/pipeline/agent_runner.py b/auto-claude/spec/pipeline/agent_runner.py
index 49edcc65..e06c2285 100644
--- a/auto-claude/spec/pipeline/agent_runner.py
+++ b/auto-claude/spec/pipeline/agent_runner.py
@@ -7,6 +7,11 @@ Handles the execution of AI agents for the spec creation pipeline.
 
 from pathlib import Path
 
+# Configure safe encoding before any output (fixes Windows encoding errors)
+from ui.capabilities import configure_safe_encoding
+
+configure_safe_encoding()
+
 from client import create_client
 from task_logger import (
     LogEntryType,
diff --git a/auto-claude/spec/pipeline/orchestrator.py b/auto-claude/spec/pipeline/orchestrator.py
index b488268b..4db90d9a 100644
--- a/auto-claude/spec/pipeline/orchestrator.py
+++ b/auto-claude/spec/pipeline/orchestrator.py
@@ -457,9 +457,11 @@ class SpecOrchestrator:
         print_key_value("Reasoning", assessment.reasoning)
 
         if assessment.needs_research:
-            print(f"  {muted('→ Research phase enabled')}")
+            print(f"  {muted(icon(Icons.ARROW_RIGHT) + ' Research phase enabled')}")
         if assessment.needs_self_critique:
-            print(f"  {muted('→ Self-critique phase enabled')}")
+            print(
+                f"  {muted(icon(Icons.ARROW_RIGHT) + ' Self-critique phase enabled')}"
+            )
 
     def _print_phases_to_run(self) -> None:
         """Print the list of phases that will be executed."""
diff --git a/auto-claude/spec/validate_pkg/models.py b/auto-claude/spec/validate_pkg/models.py
index 6ece9156..984f4c07 100644
--- a/auto-claude/spec/validate_pkg/models.py
+++ b/auto-claude/spec/validate_pkg/models.py
@@ -30,16 +30,16 @@ class ValidationResult:
         if self.errors:
             lines.append("\nErrors:")
             for err in self.errors:
-                lines.append(f"  ✗ {err}")
+                lines.append(f"  [X] {err}")
 
         if self.warnings:
             lines.append("\nWarnings:")
             for warn in self.warnings:
-                lines.append(f"  ⚠ {warn}")
+                lines.append(f"  [!] {warn}")
 
         if self.fixes and not self.valid:
             lines.append("\nSuggested Fixes:")
             for fix in self.fixes:
-                lines.append(f"  → {fix}")
+                lines.append(f"  -> {fix}")
 
         return "\n".join(lines)
diff --git a/auto-claude/task_logger/storage.py b/auto-claude/task_logger/storage.py
index 572c14de..ba2605e9 100644
--- a/auto-claude/task_logger/storage.py
+++ b/auto-claude/task_logger/storage.py
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ class LogStorage:
         """Load existing logs or create new structure."""
         if self.log_file.exists():
             try:
-                with open(self.log_file) as f:
+                with open(self.log_file, encoding="utf-8") as f:
                     return json.load(f)
             except (OSError, json.JSONDecodeError):
                 pass
@@ -69,8 +69,8 @@ class LogStorage:
         self._data["updated_at"] = self._timestamp()
         try:
             self.spec_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-            with open(self.log_file, "w") as f:
-                json.dump(self._data, f, indent=2)
+            with open(self.log_file, "w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+                json.dump(self._data, f, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False)
         except OSError as e:
             print(f"Warning: Failed to save task logs: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
 
@@ -159,7 +159,7 @@ def load_task_logs(spec_dir: Path) -> dict | None:
         return None
 
     try:
-        with open(log_file) as f:
+        with open(log_file, encoding="utf-8") as f:
             return json.load(f)
     except (OSError, json.JSONDecodeError):
         return None
diff --git a/auto-claude/ui/__init__.py b/auto-claude/ui/__init__.py
index 13b57982..959db946 100644
--- a/auto-claude/ui/__init__.py
+++ b/auto-claude/ui/__init__.py
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ from .capabilities import (
     FANCY_UI,
     INTERACTIVE,
     UNICODE,
+    configure_safe_encoding,
     supports_color,
     supports_interactive,
     supports_unicode,
@@ -57,6 +58,7 @@ _INTERACTIVE = INTERACTIVE
 
 __all__ = [
     # Capabilities
+    "configure_safe_encoding",
     "supports_unicode",
     "supports_color",
     "supports_interactive",
diff --git a/auto-claude/ui/capabilities.py b/auto-claude/ui/capabilities.py
index ed4c7c34..ac8de510 100644
--- a/auto-claude/ui/capabilities.py
+++ b/auto-claude/ui/capabilities.py
@@ -8,10 +8,56 @@ Detects terminal capabilities for:
 - Interactive input support
 """
 
+import io
 import os
 import sys
 
 
+def configure_safe_encoding() -> None:
+    """
+    Configure stdout/stderr to handle Unicode safely on Windows.
+
+    On Windows, the default console encoding (cp1252) can't display many
+    Unicode characters. This function forces UTF-8 encoding with 'replace'
+    error handling, so unrenderable characters are replaced with '?' instead
+    of raising exceptions.
+
+    This handles both:
+    1. Regular console output (reconfigure method)
+    2. Piped output from subprocess (TextIOWrapper replacement)
+    """
+    if sys.platform != "win32":
+        return
+
+    # Method 1: Try reconfigure (works for TTY)
+    for stream_name in ("stdout", "stderr"):
+        stream = getattr(sys, stream_name)
+        if hasattr(stream, "reconfigure"):
+            try:
+                stream.reconfigure(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace")
+                continue
+            except (AttributeError, io.UnsupportedOperation, OSError):
+                pass
+
+        # Method 2: Wrap with TextIOWrapper for piped output
+        # This is needed when stdout/stderr are pipes (e.g., from Electron)
+        try:
+            if hasattr(stream, "buffer"):
+                new_stream = io.TextIOWrapper(
+                    stream.buffer,
+                    encoding="utf-8",
+                    errors="replace",
+                    line_buffering=True,
+                )
+                setattr(sys, stream_name, new_stream)
+        except (AttributeError, io.UnsupportedOperation, OSError):
+            pass
+
+
+# Configure safe encoding on module import
+configure_safe_encoding()
+
+
 def _is_fancy_ui_enabled() -> bool:
     """Check if fancy UI is enabled via environment variable."""
     value = os.environ.get("ENABLE_FANCY_UI", "true").lower()