diff --git a/src/skill_seekers/cli/doc_scraper.py b/src/skill_seekers/cli/doc_scraper.py
index f12448e..58e354e 100755
--- a/src/skill_seekers/cli/doc_scraper.py
+++ b/src/skill_seekers/cli/doc_scraper.py
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ class DocToSkillConverter:
         }
 
         try:
-            with open(self.checkpoint_file, 'w') as f:
+            with open(self.checkpoint_file, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
                 json.dump(checkpoint_data, f, indent=2)
             logger.info("  💾 Checkpoint saved (%d pages)", self.pages_scraped)
         except Exception as e:
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ class DocToSkillConverter:
             return
 
         try:
-            with open(self.checkpoint_file, 'r') as f:
+            with open(self.checkpoint_file, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
                 checkpoint_data = json.load(f)
 
             self.visited_urls = set(checkpoint_data["visited_urls"])
@@ -1307,7 +1307,7 @@ def load_config(config_path: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
         'react'
     """
     try:
-        with open(config_path, 'r') as f:
+        with open(config_path, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
             config = json.load(f)
     except json.JSONDecodeError as e:
         logger.error("❌ Error: Invalid JSON in config file: %s", config_path)
@@ -1413,7 +1413,7 @@ def check_existing_data(name: str) -> Tuple[bool, int]:
     """
     data_dir = f"output/{name}_data"
     if os.path.exists(data_dir) and os.path.exists(f"{data_dir}/summary.json"):
-        with open(f"{data_dir}/summary.json", 'r') as f:
+        with open(f"{data_dir}/summary.json", 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
             summary = json.load(f)
         return True, summary.get('total_pages', 0)
     return False, 0
diff --git a/src/skill_seekers/cli/github_scraper.py b/src/skill_seekers/cli/github_scraper.py
index b33293c..db7a7e7 100644
--- a/src/skill_seekers/cli/github_scraper.py
+++ b/src/skill_seekers/cli/github_scraper.py
@@ -919,7 +919,7 @@ Examples:
 
     # Build config from args or file
     if args.config:
-        with open(args.config, 'r') as f:
+        with open(args.config, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
             config = json.load(f)
     elif args.repo:
         config = {
diff --git a/src/skill_seekers/cli/unified_scraper.py b/src/skill_seekers/cli/unified_scraper.py
index 3e7a5c6..78bec51 100644
--- a/src/skill_seekers/cli/unified_scraper.py
+++ b/src/skill_seekers/cli/unified_scraper.py
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ class UnifiedScraper:
 
         # Write temporary config
         temp_config_path = os.path.join(self.data_dir, 'temp_docs_config.json')
-        with open(temp_config_path, 'w') as f:
+        with open(temp_config_path, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
             json.dump(doc_config, f, indent=2)
 
         # Run doc_scraper as subprocess
@@ -150,7 +150,7 @@ class UnifiedScraper:
         docs_data_file = f"output/{doc_config['name']}_data/summary.json"
 
         if os.path.exists(docs_data_file):
-            with open(docs_data_file, 'r') as f:
+            with open(docs_data_file, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
                 summary = json.load(f)
 
             self.scraped_data['documentation'] = {
@@ -202,7 +202,7 @@ class UnifiedScraper:
 
         # Save data
         github_data_file = os.path.join(self.data_dir, 'github_data.json')
-        with open(github_data_file, 'w') as f:
+        with open(github_data_file, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
             json.dump(github_data, f, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False)
 
         self.scraped_data['github'] = {
@@ -236,7 +236,7 @@ class UnifiedScraper:
 
         # Save data
         pdf_data_file = os.path.join(self.data_dir, 'pdf_data.json')
-        with open(pdf_data_file, 'w') as f:
+        with open(pdf_data_file, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
             json.dump(pdf_data, f, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False)
 
         self.scraped_data['pdf'] = {
@@ -272,10 +272,10 @@ class UnifiedScraper:
             return []
 
         # Load data files
-        with open(docs_data['data_file'], 'r') as f:
+        with open(docs_data['data_file'], 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
             docs_json = json.load(f)
 
-        with open(github_data['data_file'], 'r') as f:
+        with open(github_data['data_file'], 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
             github_json = json.load(f)
 
         # Detect conflicts
@@ -322,10 +322,10 @@ class UnifiedScraper:
         github_data = self.scraped_data.get('github', {})
 
         # Load data
-        with open(docs_data['data_file'], 'r') as f:
+        with open(docs_data['data_file'], 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
             docs_json = json.load(f)
 
-        with open(github_data['data_file'], 'r') as f:
+        with open(github_data['data_file'], 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
             github_json = json.load(f)
 
         # Choose merger
@@ -339,7 +339,7 @@ class UnifiedScraper:
 
         # Save merged data
         merged_file = os.path.join(self.data_dir, 'merged_data.json')
-        with open(merged_file, 'w') as f:
+        with open(merged_file, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as f:
             json.dump(merged_data, f, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False)
 
         logger.info(f"✅ Merged data saved: {merged_file}")
@@ -361,7 +361,7 @@ class UnifiedScraper:
         conflicts = []
         conflicts_file = os.path.join(self.data_dir, 'conflicts.json')
         if os.path.exists(conflicts_file):
-            with open(conflicts_file, 'r') as f:
+            with open(conflicts_file, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
                 conflicts_data = json.load(f)
                 conflicts = conflicts_data.get('conflicts', [])