Read tool fails on filenames containing Unicode apostrophes (smart quotes)

Resolved 💬 2 comments Opened Apr 9, 2026 by Hillgrove Closed Apr 9, 2026

Problem

The Read tool (and shell cat fallback) fail to open files whose names contain Unicode right single quotation marks (U+2019: ') — the \"smart apostrophes\" that macOS, Windows, and many apps insert automatically.

Example filename that fails:

Junior developers aren't obsolete Here's how to thrive in the age of AI.md

The Glob tool finds the file correctly, but Read cannot open it and returns File does not exist. Shell escaping also fails because U+2019 is not a valid shell quote character.

Expected behaviour

Read should be able to open any file that Glob can find, regardless of Unicode characters in the path.

Workaround

Rename the file to replace smart apostrophes with ASCII apostrophes or remove them before ingesting.

Why this matters

Files dropped into a wiki raw/ folder for ingestion are often saved directly from browsers or note-taking apps that substitute smart apostrophes automatically. Requiring manual renaming before every ingest is friction that breaks the workflow.

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