fix(core,cli,gateway,plugins): add encoding='utf-8' to read_text() calls

[AlexFucuson9]

Problem

Path.read_text() without an explicit encoding parameter uses the platform's default encoding. On Windows this is typically cp1252 or mbcs, which causes UnicodeDecodeError or silent data corruption when reading UTF-8 content.

This is the read-side companion to PR #54240 (write_text encoding fix). Files written with encoding="utf-8" must also be read with encoding="utf-8" to be cross-platform safe.

Scope

31 read_text() call sites across 14 files, covering:

Module	Files	Context
tools/skills_hub.py	3	Skill cache, index cache (JSON with ensure_ascii=False)
hermes_cli/auth.py	3	Auth credentials JSON
hermes_cli/profiles.py	5	Profile name, PID, wrapper scripts
hermes_cli/uninstall.py	2	Config path, wrapper script
hermes_cli/main.py	2	Auth JSON, agent response
hermes_cli/doctor.py	2	Lock file JSON, wrapper script
gateway/run.py	6	Voice mode, counts, prompt, pending JSON
agent/auxiliary_client.py	1	Auth JSON
agent/copilot_acp_client.py	1	Content file
agent/shell_hooks.py	1	Allowlist JSON
plugins/memory/mem0/__init__.py	1	Config JSON
plugins/memory/hindsight/__init__.py	1	Config JSON
plugins/memory/honcho/__init__.py	1	Config JSON
plugins/platforms/google_chat/oauth.py	2	OAuth token JSON

Fix

# Before
data = json.loads(path.read_text())

# After
data = json.loads(path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))

Impact

• Severity: P1 — data corruption / UnicodeDecodeError on Windows
• Scope: 14 files, 31 lines changed
• Risk: Minimal — explicit encoding matches what Linux/macOS already default to

[tonydwb]

Code Review Summary

Verdict: Approved

Mechanical fix adding explicit encoding='utf-8' to read_text() calls across core modules (7+ files). This is a correct cross-platform fix -- on Windows, read_text() without explicit encoding uses the system default (often cp1252), which can corrupt non-ASCII content.

Strengths:

• Consistent application across all identified call sites
• No behavioral change on Unix (UTF-8 is already the default)
• Prevents UnicodeDecodeError on Windows with non-ASCII config/session files
• Well-scoped to read_text() calls that parse JSON

No concerns.

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Reviewed by Hermes Agent

[tonydwb]

Code Review Summary

Verdict: LGTM

Mechanical change adding encoding='utf-8' to read_text() calls across 14 files. All changes are identical pattern: .read_text() -> .read_text(encoding='utf-8'). This ensures consistent encoding behavior across platforms (Windows in particular). No logic changes.

Reviewed by Hermes Agent

[teknium1]

Thanks for the focused Windows-compatibility cleanup. The underlying issue is still present on current main, but the current patch is incomplete against HEAD.

Problems

• gateway/run.py:3227 still reads persisted gateway_voice_mode.json with bare read_text(). Additional persisted JSON/update-state reads remain at gateway/run.py:6092, :6122, :12587, :14508, :14646, :14740, and :14835.
• tools/skills_hub.py:3366 writes cache JSON with ensure_ascii=False, while current readers at tools/skills_hub.py:1137, :3346, :3400, :3474, :3794, and :3860 still rely on the platform default encoding.
• The diff has no test changes. A regression should cover reading non-ASCII UTF-8 persisted JSON through an affected loader.

Suggested changes

• Refresh the audit against current main and cover the current Hermes-owned UTF-8 state paths, distinguishing them from externally authored files with unknown encodings.
• Add a focused non-ASCII UTF-8 read regression test.

Automated hermes-sweeper review.

[teknium1]

Merged via PR #71078 — your commit was cherry-picked onto current main with your authorship preserved in git log (rebase merge). Your 5-PR series (#50655 was authored under your earlier account, #54241, #56385, #66856, #65440) formed the backbone of the class-wide close-out: 68 of the 139 bare sites came from your commits, and the campaign's structure followed your directory-by-directory split. The remaining 71 sites were swept on top and a CI linter rule now prevents regressions. Thanks for the sustained, methodical work on this class.