diff --git a/src/nooa/skill.py b/src/nooa/skill.py
index 8773d7e4c..a85ea19f8 100644
--- a/src/nooa/skill.py
+++ b/src/nooa/skill.py
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ def _parse_skill_md(path: Path) -> tuple[str, str, str]:
 
     props = _read_skill_properties(path)
     description = props.description or path.name
-    _, body = _parse_frontmatter(skill_md.read_text())
+    _, body = _parse_frontmatter(skill_md.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
     return skill_id, description, body.strip()
 
 
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_skill.py b/tests/unit/test_skill.py
index 61c917e41..f0c26d960 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_skill.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_skill.py
@@ -29,12 +29,27 @@ def test_skill_path_loads_id(skill_dir):
 
 
 def test_skill_path_creates_dynamic_subclass(skill_dir):
+    """A path-loaded skill exposes its description through a generated skill subclass."""
     skill = TextSkill(path=skill_dir)
     assert type(skill).__name__ != "Skill"
     assert "Best practices for Git" in (type(skill).__doc__ or "")
 
 
+def test_skill_body_preserves_utf8_with_legacy_default(skill_dir, monkeypatch):
+    """UTF-8 instructions reach the skill docstring unchanged under a legacy locale."""
+    body = "Budget: 50€ → café 中文 🚀"
+    (skill_dir / "SKILL.md").write_text(
+        f"---\nname: git-workflow\ndescription: Unicode instructions\n---\n{body}\n",
+        encoding="utf-8",
+    )
+    monkeypatch.setattr("io.text_encoding", lambda encoding, stacklevel=2: encoding or "cp1252")
+    skill = TextSkill(path=skill_dir)
+    assert skill.description == "Unicode instructions"
+    assert (type(skill).__doc__ or "").split("\n---\n", 1)[1] == body
+
+
 def test_skill_content_constructor():
+    """Direct text construction exposes the provided instructions in the skill docstring."""
     skill = Skill(content="A helpful skill.")
     assert "A helpful skill." in (type(skill).__doc__ or "")