diff --git a/base/app/app.py b/base/app/app.py
index 471a97d..df08413 100644
--- a/base/app/app.py
+++ b/base/app/app.py
@@ -13,20 +13,22 @@
 import petname
 from flask import Flask, jsonify
 
-state_base = "/var/lib/private/orijen-udf-base/"
+state_base = "/var/lib/state/"
 
 def run_flask(app):
     """Function to run the Flask app on a separate thread."""
     app.run(host='0.0.0.0', port=5123)
 
 def save_state(file, state):
+    """Save state to a file."""
     os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(state_base + file), exist_ok=True)
-    with open(state_base + file, 'w') as f:
+    with open(state_base + file, 'w', encoding="utf-8") as f:
         f.write(state)
 
 def load_state(file):
+    """Load state from a file."""
     try:
-        with open(state_base + file, 'r') as f:
+        with open(state_base + file, 'r', encoding="utf-8") as f:
             return json.load(f)
     except FileNotFoundError:
         return {}
diff --git a/orijen-udf-base-install.sh b/orijen-udf-base-install.sh
index 8792ced..0743791 100755
--- a/orijen-udf-base-install.sh
+++ b/orijen-udf-base-install.sh
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ Restart=always
 ExecStartPre=-/usr/bin/docker stop $CONTAINER
 ExecStartPre=-/usr/bin/docker rm $CONTAINER
 ExecStartPre=/usr/bin/docker pull $IMAGE
-ExecStart=/usr/bin/docker run -p 5123:5123 --rm --name $CONTAINER $IMAGE
+ExecStart=/usr/bin/docker run -p 5123:5123 -v $CONTAINER:/var/lib/state --rm --name $CONTAINER $IMAGE
 ExecStop=/usr/bin/docker stop $CONTAINER
 StateDirectory=$CONTAINER