diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 9415e48..123a775 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ if(CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME STREQUAL "Windows")
 endif()
 
 add_library(drharness_lib
+    src/encoding.cpp
     src/tool_registry.cpp
     src/ollama_client.cpp
     src/harness.cpp
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4c43ddf..940070f 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@ configuration.
 *   `-s <name>`: Manually constrain the harness to a specific subset of skills (can be specified multiple times)
 *   `-i <path>`: Image file to attach to the prompt (can be specified multiple times)
 *   `-m <prompt>`: The user prompt to send to the agent.
+*   `-P <file>`: Read the prompt from a file instead of the command line.
 *   `-M <model>`: Override the Ollama model (e.g., `mistral`, `llama3`).
 
 ## ✍️ Editor Integration
diff --git a/include/encoding.hpp b/include/encoding.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d6f36c1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/encoding.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+#pragma once
+#include <string>
+
+char const* validate_utf8(char const* s);
+std::string ensure_utf8(char const* s);
diff --git a/src/encoding.cpp b/src/encoding.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b87a16e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/encoding.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+#include "encoding.hpp"
+
+char const* validate_utf8(char const* s)
+{
+    auto b = reinterpret_cast<unsigned char const*>(s);
+
+    unsigned char c0 = b[0];
+
+    // ASCII
+    if (c0 < 0x80)
+        return s + 1;
+
+    // Continuation byte or invalid lead byte
+    if (c0 < 0xC2)
+        return nullptr;
+
+    // 2-byte sequence
+    if (c0 <= 0xDF)
+    {
+        unsigned char c1 = b[1];
+        if (c1 == '\0' || (c1 & 0xC0) != 0x80)
+            return nullptr;
+        return s + 2;
+    }
+
+    // 3-byte sequence
+    if (c0 <= 0xEF)
+    {
+        unsigned char c1 = b[1];
+        unsigned char c2 = b[2];
+
+        if (c1 == '\0' || c2 == '\0')
+            return nullptr;
+
+        if ((c1 & 0xC0) != 0x80 || (c2 & 0xC0) != 0x80)
+            return nullptr;
+
+        // Overlong
+        if (c0 == 0xE0 && c1 < 0xA0)
+            return nullptr;
+
+        // Surrogates
+        if (c0 == 0xED && c1 >= 0xA0)
+            return nullptr;
+
+        return s + 3;
+    }
+
+    // 4-byte sequence
+    if (c0 <= 0xF4)
+    {
+        unsigned char c1 = b[1];
+        unsigned char c2 = b[2];
+        unsigned char c3 = b[3];
+
+        if (c1 == '\0' || c2 == '\0' || c3 == '\0')
+            return nullptr;
+
+        if ((c1 & 0xC0) != 0x80 ||
+            (c2 & 0xC0) != 0x80 ||
+            (c3 & 0xC0) != 0x80)
+            return nullptr;
+
+        // Overlong
+        if (c0 == 0xF0 && c1 < 0x90)
+            return nullptr;
+
+        // > U+10FFFF
+        if (c0 == 0xF4 && c1 >= 0x90)
+            return nullptr;
+
+        return s + 4;
+    }
+
+    return nullptr;
+}
+
+std::string ensure_utf8(char const* s)
+{
+    std::string ret = "";
+
+    while (*s)
+    {
+        char const* next = validate_utf8(s);
+        if (next == 0)
+        {
+            ret += (0xc2+(((unsigned char)*s)>0xbf));
+            ret += ((((unsigned char)*s)&0x3f))+0x80;
+            s++;
+            continue;
+        }
+
+        ret += std::string(s, next);
+
+        s = next;
+    }
+
+    return ret;
+}
diff --git a/src/main.cpp b/src/main.cpp
index 603edf0..9303da8 100644
--- a/src/main.cpp
+++ b/src/main.cpp
@@ -157,6 +157,7 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv) {
     char const* file_to_open = nullptr;
     std::string auto_temp_file;  // Path to auto-generated temp file (if any)
     char const* prompt = nullptr;
+    char const* prompt_file = nullptr;
     bool start_new = false;
     bool list_models = false;
     char const* print_file = nullptr;
@@ -195,6 +196,11 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv) {
             consume_arg();
             prompt = consume_arg();
         }
+        else if (argv[0] == std::string("-P"))
+        {
+            consume_arg();
+            prompt_file = consume_arg();
+        }
         else if (argv[0] == std::string("-M"))
         {
             consume_arg();
@@ -335,6 +341,7 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv) {
                       << "  -i <path>   Image file to attach (can be specified multiple times)\n"
                       << "  -n          Start a new conversation (auto-generates temp file if -F not specified)\n"
                       << "  -m <prompt> Prompt message (required)\n"
+                      << "  -P <file>   Read prompt from file\n"
                       << "  -M <model>  Ollama model name\n"
                       << "  -f          Open editor with full history (requires -F)\n"
                       << "  -b          Edit history (requires -F)\n"
@@ -424,7 +431,7 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv) {
     // Build list of discovered paths for debug output
     std::vector<std::string> discovered_paths;
     for (const auto& skill : all_skills) {
-        discovered_paths.push_back(std::filesystem::path(skill.directory) / "SKILL.md");
+        discovered_paths.push_back((std::filesystem::path(skill.directory) / "SKILL.md").string());
     }
 
     // Build enabled skills list based on filters
@@ -648,12 +655,19 @@ int main(int argc, char** argv) {
         harness = Harness(create_client(use_debug), master_registery, state_data);
     }
 
-    std::cerr << "drharness | model: " << cfg.model
+    std::cerr << "drharness v0.3 | model: " << cfg.model
               << " | " << cfg.base_url << "\n\n";
 
     std::string final_prompt;
 
-    if (prompt) {
+    if (prompt_file) {
+        std::ifstream pf(prompt_file);
+        if (!pf.is_open()) {
+            std::cerr << "Error: Cannot open prompt file " << prompt_file << "\n";
+            return 1;
+        }
+        final_prompt = std::string((std::istreambuf_iterator<char>(pf)), std::istreambuf_iterator<char>());
+    } else if (prompt) {
         final_prompt = prompt;
     } else {
         final_prompt = expect_or_exit(run_editor(harness.serialize(), full_history));
diff --git a/src/ollama_client.cpp b/src/ollama_client.cpp
index 8187f5f..1e2761b 100644
--- a/src/ollama_client.cpp
+++ b/src/ollama_client.cpp
@@ -132,6 +132,10 @@ std::expected<Message, std::string> OllamaClient::chat(const std::vector<Message
             std::string new_packet = sum.substr(0,sum.find("\n\n"));
             sum = sum.substr(sum.find("\n\n")+2);
 
+            if (!new_packet.starts_with("data: ")){
+                continue;
+            }
+
             //std::cerr << new_packet << std::endl;
             auto j_result = parse_json_safely(new_packet.substr(6));
             if (!j_result)
@@ -163,8 +167,10 @@ std::expected<Message, std::string> OllamaClient::chat(const std::vector<Message
             append_to_variant_content(total.content, partial_message->get_content_string());
             total.reasoning_content += partial_message->reasoning_content;
             total.reasoning += partial_message->reasoning;
-            total.role += partial_message->role;
-            total.tool_call_id += partial_message->tool_call_id;
+            if (partial_message->role != "")
+                total.role = partial_message->role;
+            if (partial_message->tool_call_id != "")
+                total.tool_call_id = partial_message->tool_call_id;
 
             std::string to_write = partial_message->get_content_string()
                 + partial_message->reasoning_content
@@ -184,8 +190,10 @@ std::expected<Message, std::string> OllamaClient::chat(const std::vector<Message
 
                     total.tool_calls[x.index].function.arguments += x.function.arguments;
                     total.tool_calls[x.index].function.name += x.function.name;
-                    total.tool_calls[x.index].id += x.id;
-                    total.tool_calls[x.index].type += x.type;
+                    if (x.id != "")
+                        total.tool_calls[x.index].id = x.id;
+                    if (x.type != "")
+                        total.tool_calls[x.index].type = x.type;
                 }
             }
 
diff --git a/src/tool_registry.cpp b/src/tool_registry.cpp
index fe36da0..6082747 100644
--- a/src/tool_registry.cpp
+++ b/src/tool_registry.cpp
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 #include "tool_registry.hpp"
+#include "encoding.hpp"
 
 std::expected<void, std::string> ToolRegistry::register_tool(Tool tool) {
     if (tools_.count(tool.name))
@@ -24,12 +25,37 @@ std::vector<Tool> ToolRegistry::tools() const {
     return ret;
 }
 
+
+// helper type for the visitor
+template<class... Ts>
+struct overloads : Ts... { using Ts::operator()...; };
+
 Content ToolRegistry::invoke(const std::string& name,
                              const nlohmann::json& args) const {
     auto it = tools_.find(name);
     if (it == tools_.end())
         return "Error: unknown tool: " + name;
-    return it->second.execute(args);
+    auto ret = it->second.execute(args);
+
+    ret = std::visit(overloads{
+            [](std::string const& x) -> Content { return ensure_utf8(x.c_str()); },
+            [](std::vector<ContentPart> const& x) -> Content {
+                std::vector<ContentPart> ret = x;
+
+                for (auto& i : ret)
+                {
+                    if (i.text)
+                    {
+                        std::string valid = ensure_utf8(i.text->c_str());
+                        i.text = valid;
+                    }
+                }
+
+                return ret;
+            },
+    }, ret);
+
+    return ret;
 }
 
 std::expected<ToolRegistry, std::string> ToolRegistry::create_subregistry(std::vector<std::string> const& names) const
diff --git a/tests/CMakeLists.txt b/tests/CMakeLists.txt
index 234f4ac..2b1686e 100644
--- a/tests/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/tests/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ add_dr_test(test_tool_read_multi_modal)
 # Add feature validation tests
 add_dr_test(test_tool_restrictions)
 add_dr_test(test_n_flag)
+add_dr_test(test_prompt_file)
 add_dr_test(test_load_chat)
 add_dr_test(process_reasoning)
 add_dr_test(test_skill_scanner)
@@ -156,3 +157,6 @@ add_dr_test(test_multimodal_roundtrip)
 
 # Add print_history multimodal tests
 add_dr_test(test_print_history_multimodal)
+
+# Add encoding tests
+add_dr_test(test_encoding)
diff --git a/tests/test_encoding.sh b/tests/test_encoding.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..468e822
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_encoding.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,130 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# test_encoding.sh - Tests for UTF-8 encoding validation and conversion
+# All tests exercise encoding through the read_file tool
+
+# Test 1: Valid ASCII passes through unchanged
+printf 'Hello' > test_ascii.txt
+tool_call read_file '{"path":"test_ascii.txt"}' >> mock1.txt
+be_done 'done' >> mock1.txt
+"${DRHARNESS}" -F chat1.json -n -m "test" -t read_file -d < "mock1.txt" >/dev/null 2>&1
+RESULT=$(dr_result chat1.json 2)
+if [ "${RESULT}" != "Hello" ]; then
+    echo "FAIL: ASCII passthrough - expected 'Hello', got '${RESULT}'"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Test 2: Valid UTF-8 2-byte sequence (é = c3a9) passes through unchanged
+printf '\xc3\xa9' > test_utf8_2byte.txt
+tool_call read_file '{"path":"test_utf8_2byte.txt"}' >> mock2.txt
+be_done 'done' >> mock2.txt
+"${DRHARNESS}" -F chat2.json -n -m "test" -t read_file -d < "mock2.txt" >/dev/null 2>&1
+RESULT=$(dr_result chat2.json 2)
+RESULT_HEX=$(od -An -tx1 -v <<< "${RESULT}" | tr -d ' \n' | sed 's/0a$//')
+if [ "${RESULT_HEX}" != "c3a9" ]; then
+    echo "FAIL: valid UTF-8 2-byte - expected 'c3a9', got '${RESULT_HEX}'"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Test 3: Valid UTF-8 3-byte sequence (中 = e4b8ad) passes through unchanged
+printf '\xe4\xb8\xad' > test_utf8_3byte.txt
+tool_call read_file '{"path":"test_utf8_3byte.txt"}' >> mock3.txt
+be_done 'done' >> mock3.txt
+"${DRHARNESS}" -F chat3.json -n -m "test" -t read_file -d < "mock3.txt" >/dev/null 2>&1
+RESULT=$(dr_result chat3.json 2)
+RESULT_HEX=$(od -An -tx1 -v <<< "${RESULT}" | tr -d ' \n' | sed 's/0a$//')
+if [ "${RESULT_HEX}" != "e4b8ad" ]; then
+    echo "FAIL: valid UTF-8 3-byte - expected 'e4b8ad', got '${RESULT_HEX}'"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Test 4: Valid UTF-8 4-byte sequence (😀 = f09f9880) passes through unchanged
+printf '\xf0\x9f\x98\x80' > test_utf8_4byte.txt
+tool_call read_file '{"path":"test_utf8_4byte.txt"}' >> mock4.txt
+be_done 'done' >> mock4.txt
+"${DRHARNESS}" -F chat4.json -n -m "test" -t read_file -d < "mock4.txt" >/dev/null 2>&1
+RESULT=$(dr_result chat4.json 2)
+RESULT_HEX=$(od -An -tx1 -v <<< "${RESULT}" | tr -d ' \n' | sed 's/0a$//')
+if [ "${RESULT_HEX}" != "f09f9880" ]; then
+    echo "FAIL: valid UTF-8 4-byte - expected 'f09f9880', got '${RESULT_HEX}'"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Test 5: Latin-1 byte 0xe9 (é in Latin-1) should be converted to UTF-8 c3a9
+printf '\xe9' > test_latin1_e9.txt
+tool_call read_file '{"path":"test_latin1_e9.txt"}' >> mock5.txt
+be_done 'done' >> mock5.txt
+"${DRHARNESS}" -F chat5.json -n -m "test" -t read_file -d < "mock5.txt" >/dev/null 2>&1
+RESULT=$(dr_result chat5.json 2)
+RESULT_HEX=$(od -An -tx1 -v <<< "${RESULT}" | tr -d ' \n' | sed 's/0a$//')
+if [ "${RESULT_HEX}" != "c3a9" ]; then
+    echo "FAIL: Latin-1 e9 to UTF-8 - expected 'c3a9', got '${RESULT_HEX}'"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Test 6: Multiple Latin-1 bytes (café in Latin-1 = 636166e9)
+printf '\x63\x61\x66\xe9' > test_latin1_cafe.txt
+tool_call read_file '{"path":"test_latin1_cafe.txt"}' >> mock6.txt
+be_done 'done' >> mock6.txt
+"${DRHARNESS}" -F chat6.json -n -m "test" -t read_file -d < "mock6.txt" >/dev/null 2>&1
+RESULT=$(dr_result chat6.json 2)
+RESULT_HEX=$(od -An -tx1 -v <<< "${RESULT}" | tr -d ' \n' | sed 's/0a$//')
+if [ "${RESULT_HEX}" != "636166c3a9" ]; then
+    echo "FAIL: Latin-1 café to UTF-8 - expected '636166c3a9', got '${RESULT_HEX}'"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Test 7: Byte 0x80 (isolated continuation byte) should be converted to c280
+printf '\x80' > test_cont_byte.txt
+tool_call read_file '{"path":"test_cont_byte.txt"}' >> mock7.txt
+be_done 'done' >> mock7.txt
+"${DRHARNESS}" -F chat7.json -n -m "test" -t read_file -d < "mock7.txt" >/dev/null 2>&1
+RESULT=$(dr_result chat7.json 2)
+RESULT_HEX=$(od -An -tx1 -v <<< "${RESULT}" | tr -d ' \n' | sed 's/0a$//')
+if [ "${RESULT_HEX}" != "c280" ]; then
+    echo "FAIL: continuation byte 80 - expected 'c280', got '${RESULT_HEX}'"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Test 8: Mixed valid UTF-8 and invalid bytes
+# "A" + invalid 0xe9 + "B" = 41e942 -> expected: 41c3a942
+printf '\x41\xe9\x42' > test_mixed.txt
+tool_call read_file '{"path":"test_mixed.txt"}' >> mock8.txt
+be_done 'done' >> mock8.txt
+"${DRHARNESS}" -F chat8.json -n -m "test" -t read_file -d < "mock8.txt" >/dev/null 2>&1
+RESULT=$(dr_result chat8.json 2)
+RESULT_HEX=$(od -An -tx1 -v <<< "${RESULT}" | tr -d ' \n' | sed 's/0a$//')
+if [ "${RESULT_HEX}" != "41c3a942" ]; then
+    echo "FAIL: mixed valid/invalid - expected '41c3a942', got '${RESULT_HEX}'"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Test 9: Empty file returns "(empty file)"
+printf '' > test_empty.txt
+tool_call read_file '{"path":"test_empty.txt"}' >> mock9.txt
+be_done 'done' >> mock9.txt
+"${DRHARNESS}" -F chat9.json -n -m "test" -t read_file -d < "mock9.txt" >/dev/null 2>&1
+RESULT=$(dr_result chat9.json 2)
+if [ "${RESULT}" != "(empty file)" ]; then
+    echo "FAIL: empty file - expected '(empty file)', got '${RESULT}'"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Test 10: File with newline and non-UTF8 content
+printf 'line1\n\xe9\nline3\n' > test_multiline.txt
+tool_call read_file '{"path":"test_multiline.txt"}' >> mock10.txt
+be_done 'done' >> mock10.txt
+"${DRHARNESS}" -F chat10.json -n -m "test" -t read_file -d < "mock10.txt" >/dev/null 2>&1
+RESULT=$(dr_result chat10.json 2)
+# Check that the file content was properly converted
+if ! echo "${RESULT}" | grep -q "line1"; then
+    echo "FAIL: multiline - missing 'line1' in result"
+    exit 1
+fi
+# Verify the é is properly UTF-8 encoded
+RESULT_HEX=$(od -An -tx1 -v <<< "${RESULT}" | tr -d ' \n' | sed 's/0a$//')
+if ! echo "${RESULT_HEX}" | grep -q "c3a9"; then
+    echo "FAIL: multiline - expected UTF-8 é (c3a9) in result, got '${RESULT_HEX}'"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "PASS: encoding tests"
diff --git a/tests/test_prompt_file.sh b/tests/test_prompt_file.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..aa5c462
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_prompt_file.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+# test_prompt_file.sh - Validates the -P flag reads prompt from file
+
+# Test 1: Basic prompt file reading
+echo "This is my prompt from a file" > prompt.txt
+be_done 'Response received' | "${DRHARNESS}" -F chat.json -n -P prompt.txt -d
+
+# Verify the prompt from the file was stored in the chat history
+STORED_PROMPT=$(dr_result chat.json 0)
+if [ "${STORED_PROMPT}" != "This is my prompt from a file" ]; then
+    echo "FAIL: prompt_file - prompt not read correctly"
+    echo "Expected: 'This is my prompt from a file'"
+    echo "Got: '${STORED_PROMPT}'"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Test 2: Multi-line prompt file
+cat > multiline_prompt.txt << 'PROMPT'
+Line 1
+Line 2
+Line 3
+PROMPT
+
+be_done 'Multi-line response' | "${DRHARNESS}" -F chat2.json -n -P multiline_prompt.txt -d
+
+# Verify multi-line prompt was stored correctly
+STORED_PROMPT=$(dr_result chat2.json 0)
+EXPECTED_MULTILINE="Line 1
+Line 2
+Line 3"
+
+if [ "${STORED_PROMPT}" != "${EXPECTED_MULTILINE}" ]; then
+    echo "FAIL: prompt_file multiline - prompt not read correctly"
+    echo "Expected:"
+    echo "${EXPECTED_MULTILINE}"
+    echo "Got:"
+    echo "${STORED_PROMPT}"
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# Test 3: Non-existent file should fail
+if "${DRHARNESS}" -F chat3.json -n -P nonexistent.txt -d < /dev/null 2>stderr_output; then
+    echo "FAIL: prompt_file nonexistent - should have failed"
+    cat stderr_output
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+echo "PASS: prompt_file"
diff --git a/tests/test_tool_shell.sh b/tests/test_tool_shell.sh
index 37332e0..a8e847f 100755
--- a/tests/test_tool_shell.sh
+++ b/tests/test_tool_shell.sh
@@ -40,3 +40,14 @@ be_done 'done' >> mock_responses3.txt
 timeout 5s "${DRHARNESS}" -F chat3.json -n -m "This is a test" -t run_dangerous_shell -d < "mock_responses3.txt"
 
 echo "PASS: tool_shell"
+
+
+seq 1 1044 > long_file
+tool_call run_dangerous_shell '{"command":"cat long_file"}' >> mock_responses4.txt
+be_done 'done' >> mock_responses4.txt
+"${DRHARNESS}" -F chat4.json -n -m "This is a test" -t run_dangerous_shell -d < "mock_responses4.txt"
+dr_result chat4.json 2 > long_file_from_harness
+echo "" >> long_file
+
+diff -u long_file long_file_from_harness
+
diff --git a/tools/shell_tool.cpp b/tools/shell_tool.cpp
index 3db7ce4..9d9a8d8 100644
--- a/tools/shell_tool.cpp
+++ b/tools/shell_tool.cpp
@@ -115,22 +115,29 @@ Tool make_shell_tool(bool safe) {
                 if (pfd.revents & POLLHUP) {
                     // Data might still be available in buffer!
                     if (pfd.revents & POLLIN) {
-                        // Read remaining data
-                        res = read(pfd.fd, buf.data(), buf.size() - 1);
-                        if (res > 0) output += std::string(buf.data(), res);
+                        // Read ALL remaining data in a loop
+                        while (true) {
+                            res = read(pfd.fd, buf.data(), buf.size());
+                            if (res <= 0) break; // EOF or error
+                            output += std::string(buf.data(), res);
+                        }
                     }
                     break; 
                 }
 
-                // 3. Read data if available
+                // 3. Read data if available - keep reading until no more data
                 if (pfd.revents & POLLIN) {
-                    res = read(pfd.fd, buf.data(), buf.size() - 1);
-                    if (res < 0) { // Error
-                        break;
-                    } else if (res == 0) { // EOF
-                        break;
+                    while (true) {
+                        res = read(pfd.fd, buf.data(), buf.size());
+                        if (res < 0) {
+                            if (errno == EINTR) continue; // Restart if interrupted by signal
+                            break; // Error
+                        } else if (res == 0) { // EOF
+                            break;
+                        }
+                        output += std::string(buf.data(), res);
                     }
-                    output += std::string(buf.data(), res);
+                    break;
                 }
                 
             }