diff --git a/include/output.h b/include/output.h
index 3dab2fd..2494291 100644
--- a/include/output.h
+++ b/include/output.h
@@ -19,6 +19,8 @@ typedef struct {
 } ant_output_stream_t;
 
 ant_output_stream_t *ant_output_stream(FILE *stream);
+
+void ant_output_init_console(void);
 void ant_output_stream_begin(ant_output_stream_t *out);
 
 bool ant_output_stream_reserve(ant_output_stream_t *out, size_t extra);
diff --git a/src/main.c b/src/main.c
index 50ffa23..2bc0b0b 100644
--- a/src/main.c
+++ b/src/main.c
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 #include "watch.h"
 #include "reactor.h"
 #include "runtime.h"
+#include "output.h"
 #include "snapshot.h"
 #include "esm/loader.h"
 #include "esm/library.h"
@@ -387,6 +388,7 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
   if (internal_crash_report_mode) argc = 1;
   if (!internal_crash_report_mode && !getenv("ANT_NO_CRASH_HANDLER")) ant_crash_init(argc, argv);
   
+  ant_output_init_console();
   setup_console_colors();
   parse_ant_debug_flags();
   
diff --git a/src/output.c b/src/output.c
index 7fc190a..3f8c84d 100644
--- a/src/output.c
+++ b/src/output.c
@@ -5,6 +5,11 @@
 #include <stdlib.h>
 #include <string.h>
 
+#ifdef _WIN32
+#define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
+#include <windows.h>
+#endif
+
 #include "output.h"
 
 #define ANT_OUTPUT_INITIAL_CAP 65536
@@ -12,6 +17,18 @@
 static ant_output_stream_t g_stdout_writer = { .stream = NULL };
 static ant_output_stream_t g_stderr_writer = { .stream = NULL };
 
+void ant_output_init_console(void) {
+#ifdef _WIN32
+  DWORD mode = 0;
+  bool has_console_output =
+    GetConsoleMode(GetStdHandle(STD_OUTPUT_HANDLE), &mode) ||
+    GetConsoleMode(GetStdHandle(STD_ERROR_HANDLE), &mode);
+
+  if (has_console_output) SetConsoleOutputCP(CP_UTF8);
+  if (GetConsoleMode(GetStdHandle(STD_INPUT_HANDLE), &mode)) SetConsoleCP(CP_UTF8);
+#endif
+}
+
 ant_output_stream_t *ant_output_stream(FILE *stream) {
   ant_output_stream_t *out = (stream == stderr) ? &g_stderr_writer : &g_stdout_writer;
   out->stream = stream;