diff --git a/src/bot/base_commands.cpp b/src/bot/base_commands.cpp
index 25b708e..d2d16c4 100644
--- a/src/bot/base_commands.cpp
+++ b/src/bot/base_commands.cpp
@@ -24,21 +24,22 @@ namespace jessibot {
 namespace io {
 
 using namespace jessilib::io;
+using namespace std::literals;
 
 command quit_command{ [](command_context& context) {
 	using namespace jessilib::io;
-	text quit_text{ "Closing jessibot", text::property::bold, color{ 0xFF0000 } }; // TODO: localize
+	text quit_text{ u8"Closing jessibot", text::property::bold, color{ 0xFF0000 } }; // TODO: localize
 	context.publicReply(formatted_message{ "{}", quit_text });
 	notify_shutdown();
-}, "quit" };
+}, u8"quit" };
 
 // ISSUE: help command has no way to know what commands exist for the given context
 command help_command{ [](command_context& context) {
 	auto details = context.details();
-	auto table_name = details["table"].get<std::string>();
+	auto table_name = details[u8"table"s].get<std::u8string>();
 
 	if (table_name.empty()) {
-		text error_text{ "ERROR", text::property::bold, color{ 0xFF0000 } }; // TODO: localize
+		text error_text{ u8"ERROR", text::property::bold, color{ 0xFF0000 } }; // TODO: localize
 		context.publicReply(formatted_message{ "{} command context is missing permission table name", error_text });
 		return;
 	}
@@ -54,7 +55,7 @@ command help_command{ [](command_context& context) {
 		context.publicReply(formatted_message{ "{}", in_command->label() });
 		return true;
 	});
-}, "help" };
+}, u8"help" };
 
 } // namespace io
 } // namespace jessibot
diff --git a/src/bot/console/console.cpp b/src/bot/console/console.cpp
index ef1138b..055ec9e 100644
--- a/src/bot/console/console.cpp
+++ b/src/bot/console/console.cpp
@@ -30,13 +30,13 @@ namespace io {
 void console_input_loop() {
 	using namespace jessilib::io;
 
-	std::string input;
+	std::wstring input;
 	auto shutdown_future = get_shutdown_future();
 	while (shutdown_future.wait_for(std::chrono::milliseconds(10)) != std::future_status::ready) {
-		std::getline(std::cin, input); // TODO: use a non-bloicking call and poll running periodically
-		jessibot::io::console_command_context context{ input };
+		std::getline(std::wcin, input); // TODO: use a non-bloicking call and poll running periodically?
+		jessibot::io::console_command_context context{ jessilib::string_cast<char8_t>(input) };
 		if (!command_manager::instance().execute_command(context)) {
-			text error_text{ "ERROR", text::property::bold, color{ 0xFF0000 }};
+			text error_text{ u8"ERROR", text::property::bold, color{ 0xFF0000 }};
 			text keyword_text{ context.keyword(), text::property::bold, color{ 0x0000FF }};
 			auto result = process_message<ansi::text_wrapper>(formatted_message{"{} Command \"{}\" not found", error_text, keyword_text});
 			std::cout << result << std::endl;
diff --git a/src/bot/console/console_command_context.cpp b/src/bot/console/console_command_context.cpp
index e3cd05e..3974f1b 100644
--- a/src/bot/console/console_command_context.cpp
+++ b/src/bot/console/console_command_context.cpp
@@ -27,7 +27,9 @@ namespace io {
 /** Reply */
 bool console_command_context::privateReply(const jessilib::io::formatted_message& in_message) {
 	auto result = jessilib::io::process_message<jessilib::io::ansi::text_wrapper>(in_message);
-	std::cout << result << std::endl;
+	// TODO check locale before printing to see if console is using UTF-8; if so we can just chuck this straight to cout
+	// instead of leveraging to wchar_t
+	std::wcout << jessilib::string_cast<wchar_t>(result) << std::endl;
 	return true;
 }
 
@@ -39,7 +41,7 @@ bool console_command_context::publicReply(const jessilib::io::formatted_message&
 /** Additional contextual details */
 jessilib::object console_command_context::details() const {
 	static jessilib::object s_details {
-		jessilib::object::map_type{ { "table", "console" } }
+		jessilib::object::map_type{ { u8"table", u8"console" } }
 	};
 
 	return s_details;
diff --git a/src/bot/main.cpp b/src/bot/main.cpp
index 623f3d1..b7d361d 100644
--- a/src/bot/main.cpp
+++ b/src/bot/main.cpp
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
 int main(int argc, char** argv) {
 	jessilib::app_parameters parameters{ argc, argv };
 
-	if (parameters.has_switch("echoParameters")) {
+	if (parameters.has_switch(u8"echoParameters")) {
 		// TODO: Write pretty JSON serializer based on JSON serializer
 		std::cout << std::endl << jessilib::json_parser{}.serialize(parameters) << std::endl;
 	}
diff --git a/src/common/io/command.cpp b/src/common/io/command.cpp
index 981ad99..647b7c2 100644
--- a/src/common/io/command.cpp
+++ b/src/common/io/command.cpp
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@
 namespace jessilib {
 namespace io {
 
-command::command(callback_t in_callback, std::string_view in_label)
+command::command(callback_t in_callback, std::u8string_view in_label)
 	: m_callback{ std::move(in_callback) },
 	m_label{ std::move(in_label) } {
 	// Register command
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ command::~command() {
 	command_manager::instance().unregister_command(*this);
 }
 
-std::string_view command::label() const {
+std::u8string_view command::label() const {
 	return m_label;
 }
 
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ void command::execute(command_context& in_context) const {
 
 command test_command{ [](command_context&) {
 	// do stuff
-}, "test" };
+}, u8"test" };
 
 } // namespace io
 } // namespace jessilib
diff --git a/src/common/io/command_context.cpp b/src/common/io/command_context.cpp
index 6a2cff9..e3e01ba 100644
--- a/src/common/io/command_context.cpp
+++ b/src/common/io/command_context.cpp
@@ -21,52 +21,54 @@
 namespace jessilib {
 namespace io {
 
-command_context::command_context(std::string_view in_input)
-	: m_input{ in_input } {
+command_context::command_context(string_type in_input)
+	: m_input{ std::move(in_input) } {
+	std::u8string_view input_view = m_input;
+
 	// Strip leading whitespace
-	std::size_t pos = in_input.find_first_not_of(' ');
+	std::size_t pos = input_view.find_first_not_of(u8' ');
 	if (pos != std::string_view::npos) {
-		in_input.remove_prefix(pos);
+		input_view.remove_prefix(pos);
 
 		// Whitespace is stripped; parse keyword from input
-		pos = in_input.find(' ');
+		pos = input_view.find(u8' ');
 		if (pos == std::string_view::npos) {
-			pos = in_input.size();
+			pos = input_view.size();
 		}
-		m_keyword = in_input.substr(0, pos);
-		in_input.remove_prefix(pos);
+		m_keyword = input_view.substr(0, pos);
+		input_view.remove_prefix(pos);
 
 		// Strip leading whitespace and parse parameter from remaining input
-		pos = in_input.find_first_not_of(' ');
+		pos = input_view.find_first_not_of(u8' ');
 		if (pos != std::string_view::npos) {
-			in_input.remove_prefix(pos);
-			m_parameter = in_input;
+			input_view.remove_prefix(pos);
+			m_parameter = input_view;
 		}
 	}
 }
 
-command_context::command_context(std::string_view in_input, std::string_view in_keyword, std::string_view in_parameter)
+command_context::command_context(string_type in_input, string_type in_keyword, string_type in_parameter)
 	: m_input{ std::move(in_input) },
 	m_keyword{ std::move(in_keyword) },
 	m_parameter{ std::move(in_parameter) } {
 	// Empty ctor body
 }
 
-std::string_view command_context::input() const {
+const command_context::string_type& command_context::input() const {
 	return m_input;
 }
 
-std::string_view command_context::keyword() const {
+const command_context::string_type& command_context::keyword() const {
 	return m_keyword;
 }
 
-std::string_view command_context::parameter() const {
+const command_context::string_type& command_context::parameter() const {
 	return m_parameter;
 }
 
-std::vector<std::string_view> command_context::paramaters() const {
-	std::vector<std::string_view> result;
-	std::string_view parameter = m_parameter;
+std::vector<std::u8string_view> command_context::paramaters() const {
+	std::vector<std::u8string_view> result;
+	std::u8string_view parameter = m_parameter;
 
 	// Strip leading whitespace
 	std::size_t pos = parameter.find_first_not_of(' ');
diff --git a/src/common/io/message.cpp b/src/common/io/message.cpp
index 4a54770..2572086 100644
--- a/src/common/io/message.cpp
+++ b/src/common/io/message.cpp
@@ -65,11 +65,11 @@ void text::set_color_bg(color in_color) {
 
 /** Text */
 
-const std::string& text::string() const {
+const std::u8string& text::string() const {
 	return m_string;
 }
 
-void text::set_string(std::string_view in_string) {
+void text::set_string(std::u8string_view in_string) {
 	m_string = in_string;
 }
 
diff --git a/src/include/jessilib/io/ansi/ansi_text.hpp b/src/include/jessilib/io/ansi/ansi_text.hpp
index b0230d8..35ee08c 100644
--- a/src/include/jessilib/io/ansi/ansi_text.hpp
+++ b/src/include/jessilib/io/ansi/ansi_text.hpp
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ inline std::string text_to_string<ansi::text_wrapper>(const ansi::text_wrapper&
 	}
 
 	// Append textual string
-	result += in_text.string();
+	result += jessilib::ustring_to_mbstring(std::u8string_view{in_text.string()}).second;
 
 	// Reset (if needed)
 	if (in_text.properties() != text::property::normal) {
diff --git a/src/include/jessilib/io/command.hpp b/src/include/jessilib/io/command.hpp
index 43ee7c9..a4dd86a 100644
--- a/src/include/jessilib/io/command.hpp
+++ b/src/include/jessilib/io/command.hpp
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ namespace io {
 class basic_command {
 public:
 	virtual ~basic_command() = default;
-	virtual std::string_view label() const = 0;
+	virtual std::u8string_view label() const = 0;
 	virtual void execute(command_context& in_context) const = 0;
 }; // class basic_command
 
@@ -45,21 +45,21 @@ public:
 	command& operator=(command&&) = delete;
 
 	// Instantiates and self-registers a command
-	command(callback_t in_callback, std::string_view in_label);
+	command(callback_t in_callback, std::u8string_view in_label);
 
 	// Cleans up and unregisters the command
 	virtual ~command();
 
 	// Unique label associated with command
-	virtual std::string_view label() const override;
+	virtual std::u8string_view label() const override;
 
 	// Executes the command
 	virtual void execute(command_context& in_context) const override;
 
 private:
 	callback_t m_callback;
-	std::string_view m_label;
+	std::u8string_view m_label;
 }; // class command
 
 } // namespace io
-} // namespace jessilib
\ No newline at end of file
+} // namespace jessilib
diff --git a/src/include/jessilib/io/command_context.hpp b/src/include/jessilib/io/command_context.hpp
index 7df7f82..0a14f12 100644
--- a/src/include/jessilib/io/command_context.hpp
+++ b/src/include/jessilib/io/command_context.hpp
@@ -27,14 +27,15 @@ namespace io {
 
 class command_context {
 public:
-	command_context(std::string_view in_input);
-	command_context(std::string_view in_input, std::string_view in_keyword, std::string_view in_parameter);
+	using string_type = std::u8string;
+	command_context(string_type in_input);
+	command_context(string_type in_input, string_type in_keyword, string_type in_parameter);
 
 	/** User input */
-	std::string_view input() const;
-	std::string_view keyword() const;
-	std::string_view parameter() const;
-	std::vector<std::string_view> paramaters() const;
+	const string_type& input() const;
+	const string_type& keyword() const;
+	const string_type& parameter() const;
+	std::vector<std::u8string_view> paramaters() const;
 
 	/** Reply */
 	virtual bool privateReply(const formatted_message& in_message) = 0; // Reply to invoker privately (i.e: PM)
@@ -45,9 +46,9 @@ public:
 	virtual std::string getText(std::string_view tag) const = 0; // Get localized text
 
 private:
-	std::string_view m_input;
-	std::string_view m_keyword;
-	std::string_view m_parameter;
+	string_type m_input;
+	string_type m_keyword;
+	string_type m_parameter;
 }; // class command_context
 
 } // namespace io
diff --git a/src/include/jessilib/io/message.hpp b/src/include/jessilib/io/message.hpp
index 0e6cb2a..fbe9395 100644
--- a/src/include/jessilib/io/message.hpp
+++ b/src/include/jessilib/io/message.hpp
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@
 #include <string_view>
 #include <type_traits>
 #include <fmt/format.h>
+#include "jessilib/unicode.hpp"
 #include "color.hpp"
 
 namespace jessilib {
@@ -114,11 +115,11 @@ public:
 	void set_color_bg(color in_color);
 
 	/** Text */
-	const std::string& string() const;
-	void set_string(std::string_view in_string);
+	const std::u8string& string() const;
+	void set_string(std::u8string_view in_string);
 
 private:
-	std::string m_string;
+	std::u8string m_string;
 	property m_properties{ property::normal };
 	color m_color{};
 	color m_color_bg{};
diff --git a/src/include/jessilib/unicode.hpp b/src/include/jessilib/unicode.hpp
index 30277ce..e78d182 100644
--- a/src/include/jessilib/unicode.hpp
+++ b/src/include/jessilib/unicode.hpp
@@ -220,7 +220,9 @@ std::pair<bool, std::string> ustring_to_mbstring(std::basic_string_view<CharT> i
 
 	std::mbstate_t mbstate{};
 	decode_result decode;
-	while ((decode = decode_codepoint(in_string).units != 0)) {
+	while ((decode = decode_codepoint(in_string)).units != 0) {
+		in_string.remove_prefix(decode.units);
+
 		char buffer[MB_CUR_MAX]; // MB_LEN_MAX
 		size_t bytes_written = std::c32rtomb(buffer, decode.codepoint, &mbstate);
 		if (bytes_written > MB_CUR_MAX) {