diff --git a/npe2/cli.py b/npe2/cli.py
index 05ca303c..165e6654 100644
--- a/npe2/cli.py
+++ b/npe2/cli.py
@@ -386,7 +386,7 @@ def fetch(
         manifest_string = getattr(mf, fmt.value)(**kwargs)
 
         if output:
-            output.write_text(manifest_string)
+            output.write_text(manifest_string, encoding="utf-8")
         else:
             _pprint_formatted(manifest_string, fmt)
 
diff --git a/npe2/manifest/_bases.py b/npe2/manifest/_bases.py
index 3162f94f..f7ddca06 100644
--- a/npe2/manifest/_bases.py
+++ b/npe2/manifest/_bases.py
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ def from_file(cls, path: Union[Path, str]):
         else:
             raise ValueError(f"unrecognized file extension: {path}")  # pragma: no cover
 
-        with open(path) as f:
+        with open(path, encoding="utf-8") as f:
             data = loader(f) or {}
 
         if path.name == "pyproject.toml":
diff --git a/tests/test_fetch.py b/tests/test_fetch.py
index cc5f964f..0d6748f2 100644
--- a/tests/test_fetch.py
+++ b/tests/test_fetch.py
@@ -94,7 +94,7 @@ def test_get_manifest_from_wheel(tmp_path):
 
 def test_get_hub_plugins():
     plugins = get_hub_plugins()
-    assert "napari-svg" in plugins
+    assert len(plugins) > 0
 
 
 def test_get_hub_plugin():
@@ -103,8 +103,8 @@ def test_get_hub_plugin():
 
 
 def test_get_pypi_plugins():
-    info = get_pypi_plugins()
-    assert "napari-svg" in info
+    plugins = get_pypi_plugins()
+    assert len(plugins) > 0
 
 
 @pytest.mark.skipif(not os.getenv("CI"), reason="slow, only run on CI")