diff --git a/src/cmd/argv.rs b/src/cmd/argv.rs
index 06c1573..02fe891 100644
--- a/src/cmd/argv.rs
+++ b/src/cmd/argv.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 use std::{
+    ffi::{OsStr, OsString},
     fmt::Display,
     fs::File,
     os::unix::process::CommandExt,
@@ -13,7 +14,7 @@ use crate::output::write_err;
 
 // a program and its arguments: the only thing in ahab that knows what argv looks like
 #[derive(Default, Clone)]
-pub struct Argv(Vec<String>);
+pub struct Argv(Vec<OsString>);
 
 impl Display for Argv {
     fn fmt(&self, f: &mut std::fmt::Formatter<'_>) -> std::fmt::Result {
@@ -22,42 +23,57 @@ impl Display for Argv {
 }
 
 impl Argv {
-    pub fn new(program: &str) -> Self {
-        Self(vec![program.to_string()])
+    pub fn new(program: impl AsRef<OsStr>) -> Self {
+        Self(vec![program.as_ref().to_owned()])
     }
 
-    pub fn arg(mut self, arg: impl AsRef<str>) -> Self {
-        self.0.push(arg.as_ref().to_string());
+    pub fn arg(mut self, arg: impl AsRef<OsStr>) -> Self {
+        self.0.push(arg.as_ref().to_owned());
         self
     }
 
     pub fn args<I, S>(mut self, args: I) -> Self
     where
         I: IntoIterator<Item = S>,
-        S: AsRef<str>,
+        S: AsRef<OsStr>,
     {
         self.0
-            .extend(args.into_iter().map(|arg| arg.as_ref().to_string()));
+            .extend(args.into_iter().map(|arg| arg.as_ref().to_owned()));
         self
     }
 
     // a long option and the value it takes
-    pub fn flag(self, name: &str, value: impl AsRef<str>) -> Self {
+    pub fn flag(self, name: &str, value: impl AsRef<OsStr>) -> Self {
         self.arg(name).arg(value)
     }
 
-    pub fn program(&self) -> &str {
-        self.0.first().map(String::as_str).unwrap_or_default()
+    // for a message that names the tool being run, so lossy is what is wanted
+    pub fn program(&self) -> String {
+        self.0
+            .first()
+            .map(|word| word.to_string_lossy().into_owned())
+            .unwrap_or_default()
     }
 
-    pub fn words(&self) -> &[String] {
+    pub fn words(&self) -> &[OsString] {
         &self.0
     }
 
-    // one word list for `sh -c`, quoted so a value with a space survives the shell
+    // one word list for `sh -c`, quoted so a value with a space survives the
+    // shell. lossy: this is for reading, and for scripts built only out of the
+    // ascii and compose-derived words that reach a pipeline
     pub fn quoted(&self) -> String {
-        // a nul byte is the only thing shlex refuses, and no argv can hold one
-        shlex::try_join(self.0.iter().map(String::as_str)).unwrap_or_default()
+        let words: Vec<String> = self
+            .0
+            .iter()
+            .map(|word| word.to_string_lossy().into_owned())
+            .collect();
+
+        // a nul byte is the only thing shlex refuses, and no argv can hold one,
+        // so this only happens for a word that could never have been run. it
+        // still has to be readable: an empty string would name no command at
+        // all in the very message explaining what went wrong
+        shlex::try_join(words.iter().map(String::as_str)).unwrap_or_else(|_| words.join(" "))
     }
 
     pub fn run(&self, ctx: &Ctx) -> Result<()> {
@@ -72,6 +88,14 @@ impl Argv {
 
     // reading changes nothing, so a dry run answers the question for real
     pub fn capture(&self, ctx: &Ctx) -> Result<String> {
+        let stdout = self.capture_bytes(ctx)?;
+
+        String::from_utf8(stdout).with_context(|| format!("reading the output of `{self}`"))
+    }
+
+    // git's -z listings are raw bytes: a path on unix is bytes, not text, and
+    // one that is not utf-8 would otherwise fail the whole listing it appears in
+    pub fn capture_bytes(&self, ctx: &Ctx) -> Result<Vec<u8>> {
         let out = self.command(ctx)?.output()?;
 
         if !out.status.success() {
@@ -85,7 +109,7 @@ impl Argv {
             });
         }
 
-        Ok(String::from_utf8(out.stdout)?)
+        Ok(out.stdout)
     }
 
     // replaces this process, so the command's exit code and signals become ours
diff --git a/src/cmd/docker.rs b/src/cmd/docker.rs
index b57d9b1..5962de9 100644
--- a/src/cmd/docker.rs
+++ b/src/cmd/docker.rs
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+use std::ffi::OsString;
+use std::path::Path;
+
 use super::{Argv, Cmd};
 
 // docker exec, around a command that runs inside the container
@@ -47,24 +50,25 @@ impl Cmd for Exec {
     }
 }
 
-// docker cp, in either direction
+// docker cp, in either direction. the local side stays an OsString: it is a
+// path the user named, and a lossy one would copy something else
 pub struct Cp {
-    from: String,
-    to: String,
+    from: OsString,
+    to: OsString,
 }
 
 impl Cp {
-    pub fn into_container(local: &str, container: &str, remote: &str) -> Self {
+    pub fn into_container(local: &Path, container: &str, remote: &str) -> Self {
         Self {
-            from: local.to_string(),
-            to: format!("{container}:{remote}"),
+            from: local.as_os_str().to_owned(),
+            to: OsString::from(format!("{container}:{remote}")),
         }
     }
 
-    pub fn out_of_container(container: &str, remote: &str, local: &str) -> Self {
+    pub fn out_of_container(container: &str, remote: &str, local: &Path) -> Self {
         Self {
-            from: format!("{container}:{remote}"),
-            to: local.to_string(),
+            from: OsString::from(format!("{container}:{remote}")),
+            to: local.as_os_str().to_owned(),
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/cmd/git.rs b/src/cmd/git.rs
index cf7d211..a3f0d07 100644
--- a/src/cmd/git.rs
+++ b/src/cmd/git.rs
@@ -1,10 +1,22 @@
+use std::ffi::OsString;
 use std::path::Path;
 
 use super::{Argv, Cmd};
 
 // -C has no long form; it runs git as though from that directory
 fn git(root: &Path) -> Argv {
-    Argv::new("git").arg("-C").arg(root.to_string_lossy())
+    Argv::new("git").arg("-C").arg(root)
+}
+
+// `--` stops git reading a leading dash as an option, but pathspec magic is
+// read after it too, so a file actually named `:(exclude)x` or `:!x` would ask
+// about a different set of paths than the one in hand. built as an OsString: a
+// path is bytes, and a lossy one asks git about a name nothing on disk has
+fn literal(path: &Path) -> OsString {
+    let mut spec = OsString::from(":(literal)");
+    spec.push(path);
+
+    spec
 }
 
 // the root of the repository the working directory is in
@@ -31,7 +43,7 @@ pub struct LsFiles<'a> {
     root: &'a Path,
     tracked: bool,
     ignored: bool,
-    pathspecs: Vec<String>,
+    pathspecs: Vec<OsString>,
 }
 
 impl<'a> LsFiles<'a> {
@@ -64,7 +76,7 @@ impl<'a> LsFiles<'a> {
     pub fn limited_to<P: AsRef<Path>>(mut self, pathspecs: &[P]) -> Self {
         self.pathspecs = pathspecs
             .iter()
-            .map(|path| path.as_ref().to_string_lossy().to_string())
+            .map(|path| literal(path.as_ref()))
             .collect();
         self
     }
@@ -72,15 +84,14 @@ impl<'a> LsFiles<'a> {
 
 impl Cmd for LsFiles<'_> {
     fn argv(&self) -> Argv {
-        let mut argv = git(self.root).arg("ls-files");
+        // -z has no long form; it separates the paths with NUL, which is the
+        // only separator a filename cannot contain
+        let mut argv = git(self.root).arg("ls-files").arg("-z");
 
         if self.tracked {
             argv = argv.arg("--cached");
         } else {
-            // -z has no long form; it separates the paths with NUL, which is the
-            // only separator a filename cannot contain
             argv = argv
-                .arg("-z")
                 .arg("--others")
                 .arg("--exclude-standard")
                 .arg("--directory")
@@ -113,7 +124,7 @@ impl Cmd for CheckIgnore<'_> {
             .arg("check-ignore")
             .arg("--quiet")
             .arg("--")
-            .arg(self.path.to_string_lossy())
+            .arg(self.path)
     }
 }
 
@@ -134,7 +145,7 @@ mod tests {
         assert_eq!(
             argv.quoted(),
             "git -C /repo ls-files -z --others --exclude-standard --directory \
-             --no-empty-directory --ignored -- 'a b'"
+             --no-empty-directory --ignored -- ':(literal)a b'",
         );
     }
 
@@ -144,7 +155,25 @@ mod tests {
             .limited_to(&[PathBuf::from(".env")])
             .argv();
 
-        assert_eq!(argv.quoted(), "git -C /repo ls-files --cached -- .env");
+        assert_eq!(
+            argv.quoted(),
+            "git -C /repo ls-files -z --cached -- ':(literal).env'"
+        );
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_pathspec_is_asked_for_literally_however_it_is_spelled() {
+        // git reads magic after `--` too, so these names must not become one
+        for name in [":(exclude)secret", ":!secret", ":(glob)**"] {
+            let argv = LsFiles::tracked(Path::new("/repo"))
+                .limited_to(&[PathBuf::from(name)])
+                .argv();
+
+            assert_eq!(
+                argv.words().last().unwrap(),
+                format!(":(literal){name}").as_str()
+            );
+        }
     }
 
     #[test]
diff --git a/src/cmd/mod.rs b/src/cmd/mod.rs
index 1c13afa..638a012 100644
--- a/src/cmd/mod.rs
+++ b/src/cmd/mod.rs
@@ -55,6 +55,10 @@ pub trait Cmd {
         self.argv().capture(ctx)
     }
 
+    fn capture_bytes(&self, ctx: &Ctx) -> Result<Vec<u8>> {
+        self.argv().capture_bytes(ctx)
+    }
+
     fn replace(&self, ctx: &Ctx) -> Result<()> {
         self.argv().replace(ctx)
     }
diff --git a/src/commands/link/check.rs b/src/commands/link/check.rs
index d3c3791..03bf210 100644
--- a/src/commands/link/check.rs
+++ b/src/commands/link/check.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 use fs_err::{read_dir, read_link};
+use std::ffi::OsString;
+use std::os::unix::ffi::{OsStrExt, OsStringExt};
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 
 use anyhow::{Result, anyhow};
@@ -6,7 +8,7 @@ use anyhow::{Result, anyhow};
 use super::store::{Repo, resolve, symlink_metadata_opt};
 use crate::cmd::{Cmd, LsFiles};
 use crate::ctx::Ctx;
-use crate::output::{line, text};
+use crate::output::{line, text, write_bytes};
 
 // whether anything is outside the store, which main turns into an exit code
 pub fn check(
@@ -23,13 +25,10 @@ pub fn check(
     // git lists untracked and ignored separately
     for (mark, ignored) in [(UNTRACKED, false), (IGNORED, true)] {
         for entry in list_others(ctx, &repo, ignored, &pathspecs)? {
-            let rel = PathBuf::from(entry.trim_end_matches('/'));
-
             // --directory collapses a wholly untracked dir into `dir/`
-            if entry.ends_with('/') {
-                exposed.extend(walk(&repo, &rel, mark)?.1);
-            } else {
-                exposed.extend(classify(&repo, &rel, mark)?);
+            match entry.strip_suffix(b"/") {
+                Some(dir) => exposed.extend(walk(&repo, &path_from(dir), mark)?.1),
+                None => exposed.extend(classify(&repo, &path_from(&entry), mark)?),
             }
         }
     }
@@ -46,19 +45,36 @@ pub fn check(
 }
 
 fn print_porcelain(exposed: &[Exposed], null: bool) {
-    let end = if null { '\0' } else { '\n' };
-    // a filename can hold an arrow but not a NUL, as `git status -z` also assumes
-    let between = if null { "\0" } else { " -> " };
+    // -z is the format for scripts that must survive any filename, so its
+    // records are written as the bytes a path actually is. a filename can hold
+    // an arrow but not a NUL, as `git status -z` also assumes
+    if null {
+        for item in exposed {
+            let mut record = item.code().into_bytes();
+            record.push(b' ');
+            record.extend_from_slice(item.name.as_os_str().as_bytes());
+
+            if let Some(dest) = &item.dest {
+                record.push(0);
+                record.extend_from_slice(dest.as_os_str().as_bytes());
+            }
+
+            record.push(0);
+            write_bytes(&record);
+        }
+
+        return;
+    }
 
     for item in exposed {
         match &item.dest {
             Some(dest) => text!(
-                "{} {}{between}{}{end}",
+                "{} {} -> {}\n",
                 item.code(),
-                item.name,
+                item.name.display(),
                 dest.display()
             ),
-            None => text!("{} {}{end}", item.code(), item.name),
+            None => text!("{} {}\n", item.code(), item.name.display()),
         }
     }
 }
@@ -98,8 +114,8 @@ fn print_listing(repo: &Repo, exposed: &[Exposed]) {
         line!("\n{heading}\n{hint}");
         for item in items {
             match &item.dest {
-                Some(dest) => line!("\t{} -> {}", item.name, dest.display()),
-                None => line!("\t{}", item.name),
+                Some(dest) => line!("\t{} -> {}", item.name.display(), dest.display()),
+                None => line!("\t{}", item.name.display()),
             }
         }
     }
@@ -126,12 +142,12 @@ const ELSEWHERE: char = '>';
 
 struct Exposed {
     mark: char,
-    name: String,
+    name: PathBuf,
     dest: Option<PathBuf>,
 }
 
 impl Exposed {
-    fn content(mark: char, name: String) -> Self {
+    fn content(mark: char, name: PathBuf) -> Self {
         Self {
             mark,
             name,
@@ -151,7 +167,7 @@ impl Exposed {
 
 fn classify(repo: &Repo, rel: &Path, mark: char) -> Result<Option<Exposed>> {
     let src = repo.root.join(rel);
-    let name = rel.display().to_string();
+    let name = rel.to_path_buf();
 
     let Some(meta) = symlink_metadata_opt(&src)? else {
         return Ok(None);
@@ -196,8 +212,10 @@ fn walk(repo: &Repo, rel: &Path, mark: char) -> Result<(usize, Vec<Exposed>)> {
 
     // nothing below is in the store, so collapse to one line
     if handled == 0 && !exposed.is_empty() {
-        let name = format!("{}/", rel.display());
-        return Ok((0, vec![Exposed::content(mark, name)]));
+        let mut name = rel.as_os_str().to_owned();
+        name.push("/");
+
+        return Ok((0, vec![Exposed::content(mark, PathBuf::from(name))]));
     }
 
     Ok((handled, exposed))
@@ -230,16 +248,25 @@ fn list_others(
     repo: &Repo,
     ignored: bool,
     pathspecs: &[PathBuf],
-) -> Result<Vec<String>> {
+) -> Result<Vec<Vec<u8>>> {
     let mut listing = LsFiles::untracked(&repo.root).limited_to(pathspecs);
     if ignored {
         listing = listing.ignored();
     }
 
-    Ok(listing
-        .capture(ctx)?
-        .split('\0')
-        .filter(|p| !p.is_empty())
-        .map(String::from)
-        .collect())
+    Ok(split_nul(&listing.capture_bytes(ctx)?))
+}
+
+// every listing check reads is asked for with -z, and kept as the bytes git
+// wrote: a path is not obliged to be utf-8, and one that is not used to fail
+// the whole listing rather than the one entry
+fn split_nul(out: &[u8]) -> Vec<Vec<u8>> {
+    out.split(|byte| *byte == 0)
+        .filter(|record| !record.is_empty())
+        .map(<[u8]>::to_vec)
+        .collect()
+}
+
+fn path_from(bytes: &[u8]) -> PathBuf {
+    PathBuf::from(OsString::from_vec(bytes.to_vec()))
 }
diff --git a/src/commands/link/store.rs b/src/commands/link/store.rs
index ef7c89b..aa33807 100644
--- a/src/commands/link/store.rs
+++ b/src/commands/link/store.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 use fs_err as fs;
 use std::env;
 use std::ffi::OsString;
+use std::os::unix::ffi::OsStringExt;
 use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 
 use anyhow::{Context, Result, anyhow};
@@ -69,16 +70,21 @@ pub(super) fn resolve(path: &Path) -> Result<PathBuf> {
 }
 
 fn git_root(ctx: &Ctx) -> Result<PathBuf> {
+    // bytes, since the checkout can live at a path that is not utf-8, and with
+    // the cause kept: git not being installed and the directory not being a
+    // repository are different problems with the same one-line answer otherwise
     let root = RevParse
-        .capture(ctx)
-        .map_err(|_| anyhow!("not inside a git repository"))?;
+        .capture_bytes(ctx)
+        .context("asking git for the repository root")?;
 
-    let root = root.trim().to_string();
+    let root = root.strip_suffix(b"\n").unwrap_or(&root);
     if root.is_empty() {
         return Err(anyhow!("git reported an empty repository root"));
     }
 
-    Ok(fs::canonicalize(&root)?)
+    Ok(fs::canonicalize(PathBuf::from(OsString::from_vec(
+        root.to_vec(),
+    )))?)
 }
 
 fn repo_components(ctx: &Ctx, root: &Path) -> Result<PathBuf> {
@@ -170,9 +176,12 @@ fn non_empty_var(name: &str) -> Option<OsString> {
 }
 
 pub(super) fn tracked(ctx: &Ctx, repo: &Repo, rel: &Path) -> Result<bool> {
+    // bytes: the listing echoes back the path asked about, which is not obliged
+    // to be utf-8, and failing to read it would refuse the path for the wrong
+    // reason rather than answering whether git tracks it
     let listed = LsFiles::tracked(&repo.root)
         .limited_to(&[rel])
-        .capture(ctx)?;
+        .capture_bytes(ctx)?;
 
     Ok(!listed.is_empty())
 }
diff --git a/src/commands/postgres.rs b/src/commands/postgres.rs
index 17c11a5..a36b9b2 100644
--- a/src/commands/postgres.rs
+++ b/src/commands/postgres.rs
@@ -81,11 +81,7 @@ pub fn import(ctx: &Ctx, file: &Path) -> Result<()> {
 
     // a directory cannot be streamed, so it is the one shape that gets copied in
     if matches!(dump, Dump::Directory) {
-        when_ready(
-            ctx,
-            &db,
-            &Cp::into_container(&file.to_string_lossy(), &db.container, &remote),
-        )?;
+        when_ready(ctx, &db, &Cp::into_container(file, &db.container, &remote))?;
     }
 
     let kind = match &dump {
@@ -284,7 +280,7 @@ fn dump_directory(ctx: &Ctx, db: &Database, target: &Path) -> Result<()> {
         .in_container(&db.container)
         .run(ctx)?;
 
-    let copied = Cp::out_of_container(&db.container, &remote, &target.to_string_lossy()).run(ctx);
+    let copied = Cp::out_of_container(&db.container, &remote, target).run(ctx);
 
     let _ = Rm::recursive(&remote).in_container(&db.container).run(ctx);
 
diff --git a/src/output.rs b/src/output.rs
index 57710d0..14086f7 100644
--- a/src/output.rs
+++ b/src/output.rs
@@ -53,6 +53,13 @@ pub(crate) fn write_text(args: Arguments) {
     }
 }
 
+// a path on unix is bytes, not text, so a record naming one is written as bytes
+pub(crate) fn write_bytes(bytes: &[u8]) {
+    if writable() {
+        finish(io::stdout().write_all(bytes));
+    }
+}
+
 // stderr is commentary about the work, not the work itself. there is nowhere to
 // report that it could not be written, so the error goes nowhere -- eprintln!
 // panics instead, which turns a closed pipe into a crash