How to print UTF-8 strings to std::cout on Windows?

Question

I\'m writing a cross-platform application in C++. All strings are UTF-8-encoded internally. Consider the following simplified code:

#include 
#         


        

Answer 1

Forget everything you know about the Windows console and its Unicode/UTF-8 support (or rather lack of support). This is 2020 and it's a new world. This is not a direct answer to the question above, but rather an alternative that makes much more sense now, a new way that was not possible before.

Everybody's right, the root problem is the Windows console. But there's a new player in town, and it's Windows Terminal. Install and launch Windows Terminal. Use this program:

#include 
#include 

int main()
{
    SetConsoleOutputCP(CP_UTF8); 
    // or have your user set the console codepage: `chcp 65001`
    
    std::cout << "\"u\" with two dots on top: \xc3\xbc\n";
    std::cout << "chinese glyph for \"world\": \xe5\x80\xbc\n";
    std::cout << "smiling emoji: \xf0\x9f\x98\x80\n";
    return 0;
}

This program sends UTF-8 through a plain cout.

The output:

The command chcp 65001 or SetConsoleOutputCP(CP_UTF8) is required for a cmd tab in Windows Terminal, but it looks like it is not in a Powershell tab. Maybe Powershell is UTF-8 by default?

Rooting out the core issue, cmd, is now the best option in my opinion. Spread the word.