diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 418a2f1..aa50578 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 # Application
 APP_NAME=WebDrop Bridge
-APP_VERSION=0.1.0
+APP_VERSION=0.5.0
 
 # Web App
 WEBAPP_URL=file:///./webapp/index.html
diff --git a/build/scripts/build_windows.py b/build/scripts/build_windows.py
index 53d56ee..6186032 100644
--- a/build/scripts/build_windows.py
+++ b/build/scripts/build_windows.py
@@ -28,14 +28,13 @@ from pathlib import Path
 from datetime import datetime
 
 # Import shared version utilities
-from version_utils import get_current_version
+from sync_version import get_current_version, sync_version
 
-# Fix Unicode output on Windows
+# Fix Unicode output on Windows (removed TextIOWrapper due to subprocess conflicts)
+# TextIOWrapper causes issues when subprocess tries to write to file descriptors
 if sys.platform == "win32":
-    import io
-
-    sys.stdout = io.TextIOWrapper(sys.stdout.buffer, encoding="utf-8")
-    sys.stderr = io.TextIOWrapper(sys.stderr.buffer, encoding="utf-8")
+    import os
+    os.environ["PYTHONIOENCODING"] = "utf-8"
 
 
 class WindowsBuilder:
@@ -116,8 +115,7 @@ class WindowsBuilder:
         result = subprocess.run(
             cmd, 
             cwd=str(self.project_root),
-            encoding="utf-8",
-            errors="replace",
+            text=True,
             env=env
         )
 
@@ -205,8 +203,7 @@ class WindowsBuilder:
         print(f"  Compiling WiX source...")
         result = subprocess.run(
             candle_cmd,
-            encoding="utf-8",
-            errors="replace"
+            text=True
         )
         if result.returncode != 0:
             print("❌ WiX compilation failed")
@@ -223,8 +220,7 @@ class WindowsBuilder:
         print(f"  Linking MSI installer...")
         result = subprocess.run(
             light_cmd,
-            encoding="utf-8",
-            errors="replace"
+            text=True
         )
         if result.returncode != 0:
             print("❌ MSI linking failed")
@@ -330,8 +326,7 @@ class WindowsBuilder:
 
         result = subprocess.run(
             cmd,
-            encoding="utf-8",
-            errors="replace"
+            text=True
         )
         if result.returncode != 0:
             print("❌ Code signing failed")
diff --git a/build/scripts/create_release.ps1 b/build/scripts/create_release.ps1
index 2cec0ab..72cb075 100644
--- a/build/scripts/create_release.ps1
+++ b/build/scripts/create_release.ps1
@@ -25,10 +25,17 @@ param(
 
 $ErrorActionPreference = "Stop"
 
+# Get project root (PSScriptRoot is build/scripts, go up to project root with ..\..)
+$projectRoot = Resolve-Path (Join-Path $PSScriptRoot "..\..")
+
+# Resolve file paths relative to project root
+$ExePath = Join-Path $projectRoot $ExePath
+$ChecksumPath = Join-Path $projectRoot $ChecksumPath
+$MsiPath = Join-Path $projectRoot $MsiPath
+
 # Function to read version from .env or .env.example
 function Get-VersionFromEnv {
-    # PSScriptRoot is build/scripts, go up to project root with ../../
-    $projectRoot = Resolve-Path (Join-Path $PSScriptRoot "..\..")
+    # Use already resolved project root
     
     # Try .env first (runtime config), then .env.example (template)
     $envFile = Join-Path $projectRoot ".env"
diff --git a/scripts/sync_version.py b/build/scripts/sync_version.py
similarity index 96%
rename from scripts/sync_version.py
rename to build/scripts/sync_version.py
index c9c7056..0500497 100644
--- a/scripts/sync_version.py
+++ b/build/scripts/sync_version.py
@@ -23,9 +23,8 @@ from pathlib import Path
 
 # Enable UTF-8 output on Windows
 if sys.platform == "win32":
-    import io
-    sys.stdout = io.TextIOWrapper(sys.stdout.buffer, encoding="utf-8")
-    sys.stderr = io.TextIOWrapper(sys.stderr.buffer, encoding="utf-8")
+    import os
+    os.environ["PYTHONIOENCODING"] = "utf-8"
 
 # Import shared version utilities
 sys.path.insert(0, str(Path(__file__).parent.parent / "build" / "scripts"))
@@ -131,7 +130,7 @@ def update_changelog(version: str) -> None:
             print(f"✓ Added version header to CHANGELOG.md for {version}")
 
 
-def main() -> int:
+def sync_version() -> int:
     """Sync version across project.
 
     Updates __init__.py (source of truth) and changelog.
@@ -176,4 +175,4 @@ def main() -> int:
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
-    sys.exit(main())
+    sys.exit(sync_version())