diff --git a/hgext/journal.py b/hgext/journal.py
--- a/hgext/journal.py
+++ b/hgext/journal.py
@@ -256,7 +256,7 @@
     _lockref = None
 
     def __init__(self, repo):
-        self.user = procutil.getuser()
+        self.user = pycompat.fsencode(procutil.getuser())
         self.ui = repo.ui
         self.vfs = repo.vfs