diff --git a/packages/wakatime/HISTORY.rst b/packages/wakatime/HISTORY.rst
index 6e4a11e..7257af8 100644
--- a/packages/wakatime/HISTORY.rst
+++ b/packages/wakatime/HISTORY.rst
@@ -3,6 +3,12 @@ History
 -------
 
 
+2.1.0 (2014-09-30)
+++++++++++++++++++
+
+- python3 compatibility changes
+
+
 2.0.8 (2014-08-29)
 ++++++++++++++++++
 
diff --git a/packages/wakatime/wakatime/__init__.py b/packages/wakatime/wakatime/__init__.py
index 1cb2a12..6f0c313 100644
--- a/packages/wakatime/wakatime/__init__.py
+++ b/packages/wakatime/wakatime/__init__.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
 from __future__ import print_function
 
 __title__ = 'wakatime'
-__version__ = '2.0.8'
+__version__ = '2.1.0'
 __author__ = 'Alan Hamlett'
 __license__ = 'BSD'
 __copyright__ = 'Copyright 2014 Alan Hamlett'
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ except ImportError:
 sys.path.insert(0, os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)))
 sys.path.insert(0, os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)), 'packages'))
 
+from .compat import u, open, is_py2, is_py3
 from .queue import Queue
 from .log import setup_logging
 from .project import find_project
@@ -54,11 +55,6 @@ except:
 
 log = logging.getLogger('WakaTime')
 
-try:
-    unicode
-except NameError:
-    unicode = str
-
 
 class FileAction(argparse.Action):
 
@@ -82,7 +78,7 @@ def upgradeConfigFile(configFile):
             'ignore': [],
         }
 
-        with open(oldConfig) as fh:
+        with open(oldConfig, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as fh:
             for line in fh.readlines():
                 line = line.split('=', 1)
                 if len(line) == 2 and line[0].strip() and line[1].strip():
@@ -91,7 +87,7 @@ def upgradeConfigFile(configFile):
                     else:
                         configs[line[0].strip()] = line[1].strip()
 
-        with open(configFile, 'w') as fh:
+        with open(configFile, 'w', encoding='utf-8') as fh:
             fh.write("[settings]\n")
             for name, value in configs.items():
                 if isinstance(value, list):
@@ -119,7 +115,7 @@ def parseConfigFile(configFile):
 
     configs = configparser.SafeConfigParser()
     try:
-        with open(configFile) as fh:
+        with open(configFile, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as fh:
             try:
                 configs.readfp(fh)
             except configparser.Error:
@@ -231,7 +227,7 @@ def should_ignore(fileName, patterns):
                 if compiled.search(fileName):
                     return pattern
             except re.error as ex:
-                log.warning(unicode('Regex error ({msg}) for ignore pattern: {pattern}').format(
+                log.warning(u('Regex error ({msg}) for ignore pattern: {pattern}').format(
                     msg=str(ex),
                     pattern=pattern,
                 ))
@@ -243,13 +239,13 @@ def should_ignore(fileName, patterns):
 def get_user_agent(plugin):
     ver = sys.version_info
     python_version = '%d.%d.%d.%s.%d' % (ver[0], ver[1], ver[2], ver[3], ver[4])
-    user_agent = unicode('wakatime/{ver} ({platform}) Python{py_ver}').format(
+    user_agent = u('wakatime/{ver} ({platform}) Python{py_ver}').format(
         ver=__version__,
         platform=platform.platform(),
         py_ver=python_version,
     )
     if plugin:
-        user_agent = unicode('{user_agent} {plugin}').format(
+        user_agent = u('{user_agent} {plugin}').format(
             user_agent=user_agent,
             plugin=plugin,
         )
@@ -268,9 +264,9 @@ def send_action(project=None, branch=None, stats=None, key=None, targetFile=None
     if hidefilenames and targetFile is not None:
         data['file'] = data['file'].rsplit('/', 1)[-1].rsplit('\\', 1)[-1]
         if len(data['file'].strip('.').split('.', 1)) > 1:
-            data['file'] = unicode('HIDDEN.{ext}').format(ext=data['file'].strip('.').rsplit('.', 1)[-1])
+            data['file'] = u('HIDDEN.{ext}').format(ext=data['file'].strip('.').rsplit('.', 1)[-1])
         else:
-            data['file'] = unicode('HIDDEN')
+            data['file'] = u('HIDDEN')
     if stats.get('lines'):
         data['lines'] = stats['lines']
     if stats.get('language'):
@@ -284,16 +280,17 @@ def send_action(project=None, branch=None, stats=None, key=None, targetFile=None
     log.debug(data)
 
     # setup api request
-    request = Request(url=url, data=str.encode(json.dumps(data)))
+    request_body = json.dumps(data)
+    request = Request(url=url, data=str.encode(request_body) if is_py3 else request_body)
     request.add_header('User-Agent', get_user_agent(plugin))
     request.add_header('Content-Type', 'application/json')
-    auth = unicode('Basic {key}').format(key=bytes.decode(base64.b64encode(str.encode(key))))
+    auth = u('Basic {key}').format(key=u(base64.b64encode(str.encode(key) if is_py3 else key)))
     request.add_header('Authorization', auth)
 
     # add Olson timezone to request
     tz = tzlocal.get_localzone()
     if tz:
-        request.add_header('TimeZone', unicode(tz.zone))
+        request.add_header('TimeZone', u(tz.zone))
 
     # log time to api
     response = None
@@ -302,7 +299,7 @@ def send_action(project=None, branch=None, stats=None, key=None, targetFile=None
     except HTTPError as exc:
         exception_data = {
             'response_code': exc.getcode(),
-            sys.exc_info()[0].__name__: unicode(sys.exc_info()[1]),
+            sys.exc_info()[0].__name__: u(sys.exc_info()[1]),
         }
         if log.isEnabledFor(logging.DEBUG):
             exception_data['traceback'] = traceback.format_exc()
@@ -315,7 +312,7 @@ def send_action(project=None, branch=None, stats=None, key=None, targetFile=None
             log.error(exception_data)
     except:
         exception_data = {
-            sys.exc_info()[0].__name__: unicode(sys.exc_info()[1]),
+            sys.exc_info()[0].__name__: u(sys.exc_info()[1]),
         }
         if log.isEnabledFor(logging.DEBUG):
             exception_data['traceback'] = traceback.format_exc()
@@ -365,7 +362,7 @@ def main(argv=None):
 
     ignore = should_ignore(args.targetFile, args.ignore)
     if ignore is not False:
-        log.debug(unicode('File ignored because matches pattern: {pattern}').format(
+        log.debug(u('File ignored because matches pattern: {pattern}').format(
             pattern=ignore,
         ))
         return 0
diff --git a/packages/wakatime/wakatime/compat.py b/packages/wakatime/wakatime/compat.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1dc37d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/wakatime/wakatime/compat.py
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
+"""
+    wakatime.compat
+    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+    For working with Python2 and Python3.
+
+    :copyright: (c) 2014 Alan Hamlett.
+    :license: BSD, see LICENSE for more details.
+"""
+
+import codecs
+import io
+import sys
+
+
+is_py2 = (sys.version_info[0] == 2)
+is_py3 = (sys.version_info[0] == 3)
+
+
+if is_py2:
+
+    def u(text):
+        if isinstance(text, str):
+            return text.decode('utf-8')
+        return unicode(text)
+    open = codecs.open
+    basestring = basestring
+
+
+elif is_py3:
+
+    def u(text):
+        if isinstance(text, bytes):
+            return text.decode('utf-8')
+        return str(text)
+    open = open
+    basestring = (str, bytes)
diff --git a/packages/wakatime/wakatime/log.py b/packages/wakatime/wakatime/log.py
index 88a21a7..b70d21b 100644
--- a/packages/wakatime/wakatime/log.py
+++ b/packages/wakatime/wakatime/log.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import os
 import sys
 
 from .packages import simplejson as json
+from .compat import u
 try:
     from collections import OrderedDict
 except ImportError:
@@ -30,7 +31,7 @@ class CustomEncoder(json.JSONEncoder):
             encoded = super(CustomEncoder, self).default(obj)
         except UnicodeDecodeError:
             encoding = sys.getfilesystemencoding()
-            obj = obj.decode(encoding, 'ignore').encode('utf-8')
+            obj = u(obj)
             encoded = super(CustomEncoder, self).default(obj)
         return encoded
 
diff --git a/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/git.py b/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/git.py
index 79c925a..cf4d51e 100644
--- a/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/git.py
+++ b/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/git.py
@@ -13,18 +13,12 @@ import logging
 import os
 
 from .base import BaseProject
+from ..compat import u, open
 
 
 log = logging.getLogger('WakaTime')
 
 
-# str is unicode in Python3
-try:
-    unicode
-except NameError:
-    unicode = str
-
-
 class Git(BaseProject):
 
     def process(self):
@@ -34,7 +28,7 @@ class Git(BaseProject):
     def name(self):
         base = self._project_base()
         if base:
-            return unicode(os.path.basename(base))
+            return u(os.path.basename(base))
         return None
 
     def branch(self):
@@ -42,8 +36,8 @@ class Git(BaseProject):
         if base:
             head = os.path.join(self._project_base(), '.git', 'HEAD')
             try:
-                with open(head) as fh:
-                    return unicode(fh.readline().strip().rsplit('/', 1)[-1])
+                with open(head, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as fh:
+                    return u(fh.readline().strip().rsplit('/', 1)[-1])
             except IOError:
                 pass
         return None
diff --git a/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/mercurial.py b/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/mercurial.py
index afaac95..5f222ee 100644
--- a/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/mercurial.py
+++ b/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/mercurial.py
@@ -13,18 +13,12 @@ import logging
 import os
 
 from .base import BaseProject
+from ..compat import u, open
 
 
 log = logging.getLogger('WakaTime')
 
 
-# str is unicode in Python3
-try:
-    unicode
-except NameError:
-    unicode = str
-
-
 class Mercurial(BaseProject):
 
     def process(self):
@@ -33,18 +27,18 @@ class Mercurial(BaseProject):
 
     def name(self):
         if self.configDir:
-            return unicode(os.path.basename(os.path.dirname(self.configDir)))
+            return u(os.path.basename(os.path.dirname(self.configDir)))
         return None
 
     def branch(self):
         if self.configDir:
             branch_file = os.path.join(self.configDir, 'branch')
             try:
-                with open(branch_file) as fh:
-                    return unicode(fh.readline().strip().rsplit('/', 1)[-1])
+                with open(branch_file, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as fh:
+                    return u(fh.readline().strip().rsplit('/', 1)[-1])
             except IOError:
                 pass
-        return unicode('default')
+        return u('default')
 
     def _find_hg_config_dir(self, path):
         path = os.path.realpath(path)
diff --git a/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/projectmap.py b/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/projectmap.py
index 9a4a73e..44b19fc 100644
--- a/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/projectmap.py
+++ b/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/projectmap.py
@@ -24,18 +24,12 @@ import logging
 import os
 
 from .base import BaseProject
+from ..compat import u
 
 
 log = logging.getLogger('WakaTime')
 
 
-# str is unicode in Python3
-try:
-    unicode
-except NameError:
-    unicode = str
-
-
 class ProjectMap(BaseProject):
 
     def process(self):
@@ -68,5 +62,5 @@ class ProjectMap(BaseProject):
 
     def name(self):
         if self.project:
-            return unicode(self.project)
+            return u(self.project)
         return None
diff --git a/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/subversion.py b/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/subversion.py
index a8f4fdd..8929d87 100644
--- a/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/subversion.py
+++ b/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/subversion.py
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import platform
 from subprocess import Popen, PIPE
 
 from .base import BaseProject
+from ..compat import u, open
 try:
     from collections import OrderedDict
 except ImportError:
@@ -24,13 +25,6 @@ except ImportError:
 log = logging.getLogger('WakaTime')
 
 
-# str is unicode in Python3
-try:
-    unicode
-except NameError:
-    unicode = str
-
-
 class Subversion(BaseProject):
     binary_location = None
 
@@ -38,11 +32,11 @@ class Subversion(BaseProject):
         return self._find_project_base(self.path)
 
     def name(self):
-        return unicode(self.info['Repository Root'].split('/')[-1])
+        return u(self.info['Repository Root'].split('/')[-1])
 
     def branch(self):
         if self.base:
-            unicode(os.path.basename(self.base))
+            u(os.path.basename(self.base))
         return None
 
     def _find_binary(self):
@@ -54,7 +48,7 @@ class Subversion(BaseProject):
             '/usr/local/bin/svn',
         ]
         for location in locations:
-            with open(os.devnull, 'wb') as DEVNULL:
+            with open(os.devnull, 'wb', encoding='utf-8') as DEVNULL:
                 try:
                     Popen([location, '--version'], stdout=DEVNULL, stderr=DEVNULL)
                     self.binary_location = location
diff --git a/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/wakatime.py b/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/wakatime.py
index 14ebe4f..fa33f4f 100644
--- a/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/wakatime.py
+++ b/packages/wakatime/wakatime/projects/wakatime.py
@@ -15,18 +15,12 @@ import logging
 import os
 
 from .base import BaseProject
+from ..compat import u, open
 
 
 log = logging.getLogger('WakaTime')
 
 
-# str is unicode in Python3
-try:
-    unicode
-except NameError:
-    unicode = str
-
-
 class WakaTime(BaseProject):
 
     def process(self):
@@ -37,9 +31,9 @@ class WakaTime(BaseProject):
         if self.config:
 
             try:
-                with open(self.config) as fh:
-                    self._project_name = unicode(fh.readline().strip())
-                    self._project_branch = unicode(fh.readline().strip())
+                with open(self.config, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as fh:
+                    self._project_name = u(fh.readline().strip())
+                    self._project_branch = u(fh.readline().strip())
             except IOError as e:
                 log.exception("Exception:")
 
diff --git a/packages/wakatime/wakatime/stats.py b/packages/wakatime/wakatime/stats.py
index 07d0f78..f601aae 100644
--- a/packages/wakatime/wakatime/stats.py
+++ b/packages/wakatime/wakatime/stats.py
@@ -13,6 +13,8 @@ import logging
 import os
 import sys
 
+from .compat import u, open
+
 if sys.version_info[0] == 2:
     sys.path.insert(0, os.path.join(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__)), 'packages', 'pygments2'))
 else:
@@ -22,11 +24,6 @@ from pygments.lexers import guess_lexer_for_filename
 
 log = logging.getLogger('WakaTime')
 
-try:
-    unicode
-except NameError:
-    unicode = str
-
 
 # force file name extensions to be recognized as a certain language
 EXTENSIONS = {
@@ -54,12 +51,12 @@ def guess_language(file_name):
             return language
     lexer = None
     try:
-        with open(file_name) as f:
-            lexer = guess_lexer_for_filename(file_name, f.read(512000))
+        with open(file_name, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as fh:
+            lexer = guess_lexer_for_filename(file_name, fh.read(512000))
     except:
         pass
     if lexer:
-        return translate_language(unicode(lexer.name))
+        return translate_language(u(lexer.name))
     else:
         return None
 
@@ -82,8 +79,8 @@ def translate_language(language):
 def number_lines_in_file(file_name):
     lines = 0
     try:
-        with open(file_name) as f:
-            for line in f:
+        with open(file_name, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as fh:
+            for line in fh:
                 lines += 1
     except IOError:
         return None