diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index c200906f..a40cc0a0 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -1,5 +1,8 @@
 xbps-0.51 (???):
 
+ * libxbps: initialize locale correctly to handle UTF-8 filenames correctly
+   in binary packages with the musl C library.
+
  * alternatives: preserve current order while updating packages.
 
  * alternatives: always create the directory where the symlink is stored,
diff --git a/lib/transaction_commit.c b/lib/transaction_commit.c
index b018e5d3..839c6726 100644
--- a/lib/transaction_commit.c
+++ b/lib/transaction_commit.c
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
 #include <ctype.h>
 #include <unistd.h>
 #include <limits.h>
+#include <locale.h>
 
 #include "xbps_api_impl.h"
 
@@ -211,6 +212,8 @@ xbps_transaction_commit(struct xbps_handle *xhp)
 	int rv = 0;
 	bool update;
 
+	setlocale(LC_ALL, "");
+
 	assert(xbps_object_type(xhp->transd) == XBPS_TYPE_DICTIONARY);
 	/*
 	 * Create cachedir if necessary.