--- a/cutils/util/__init__.py	Thu Jan 02 12:43:40 2025 +0100
+++ b/cutils/util/__init__.py	Thu Jan 02 13:29:20 2025 +0100
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
 # :-
-# :Copyright: (c) 2020-2024 Franz Glasner
+# :Copyright: (c) 2020-2025 Franz Glasner
 # :License:   BSD-3-Clause
 # :-
 r"""Utility package.
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 import argparse
 import hashlib
+import os
 
 
 def get_blake2b():
@@ -143,8 +144,25 @@
 
 
 def normalize_filename(filename, strip_leading_dot_slash=False):
-    filename = filename.replace("\\", "/")
-    if strip_leading_dot_slash:
-        while filename.startswith("./"):
-            filename = filename[2:]
+    if isinstance(filename, bytes):
+        filename = filename.replace(b"\\", b"/")
+        if strip_leading_dot_slash:
+            while filename.startswith(b"./"):
+                filename = filename[2:]
+    else:
+        filename = filename.replace("\\", "/")
+        if strip_leading_dot_slash:
+            while filename.startswith("./"):
+                filename = filename[2:]
     return filename
+
+
+def fsencode(what):
+    """A somewhat compatibility function for :func:`os.fsencode`.
+
+    If `what` is of type :class:`bytes` no :func:`os.fsencode` is required.
+
+    """
+    if isinstance(what, bytes):
+        return what
+    return os.fsencode(what)