diff --git a/.github/workflows/lint.yml b/.github/workflows/lint.yml
index 86a0ac12b16..7dd989d76a0 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/lint.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/lint.yml
@@ -26,3 +26,20 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Check Spelling
         run: codespell
+
+  PythonLint:
+    name: Python Lint
+    runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
+    timeout-minutes: 5
+
+    steps:
+      - name: Check out Git repository
+        uses: actions/checkout@v6
+
+      - name: Install Requirements
+        run: |
+          python3 -m pip install --upgrade pip
+          pip install -r requirements.txt
+
+      - name: Lint Python Files Using Pylint
+        run: ./dev/pylint_check.py
diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index 12282c84637..0bf8efd18b1 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -130,7 +130,6 @@ jobs:
         include:
         - { name: 'C/C++',       script: 'check-format.sh'   , with_python: 'yes', with_submodules: 'true', all_vtr_pkgs: 'yes', pkgs: 'clang-format-18' }
         - { name: 'Python',      script: 'check-format-py.sh', with_python: 'yes', with_submodules: 'true', all_vtr_pkgs: 'yes', pkgs: '' }
-        - { name: 'Python Lint', script: 'pylint_check.py'   , with_python: 'yes', with_submodules: 'false', all_vtr_pkgs: 'no', pkgs: '' }
     name: 'F: ${{ matrix.name }}'
     steps:
 
diff --git a/dev/annealing_curve_plotter.py b/dev/annealing_curve_plotter.py
index 4be0d6d9544..b8b65b47f15 100755
--- a/dev/annealing_curve_plotter.py
+++ b/dev/annealing_curve_plotter.py
@@ -49,7 +49,6 @@ def extract_annealing_log(log):
     # Gather data lines until '# Placement took' is encountered
     data_lines = []
     for line in log:
-
         # Reached the end of the placement section
         if line.startswith("# Placement took"):
             break
@@ -98,7 +97,6 @@ def extract_fields(header):
 
 
 def main():
-
     # Parse arguments
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
         description=__doc__, formatter_class=argparse.RawDescriptionHelpFormatter
@@ -163,7 +161,6 @@ def col_name_error(name):
         # Parse the data,
         data = {c.name: [] for c in columns}
         for line in annealing_log:
-
             # Split fields, convert to floats
             fields = [float(f) for f in line.split()]
 
diff --git a/dev/external_subtrees.py b/dev/external_subtrees.py
index a5b6bf35b73..f0c535edcef 100755
--- a/dev/external_subtrees.py
+++ b/dev/external_subtrees.py
@@ -79,7 +79,6 @@ def main():
 
 
 def load_subtree_config(config_path):
-
     config = OrderedDict()
 
     tree = ET.parse(config_path)
@@ -95,7 +94,6 @@ def load_subtree_config(config_path):
         external_url = None
         default_external_ref = None
         for attrib, value in child.attrib.items():
-
             if attrib == "name":
                 name = value
             elif attrib == "internal_path":
diff --git a/dev/pylint_check.py b/dev/pylint_check.py
index b884dc77d1f..2b896e54f26 100755
--- a/dev/pylint_check.py
+++ b/dev/pylint_check.py
@@ -208,9 +208,10 @@ def main():
         # Pylint checks to ignore
         ignore_list = []
 
-        # Ignore function argument indenting, which is currently incompabile with black
-        # https://github.com/psf/black/issues/48
-        ignore_list.append("C0330")
+        # Ignore consider-using-f-string.
+        # Many Python scripts in this repo use .format instead of f-strings.
+        # We should replace these in the future.
+        ignore_list.append("C0209")
 
         # Build pylint command
         cmd = ["pylint", path, "-s", "n"]
@@ -220,6 +221,12 @@ def main():
         # see https://stackoverflow.com/q/21833872
         cmd.append("--variable-rgx=[a-z][a-z0-9_]{0,40}$")
 
+        # Increase the max number of positional arguments.
+        # Many legacy functions in this codebase use 25+ positional arguments.
+        # We should refactor these functions to use fewer parameters or
+        # configuration objects in the future.
+        cmd.append("--max-positional-arguments=30")
+
         # Run pylint and check output
         process = subprocess.run(cmd, check=False, stdout=subprocess.PIPE)
         if process.returncode:
diff --git a/dev/submit_slurm.py b/dev/submit_slurm.py
index f372f787e45..03aef435a79 100755
--- a/dev/submit_slurm.py
+++ b/dev/submit_slurm.py
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ def __init__(self, script, time_minutes=None, memory_mb=None, num_cores=1):
 
 
 def parse_args():
-
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser("Helper script to submit VTR task jobs to a SLURM scheduler")
 
     parser.add_argument(
@@ -82,7 +81,6 @@ def main():
 
     jobs = []
     for script in scripts:
-
         time_minutes, mem_mb = get_resource_estimates(script)
 
         time_minutes = max(time_minutes, args.min_time)
@@ -96,7 +94,6 @@ def main():
     # TODO: could batch jobs here
 
     for job in jobs:
-
         job_name = None
         match = JOB_INFO_REGEX.match(job.script)
         if match:
@@ -132,7 +129,6 @@ def submit_sbatch(
     submit_dir=None,
     job_name=None,
 ):
-
     cwd = os.getcwd()
 
     if submit_dir:
@@ -178,7 +174,6 @@ def get_resource_estimates(filepath):
 
     with open(filepath) as f:
         for line in f:
-
             match = TIME_EST_REGEX.match(line)
             if match:
                 time_sec = float(match.groupdict()["time_sec"])
diff --git a/dev/vtr_test_suite_verifier/verify_test_suites.py b/dev/vtr_test_suite_verifier/verify_test_suites.py
index 2e94eadcfd8..4190145a6e6 100755
--- a/dev/vtr_test_suite_verifier/verify_test_suites.py
+++ b/dev/vtr_test_suite_verifier/verify_test_suites.py
@@ -50,7 +50,7 @@ def parse_test_suite_info(test_suite_info_file: str) -> List[TestSuite]:
         }
     ]}
     """
-    with open(test_suite_info_file, "r") as file:
+    with open(test_suite_info_file, "r", encoding="utf-8") as file:
         data = json.load(file)
 
     assert isinstance(data, dict), "Test suite info should be a dictionary"
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ def parse_task_list(task_list_file: str) -> Set[str]:
     the task list.
     """
     tasks = set()
-    with open(task_list_file, "r") as file:
+    with open(task_list_file, "r", encoding="utf-8") as file:
         for line in file:
             # Strip the whitespace from the line.
             line.strip()
diff --git a/doc/src/vtr_version.py b/doc/src/vtr_version.py
index feeab0c4c07..9517f770627 100644
--- a/doc/src/vtr_version.py
+++ b/doc/src/vtr_version.py
@@ -49,7 +49,6 @@ def get_vtr_version_info():
     patch = None
     prerelease = None
     try:
-
         major_regex = re.compile(r".*VTR_VERSION_MAJOR (?P<major>\d+)")
         minor_regex = re.compile(r".*VTR_VERSION_MINOR (?P<minor>\d+)")
         patch_regex = re.compile(r".*VTR_VERSION_PATCH (?P<patch>\d+)")
@@ -57,7 +56,6 @@ def get_vtr_version_info():
 
         with open(root_cmakelists) as f:
             for line in f:
-
                 match = major_regex.match(line)
                 if match:
                     major = match.group("major")
diff --git a/odin_ii/regression_test/parse_result/conf/hooks.py b/odin_ii/regression_test/parse_result/conf/hooks.py
index edb676ac9cd..30a7cec111c 100644
--- a/odin_ii/regression_test/parse_result/conf/hooks.py
+++ b/odin_ii/regression_test/parse_result/conf/hooks.py
@@ -89,7 +89,6 @@ def patch_logs(values):
 
 
 def inverse_result_from_expectation(values):
-
     should_fail = False
     if "expectation" in values:
         for log in values["expectation"]:
diff --git a/odin_ii/regression_test/parse_result/parse_result.py b/odin_ii/regression_test/parse_result/parse_result.py
index 0e3bb7faefc..abf4fb37fa9 100755
--- a/odin_ii/regression_test/parse_result/parse_result.py
+++ b/odin_ii/regression_test/parse_result/parse_result.py
@@ -224,7 +224,6 @@ def sanitize_toml(toml_dict):
     if _HOOK_HDR in toml_dict:
         global HOOK_FILES
         if _K_FILE in toml_dict[_HOOK_HDR]:
-
             # we append the filenames and strip the .py extension
             if not isinstance(toml_dict[_HOOK_HDR][_K_FILE], list):
                 HOOK_FILES.append(toml_dict[_HOOK_HDR][_K_FILE][:-3])
@@ -407,7 +406,6 @@ def load_csv_into_tbl(toml_dict, csv_file_name):
 
 
 def load_json_into_tbl(toml_dict, file_name):
-
     file_dict = OrderedDict()
     with open(file_name, newline="") as json_file:
         file_dict = json.load(json_file, object_pairs_hook=OrderedDict)
@@ -431,7 +429,6 @@ def load_json_into_tbl(toml_dict, file_name):
 
 
 def load_log_into_tbl(toml_dict, log_file_name):
-
     # load the hooks if there are any
     # run.py
     pre_hooks = []
@@ -455,7 +452,6 @@ def load_log_into_tbl(toml_dict, log_file_name):
         input_values = create_tbl(toml_dict, _K_DFLT)
 
         for line in log:
-
             # boostrap the preprocessor here
             for fn in pre_hooks:
                 line = fn(line)
@@ -577,7 +573,6 @@ def compare_instances(header, toml_dict, tbl_entry, golden_tbl_entry):
 
 
 def regex_line(toml_dict, header, line):
-
     # compile the regex entries
     entry_list = []
 
@@ -628,7 +623,6 @@ def _compare(toml_file_name, golden_result_file_name, result_file_name, diff_fil
     for key in golden_tbl:
         error_str = []
         for header in toml_dict:
-
             if key not in tbl:
                 if header in golden_tbl[key]:
                     # if we are only running partial tests, key will not be existing
@@ -649,7 +643,6 @@ def _compare(toml_file_name, golden_result_file_name, result_file_name, diff_fil
                     pass
 
                 elif header not in golden_tbl[key] and header in tbl[key]:
-
                     error_str.append(mismatch_str(header, "null", tbl[key][header]))
                     diff[key][header] = tbl[key][header]
 
@@ -658,7 +651,6 @@ def _compare(toml_file_name, golden_result_file_name, result_file_name, diff_fil
                     # don't create the entry
 
                 else:
-
                     if compare_instances(header, toml_dict, tbl[key], golden_tbl[key]):
                         # use the golden value since it is within range and we don't wanna trigger a diff
                         diff[key][header] = golden_tbl[key][header]
@@ -768,7 +760,6 @@ def parse_shared_args(args):
 
 
 def main():
-
     this_exec = sys.argv[0]
     if len(sys.argv) < 2:
         print("expected: display, parse, join or compare")
diff --git a/odin_ii/regression_test/tools/odin_config_maker.py b/odin_ii/regression_test/tools/odin_config_maker.py
index c5a73f51f3a..1d06e23e5c3 100644
--- a/odin_ii/regression_test/tools/odin_config_maker.py
+++ b/odin_ii/regression_test/tools/odin_config_maker.py
@@ -19,7 +19,6 @@
 
 
 def main(argv=None):
-
     if argv is None:
         argv = sys.argv
 
diff --git a/odin_ii/regression_test/tools/parse_odin_result.py b/odin_ii/regression_test/tools/parse_odin_result.py
index 2bab39bbffb..960b386f2c1 100755
--- a/odin_ii/regression_test/tools/parse_odin_result.py
+++ b/odin_ii/regression_test/tools/parse_odin_result.py
@@ -121,7 +121,6 @@ def insert_decimal(value_map, key, input_str):
 
 
 def parse_line(benchmarks, line):
-
     line.strip()
     line = " ".join(line.split())
 
diff --git a/requirements.txt b/requirements.txt
index 3498cec63c3..ef6a2a9a103 100644
--- a/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements.txt
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ scipy
 # Python linter and formatter
 click==8.0.2 # Our version of black needs an older version of click (https://stackoverflow.com/questions/71673404/importerror-cannot-import-name-unicodefun-from-click)
 black==24.3.0
-pylint==2.7.4
+pylint==4.0.4
 
 # Surelog
 orderedmultidict
diff --git a/run_reg_test.py b/run_reg_test.py
index 152ec31cb62..0c1fe4d4bda 100755
--- a/run_reg_test.py
+++ b/run_reg_test.py
@@ -214,7 +214,6 @@ def display_qor(reg_test):
         return 1
     print_header("{} QoR Results".format(reg_test))
     with (test_dir / "qor_geomean.txt").open("r") as results:
-
         # create list of desired values, their unit and how to display them.
         data = OrderedDict()
         data["revision"] = ["", "{}"]
diff --git a/vpr/scripts/compare_timing_reports.py b/vpr/scripts/compare_timing_reports.py
index c2423140b05..d68c0e8f919 100755
--- a/vpr/scripts/compare_timing_reports.py
+++ b/vpr/scripts/compare_timing_reports.py
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ def __init__(self, startpoint, endpoint):
 
 
 def parse_args():
-
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
 
     parser.add_argument("first_report")
@@ -30,7 +29,6 @@ def parse_args():
 
 
 def main():
-
     args = parse_args()
 
     print("Parsing {}".format(args.first_report))
@@ -43,7 +41,6 @@ def main():
 
 
 def parse_timing_report(args, filename):
-
     regex = re.compile(r".*?Endpoint  : (?P<end>\S+).*?", re.DOTALL)
 
     start_regex = re.compile(r"Startpoint: (?P<start>\S+)")
@@ -60,7 +57,6 @@ def parse_timing_report(args, filename):
 
     paths = OrderedDict()
     for path_lines in paths_lines:
-
         distance = None
         startpoint = None
         endpoint = None
@@ -112,7 +108,6 @@ def parse_timing_report(args, filename):
 
 
 def correlate_paths(first_paths, second_paths):
-
     first_keys = set(first_paths.keys())
     second_keys = set(second_paths.keys())
 
@@ -137,7 +132,6 @@ def correlate_paths(first_paths, second_paths):
 
 
 def plot_correlation(first_paths, second_paths, first_name, second_name):
-
     correlated_paths, first_only, second_only = correlate_paths(first_paths, second_paths)
 
     print("Correlated {} paths".format(len(correlated_paths)))
diff --git a/vpr/scripts/profile/parse_and_plot_detailed.py b/vpr/scripts/profile/parse_and_plot_detailed.py
index fff610b2f17..c5ac1cf8c39 100755
--- a/vpr/scripts/profile/parse_and_plot_detailed.py
+++ b/vpr/scripts/profile/parse_and_plot_detailed.py
@@ -58,7 +58,6 @@ def plot_results(param_names, param_options, results, params):
         os.mkdir(directory)
 
     with Chdir(directory):
-
         export_results_to_csv(param_names, results, params)
 
         x = results.keys()
diff --git a/vtr_flow/benchmarks/system_verilog/f4pga/make_sv_flattened.py b/vtr_flow/benchmarks/system_verilog/f4pga/make_sv_flattened.py
index 930d5fb40a6..a5b1b85cee8 100644
--- a/vtr_flow/benchmarks/system_verilog/f4pga/make_sv_flattened.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/benchmarks/system_verilog/f4pga/make_sv_flattened.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ def identify_top_module(file_list):
     """Identify the file containing the top module definition."""
     top_module_regex = re.compile(r"module\s+top\s*\(")
     for file in file_list:
-        with open(file, "r") as f:
+        with open(file, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
             for line in f:
                 if top_module_regex.search(line):
                     return file
@@ -27,10 +27,10 @@ def create_flattened_file(top_file, file_list):
     current_dir = os.path.basename(os.getcwd())
     output_file_name = f"flattened_{current_dir}.sv"
 
-    with open(output_file_name, "w") as output_file:
+    with open(output_file_name, "w", encoding="utf-8") as output_file:
         if top_file:
             # Write the top module first
-            with open(top_file, "r") as top_module:
+            with open(top_file, "r", encoding="utf-8") as top_module:
                 output_file.write(f"// Content from {top_file}\n")
                 output_file.write(top_module.read())
                 output_file.write("\n\n")
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ def create_flattened_file(top_file, file_list):
         # Write the rest of the files
         for file in file_list:
             if file != top_file:
-                with open(file, "r") as verilog_file:
+                with open(file, "r", encoding="utf-8") as verilog_file:
                     output_file.write(f"// Content from {file}\n")
                     output_file.write(verilog_file.read())
                     output_file.write("\n\n")
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/arch_gen/arch_gen.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/arch_gen/arch_gen.py
index ef68cde7af5..22bc7fb6f59 100755
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/arch_gen/arch_gen.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/arch_gen/arch_gen.py
@@ -233,14 +233,12 @@ def xCLB(k_LUT, N_BLE, I_CLB, I_BLE, fracture_level, num_FF, crossbar_str):
             next_start = 0
 
             for lut_input in range(k_LUT):
-
                 xbegin("mux")
                 xprop("name", "crossbar-" + str(i_ble) + "-" + str(lut_input))
 
                 # Inputs
                 inputs = []
                 for i_cb in range(1, cb + 1):
-
                     input_str = ""
                     if input_idx < I_CLB:
                         input_str = "clb.I[" + str(input_idx) + "]"
@@ -835,7 +833,6 @@ def gen_arch(
                                 )
 
 else:
-
     # K - N - I - Fi - Frac -  FF - L - 45
 
     # Non-Fractured
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/benchtracker/flask_cors/core.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/benchtracker/flask_cors/core.py
index 5a4d937b8ce..a15e3237a35 100644
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/benchtracker/flask_cors/core.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/benchtracker/flask_cors/core.py
@@ -197,7 +197,6 @@ def get_cors_headers(options, request_headers, request_method, response_headers)
         # If there is no Access-Control-Request-Method header or if parsing
         # failed, do not set any additional headers
         if acl_request_method and acl_request_method in options.get("methods"):
-
             # If method is not a case-sensitive match for any of the values in
             # list of methods do not set any additional headers and terminate
             # this set of steps.
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/benchtracker/interface_db.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/benchtracker/interface_db.py
index 6f9c150988d..7068cbe6e71 100755
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/benchtracker/interface_db.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/benchtracker/interface_db.py
@@ -82,7 +82,6 @@ def retrieve_data(x_param, y_param, filters, tasks, dbname="results.db"):
             if t == 0:
                 filter_command = "WHERE "
                 for f in range(len(filters)):
-
                     filter_command += str(filters[f])
                     sql_val_args.extend(filters[f].args)
 
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/benchtracker/populate_db.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/benchtracker/populate_db.py
index 358ef190fd7..bf203c83aea 100755
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/benchtracker/populate_db.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/benchtracker/populate_db.py
@@ -361,7 +361,6 @@ def load_next_task(params):
 
 # walk operations; all take params and run as arguments
 def check_result_exists(params, run):
-
     run_number = get_trailing_num(run)
     if not os.path.isfile(get_result_file(params, params.run_prefix, run_number)):
         parsed_call = params.parse_script.format(
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/blif_splicer.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/blif_splicer.py
index 08058163f65..35905b5a1b7 100755
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/blif_splicer.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/blif_splicer.py
@@ -48,7 +48,6 @@
         reverse=True,
     )
 ):
-
     # Parse each input blif into the following strings, which represent
     # different sections of the output file.
 
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/download_ispd.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/download_ispd.py
index cffe4962d2c..7e1318f7154 100755
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/download_ispd.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/download_ispd.py
@@ -70,7 +70,6 @@ def parse_args():
 
 
 def main():
-
     args = parse_args()
 
     try:
@@ -154,7 +153,6 @@ def verify(tar_gz_filename, md5_url):
 
 
 def md5_matches(filename_to_check, reference_md5):
-
     local_md5 = hashlib.md5()
     with open(filename_to_check, "rb") as f:
         # Read in chunks to avoid reading the whole file into memory
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/download_symbiflow.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/download_symbiflow.py
index b45f8fc9695..a909d87385f 100755
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/download_symbiflow.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/download_symbiflow.py
@@ -112,7 +112,8 @@ def download_url(filename, url):
     """
     Downloads the symbiflow release
     """
-    latest_package_url = request.urlopen(url).read().decode("utf-8")
+    with request.urlopen(url) as response:
+        latest_package_url = response.read().decode("utf-8")
     print("Downloading latest package:\n{}".format(latest_package_url))
     request.urlretrieve(latest_package_url, filename, reporthook=download_progress_callback)
 
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/download_titan.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/download_titan.py
index a4494545540..5bc2bc8c348 100755
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/download_titan.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/download_titan.py
@@ -79,7 +79,6 @@ def parse_args():
 
 
 def main():
-
     args = parse_args()
 
     try:
@@ -287,7 +286,6 @@ def determine_sdc_name(dirpath):
 def extract_callback(members, args):
     for tarinfo in members:
         for benchmark_subdir in get_benchmark_subdirs(args):
-
             if compare_versions(args.titan_version, "2") >= 1:
                 # if it is a 2.0.0 titan release or later use device family in the benchmark directory
                 device_families = get_device_families(args)
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/ispd2vtr.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/ispd2vtr.py
index ad4a5c2cdc7..2320d366f0c 100755
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/ispd2vtr.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/ispd2vtr.py
@@ -91,7 +91,6 @@ def is_output(cell_type):
 
 
 def parse_args():
-
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
         "Script to convert ISPD FPGA Bookshelf format benchmarks into VTR compatible formats"
     )
@@ -125,7 +124,6 @@ def main():
 
 
 def parse_aux(aux_filepath):
-
     dirname = os.path.dirname(aux_filepath)
 
     aux_info = AuxInfo()
@@ -227,7 +225,6 @@ def bookshelf2blif(aux_info, out_filepath, merge_ports=False):
 
             pins = sorted(node_pins[node_name], key=lambda x: x.pin_name)
             for i, node_pin in enumerate(pins):
-
                 print >> f, "    {}={}".format(node_pin.pin_name, node_pin.net_name),
 
                 if i != len(node_pins[node_name]) - 1:
@@ -282,7 +279,6 @@ def parse_lib(aux_info, merge_ports=False):
                 cell = Cell()
                 cell.name = cell_name.strip("\n")
             elif line.startswith("  PIN"):
-
                 pin = CellPin()
                 tokens = line.split()
                 assert len(tokens) >= 3
@@ -415,7 +411,6 @@ def parse_scl(aux_info):
 
     with open(aux_info.scl_filepath) as f:
         for line in f:
-
             # SITEMAP
             if line.startswith("SITEMAP"):
                 sitemap_token, width, height = line.split()
@@ -529,7 +524,6 @@ def add_arch_block(root, site, resources, cells):
 
 
 def create_resource(resource, cells):
-
     pb_type = ET.Element("pb_type")
     pb_type.set("name", resource.name)
 
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/noc/noc_benchmark_test.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/noc/noc_benchmark_test.py
index 6ffc59d4469..ce8fd239ad3 100755
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/noc/noc_benchmark_test.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/noc/noc_benchmark_test.py
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
 """
 
 from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
-from distutils.log import error
 import os
 from pathlib import Path
 import sys
@@ -248,42 +247,39 @@ def process_vpr_output(vpr_output_file):
     log after after.
     """
 
-    open_file = open(vpr_output_file)
-
     # datastructure below stors the placement data in a dictionary
     placement_data = {}
 
-    # process each line from the VPR output
-    for line in open_file:
-
-        # we only care about three lines where the
-        # placement costs, noc costs and
-        # placement times are located
-        # and post route info
-        # so identify those lines below
-        if PLACEMENT_COST_PHRASE in line:
-            process_placement_costs(placement_data, line)
+    with open(vpr_output_file, "r", encoding="utf-8") as open_file:
+        # process each line from the VPR output
+        for line in open_file:
+            # we only care about three lines where the
+            # placement costs, noc costs and
+            # placement times are located
+            # and post route info
+            # so identify those lines below
+            if PLACEMENT_COST_PHRASE in line:
+                process_placement_costs(placement_data, line)
 
-        if POST_PLACE_CRITICAL_PATH_DELAY_PHRASE in line:
-            process_placement_cpd(placement_data, line)
+            if POST_PLACE_CRITICAL_PATH_DELAY_PHRASE in line:
+                process_placement_cpd(placement_data, line)
 
-        if NOC_PLACEMENT_COST_PHRASE in line:
-            process_noc_placement_costs(placement_data, line)
+            if NOC_PLACEMENT_COST_PHRASE in line:
+                process_noc_placement_costs(placement_data, line)
 
-        if PLACEMENT_TIME in line:
-            process_placement_time(placement_data, line)
+            if PLACEMENT_TIME in line:
+                process_placement_time(placement_data, line)
 
-        if POST_ROUTED_WIRE_LENGTH_SEGMENTS_PHRASE in line:
-            process_post_route_wirelength(placement_data, line)
+            if POST_ROUTED_WIRE_LENGTH_SEGMENTS_PHRASE in line:
+                process_post_route_wirelength(placement_data, line)
 
-        if POST_ROUTED_FREQ_PHRASE in line:
-            process_post_route_freq(placement_data, line)
+            if POST_ROUTED_FREQ_PHRASE in line:
+                process_post_route_freq(placement_data, line)
 
-        if ROUTE_TIME_PHRASE in line:
-            process_route_time(placement_data, line)
+            if ROUTE_TIME_PHRASE in line:
+                process_route_time(placement_data, line)
 
     # close and delete the output file
-    open_file.close()
     os.remove(vpr_output_file)
 
     return placement_data
@@ -300,7 +296,7 @@ def process_placement_costs(placement_data, line_with_data):
 
     # quick check that the regex worked properly
     if (found_placement_metrics is None) or (found_placement_metrics.lastindex != 3):
-        raise Exception("Placement cost not written out correctly")
+        raise ValueError("Placement cost not written out correctly")
 
     # we know the order of the different placement costs
     # as they are found within the extracted metric list above.
@@ -324,7 +320,7 @@ def process_placement_cpd(placement_data, line_with_data):
 
     # quick check that the regex worked properly
     if (found_placement_metrics is None) or (found_placement_metrics.lastindex != 1):
-        raise Exception("Placement cpd not written out correctly")
+        raise ValueError("Placement cpd not written out correctly")
 
     # there should be only one element, since we are only grabbing the placement critical path delay
     placement_data[PLACE_CPD] = float(found_placement_metrics.group(1))
@@ -344,7 +340,7 @@ def process_noc_placement_costs(placement_data, line_with_data):
 
     # quick check that the regex worked properly
     if (found_placement_metrics is None) or (found_placement_metrics.lastindex != 3):
-        raise Exception("Placement noc cost not written out correctly")
+        raise ValueError("Placement noc cost not written out correctly")
 
     # we know the order of the different noc placement costs as they are found
     # within the extracted metric list above.
@@ -368,7 +364,7 @@ def process_placement_time(placement_data, line_with_data):
 
     # quick check that the regex worked properly
     if (found_placement_metrics is None) or (found_placement_metrics.lastindex != 1):
-        raise Exception("Placement time not written out correctly")
+        raise ValueError("Placement time not written out correctly")
 
     # there should be only one element, since we are only grabbing the placement time
     placement_data[PLACE_TIME] = float(found_placement_metrics.group(1))
@@ -385,7 +381,7 @@ def process_post_route_wirelength(placement_data, line_with_data):
 
     # check if regex worked correctly
     if (found_routing_metrics is None) or (found_routing_metrics.lastindex != 1):
-        raise Exception("Routed wirelength not written out correctly")
+        raise ValueError("Routed wirelength not written out correctly")
 
     # there should be only one element, since we are only grabbing the routeed wirelength
     placement_data[POST_ROUTED_WIRE_LENGTH_SEGMENTS] = float(found_routing_metrics.group(1))
@@ -402,7 +398,7 @@ def process_post_route_freq(placement_data, line_with_data):
 
     # check if regex worked correctly
     if (found_routing_metrics is None) or (found_routing_metrics.lastindex != 1):
-        raise Exception("Routed frequency not written out correctly")
+        raise ValueError("Routed frequency not written out correctly")
 
     # there should be only one element, since we are only grabbing the routed frequency
     placement_data[POST_ROUTED_FREQ] = float(found_routing_metrics.group(1))
@@ -419,7 +415,7 @@ def process_route_time(placement_data, line_with_data):
 
     # check if regex worked correctly
     if (found_routing_metrics is None) or (found_routing_metrics.lastindex != 1):
-        raise Exception("Routing time not written out correctly")
+        raise ValueError("Routing time not written out correctly")
 
     # there should be only one element, since we are only grabbing the route time
     placement_data[ROUTE_TIME] = float(found_routing_metrics.group(1))
@@ -534,11 +530,9 @@ def run_vpr_command_and_store_output(vpr_output_file, vpr_run_command):
     """
 
     # create the file that will store the VPR output
-    vpr_output = open(vpr_output_file, "w")
-    # run VPR. Will timeout after 10 hours (should be good for any design)
-    subprocess.run(vpr_run_command, check=True, stdout=vpr_output, timeout=36000)
-    # close the output file
-    vpr_output.close()
+    with open(vpr_output_file, "w", encoding="utf-8") as vpr_output:
+        # run VPR. Will timeout after 10 hours (should be good for any design)
+        subprocess.run(vpr_run_command, check=True, stdout=vpr_output, timeout=36000)
 
 
 def process_vpr_runs(run_args, num_of_seeds, route):
@@ -569,7 +563,6 @@ def process_vpr_runs(run_args, num_of_seeds, route):
     latency_weight = float(run_args[0][1][12])
 
     for single_run_args in run_args:
-
         # get the placement metrics for the current run
         curr_vpr_place_data = process_vpr_output(vpr_output_file=single_run_args[0])
 
@@ -636,17 +629,14 @@ def print_results(parsed_data, design_file, user_args):
     results_file_name = (os.path.splitext(user_args.flow_file))[-2]
     results_file_name = (results_file_name.split("/"))[-1]
     results_file_name = os.path.join(os.getcwd(), results_file_name + ".txt")
-    results_file = open(results_file_name, "w+")
-
-    # write out placement info individually in separate lines
-    results_file.write("Design File: {0}\n".format(design_file))
-    results_file.write("Flows File: {0}\n".format(user_args.flow_file))
+    with open(results_file_name, "w+", encoding="utf-8") as results_file:
+        # write out placement info individually in separate lines
+        results_file.write("Design File: {0}\n".format(design_file))
+        results_file.write("Flows File: {0}\n".format(user_args.flow_file))
 
-    results_file.write("------------ Place & Route Info ------------\n")
-    for metric, value in parsed_data.items():
-        results_file.write("{0}: {1}\n".format(metric, value))
-
-    results_file.close()
+        results_file.write("------------ Place & Route Info ------------\n")
+        for metric, value in parsed_data.items():
+            results_file.write("{0}: {1}\n".format(metric, value))
 
 
 def execute_vpr_and_process_output(vpr_command_list, num_of_seeds, num_of_threads, route):
@@ -662,7 +652,6 @@ def execute_vpr_and_process_output(vpr_command_list, num_of_seeds, num_of_thread
     run_args = []
 
     for single_vpr_command in vpr_command_list:
-
         # generate VPR output file_name
         # the constants represent the positions of the variables in the command list
         design_file_name = single_vpr_command[2]
@@ -690,7 +679,6 @@ def execute_vpr_and_process_output(vpr_command_list, num_of_seeds, num_of_thread
 
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
-
     try:
         # Load the arguments
         args = noc_test_command_line_parser().parse_args(sys.argv[1:])
@@ -715,7 +703,6 @@ def execute_vpr_and_process_output(vpr_command_list, num_of_seeds, num_of_thread
         for single_design, single_design_flows_file, single_design_name in zip(
             design_files_in_dir, design_flow_files_in_dir, design_names_in_dir
         ):
-
             # generate all the vpr commands
             vpr_commands = gen_vpr_run_command(
                 design_file=single_design,
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/log_parse.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/log_parse.py
index 17c3ef6fdb6..dbe1b338277 100644
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/log_parse.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/log_parse.py
@@ -7,12 +7,7 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 import abc
 
-try:
-    # Try for the fast c-based version first
-    import xml.etree.cElementTree as ET
-except ImportError:
-    # Fall back on python implementation
-    import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
+import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
 
 from vtr.error import InspectError
 from vtr import load_config_lines
@@ -321,11 +316,9 @@ def load_parse_patterns(parse_config_filepath):
     parse_patterns = OrderedDict()
 
     for line in load_config_lines(parse_config_filepath):
-
         components = line.split(";")
 
         if len(components) == 3 or len(components) == 4:
-
             name = components[0]
             filepath = components[1]
             regex_str = components[2]
@@ -431,7 +424,7 @@ def load_parse_results(parse_results_filepath):
     if not Path(parse_results_filepath).exists():
         return parse_results
 
-    with open(parse_results_filepath) as file:
+    with open(parse_results_filepath, "r", encoding="utf-8") as file:
         for lineno, row in enumerate(file):
             if row[0] == "+":
                 row = row[1:]
@@ -530,7 +523,7 @@ def determine_min_w(log_filename):
     determines the minimum width.
     """
     min_w_regex = re.compile(r"\s*Best routing used a channel width factor of (?P<min_w>\d+).")
-    with open(log_filename) as file:
+    with open(log_filename, "r", encoding="utf-8") as file:
         for line in file:
             match = min_w_regex.match(line)
             if match:
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/parse_vtr_flow.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/parse_vtr_flow.py
index e238f2d9bb8..465345c1d43 100755
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/parse_vtr_flow.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/parse_vtr_flow.py
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ def parse_file_and_update_results(filename, patterns, results):
     if len(filepaths) == 1:
         assert Path(filepaths[0]).exists
 
-        with open(filepaths[0], "r") as file:
+        with open(filepaths[0], "r", encoding="utf-8") as file:
             for line in file:
                 for parse_pattern in patterns:
                     match = parse_pattern.regex().match(line)
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/parse_vtr_task.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/parse_vtr_task.py
index ad73a8053df..f46f8314fd9 100755
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/parse_vtr_task.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/parse_vtr_task.py
@@ -222,17 +222,17 @@ def parse_task(config, config_jobs, flow_metrics_basename=FIRST_PARSE_FILE, alt_
         job.qor_parse_command()[0] = work_dir
         if job.parse_command():
             parse_filepath = str(PurePath(work_dir) / flow_metrics_basename)
-            with open(parse_filepath, "w+") as parse_file:
+            with open(parse_filepath, "w+", encoding="utf-8") as parse_file:
                 with redirect_stdout(parse_file):
                     parse_vtr_flow(job.parse_command())
         if job.second_parse_command():
             parse_filepath = str(PurePath(work_dir) / SECOND_PARSE_FILE)
-            with open(parse_filepath, "w+") as parse_file:
+            with open(parse_filepath, "w+", encoding="utf-8") as parse_file:
                 with redirect_stdout(parse_file):
                     parse_vtr_flow(job.second_parse_command())
         if job.qor_parse_command():
             parse_filepath = str(PurePath(work_dir) / QOR_PARSE_FILE)
-            with open(parse_filepath, "w+") as parse_file:
+            with open(parse_filepath, "w+", encoding="utf-8") as parse_file:
                 with redirect_stdout(parse_file):
                     parse_vtr_flow(job.qor_parse_command())
         max_arch_len = max(max_arch_len, len(job.arch()))
@@ -249,8 +249,7 @@ def parse_task(config, config_jobs, flow_metrics_basename=FIRST_PARSE_FILE, alt_
 def parse_files(config_jobs, run_dir, flow_metrics_basename=FIRST_PARSE_FILE):
     """Parse the result files from the give jobs"""
     task_parse_results_filepath = str(PurePath(run_dir) / flow_metrics_basename)
-    with open(task_parse_results_filepath, "w") as out_f:
-
+    with open(task_parse_results_filepath, "w", encoding="utf-8") as out_f:
         # Start the header
 
         header = True
@@ -262,7 +261,7 @@ def parse_files(config_jobs, run_dir, flow_metrics_basename=FIRST_PARSE_FILE):
             # which we prefix to each line of the task result file
             job_parse_results_filepath = Path(job.work_dir(run_dir)) / flow_metrics_basename
             if job_parse_results_filepath.exists():
-                with open(job_parse_results_filepath) as in_f:
+                with open(job_parse_results_filepath, "r", encoding="utf-8") as in_f:
                     lines = in_f.readlines()
                     assert len(lines) == 2
                     if header:
@@ -324,7 +323,6 @@ def check_golden_results_for_task(config, alt_tasks_dir=None):
             )
         )
     else:
-
         # Load the pass requirements file
 
         # Load the task's parse results
@@ -451,8 +449,8 @@ def check_two_files(
             continue
 
         first_fail = True
+        # pylint: disable-next=consider-using-dict-items
         for metric in pass_requirements.keys():
-
             if not metric in second_metrics:
                 print("Warning: Metric {} missing from {} results".format(metric, second_name))
                 continue
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/task.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/task.py
index e5b1378250c..198b72780db 100644
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/task.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/task.py
@@ -400,12 +400,10 @@ def find_longest_task_description(configs):
             if config.script_params_list_add:
                 for param in config.script_params_list_add:
                     arch_circuit_len = len(str(PurePath(arch) / circuit / "common_" / param))
-                    if arch_circuit_len > longest:
-                        longest = arch_circuit_len
+                    longest = max(longest, arch_circuit_len)
             else:
                 arch_circuit_len = len(str(PurePath(arch) / circuit / "common"))
-                if arch_circuit_len > longest:
-                    longest = arch_circuit_len
+                longest = max(longest, arch_circuit_len)
     return longest
 
 
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/util.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/util.py
index ab4c9a02041..cfa80322878 100644
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/util.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/python_libs/vtr/util.py
@@ -181,6 +181,7 @@ def run_system_command(
             modified_environ = os.environ.copy()
             modified_environ["PWD"] = str(temp_dir)
 
+            # pylint: disable-next=consider-using-with
             proc = subprocess.Popen(
                 cmd,
                 stdout=subprocess.PIPE,  # We grab stdout
@@ -202,7 +203,6 @@ def run_system_command(
 
                 # Read from subprocess output
                 for line in proc.stdout:
-
                     # Send to log file
                     log_f.write(line)
 
@@ -263,7 +263,7 @@ def pretty_print_table(file, border=False):
     table = PrettyTable()
     table.border = border
     reader = None
-    with open(file, "r") as csv_file:
+    with open(file, "r", encoding="utf-8") as csv_file:
         reader = csv.reader(csv_file, delimiter="\t")
         first = True
         for row in reader:
@@ -277,7 +277,7 @@ def pretty_print_table(file, border=False):
                 first = False
             else:
                 table.add_row(row)
-    with open(file, "w+") as out_file:
+    with open(file, "w+", encoding="utf-8") as out_file:
         print(table, file=out_file)
 
 
@@ -294,14 +294,13 @@ def write_tab_delimitted_csv(filepath, rows):
     columns = OrderedDict()
     for row in rows:
         for key, value in row.items():
-
             if key not in columns:
                 columns[key] = max(len(key), len(str(value)))
             else:
                 columns[key] = max(columns[key], len(str(value)))
 
     # Write the elements
-    with open(filepath, "w+") as file:
+    with open(filepath, "w+", encoding="utf-8") as file:
         writer = csv.writer(file, delimiter="\t")
 
         # Write out the header
@@ -323,7 +322,7 @@ def load_tab_delimited_csv(filepath):
     loads a tab delimited csv as a list of ordered dictionaries
     """
     data = []
-    with open(filepath) as file:
+    with open(filepath, "r", encoding="utf-8") as file:
         reader = csv.reader(file, delimiter="\t")
 
         header = []
@@ -359,10 +358,10 @@ def file_replace(filename, search_replace_dict):
     searches file for specified values and replaces them with specified values.
     """
     lines = []
-    with open(filename, "r") as file:
+    with open(filename, "r", encoding="utf-8") as file:
         lines = file.readlines()
 
-    with open(filename, "w") as file:
+    with open(filename, "w", encoding="utf-8") as file:
         for line in lines:
             for search, replace in search_replace_dict.items():
                 line = line.replace(search, str(replace))
@@ -383,7 +382,7 @@ def load_list_file(list_file: str) -> List[str]:
     potentially with '#' comments
     """
     values = []
-    with open(list_file) as file:
+    with open(list_file, "r", encoding="utf-8") as file:
         for line in file:
             line = line.strip()
             # Handle comments
@@ -413,7 +412,7 @@ def load_config_lines(filepath, allow_includes=True):
 
     blank_regex = re.compile(r"^\s*$")
     try:
-        with open(filepath) as file:
+        with open(filepath, "r", encoding="utf-8") as file:
             for line in file:
                 # Trim '\n'
                 line = line.strip()
@@ -457,7 +456,7 @@ def verify_file(file, file_type, should_exist=True):
     if not isinstance(file, Path):
         file = Path(file)
     if should_exist and not file.is_file():
-        raise Exception(
+        raise FileNotFoundError(
             "{file_type} file does not exist: {file} ".format(file_type=file_type, file=file)
         )
 
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/qor_compare.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/qor_compare.py
index f595d97b672..04ca3e1004e 100755
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/qor_compare.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/qor_compare.py
@@ -52,7 +52,6 @@
 
 
 def parse_args():
-
     parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
         description="Utility script to generate spreadsheets comparing VTR metric files"
     )
@@ -124,7 +123,6 @@ def parse_args():
 
 
 def main():
-
     args = parse_args()
 
     wb = openpyxl.Workbook()
@@ -182,7 +180,6 @@ def main():
 
 
 def make_transpose(dest_sheet, ref_sheet):
-
     for ref_row in range(ref_sheet.min_row, ref_sheet.max_row + 1):
         for ref_col in range(ref_sheet.min_column, ref_sheet.max_column + 1):
             ref_cell = ref_sheet.cell(row=ref_row, column=ref_col)
@@ -196,11 +193,9 @@ def make_transpose(dest_sheet, ref_sheet):
 def make_summary(summary_sheet, ratio_sheet, ratio_ranges, keys):
     dest_row = 1
     for i, (ratio_name, cell_range) in enumerate(ratio_ranges.items()):
-
         dest_col = 1
 
         if i == 0:  # First range, copy headers
-
             dest_col += 1
             ratio_row = cell_range.min_row
             for j, ratio_col in enumerate(range(cell_range.min_col, cell_range.max_col + 1)):
@@ -239,7 +234,6 @@ def make_summary(summary_sheet, ratio_sheet, ratio_ranges, keys):
 
 
 def make_ratios(ratio_sheet, raw_sheets, keys, metrics):
-
     ref_sheet_title = list(raw_sheets.keys())[0]
 
     ref_sheet = raw_sheets[ref_sheet_title]  # Get the first raw sheet
@@ -264,7 +258,6 @@ def make_ratios(ratio_sheet, raw_sheets, keys, metrics):
 
 
 def fill_ratio(ws, raw_sheet, ref_sheet, dest_row, dest_col, keys, metrics):
-
     cell_range = CellRange(
         min_row=dest_row, max_row=dest_row, min_col=dest_col, max_col=dest_col, title=ws.title
     )
@@ -286,7 +279,6 @@ def fill_ratio(ws, raw_sheet, ref_sheet, dest_row, dest_col, keys, metrics):
 
         row_offset = 0
         for ref_row in range(2, ref_sheet.max_row + 1):
-
             ref_cell = ref_sheet.cell(row=ref_row, column=ref_col)
             raw_cell = raw_sheet.cell(row=ref_row, column=ref_col)
 
@@ -343,7 +335,6 @@ def link_sheet_header(dest_sheet, ref_sheet, row, values=None):
     # Copy header
     dest_col = 1
     for col in range(1, ref_sheet.max_column + 1):
-
         ref_cell = ref_sheet.cell(row=1, column=col)
 
         if values != None and ref_cell.value.strip() not in values:
@@ -357,7 +348,6 @@ def link_sheet_header(dest_sheet, ref_sheet, row, values=None):
 
 
 def dataframe_to_sheet(wb, df, sheet_name):
-
     # Add to sheet
     ws = wb.create_sheet(title=sheet_name)
     for row in dataframe_to_rows(df, index=False, header=True):
@@ -367,7 +357,6 @@ def dataframe_to_sheet(wb, df, sheet_name):
 
 
 def safe_sheet_title(raw_title):
-
     # Keep only file name and drop file path
     safe_title = raw_title.split("/")[-1]
 
@@ -389,7 +378,6 @@ def safe_sheet_title(raw_title):
 
 
 def get_task_result_files(task_name):
-
     task_path = os.path.join("..", "tasks", task_name)
     if not os.path.isdir(task_path):
         raise RuntimeError("Task is not found at {}".format(task_path))
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/run_vtr_flow.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/run_vtr_flow.py
index 0c8ec314145..7c27c2ef5db 100755
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/run_vtr_flow.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/run_vtr_flow.py
@@ -506,7 +506,7 @@ def get_max_memory_usage(temp_dir):
 
 def get_memory_usage(logfile):
     """Extracts the memory usage from the *.out log files"""
-    with open(logfile, "r") as fpmem:
+    with open(logfile, "r", encoding="utf-8") as fpmem:
         for line in fpmem.readlines():
             if "Maximum resident set size" in line:
                 return int(line.split()[-1])
@@ -593,7 +593,7 @@ def vtr_command_main(arg_list, prog=None):
             error, args.expect_fail, args.verbose
         )
 
-    except KeyboardInterrupt as error:
+    except KeyboardInterrupt:
         print("{} received keyboard interrupt".format(prog))
         exit_status = 4
         return_status = exit_status
@@ -797,6 +797,7 @@ def except_vtr_error(error, expect_fail, verbose):
     error_status = None
     actual_error = None
     exit_status = None
+    return_status = None
     if isinstance(error, vtr.CommandError):
         # An external command failed
         return_status = 1
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/run_vtr_task.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/run_vtr_task.py
index 1bdd9feb236..5335f64a6cb 100755
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/run_vtr_task.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/run_vtr_task.py
@@ -405,10 +405,10 @@ def create_run_script(job, work_dir):
     Path(work_dir).mkdir(parents=True)
     run_script_file = Path(work_dir) / "vtr_flow.sh"
     template = str(paths.flow_template_path)
-    with open(template, "r") as in_file:
+    with open(template, "r", encoding="utf-8") as in_file:
         template_string = in_file.readlines()
         template_string = "".join(template_string)
-        with open(run_script_file, "w+") as out_file:
+        with open(run_script_file, "w+", encoding="utf-8") as out_file:
             print(
                 template_string.format(
                     estimated_time=runtime_estimate,
@@ -486,7 +486,7 @@ def run_vtr_flow_process(queue, run_dirs, job, script) -> None:
     out = None
     vtr_flow_out = str(PurePath(work_dir) / "vtr_flow.out")
 
-    with open(vtr_flow_out, "w+") as out_file:
+    with open(vtr_flow_out, "w+", encoding="utf-8") as out_file:
         with redirect_stdout(out_file):
             if script == "run_vtr_flow.py":
                 out = run_vtr_flow(job.run_command(), str(paths.run_vtr_flow_path))
@@ -497,7 +497,7 @@ def run_vtr_flow_process(queue, run_dirs, job, script) -> None:
                     stdout=out_file,
                 )
 
-    with open(vtr_flow_out, "r") as out_file:
+    with open(vtr_flow_out, "r", encoding="utf-8") as out_file:
         for line in out_file.readlines():
             print(line, end="")
 
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/tuning_runs/control_runs.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/tuning_runs/control_runs.py
index 743b7e3796e..05be0618e19 100755
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/tuning_runs/control_runs.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/tuning_runs/control_runs.py
@@ -61,9 +61,9 @@ def parse_results(input_path):
         sys.exit(1)
 
     # Read the parse_results.txt file and write to full_res.csv
-    with open(os.path.join(largest_run_path, "parse_results.txt"), "r") as txt_file, open(
-        full_res_csv_path, "w", newline=""
-    ) as csv_file:
+    with open(
+        os.path.join(largest_run_path, "parse_results.txt"), "r", encoding="utf-8"
+    ) as txt_file, open(full_res_csv_path, "w", newline="", encoding="utf-8") as csv_file:
         reader = csv.reader(txt_file, delimiter="\t")
         writer = csv.writer(csv_file)
 
@@ -241,7 +241,7 @@ def main():
         os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(config_path), exist_ok=True)
 
         # Append the lines to the config file
-        with open(config_path, "a") as file:
+        with open(config_path, "a", encoding="utf-8") as file:
             file.writelines(lines)
 
         print(f"Appended lines to {config_path}")
diff --git a/vtr_flow/scripts/upgrade_arch.py b/vtr_flow/scripts/upgrade_arch.py
index 6d6b0aa85ed..3c03a090fb5 100755
--- a/vtr_flow/scripts/upgrade_arch.py
+++ b/vtr_flow/scripts/upgrade_arch.py
@@ -194,7 +194,6 @@ def add_model_timing(arch):
     default_models = frozenset([".input", ".output", ".latch", ".names"])
     primitive_timing_specs = {}
     for prim_pb in prim_pbs:
-
         blif_model = prim_pb.attrib["blif_model"]
 
         if blif_model in default_models:
@@ -271,7 +270,6 @@ def upgrade_fc_overrides(arch):
         ), "Can only have pin or seg overrides (not both)"
 
         for old_pin_override in old_fc_pin_overrides:
-
             port = old_pin_override.attrib["name"]
             fc_type = old_pin_override.attrib["fc_type"]
             fc_val = old_pin_override.attrib["fc_val"]
@@ -287,7 +285,6 @@ def upgrade_fc_overrides(arch):
             changed = True
 
         for old_seg_override in old_fc_seg_overrides:
-
             seg_name = old_seg_override.attrib["name"]
             in_val = old_seg_override.attrib["in_val"]
             out_val = old_seg_override.attrib["out_val"]
@@ -305,7 +302,6 @@ def upgrade_fc_overrides(arch):
             clocks = pb_type.findall("./clock")
 
             for input in inputs + clocks:
-
                 new_attrib = OrderedDict()
                 new_attrib["port_name"] = input.attrib["name"]
                 new_attrib["segment_name"] = seg_name
@@ -315,7 +311,6 @@ def upgrade_fc_overrides(arch):
                 fc_override = ET.SubElement(fc_tag, "fc_override", attrib=new_attrib)
 
             for output in outputs:
-
                 new_attrib = OrderedDict()
                 new_attrib["port_name"] = output.attrib["name"]
                 new_attrib["segment_name"] = seg_name
@@ -516,7 +511,6 @@ def upgrade_device_layout(arch):
                 col_empty_spec.tail = "\n" + 2 * INDENT
 
             elif loc_type == "fill":
-
                 comment = ET.Comment("Fill with '{}'".format(type_name))
                 device_auto.append(comment)
                 comment.tail = "\n" + 2 * INDENT
@@ -599,9 +593,7 @@ def upgrade_pinlocations(arch):
             height = int(pb_type.attrib["height"])
 
         if width == 1:
-
             if pinlocations.attrib["pattern"] == "custom":
-
                 for loc in pinlocations:
                     if loc.tag is ET.Comment:
                         continue
@@ -741,7 +733,6 @@ def upgrade_switch_types(arch):
     assert switchlist_tag is not None
 
     for switch_tag in switchlist_tag.findall("./switch"):
-
         switch_type = switch_tag.attrib["type"]
 
         if switch_type in ["buffered", "pass_trans"]:
@@ -932,7 +923,6 @@ def add_missing_comb_model_internal_timing_edges(arch):
     model_tags = arch.findall("./models/model")
 
     for model_tag in model_tags:
-
         input_clock_tags = model_tag.findall("./input_ports/port[@is_clock='1']")
         if len(input_clock_tags) > 0:
             continue  # Sequential primitive -- no change
@@ -953,7 +943,6 @@ def add_missing_comb_model_internal_timing_edges(arch):
             output_port_names.append(output_port_tag.attrib["name"])
 
         for input_port_tag in input_port_tags:
-
             assert "combinational_sink_ports" not in input_port_tag
 
             input_port_tag.attrib["combinational_sink_ports"] = " ".join(output_port_names)