diff --git a/libs/community/langchain_community/chat_message_histories/file.py b/libs/community/langchain_community/chat_message_histories/file.py
index e32f668efb5..d428ad66bbe 100644
--- a/libs/community/langchain_community/chat_message_histories/file.py
+++ b/libs/community/langchain_community/chat_message_histories/file.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import json
 from pathlib import Path
-from typing import List
+from typing import List, Optional
 
 from langchain_core.chat_history import (
     BaseChatMessageHistory,
@@ -11,21 +11,33 @@ from langchain_core.messages import BaseMessage, messages_from_dict, messages_to
 class FileChatMessageHistory(BaseChatMessageHistory):
     """Chat message history that stores history in a local file."""
 
-    def __init__(self, file_path: str) -> None:
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        file_path: str,
+        *,
+        encoding: Optional[str] = None,
+        ensure_ascii: bool = True,
+    ) -> None:
         """Initialize the file path for the chat history.
-
         Args:
             file_path: The path to the local file to store the chat history.
+            encoding: The encoding to use for file operations. Defaults to None.
+            ensure_ascii: If True, escape non-ASCII in JSON. Defaults to True.
         """
         self.file_path = Path(file_path)
+        self.encoding = encoding
+        self.ensure_ascii = ensure_ascii
+
         if not self.file_path.exists():
             self.file_path.touch()
-            self.file_path.write_text(json.dumps([]))
+            self.file_path.write_text(
+                json.dumps([], ensure_ascii=self.ensure_ascii), encoding=self.encoding
+            )
 
     @property
     def messages(self) -> List[BaseMessage]:  # type: ignore
         """Retrieve the messages from the local file"""
-        items = json.loads(self.file_path.read_text())
+        items = json.loads(self.file_path.read_text(encoding=self.encoding))
         messages = messages_from_dict(items)
         return messages
 
@@ -33,8 +45,12 @@ class FileChatMessageHistory(BaseChatMessageHistory):
         """Append the message to the record in the local file"""
         messages = messages_to_dict(self.messages)
         messages.append(messages_to_dict([message])[0])
-        self.file_path.write_text(json.dumps(messages))
+        self.file_path.write_text(
+            json.dumps(messages, ensure_ascii=self.ensure_ascii), encoding=self.encoding
+        )
 
     def clear(self) -> None:
         """Clear session memory from the local file"""
-        self.file_path.write_text(json.dumps([]))
+        self.file_path.write_text(
+            json.dumps([], ensure_ascii=self.ensure_ascii), encoding=self.encoding
+        )