diff --git a/meta/lib/oe/terminal.py b/meta/lib/oe/terminal.py
index 38e66cef1f..a89fa45691 100644
--- a/meta/lib/oe/terminal.py
+++ b/meta/lib/oe/terminal.py
@@ -239,6 +239,8 @@ def spawn(name, sh_cmd, title=None, env=None, d=None):
 
     pipe = terminal(sh_cmd, title, env, d)
     output = pipe.communicate()[0]
+    if output:
+        output = output.decode("utf-8")
     if pipe.returncode != 0:
         raise ExecutionError(sh_cmd, pipe.returncode, output)