diff --git a/src/helpers/fs/FsUtils.cpp b/src/helpers/fs/FsUtils.cpp
index b687ca7fc94..cd1b77bb785 100644
--- a/src/helpers/fs/FsUtils.cpp
+++ b/src/helpers/fs/FsUtils.cpp
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 #include "../../debug/log/Logger.hpp"
 
 #include <cstdlib>
-#include <filesystem>
 #include <fstream>
 
 #include <hyprutils/string/String.hpp>
@@ -57,17 +56,14 @@ std::optional<std::string> NFsUtils::getDataHome() {
     return hyprlandDataDir.string();
 }
 
-std::optional<std::string> NFsUtils::readFileAsString(const std::string& path) {
-    std::error_code ec;
-
-    if (!std::filesystem::exists(path, ec) || ec)
-        return std::nullopt;
-
-    std::ifstream file(path);
-    if (!file.good())
+std::optional<std::string> NFsUtils::readFileAsString(const std::filesystem::path& path) {
+    std::ifstream ifs(path);
+    if (!ifs.is_open()) {
         return std::nullopt;
+    }
 
-    return trim(std::string((std::istreambuf_iterator<char>(file)), (std::istreambuf_iterator<char>())));
+    std::string data(std::istreambuf_iterator<char>{ifs}, std::istreambuf_iterator<char>{});
+    return trim(data);
 }
 
 bool NFsUtils::writeToFile(const std::string& path, const std::string& content) {
diff --git a/src/helpers/fs/FsUtils.hpp b/src/helpers/fs/FsUtils.hpp
index bc3b3bf18e6..cfd49b7a94a 100644
--- a/src/helpers/fs/FsUtils.hpp
+++ b/src/helpers/fs/FsUtils.hpp
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 #pragma once
+
+#include <filesystem>
 #include <optional>
 #include <string>
 
@@ -6,7 +8,7 @@ namespace NFsUtils {
     // Returns the path to the hyprland directory in data home.
     std::optional<std::string> getDataHome();
 
-    std::optional<std::string> readFileAsString(const std::string& path);
+    std::optional<std::string> readFileAsString(const std::filesystem::path& path);
 
     // overwrites the file if exists
     bool writeToFile(const std::string& path, const std::string& content);