diff --git a/evaluation/benchmarks/swe_bench/run_infer.py b/evaluation/benchmarks/swe_bench/run_infer.py
index 694d9b7ed3..515864a46e 100644
--- a/evaluation/benchmarks/swe_bench/run_infer.py
+++ b/evaluation/benchmarks/swe_bench/run_infer.py
@@ -96,7 +96,7 @@ Phase 1. READING: read the problem and reword it in clearer terms
 Phase 2. RUNNING: install and run the tests on the repository
    2.1 Follow the readme
    2.2 Install the environment and anything needed
-   2.2 Iterate and figure out how to run the tests 
+   2.2 Iterate and figure out how to run the tests
 
 Phase 3. EXPLORATION: find the files that are related to the problem and possible solutions
    3.1 Use `grep` to search for relevant methods, classes, keywords and error messages.
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ def get_config(
 def initialize_runtime(
     runtime: Runtime,
     instance: pd.Series,  # this argument is not required
-    metadata: EvalMetadata
+    metadata: EvalMetadata,
 ):
     """Initialize the runtime for the agent.
 
diff --git a/openhands/runtime/action_execution_server.py b/openhands/runtime/action_execution_server.py
index 53ebf28857..c71bf00db1 100644
--- a/openhands/runtime/action_execution_server.py
+++ b/openhands/runtime/action_execution_server.py
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
 from pathlib import Path
 from zipfile import ZipFile
 
+from binaryornot.check import is_binary
 from fastapi import Depends, FastAPI, HTTPException, Request, UploadFile
 from fastapi.exceptions import RequestValidationError
 from fastapi.responses import FileResponse, HTMLResponse, JSONResponse
@@ -355,6 +356,11 @@ class ActionExecutor:
 
     async def read(self, action: FileReadAction) -> Observation:
         assert self.bash_session is not None
+
+        # Cannot read binary files
+        if is_binary(action.path):
+            return ErrorObservation('ERROR_BINARY_FILE')
+
         if action.impl_source == FileReadSource.OH_ACI:
             result_str, _ = _execute_file_editor(
                 self.file_editor,
diff --git a/openhands/runtime/impl/action_execution/action_execution_client.py b/openhands/runtime/impl/action_execution/action_execution_client.py
index 3479fc6b4b..e4694ee83e 100644
--- a/openhands/runtime/impl/action_execution/action_execution_client.py
+++ b/openhands/runtime/impl/action_execution/action_execution_client.py
@@ -39,13 +39,14 @@ from openhands.events.observation import (
 from openhands.events.serialization import event_to_dict, observation_from_dict
 from openhands.events.serialization.action import ACTION_TYPE_TO_CLASS
 from openhands.integrations.provider import PROVIDER_TOKEN_TYPE
-from openhands.mcp import call_tool_mcp as call_tool_mcp_handler, create_mcp_clients, MCPClient
+from openhands.mcp import MCPClient, create_mcp_clients
+from openhands.mcp import call_tool_mcp as call_tool_mcp_handler
 from openhands.runtime.base import Runtime
 from openhands.runtime.plugins import PluginRequirement
 from openhands.runtime.utils.request import send_request
+from openhands.utils.async_utils import call_async_from_sync
 from openhands.utils.http_session import HttpSession
 from openhands.utils.tenacity_stop import stop_if_should_exit
-from openhands.utils.async_utils import call_async_from_sync
 
 
 def _is_retryable_error(exception):
@@ -325,10 +326,11 @@ class ActionExecutionClient(Runtime):
 
     async def call_tool_mcp(self, action: McpAction) -> Observation:
         if self.mcp_clients is None:
-            self.log('debug', f'Creating MCP clients with servers: {self.config.mcp.sse.mcp_servers}')
-            self.mcp_clients = await create_mcp_clients(
-                self.config.mcp.sse.mcp_servers
+            self.log(
+                'debug',
+                f'Creating MCP clients with servers: {self.config.mcp.sse.mcp_servers}',
             )
+            self.mcp_clients = await create_mcp_clients(self.config.mcp.sse.mcp_servers)
         return await call_tool_mcp_handler(self.mcp_clients, action)
 
     async def aclose(self) -> None:
diff --git a/openhands/server/routes/files.py b/openhands/server/routes/files.py
index 8bc3ca4749..0372b7f694 100644
--- a/openhands/server/routes/files.py
+++ b/openhands/server/routes/files.py
@@ -135,6 +135,13 @@ async def select_file(file: str, request: Request):
         return {'code': content}
     elif isinstance(observation, ErrorObservation):
         logger.error(f'Error opening file {file}: {observation}')
+
+        if 'ERROR_BINARY_FILE' in observation.message:
+            return JSONResponse(
+                status_code=status.HTTP_415_UNSUPPORTED_MEDIA_TYPE,
+                content={'error': f'Unable to open binary file: {file}'},
+            )
+
         return JSONResponse(
             status_code=status.HTTP_500_INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR,
             content={'error': f'Error opening file: {observation}'},