diff --git a/tests/test_ali_trace_pipeline.py b/tests/test_ali_trace_pipeline.py
index 45aa96a..766f991 100644
--- a/tests/test_ali_trace_pipeline.py
+++ b/tests/test_ali_trace_pipeline.py
@@ -3,11 +3,12 @@ import tempfile
 import unittest
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 from pathlib import Path
+from unittest import mock
 
 from trace_analyzer.cli import main as analyzer_main
 from trace_analyzer.parser import load_records
 from trace_formatter.cli import main as formatter_main
-from trace_formatter.formatting import build_unified_row, discover_source_files, format_and_sort_trace
+from trace_formatter.formatting import build_unified_row, discover_source_files, export_release_ready_trace, format_and_sort_trace
 
 
 def utc_ms(value: str) -> int:
@@ -476,6 +477,74 @@ class AliTracePipelineTest(unittest.TestCase):
             formatted_rows = [json.loads(line) for line in output_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8").splitlines()]
             self.assertEqual([row["meta"]["request_id"] for row in formatted_rows], ["req-kept"])
 
+    def test_format_and_sort_trace_normalizes_invalid_surrogates_before_chunking(self):
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
+            root = Path(temp_dir)
+            input_dir = root / "raw"
+            input_dir.mkdir()
+            output_path = root / "formatted.jsonl"
+
+            row = make_raw_row(
+                "req-\ud83c",
+                utc_ms("2026-04-17 15:00:03.000"),
+                messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "bad \ud83c content"}],
+            )
+
+            with (input_dir / "0417-1500-1530.jsonl").open("w", encoding="utf-8") as handle:
+                handle.write(json.dumps(row) + "\n")
+
+            stats = format_and_sort_trace(input_dir=input_dir, output_path=output_path, chunk_bytes=256)
+
+            self.assertEqual(stats["row_count"], 1)
+            formatted_rows = [json.loads(line) for line in output_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8").splitlines()]
+            self.assertEqual(formatted_rows[0]["meta"]["request_id"], "req-\uFFFD")
+            self.assertEqual(formatted_rows[0]["message_events"][0]["text_len"], len("bad \uFFFD content"))
+            self.assertEqual(formatted_rows[0]["raw_messages"][0]["content"], "bad \uFFFD content")
+            self.assertIn("\uFFFD", formatted_rows[0]["canonical_prompt"])
+
+    def test_format_and_sort_trace_normalizes_nonstandard_glm_tool_call_shapes(self):
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
+            root = Path(temp_dir)
+            input_dir = root / "raw"
+            input_dir.mkdir()
+            output_path = root / "formatted.jsonl"
+
+            row = make_raw_row(
+                "req-tool-call-shape",
+                utc_ms("2026-04-17 15:00:04.000"),
+                messages=[
+                    {"role": "user", "content": "hello"},
+                    {
+                        "role": "assistant",
+                        "content": "calling tool",
+                        "tool_calls": {
+                            "id": "call-1",
+                            "type": "function",
+                            "arguments": "{\"path\":\"/tmp/a.txt\"}",
+                        },
+                    },
+                ],
+            )
+            request_params = json.loads(row["request_params"])
+            request_params["payload"]["parameters"]["tools"] = {
+                "type": "function",
+                "name": "read_file",
+                "parameters": {"type": "object", "properties": {"path": {"type": "string"}}},
+            }
+            row["request_params"] = json.dumps(request_params)
+
+            with (input_dir / "0417-1500-1530.jsonl").open("w", encoding="utf-8") as handle:
+                handle.write(json.dumps(row) + "\n")
+
+            stats = format_and_sort_trace(input_dir=input_dir, output_path=output_path, chunk_bytes=256)
+
+            self.assertEqual(stats["row_count"], 1)
+            formatted_rows = [json.loads(line) for line in output_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8").splitlines()]
+            self.assertIn("<tools>", formatted_rows[0]["canonical_prompt"])
+            self.assertIn("\"name\": \"read_file\"", formatted_rows[0]["canonical_prompt"])
+            self.assertIn("<tool_call>", formatted_rows[0]["canonical_prompt"])
+            self.assertIn("<arg_key>path</arg_key>", formatted_rows[0]["canonical_prompt"])
+
     def test_trace_formatter_cli_formats_one_raw_jsonl_file(self):
         with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
             root = Path(temp_dir)
@@ -564,6 +633,66 @@ class AliTracePipelineTest(unittest.TestCase):
             self.assertTrue(log_path.exists())
             self.assertIn("Scan raw trace", log_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
 
+    def test_format_and_sort_trace_defaults_temp_dir_to_output_parent(self):
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
+            root = Path(temp_dir)
+            input_dir = root / "raw"
+            input_dir.mkdir()
+            output_dir = root / "formatted"
+            output_path = output_dir / "formatted.jsonl"
+            with (input_dir / "0417-1500-1530.jsonl").open("w", encoding="utf-8") as handle:
+                handle.write(json.dumps(make_raw_row("req-1", utc_ms("2026-04-17 15:00:01.000"))) + "\n")
+
+            captured = {}
+            real_temporary_directory = tempfile.TemporaryDirectory
+
+            def recording_temporary_directory(*args, **kwargs):
+                captured["dir"] = kwargs.get("dir")
+                return real_temporary_directory(*args, **kwargs)
+
+            with mock.patch("trace_formatter.formatting.tempfile.TemporaryDirectory", side_effect=recording_temporary_directory):
+                format_and_sort_trace(input_dir=input_dir, output_path=output_path, chunk_bytes=256)
+
+            self.assertEqual(Path(captured["dir"]), output_dir)
+
+    def test_export_release_ready_trace_defaults_temp_dir_to_output_parent(self):
+        with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
+            root = Path(temp_dir)
+            raw_input_path = root / "trace-raw.jsonl"
+            release_output_dir = root / "release"
+            release_output_path = release_output_dir / "trace.jsonl"
+            raw_row = {
+                "schema_version": "2026.04.21",
+                "sort_time_ms": utc_ms("2026-04-17 15:00:01.000"),
+                "meta": {
+                    "model_family": "glm5",
+                    "request_ready_time_ms": utc_ms("2026-04-17 15:00:01.000"),
+                    "chat_id": 0,
+                    "parent_chat_id": -1,
+                    "turn": 1,
+                },
+                "canonical_prompt": "hello",
+                "usage": {"input_tokens": 1, "output_tokens": 1},
+            }
+            raw_input_path.write_text(json.dumps(raw_row) + "\n", encoding="utf-8")
+
+            captured = {}
+            real_temporary_directory = tempfile.TemporaryDirectory
+
+            def recording_temporary_directory(*args, **kwargs):
+                captured["dir"] = kwargs.get("dir")
+                return real_temporary_directory(*args, **kwargs)
+
+            with mock.patch("trace_formatter.formatting.tempfile.TemporaryDirectory", side_effect=recording_temporary_directory):
+                export_release_ready_trace(
+                    raw_input_path=raw_input_path,
+                    release_output_path=release_output_path,
+                    jobs=1,
+                    block_size=8,
+                )
+
+            self.assertEqual(Path(captured["dir"]), release_output_dir)
+
     def test_format_and_sort_trace_infers_window_in_ready_time_scale_when_wall_clock_has_timezone_offset(self):
         with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as temp_dir:
             root = Path(temp_dir)
diff --git a/trace_analyzer/helpers.py b/trace_analyzer/helpers.py
index a732a2f..9aaf75b 100644
--- a/trace_analyzer/helpers.py
+++ b/trace_analyzer/helpers.py
@@ -2,17 +2,103 @@ import json
 from statistics import mean, median
 
 
+def _text_has_surrogates(value):
+    for char in value:
+        codepoint = ord(char)
+        if 0xD800 <= codepoint <= 0xDFFF:
+            return True
+    return False
+
+
+def normalize_unicode_text(value):
+    if not isinstance(value, str) or not value:
+        return value
+    if not _text_has_surrogates(value):
+        return value
+
+    normalized = []
+    index = 0
+    while index < len(value):
+        codepoint = ord(value[index])
+        if 0xD800 <= codepoint <= 0xDBFF:
+            if index + 1 < len(value):
+                next_codepoint = ord(value[index + 1])
+                if 0xDC00 <= next_codepoint <= 0xDFFF:
+                    combined = 0x10000 + ((codepoint - 0xD800) << 10) + (next_codepoint - 0xDC00)
+                    normalized.append(chr(combined))
+                    index += 2
+                    continue
+            normalized.append("\uFFFD")
+            index += 1
+            continue
+        if 0xDC00 <= codepoint <= 0xDFFF:
+            normalized.append("\uFFFD")
+            index += 1
+            continue
+        normalized.append(value[index])
+        index += 1
+    return "".join(normalized)
+
+
+def normalize_unicode_value(value):
+    if isinstance(value, str):
+        return normalize_unicode_text(value)
+    if isinstance(value, list):
+        normalized = None
+        for index, item in enumerate(value):
+            normalized_item = normalize_unicode_value(item)
+            if normalized is not None:
+                normalized.append(normalized_item)
+                continue
+            if normalized_item is not item:
+                normalized = list(value[:index])
+                normalized.append(normalized_item)
+        return normalized if normalized is not None else value
+    if isinstance(value, tuple):
+        normalized = None
+        for index, item in enumerate(value):
+            normalized_item = normalize_unicode_value(item)
+            if normalized is not None:
+                normalized.append(normalized_item)
+                continue
+            if normalized_item is not item:
+                normalized = list(value[:index])
+                normalized.append(normalized_item)
+        return tuple(normalized) if normalized is not None else value
+    if isinstance(value, dict):
+        normalized = None
+        for key, item in value.items():
+            normalized_key = normalize_unicode_text(key) if isinstance(key, str) else key
+            normalized_item = normalize_unicode_value(item)
+            if normalized is not None:
+                normalized[normalized_key] = normalized_item
+                continue
+            if normalized_key is not key or normalized_item is not item:
+                normalized = {}
+                for original_key, original_item in value.items():
+                    if original_key == key:
+                        break
+                    normalized[original_key] = original_item
+                normalized[normalized_key] = normalized_item
+        return normalized if normalized is not None else value
+    return value
+
+
 def parse_jsonish(value):
     """Parse nested JSON strings until a non-string value is reached."""
+    if not isinstance(value, str):
+        return normalize_unicode_value(value)
+
     current = value
     while isinstance(current, str):
         text = current.strip()
         if not text:
-            return current
+            return normalize_unicode_text(current)
         try:
-            current = json.loads(text)
+            parsed = json.loads(text)
         except json.JSONDecodeError:
-            return current
+            return normalize_unicode_text(current)
+        current = normalize_unicode_value(parsed) if "\\ud" in text else parsed
     return current
 
 
@@ -75,4 +161,4 @@ def safe_div(numerator, denominator):
 
 
 def compact_json(data):
-    return json.dumps(data, ensure_ascii=False, separators=(",", ":"))
+    return normalize_unicode_text(json.dumps(data, ensure_ascii=False, separators=(",", ":")))
diff --git a/trace_formatter/formatting.py b/trace_formatter/formatting.py
index 9aa7463..80706b3 100644
--- a/trace_formatter/formatting.py
+++ b/trace_formatter/formatting.py
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ from dataclasses import asdict
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Iterator, TextIO
 
-from trace_analyzer.helpers import parse_jsonish, safe_int
+from trace_analyzer.helpers import normalize_unicode_text, parse_jsonish, safe_int
 from tokenizers import Tokenizer
 from tqdm.auto import tqdm
 from trace_model_meta import infer_model_family_from_request_model, resolve_tokenizer_path
@@ -225,18 +225,18 @@ def _build_unified_row_from_components(
         "sort_time_ms": sort_time_ms,
         "meta": {
             "model_family": model_family,
-            "request_id": str(raw.get("request_id", "")),
+            "request_id": normalize_unicode_text(str(raw.get("request_id", ""))),
             "session_id": "",
-            "raw_session_id": str(raw.get("session_id", "")),
+            "raw_session_id": normalize_unicode_text(str(raw.get("session_id", ""))),
             "user_id": user_id,
             "parent_request_id": "",
             "parent_chat_id": -1,
             "chat_id": -1,
             "turn": 0,
-            "request_model": str(raw.get("request_model", "")),
-            "time": str(raw.get("time", "")),
-            "status_code": str(raw.get("status_code", "")),
-            "status_name": str(raw.get("status_name", "")),
+            "request_model": normalize_unicode_text(str(raw.get("request_model", ""))),
+            "time": normalize_unicode_text(str(raw.get("time", ""))),
+            "status_code": normalize_unicode_text(str(raw.get("status_code", ""))),
+            "status_name": normalize_unicode_text(str(raw.get("status_name", ""))),
             "request_ready_time_ms": sort_time_ms,
             "request_end_time_ms": request_end_time_ms,
             "total_cost_time_ms": total_cost_time_ms,
@@ -417,6 +417,15 @@ def _open_progress_stream(log_file: str | Path | None):
         yield _TeeStream(sys.stderr, handle)
 
 
+def _resolve_temp_root_dir(*, tmp_dir: str | Path | None, output_path: str | Path) -> Path:
+    if tmp_dir is not None:
+        root = Path(tmp_dir)
+    else:
+        root = Path(output_path).parent
+    root.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    return root
+
+
 def _block_digest(block: list[int]) -> bytes:
     digest = hashlib.blake2b(digest_size=16)
     digest.update(len(block).to_bytes(4, "little", signed=False))
@@ -564,6 +573,7 @@ def export_release_ready_trace(
     input_path = Path(raw_input_path)
     release_destination = Path(release_output_path)
     release_destination.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    temp_root_dir = _resolve_temp_root_dir(tmp_dir=tmp_dir, output_path=release_destination)
 
     requested_jobs = jobs if jobs is not None else min(os.cpu_count() or 1, 16)
     shard_jobs = max(1, requested_jobs)
@@ -573,7 +583,7 @@ def export_release_ready_trace(
     block_ids_by_digest: dict[str, int] = {}
     row_count = 0
 
-    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(dir=tmp_dir) as temp_root:
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(dir=temp_root_dir) as temp_root:
         shard_root = Path(temp_root) / "release-shards"
         shard_root.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
         shard_specs = [
@@ -682,12 +692,13 @@ def format_and_sort_trace(
     source_files = discover_source_files(input_dir)
     destination = Path(output_path)
     destination.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    temp_root_dir = _resolve_temp_root_dir(tmp_dir=tmp_dir, output_path=destination)
     time_offset_ms = infer_time_offset_ms(source_files[0]) if source_files else 0
     time_window = infer_time_window(source_files, start_time=start_time, end_time=end_time) if truncate_to_window else None
     total_input_bytes = sum(path.stat().st_size for path in source_files if path.suffix != ".zst")
     has_zst = any(path.suffix == ".zst" for path in source_files)
 
-    with _open_progress_stream(log_file) as progress_stream, tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(dir=tmp_dir) as temp_root:
+    with _open_progress_stream(log_file) as progress_stream, tempfile.TemporaryDirectory(dir=temp_root_dir) as temp_root:
         temp_raw_destination = Path(temp_root) / "formatted-raw.tmp.jsonl"
         chunk_root = Path(temp_root)
         chunk_paths: list[Path] = []
diff --git a/trace_formatter/raw_parser.py b/trace_formatter/raw_parser.py
index 239bd39..8c7f52e 100644
--- a/trace_formatter/raw_parser.py
+++ b/trace_formatter/raw_parser.py
@@ -128,20 +128,33 @@ def _normalize_message_content_for_template(content, role=""):
 
 def _normalize_tool_call_for_template(tool_call):
     if not isinstance(tool_call, dict):
-        return tool_call
+        return {
+            "function": {
+                "name": "",
+                "arguments": {"__raw_tool_call__": parse_jsonish(tool_call)},
+            }
+        }
+
     normalized = dict(tool_call)
     function = normalized.get("function")
-    normalized_function = dict(function) if isinstance(function, dict) else None
-    if normalized_function is None and ("name" in normalized or "arguments" in normalized):
-        normalized_function = {}
-    if normalized_function is not None:
-        if "name" not in normalized_function and normalized.get("name"):
-            normalized_function["name"] = normalized["name"]
-        if "arguments" not in normalized_function and "arguments" in normalized:
-            normalized_function["arguments"] = normalized["arguments"]
-        arguments = parse_jsonish(normalized_function.get("arguments", {}))
-        normalized_function["arguments"] = arguments if isinstance(arguments, dict) else {"__raw_arguments__": arguments}
-        normalized["function"] = normalized_function
+    normalized_function = dict(function) if isinstance(function, dict) else {}
+
+    tool_name = (
+        normalized_function.get("name")
+        or normalized.get("name")
+        or normalized.get("tool_name")
+        or normalized.get("function_name")
+        or ""
+    )
+    raw_arguments = (
+        normalized_function.get("arguments")
+        if "arguments" in normalized_function
+        else normalized.get("arguments", normalized.get("parameters", normalized.get("args", {})))
+    )
+    arguments = parse_jsonish(raw_arguments)
+    normalized_function["name"] = str(tool_name or "")
+    normalized_function["arguments"] = arguments if isinstance(arguments, dict) else {"__raw_arguments__": arguments}
+    normalized["function"] = normalized_function
     return normalized
 
 
@@ -150,11 +163,23 @@ def _normalize_tool_spec_for_template(tool):
         return tool
     normalized = dict(tool)
     function = normalized.get("function")
-    if isinstance(function, dict):
-        normalized_function = dict(function)
-        parameters = parse_jsonish(normalized_function.get("parameters", {}))
+    normalized_function = dict(function) if isinstance(function, dict) else {}
+    tool_name = (
+        normalized_function.get("name")
+        or normalized.get("name")
+        or normalized.get("tool_name")
+        or normalized.get("function_name")
+        or ""
+    )
+    if tool_name or function is not None or "name" in normalized or "parameters" in normalized:
+        parameters = parse_jsonish(
+            normalized_function.get("parameters", normalized.get("parameters", normalized.get("args", {})))
+        )
+        normalized_function["name"] = str(tool_name or "")
         if isinstance(parameters, dict):
             normalized_function["parameters"] = parameters
+        else:
+            normalized_function["parameters"] = {"__raw_parameters__": parameters}
         normalized["function"] = normalized_function
     return normalized
 
@@ -165,7 +190,12 @@ def _normalize_qwen_message_for_template(message):
     normalized_message = dict(message)
     normalized_message["content"] = _stringify_message_content_for_template(message.get("content"))
     normalized_tool_calls = []
-    for tool_call in message.get("tool_calls", []):
+    tool_calls = message.get("tool_calls", [])
+    if isinstance(tool_calls, dict):
+        tool_calls = [tool_calls]
+    elif not isinstance(tool_calls, list):
+        tool_calls = [tool_calls]
+    for tool_call in tool_calls:
         normalized_tool_call = _normalize_tool_call_for_template(tool_call)
         if isinstance(normalized_tool_call, dict):
             function = normalized_tool_call.get("function")
@@ -244,11 +274,21 @@ def build_glm5_canonical_prompt(payload):
             message.get("content"),
             role=str(message.get("role", "")),
         )
+        tool_calls = message.get("tool_calls", [])
+        if isinstance(tool_calls, dict):
+            tool_calls = [tool_calls]
+        elif not isinstance(tool_calls, list):
+            tool_calls = [tool_calls]
         normalized_message["tool_calls"] = [
-            _normalize_tool_call_for_template(tool_call) for tool_call in message.get("tool_calls", [])
+            _normalize_tool_call_for_template(tool_call) for tool_call in tool_calls
         ]
         messages.append(normalized_message)
-    tools = [_normalize_tool_spec_for_template(tool) for tool in parameters.get("tools", []) if isinstance(tool, dict)]
+    tools_payload = parameters.get("tools", [])
+    if isinstance(tools_payload, dict):
+        tools_payload = [tools_payload]
+    elif not isinstance(tools_payload, list):
+        tools_payload = [tools_payload]
+    tools = [_normalize_tool_spec_for_template(tool) for tool in tools_payload if isinstance(tool, dict)]
     return _load_glm5_chat_template().render(
         messages=messages,
         tools=tools,
@@ -266,7 +306,12 @@ def build_qwen3_coder_canonical_prompt(payload):
     ]
     if not messages:
         messages = [{"role": "system", "content": ""}]
-    tools = [_normalize_tool_spec_for_template(tool) for tool in parameters.get("tools", []) if isinstance(tool, dict)]
+    tools_payload = parameters.get("tools", [])
+    if isinstance(tools_payload, dict):
+        tools_payload = [tools_payload]
+    elif not isinstance(tools_payload, list):
+        tools_payload = [tools_payload]
+    tools = [_normalize_tool_spec_for_template(tool) for tool in tools_payload if isinstance(tool, dict)]
     return _load_qwen3_coder_chat_template().render(
         messages=messages,
         tools=tools,