diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index bf42b6aa15..fd321f7722 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -26,11 +26,15 @@ set(version 1.1.0)
 project(composable_kernel VERSION ${version} LANGUAGES CXX HIP)
 include(CTest)
 
+# Usage: for customized Python location cmake -DCK_USE_ALTERNATIVE_PYTHON="/opt/Python-3.8.13/bin/python3.8"
+# CK Codegen requires dataclass which is added in Python 3.7
+# Python version 3.8 is required for general good practice as it is default for Ubuntu 20.04
 if(NOT CK_USE_ALTERNATIVE_PYTHON)
-   find_package(Python3 3.6 COMPONENTS Interpreter REQUIRED)
+   find_package(Python3 3.8 COMPONENTS Interpreter REQUIRED)
 else()
    message("Using alternative python version")
    set(EXTRA_PYTHON_PATH)
+   # this is overly restrictive, we may need to be more flexible on the following
    string(REPLACE "/bin/python3.8" "" EXTRA_PYTHON_PATH "${CK_USE_ALTERNATIVE_PYTHON}")
    message("alternative python path is: ${EXTRA_PYTHON_PATH}")
    find_package(Python3 3.6 COMPONENTS Interpreter REQUIRED)
diff --git a/codegen/test/CMakeLists.txt b/codegen/test/CMakeLists.txt
index 3ca3f39a30..6dd130bc3f 100644
--- a/codegen/test/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/codegen/test/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -6,6 +6,9 @@ if(NOT INSTANCES_ONLY)
     set_source_files_properties(${TEST_SRC} PROPERTIES LANGUAGE HIP)
     get_filename_component(BASE_NAME ${TEST_SRC} NAME_WE)
     add_executable(codegen_test_${BASE_NAME} ${TEST_SRC})
+    if(CK_USE_ALTERNATIVE_PYTHON)
+      target_link_options(codegen_test_${BASE_NAME} PRIVATE -lstdc++fs)
+    endif()
     add_dependencies(codegen codegen_test_${BASE_NAME})
     add_dependencies(tests codegen_test_${BASE_NAME})
     add_dependencies(check codegen_test_${BASE_NAME})
diff --git a/codegen/test/rtc/include/rtc/compile_kernel.hpp b/codegen/test/rtc/include/rtc/compile_kernel.hpp
index 5a4a4b0dd6..71db7be249 100644
--- a/codegen/test/rtc/include/rtc/compile_kernel.hpp
+++ b/codegen/test/rtc/include/rtc/compile_kernel.hpp
@@ -2,14 +2,14 @@
 #define GUARD_HOST_TEST_RTC_INCLUDE_RTC_COMPILE_KERNEL
 
 #include <rtc/kernel.hpp>
-#include <filesystem>
+#include <ck/filesystem.hpp>
 #include <string>
 
 namespace rtc {
 
 struct src_file
 {
-    std::filesystem::path path;
+    CK::fs::path path;
     std::string_view content;
 };
 
diff --git a/codegen/test/rtc/include/rtc/tmp_dir.hpp b/codegen/test/rtc/include/rtc/tmp_dir.hpp
index f0fd1f72bb..0b4bf002c1 100644
--- a/codegen/test/rtc/include/rtc/tmp_dir.hpp
+++ b/codegen/test/rtc/include/rtc/tmp_dir.hpp
@@ -2,13 +2,13 @@
 #define GUARD_HOST_TEST_RTC_INCLUDE_RTC_TMP_DIR
 
 #include <string>
-#include <filesystem>
+#include <ck/filesystem.hpp>
 
 namespace rtc {
 
 struct tmp_dir
 {
-    std::filesystem::path path;
+    CK::fs::path path;
     tmp_dir(const std::string& prefix = "");
 
     void execute(const std::string& cmd) const;
diff --git a/codegen/test/rtc/src/compile_kernel.cpp b/codegen/test/rtc/src/compile_kernel.cpp
index d84ebf4de9..cc1bb80c31 100644
--- a/codegen/test/rtc/src/compile_kernel.cpp
+++ b/codegen/test/rtc/src/compile_kernel.cpp
@@ -70,9 +70,9 @@ kernel compile_kernel(const std::vector<src_file>& srcs, compile_options options
 
     for(const auto& src : srcs)
     {
-        std::filesystem::path full_path   = td.path / src.path;
-        std::filesystem::path parent_path = full_path.parent_path();
-        std::filesystem::create_directories(parent_path);
+        CK::fs::path full_path   = td.path / src.path;
+        CK::fs::path parent_path = full_path.parent_path();
+        CK::fs::create_directories(parent_path);
         write_string(full_path.string(), src.content);
         if(src.path.extension().string() == ".cpp")
         {
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ kernel compile_kernel(const std::vector<src_file>& srcs, compile_options options
     td.execute(compiler() + options.flags);
 
     auto out_path = td.path / out;
-    if(not std::filesystem::exists(out_path))
+    if(not CK::fs::exists(out_path))
         throw std::runtime_error("Output file missing: " + out);
 
     auto obj = read_buffer(out_path.string());
diff --git a/codegen/test/rtc/src/tmp_dir.cpp b/codegen/test/rtc/src/tmp_dir.cpp
index 1cc8f75b29..659bbbe13f 100644
--- a/codegen/test/rtc/src/tmp_dir.cpp
+++ b/codegen/test/rtc/src/tmp_dir.cpp
@@ -31,10 +31,10 @@ std::string unique_string(const std::string& prefix)
 }
 
 tmp_dir::tmp_dir(const std::string& prefix)
-    : path(std::filesystem::temp_directory_path() /
+    : path(CK::fs::temp_directory_path() /
            unique_string(prefix.empty() ? "ck-rtc" : "ck-rtc-" + prefix))
 {
-    std::filesystem::create_directories(this->path);
+    CK::fs::create_directories(this->path);
 }
 
 void tmp_dir::execute(const std::string& cmd) const
@@ -43,6 +43,6 @@ void tmp_dir::execute(const std::string& cmd) const
     std::system(s.c_str());
 }
 
-tmp_dir::~tmp_dir() { std::filesystem::remove_all(this->path); }
+tmp_dir::~tmp_dir() { CK::fs::remove_all(this->path); }
 
 } // namespace rtc
diff --git a/example/ck_tile/01_fmha/CMakeLists.txt b/example/ck_tile/01_fmha/CMakeLists.txt
index f82207b920..1ba76a523e 100644
--- a/example/ck_tile/01_fmha/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/example/ck_tile/01_fmha/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -22,12 +22,20 @@ string(REPLACE ";" "," FMHA_FWD_APIS "${FMHA_FWD_ENABLE_APIS}")
 execute_process(
   COMMAND ${Python3_EXECUTABLE} ${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/generate.py
   --api ${FMHA_FWD_APIS} --list_blobs ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/fwd_blob_list.txt
+  RESULT_VARIABLE ret
 )
+if(ret AND NOT ret EQUAL 0)
+  message( FATAL_ERROR "CK Tile FMHA FAILED to genrate a list of FWD kernels via Python.")
+endif()
 
 execute_process(
   COMMAND ${Python3_EXECUTABLE} ${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/generate.py
   --api bwd --list_blobs ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/bwd_blob_list.txt --receipt 3
+  RESULT_VARIABLE ret
 )
+if(ret AND NOT ret EQUAL 0)
+  message( FATAL_ERROR "CK Tile FMHA FAILED to genrate a list of BWD kernels via Python.")
+endif()
 
 # NOTE: for cmake, the FMHA_FWD_GEN_BLOBS/FMHA_BWD_GEN_BLOBS files must be in the same directory
 #       as current cmake list, otherwise will not figure out the dependency properly
diff --git a/include/ck/filesystem.hpp b/include/ck/filesystem.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..41ab5f4ddb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/ck/filesystem.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
+// Copyright (c) 2018-2024, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. All rights reserved.
+
+#ifndef GUARD_CK_FILESYSTEM_HPP_
+#define GUARD_CK_FILESYSTEM_HPP_
+
+#include <string>
+#include <string_view>
+
+// clang-format off
+#if defined(CPPCHECK)
+  #define CK_HAS_FILESYSTEM 1
+  #define CK_HAS_FILESYSTEM_TS 1
+#elif defined(_WIN32)
+  #if _MSC_VER >= 1920
+    #define CK_HAS_FILESYSTEM 1
+    #define CK_HAS_FILESYSTEM_TS 0
+  #elif _MSC_VER >= 1900
+    #define CK_HAS_FILESYSTEM 0
+    #define CK_HAS_FILESYSTEM_TS 1
+  #else
+    #define CK_HAS_FILESYSTEM 0
+    #define CK_HAS_FILESYSTEM_TS 0
+  #endif
+#elif defined(__has_include)
+  #if __has_include(<filesystem>) && __cplusplus >= 201703L
+    #define CK_HAS_FILESYSTEM 1
+  #else
+    #define CK_HAS_FILESYSTEM 0
+  #endif
+  #if __has_include(<experimental/filesystem>) && __cplusplus >= 201103L
+    #define CK_HAS_FILESYSTEM_TS 1
+  #else
+    #define CK_HAS_FILESYSTEM_TS 0
+  #endif
+#else
+  #define CK_HAS_FILESYSTEM 0
+  #define CK_HAS_FILESYSTEM_TS 0
+#endif
+// clang-format on
+
+#if CK_HAS_FILESYSTEM
+#include <filesystem>
+#elif CK_HAS_FILESYSTEM_TS
+#include <experimental/filesystem>
+#else
+#error "No filesystem include available"
+#endif
+
+namespace CK {
+
+#if CK_HAS_FILESYSTEM
+namespace fs = ::std::filesystem;
+#elif CK_HAS_FILESYSTEM_TS
+namespace fs = ::std::experimental::filesystem;
+#endif
+
+} // namespace CK
+
+inline std::string operator+(const std::string_view s, const CK::fs::path& path)
+{
+    return path.string().insert(0, s);
+}
+
+inline std::string operator+(const CK::fs::path& path, const std::string_view s)
+{
+    return path.string().append(s);
+}
+
+#define FS_ENUM_PERMS_ALL fs::perms::all
+
+#if CK_HAS_FILESYSTEM_TS
+#ifdef __linux__
+#include <linux/limits.h>
+namespace CK {
+inline fs::path weakly_canonical(const fs::path& path)
+{
+    std::string result(PATH_MAX, '\0');
+    std::string p{path.is_relative() ? (fs::current_path() / path).string() : path.string()};
+    char* retval = realpath(p.c_str(), &result[0]);
+    return (retval == nullptr) ? path : fs::path{result};
+}
+} // namespace CK
+#else
+#error "Not implmeneted!"
+#endif
+#else
+namespace CK {
+inline fs::path weakly_canonical(const fs::path& path) { return fs::weakly_canonical(path); }
+} // namespace CK
+#endif
+
+namespace CK {
+
+#ifdef _WIN32
+constexpr std::string_view executable_postfix{".exe"};
+constexpr std::string_view library_prefix{""};
+constexpr std::string_view dynamic_library_postfix{".dll"};
+constexpr std::string_view static_library_postfix{".lib"};
+constexpr std::string_view object_file_postfix{".obj"};
+#else
+constexpr std::string_view executable_postfix{""};
+constexpr std::string_view library_prefix{"lib"};
+constexpr std::string_view dynamic_library_postfix{".so"};
+constexpr std::string_view static_library_postfix{".a"};
+constexpr std::string_view object_file_postfix{".o"};
+#endif
+
+inline fs::path make_executable_name(const fs::path& path)
+{
+    return path.parent_path() / (path.filename() + executable_postfix);
+}
+
+inline fs::path make_dynamic_library_name(const fs::path& path)
+{
+    return path.parent_path() / (library_prefix + path.filename() + dynamic_library_postfix);
+}
+
+inline fs::path make_object_file_name(const fs::path& path)
+{
+    return path.parent_path() / (path.filename() + object_file_postfix);
+}
+
+inline fs::path make_static_library_name(const fs::path& path)
+{
+    return path.parent_path() / (library_prefix + path.filename() + static_library_postfix);
+}
+
+struct FsPathHash
+{
+    std::size_t operator()(const fs::path& path) const { return fs::hash_value(path); }
+};
+} // namespace CK
+
+#endif // GUARD_CK_FILESYSTEM_HPP_
diff --git a/library/src/tensor_operation_instance/gpu/mha/CMakeLists.txt b/library/src/tensor_operation_instance/gpu/mha/CMakeLists.txt
index 3499779c2a..8bfda97e71 100644
--- a/library/src/tensor_operation_instance/gpu/mha/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/library/src/tensor_operation_instance/gpu/mha/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -1,19 +1,23 @@
 set(FMHA_CPP_FOLDER ${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR})
 set(FMHA_SRC_FOLDER ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/example/ck_tile/01_fmha/)
 set(CK_TILE_SRC_FOLDER ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/include/ck_tile/)
-# python stuff
+
+# Usage: for customized Python location cmake -DCK_USE_ALTERNATIVE_PYTHON="/opt/Python-3.8.13/bin/python3.8"
+# CK Codegen requires dataclass which is added in Python 3.7
+# Python version 3.8 is required for general good practice as it is default for Ubuntu 20.04
 if(NOT CK_USE_ALTERNATIVE_PYTHON)
-  find_package(PythonInterp 3 REQUIRED)
+   find_package(PythonInterp 3 REQUIRED)
 else()
-  message("Using alternative python version")
-  set(EXTRA_PYTHON_PATH)
-  string(REPLACE "/bin/python3.8" "" EXTRA_PYTHON_PATH "${CK_USE_ALTERNATIVE_PYTHON}")
-  message("alternative python path is: ${EXTRA_PYTHON_PATH}")
-  find_package(Python3 3.6 COMPONENTS Interpreter REQUIRED)
-  add_definitions(-DPython3_EXECUTABLE="${CK_USE_ALTERNATIVE_PYTHON}")
-  set(Python3_EXECUTABLE "${CK_USE_ALTERNATIVE_PYTHON}")
-  set(PYTHON_EXECUTABLE "${CK_USE_ALTERNATIVE_PYTHON}")
-  set(ENV{LD_LIBRARY_PATH} "${EXTRA_PYTHON_PATH}/lib:$ENV{LD_LIBRARY_PATH}")
+   message("Using alternative python version")
+   set(EXTRA_PYTHON_PATH)
+   # this is overly restrictive, we may need to be more flexible on the following
+   string(REPLACE "/bin/python3.8" "" EXTRA_PYTHON_PATH "${CK_USE_ALTERNATIVE_PYTHON}")
+   message("alternative python path is: ${EXTRA_PYTHON_PATH}")
+   find_package(Python3 3.6 COMPONENTS Interpreter REQUIRED)
+   add_definitions(-DPython3_EXECUTABLE="${CK_USE_ALTERNATIVE_PYTHON}")
+   set(Python3_EXECUTABLE "${CK_USE_ALTERNATIVE_PYTHON}")
+   set(PYTHON_EXECUTABLE "${CK_USE_ALTERNATIVE_PYTHON}")
+   set(ENV{LD_LIBRARY_PATH} "${EXTRA_PYTHON_PATH}/lib:$ENV{LD_LIBRARY_PATH}")
 endif()
 
 rocm_install(DIRECTORY ${CK_TILE_SRC_FOLDER} DESTINATION ${CMAKE_INSTALL_INCLUDEDIR}/ck_tile)
@@ -27,8 +31,13 @@ file(COPY ${MHA_HEADERS} DESTINATION ${FMHA_CPP_FOLDER})
 execute_process(
   COMMAND ${PYTHON_EXECUTABLE} ${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/example/ck_tile/01_fmha/generate.py
   --list_blobs ${FMHA_CPP_FOLDER}/blob_list.txt
+  RESULT_VARIABLE ret
 )
-file(STRINGS ${FMHA_CPP_FOLDER}/blob_list.txt FMHA_FWD_GEN_BLOBS)
+if(ret AND NOT ret EQUAL 0)
+  message( FATAL_ERROR "CK Tile MHA FAILED to genrate a list of kernels via Python.")
+else()
+  file(STRINGS ${FMHA_CPP_FOLDER}/blob_list.txt FMHA_FWD_GEN_BLOBS)
+endif()
 
 # actually generate the cpp files
 add_custom_command(
@@ -52,8 +61,6 @@ add_custom_target(generate_cpp_files DEPENDS ${FMHA_FWD_GEN_BLOBS})
 
 add_instance_library(device_mha_instance ${device_files})
 
-
-
 if (TARGET device_mha_instance)
   add_dependencies(device_mha_instance generate_cpp_files)
 endif()