diff --git a/nos/server/http/_utils.py b/nos/server/http/_utils.py
index d88226e8..3e95973d 100644
--- a/nos/server/http/_utils.py
+++ b/nos/server/http/_utils.py
@@ -4,12 +4,17 @@
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Any, Dict
 
+import msgpack
+import msgpack_numpy as m
 import numpy as np
 from fastapi import UploadFile
 from fastapi.responses import FileResponse
 from PIL import Image
 
 
+m.patch()
+
+
 def encode_item(v: Any) -> Any:
     """Encode an item to a JSON-serializable object."""
     if isinstance(v, dict):
@@ -22,7 +27,8 @@ def encode_item(v: Any) -> Any:
         if v.ndim <= 2:
             return v.tolist()
         else:
-            raise ValueError(f"Unsupported ndarray dimension: {v.ndim}")
+            arr_b64 = base64.b64encode(msgpack.packb(v)).decode()
+            return f"data:application/numpy;base64,{arr_b64}"
     elif isinstance(v, Path):
         return FileResponse(v)
     else:
@@ -37,6 +43,9 @@ def decode_item(v: Any) -> Any:
         return [decode_item(x) for x in v]
     elif isinstance(v, str) and v.startswith("data:image/"):
         return base64_str_to_image(v)
+    elif isinstance(v, str) and v.startswith("data:application/numpy;base64,"):
+        arr_b64 = v[len("data:application/numpy;base64,") :]
+        return msgpack.unpackb(base64.b64decode(arr_b64), raw=False)
     else:
         return v
 
diff --git a/nos/version.py b/nos/version.py
index 493f7415..260c070a 100644
--- a/nos/version.py
+++ b/nos/version.py
@@ -1 +1 @@
-__version__ = "0.3.0"
+__version__ = "0.3.1"
diff --git a/requirements/requirements.txt b/requirements/requirements.txt
index 7036cf30..6567dbbe 100644
--- a/requirements/requirements.txt
+++ b/requirements/requirements.txt
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ gitpython
 grpcio-tools<=1.49.1
 humanize
 loguru>=0.7.0
+msgpack
+msgpack-numpy
 opencv-python-headless>=4.6.0.66
 pandas
 Pillow
diff --git a/tests/server/test_server_utils.py b/tests/server/test_server_utils.py
index ec18bab1..4b4d9938 100644
--- a/tests/server/test_server_utils.py
+++ b/tests/server/test_server_utils.py
@@ -1,11 +1,16 @@
 import logging
+from pathlib import Path
 
+import numpy as np
 import psutil
 import pytest
+from fastapi.responses import FileResponse
+from PIL import Image
 
 import nos
 from nos.common.system import has_docker
 from nos.server import InferenceServiceRuntime
+from nos.server.http._utils import decode_item, encode_item
 from nos.test.utils import AVAILABLE_RUNTIMES
 
 
@@ -14,6 +19,42 @@
 pytestmark = pytest.mark.skipif(not has_docker() or NUM_CPUS < 4, reason="docker is not installed")
 
 
+def test_encode_decode_item():
+    # Test encoding a dictionary
+    input_dict = {"key1": "value1", "key2": "value2"}
+    expected_dict = {"key1": "value1", "key2": "value2"}
+    assert encode_item(input_dict) == expected_dict
+
+    # Test encoding a list
+    input_list = [1, 2, 3]
+    expected_list = [1, 2, 3]
+    assert encode_item(input_list) == expected_list
+
+    # Test encoding a tuple
+    input_tuple = (4, 5, 6)
+    expected_tuple = [4, 5, 6]
+    assert encode_item(input_tuple) == expected_tuple
+
+    # Test encoding an Image object
+    input_image = Image.new("RGB", (100, 100))
+    assert encode_item(input_image).startswith("data:image/")
+    assert (decode_item(encode_item(input_image)) == input_image).all()
+
+    # Test encoding an ndarray object
+    input_ndarray = np.array([1, 2, 3])
+    expected_ndarray = [1, 2, 3]
+    assert encode_item(input_ndarray) == expected_ndarray
+
+    # Test encoding a 3D ndarray object
+    input_ndarray = np.random.rand(3, 3, 3)
+    assert encode_item(input_ndarray).startswith("data:application/numpy;base64,")
+    assert (decode_item(encode_item(input_ndarray)) == input_ndarray).all()
+
+    # Test encoding a Path object
+    input_path = Path("/path/to/file.txt")
+    assert isinstance(encode_item(input_path), FileResponse)
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("runtime", AVAILABLE_RUNTIMES)
 def test_nos_init(runtime):
     """Test the NOS server daemon initialization.