diff --git a/.claude/settings.json b/.claude/settings.json
index c9beb7e..a332c01 100644
--- a/.claude/settings.json
+++ b/.claude/settings.json
@@ -17,7 +17,9 @@
       "Bash(pip install ruff)",
       "Bash(uvx ruff format app/api/routers/runs.py app/services/arxiv/rate_limit.py tests/integration/test_run_lifecycle_consistency.py)",
       "Bash(git add app/api/routers/runs.py app/services/arxiv/rate_limit.py tests/integration/test_run_lifecycle_consistency.py docs/website/package-lock.json)",
-      "Bash(git push)"
+      "Bash(git push)",
+      "Bash(uvx ruff format --check app/api/routers/runs.py app/services/arxiv/rate_limit.py tests/integration/test_run_lifecycle_consistency.py)",
+      "Bash(test -f docs/website/package-lock.json)"
     ],
     "additionalDirectories": [
       "/home/jv/src/personal/playground/scholar_scraper/scholar-scraper/frontend/src"
diff --git a/app/api/routers/admin_settings.py b/app/api/routers/admin_settings.py
index c909874..bbdaad3 100644
--- a/app/api/routers/admin_settings.py
+++ b/app/api/routers/admin_settings.py
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ def _apply_scholar_http_settings(payload: AdminScholarHttpSettingsUpdateRequest)
         max_length=_MAX_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE_LENGTH,
     )
     cookie = _normalize_header_value(
-        payload.cookie,
+        payload.cookie or "",
         field_name="cookie",
         max_length=_MAX_COOKIE_LENGTH,
     )