From 300695de5c6454c6cc30dc41047af673cbf1e1ec Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: vojkovic <git@vojk.au>
Date: Sat, 30 May 2026 17:23:03 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] [fix] crash when lock is omitted

---
 searx/settings_defaults.py | 2 ++
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+)

diff --git a/searx/settings_defaults.py b/searx/settings_defaults.py
index 40c68a029..c23ebd956 100644
--- a/searx/settings_defaults.py
+++ b/searx/settings_defaults.py
@@ -147,6 +147,8 @@ def apply_schema(settings: dict[str, t.Any], schema: dict[str, t.Any], path_list
                 # Type Validation at runtime:
                 # https://jcristharif.com/msgspec/structs.html#type-validation
                 cfg_dict = settings.get(key)
+                if cfg_dict is None:
+                    cfg_dict = {}
                 cfg_json = msgspec.json.encode(cfg_dict)
                 settings[key] = msgspec.json.decode(cfg_json, type=value)
             except msgspec.ValidationError as e: