diff --git a/backend/open_webui/env.py b/backend/open_webui/env.py
index a466456fef..dff1c515b7 100644
--- a/backend/open_webui/env.py
+++ b/backend/open_webui/env.py
@@ -566,11 +566,14 @@ except (ValueError, TypeError):
     AIOHTTP_CLIENT_TIMEOUT = 300
 
 # Optional between-chunks idle cap for streaming aiohttp requests.
-_stream_idle_timeout_raw = os.getenv('AIOHTTP_CLIENT_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT', '')
-try:
-    AIOHTTP_CLIENT_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT = int(_stream_idle_timeout_raw) if _stream_idle_timeout_raw else None
-except (ValueError, TypeError):
+AIOHTTP_CLIENT_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT = os.getenv('AIOHTTP_CLIENT_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT', '')
+if AIOHTTP_CLIENT_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT == '':
     AIOHTTP_CLIENT_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT = None
+else:
+    try:
+        AIOHTTP_CLIENT_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT = int(AIOHTTP_CLIENT_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT)
+    except (ValueError, TypeError):
+        AIOHTTP_CLIENT_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT = None
 
 if AIOHTTP_CLIENT_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT is not None and AIOHTTP_CLIENT_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT <= 0:
     AIOHTTP_CLIENT_STREAM_IDLE_TIMEOUT = None