Changelog - Version 5.7.4 (2026-02-06)

Version Information

• Updated version from 5.7.3 to 5.7.4
• Hotfix for the Stable bot: critical fix for the !joke command

Bug Fixes

• Fixed !joke command error
  • Resolved an exception where the command could fail with “‘list’ object has no attribute ‘get’”.
  • Ensured the JokeAPI client is used correctly (constructor is not awaited) and get_joke() is executed off the event loop to avoid blocking.
  • Normalized API responses so both dict and list shapes are handled safely; unexpected shapes are coerced to a safe dict.
  • Added defensive parsing of joke_settings.blacklist with sensible defaults and added fallback messaging if a joke cannot be delivered.

Technical Details

• The root cause was misuse of await on the JokeAPI client and assumptions about the return shape from get_joke().
• Fixes implemented:
  • Instantiate Jokes() synchronously and call get_joke() via get_event_loop().run_in_executor(...).
  • Normalize the response to a dict before accessing .get(); handle lists by selecting the first valid item.
  • Use safe .get() calls and add a friendly fallback chat message if sending the joke fails.

Thank you for your feedback and support!

As always, your feedback is appreciated. Please report any issues, bugs, or suggestions in the #ticket-info channel on our Discord server. You can also submit feedback and bug reports directly on our website: https://botofthespecter.com/feedback.php