diff --git a/lbrynet/conf.py b/lbrynet/conf.py
index 411acbe0a..aef32334a 100644
--- a/lbrynet/conf.py
+++ b/lbrynet/conf.py
@@ -62,6 +62,8 @@ def _convert_setting(env_val, current_val):
         return float(env_val)
     elif current_type is str:
         return str(env_val)
+    elif current_type is unicode:
+        return unicode(env_val)
     elif current_type is dict:
         return dict(env_val)
     elif current_type is list: