diff --git a/hermes_cli/tools_config.py b/hermes_cli/tools_config.py
index 73282fe09..1a0b30670 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/tools_config.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/tools_config.py
@@ -561,7 +561,7 @@ def _get_platform_tools(
     # MCP servers are expected to be available on all platforms by default.
     # If the platform explicitly lists one or more MCP server names, treat that
     # as an allowlist. Otherwise include every globally enabled MCP server.
-    mcp_servers = config.get("mcp_servers", {})
+    mcp_servers = config.get("mcp_servers") or {}
     enabled_mcp_servers = {
         name
         for name, server_cfg in mcp_servers.items()