diff --git a/mealie/routes/auth/auth.py b/mealie/routes/auth/auth.py
index 080b68f80f93..8aa6cd6664c8 100644
--- a/mealie/routes/auth/auth.py
+++ b/mealie/routes/auth/auth.py
@@ -67,7 +67,8 @@ def get_token(
         if "," in ip:  # if there are multiple IPs, the first one is canonically the true client
             ip = str(ip.split(",")[0])
     else:
-        ip = request.client.host
+        # request.client should never be null, except sometimes during testing
+        ip = request.client.host if request.client else "unknown"
 
     try:
         user = authenticate_user(session, email, password)  # type: ignore