diff --git a/letta/local_llm/utils.py b/letta/local_llm/utils.py
index 9d625e75..8ded1f82 100644
--- a/letta/local_llm/utils.py
+++ b/letta/local_llm/utils.py
@@ -95,9 +95,12 @@ def num_tokens_from_functions(functions: List[dict], model: str = "gpt-4"):
     for function in functions:
         function_tokens = len(encoding.encode(function["name"]))
         if function["description"]:
-            function_tokens += len(encoding.encode(function["description"]))
+            if not isinstance(function["description"], str):
+                warnings.warn(f"Function {function['name']} has non-string description: {function['description']}")
+            else:
+                function_tokens += len(encoding.encode(function["description"]))
         else:
-            raise ValueError(f"Function {function['name']} has no description, function: {function}")
+            warnings.warn(f"Function {function['name']} has no description, function: {function}")
 
         if "parameters" in function:
             parameters = function["parameters"]