diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 131fde3..31a2985 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
 # Changelog
 
+## 0.29.4 - 2026-05-16
+
+- Fixed `/api/watchlist/add` malformed-body handling so non-object JSON payloads now return `400 Bad Request` instead of surfacing as an internal server error.
+- Expanded regression coverage for invalid watchlist add payload shapes.
+
 ## 0.29.3 - 2026-05-16
 
 - Fixed duplicate watchlist add responses so already-tracked shows now return `200 OK` with `created: false` instead of the misleading `201 Created`.
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 11312fa..f3d60b5 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 A local web UI for a system-wide `ani-cli` install.
 
-Current version: `0.29.3`
+Current version: `0.29.4`
 
 ## Project Layout
 
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ The app currently includes:
 - A paged SQLite-backed download queue with retry, cancel, remove, retry-failed, and clear-finished actions.
 - A paged SQLite-backed watchlist with summary cards, per-show refresh, bulk refresh, source links, and thumbnail tools.
 - Duplicate watchlist adds now return `200 OK` with `created: false`, keeping the API status aligned with the no-op result.
+- Malformed watchlist add requests now also return `400 Bad Request` when the JSON body is not an object.
 - Watchlist category tabs for `Watching`, `Planned`, `Finished`, and `Dropped`, with per-anime category editing.
 - AnimeSchedule-backed watchlist completion tracking that compares live sub/dub availability with the expected total episode count when known.
 - Automatic watchlist sync after successful downloads, including downloaded-vs-manual finished markers.
diff --git a/VERSION b/VERSION
index 5540b6e..35b1b3d 100644
--- a/VERSION
+++ b/VERSION
@@ -1 +1 @@
-0.29.3
+0.29.4
diff --git a/app_support.py b/app_support.py
index 9a50553..4456bbf 100644
--- a/app_support.py
+++ b/app_support.py
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ from uuid import uuid4
 PROJECT_ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parent
 ANI_CLI = os.environ.get("ANI_CLI_BIN") or shutil.which("ani-cli") or "ani-cli"
 APP_NAME = "ani-cli-web"
-VERSION = "0.29.3"
+VERSION = "0.29.4"
 ALLANIME_BASE = "allanime.day"
 ALLANIME_API = f"https://api.{ALLANIME_BASE}"
 ALLANIME_REFERER = "https://allmanga.to"
diff --git a/http_handler.py b/http_handler.py
index 8edbb14..baf0ac5 100644
--- a/http_handler.py
+++ b/http_handler.py
@@ -242,7 +242,7 @@ class Handler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
                 self.json(actions[action](job_id))
             elif parsed.path in {"/api/watchlist", "/api/watchlist/add"}:
                 Handler._runtime(self)
-                result = Handler._context(self).add_to_watchlist(self.body_json())
+                result = Handler._context(self).add_to_watchlist(Handler.require_json_object(self, self.body_json()))
                 status = HTTPStatus.CREATED if result.get("created") else HTTPStatus.OK
                 self.json(result, status)
             elif parsed.path == "/api/watchlist/ensure-thumbnails":
diff --git a/test_app.py b/test_app.py
index ebdaa10..d62fb4d 100644
--- a/test_app.py
+++ b/test_app.py
@@ -1125,6 +1125,13 @@ class HandlerRouteTests(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(handler.json_payload, result)
         self.assertEqual(handler.json_status, HTTPStatus.OK)
 
+    def test_watchlist_add_rejects_non_object_json_body(self):
+        body = b"[]"
+        handler = DummyHandler("/api/watchlist/add", body=body, content_length=len(body))
+        APP.Handler.do_POST(handler)
+        self.assertEqual(handler.error_status, HTTPStatus.BAD_REQUEST)
+        self.assertIn("json object", handler.error_message.lower())
+
     def test_ensure_thumbnails_rejects_non_array_show_ids(self):
         body = b'{"show_ids":"show-1"}'
         handler = DummyHandler("/api/watchlist/ensure-thumbnails", body=body, content_length=len(body))