diff --git a/.pre-commit-config.yaml b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
index defe87b5c4..5e6779253e 100644
--- a/.pre-commit-config.yaml
+++ b/.pre-commit-config.yaml
@@ -3,19 +3,19 @@ repos:
     hooks:
       - id: ruff
         name: ruff
-        entry: bash -c 'source .venv/bin/activate && uv run ruff check --config pyproject.toml "$@"' --
+        entry: uv run ruff check --config pyproject.toml
         language: system
         pass_filenames: true
         types: [python]
       - id: ruff-format
         name: ruff-format
-        entry: bash -c 'source .venv/bin/activate && uv run ruff format --config pyproject.toml "$@"' --
+        entry: uv run ruff format --config pyproject.toml
         language: system
         pass_filenames: true
         types: [python]
       - id: mypy
         name: mypy
-        entry: bash -c 'source .venv/bin/activate && uv run mypy --config-file pyproject.toml "$@"' --
+        entry: uv run mypy --config-file pyproject.toml
         language: system
         pass_filenames: true
         types: [python]
diff --git a/lib/crewai/src/crewai/crew.py b/lib/crewai/src/crewai/crew.py
index 980830af52..abc07f78e2 100644
--- a/lib/crewai/src/crewai/crew.py
+++ b/lib/crewai/src/crewai/crew.py
@@ -326,7 +326,12 @@ def check_config_type(
         """
 
         # TODO: Improve typing
-        return json.loads(v) if isinstance(v, Json) else v  # type: ignore
+        if isinstance(v, str):
+            try:
+                return json.loads(v)
+            except json.JSONDecodeError:
+                return v
+        return v
 
     @model_validator(mode="after")
     def set_private_attrs(self) -> Crew:
@@ -362,7 +367,7 @@ def create_crew_memory(self) -> Crew:
             if self.embedder is not None:
                 from crewai.rag.embeddings.factory import build_embedder
 
-                embedder = build_embedder(self.embedder)
+                embedder = build_embedder(cast(Any, self.embedder))
             self._memory = Memory(embedder=embedder)
         elif self.memory:
             # User passed a Memory / MemoryScope / MemorySlice instance
@@ -1410,9 +1415,7 @@ def _add_code_execution_tools(
             return self._merge_tools(tools, cast(list[BaseTool], code_tools))
         return tools
 
-    def _add_memory_tools(
-        self, tools: list[BaseTool], memory: Any
-    ) -> list[BaseTool]:
+    def _add_memory_tools(self, tools: list[BaseTool], memory: Any) -> list[BaseTool]:
         """Add recall and remember tools when memory is available.
 
         Args: