diff --git a/docs/overview/cli.ipynb b/docs/overview/cli.ipynb
index 3a3ee147..cf49789b 100644
--- a/docs/overview/cli.ipynb
+++ b/docs/overview/cli.ipynb
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@
      "name": "stdout",
      "output_type": "stream",
      "text": [
-      "12:42:18 [RedisVL] INFO   RedisVL version 0.8.0\n"
+      "11:20:38 [RedisVL] INFO   RedisVL version 0.8.2\n"
      ]
     }
    ],
@@ -300,7 +300,7 @@
     "\n",
     "| Argument       | Description | Default |\n",
     "|----------------|-------------|---------|\n",
-    "| `-u --url`     | The full Redis URL to connec to | `redis://localhost:6379` |\n",
+    "| `-u --url`     | The full Redis URL to connect to | `redis://localhost:6379` |\n",
     "| `--host`       | Redis host to connect to | `localhost` |\n",
     "| `-p --port`    | Redis port to connect to. Must be an integer | `6379` |\n",
     "| `--user`       | Redis username, if one is required   | `default` |\n",
@@ -339,8 +339,8 @@
    "cell_type": "markdown",
    "metadata": {},
    "source": [
-    "### Using SSL encription\n",
-    "If your Redis instance is configured to use SSL encription then set the `--ssl` flag.\n",
+    "### Using SSL encryption\n",
+    "If your Redis instance is configured to use SSL encryption then set the `--ssl` flag.\n",
     "You can similarly specify the username and password to construct the full Redis URL"
    ]
   },
@@ -374,7 +374,7 @@
  ],
  "metadata": {
   "kernelspec": {
-   "display_name": ".venv",
+   "display_name": "redisvl-56gG2io_-py3.11",
    "language": "python",
    "name": "python3"
   },
@@ -388,7 +388,7 @@
    "name": "python",
    "nbconvert_exporter": "python",
    "pygments_lexer": "ipython3",
-   "version": "3.13.2"
+   "version": "3.11.9"
   }
  },
  "nbformat": 4,
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 65dba017..6251a70e 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "redisvl"
-version = "0.8.1"
+version = "0.8.2"
 description = "Python client library and CLI for using Redis as a vector database"
 authors = [{ name = "Redis Inc.", email = "applied.ai@redis.com" }]
 requires-python = ">=3.9,<3.14"
diff --git a/redisvl/query/query.py b/redisvl/query/query.py
index 120f14ed..88aa9dfb 100644
--- a/redisvl/query/query.py
+++ b/redisvl/query/query.py
@@ -939,8 +939,6 @@ def _build_query_string(self) -> str:
         filter_expression = self._filter_expression
         if isinstance(filter_expression, FilterExpression):
             filter_expression = str(filter_expression)
-        else:
-            filter_expression = ""
 
         text = (
             f"@{self._text_field_name}:({self._tokenize_and_escape_query(self._text)})"
diff --git a/redisvl/version.py b/redisvl/version.py
index 777f190d..deded324 100644
--- a/redisvl/version.py
+++ b/redisvl/version.py
@@ -1 +1 @@
-__version__ = "0.8.0"
+__version__ = "0.8.2"
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_query_types.py b/tests/unit/test_query_types.py
index 9254ffe4..8cf9b50c 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_query_types.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_query_types.py
@@ -280,6 +280,74 @@ def test_text_query():
         text_query = TextQuery(text_string, text_field_name, stopwords=[1, 2, 3])
 
 
+def test_text_query_with_string_filter():
+    """Test that TextQuery correctly includes string filter expressions in query string.
+
+    This test ensures that when a string filter expression is passed to TextQuery,
+    it's properly included in the generated query string and not set to empty.
+    Regression test for bug where string filters were being ignored.
+    """
+    text = "search for document 12345"
+    text_field_name = "description"
+
+    # Test with string filter expression - should include filter in query string
+    string_filter = "@category:{tech|science|engineering}"
+    text_query = TextQuery(
+        text=text,
+        text_field_name=text_field_name,
+        filter_expression=string_filter,
+    )
+
+    # Check that filter is stored correctly
+    assert text_query.filter == string_filter
+
+    # Check that the generated query string includes both text search and filter
+    query_string = str(text_query)
+    assert f"@{text_field_name}:(search | document | 12345)" in query_string
+    assert f"AND {string_filter}" in query_string
+    assert string_filter in query_string
+
+    # Test with FilterExpression - should also work (existing functionality)
+    filter_expression = Tag("category") == "tech"
+    text_query_with_filter_expr = TextQuery(
+        text=text,
+        text_field_name=text_field_name,
+        filter_expression=filter_expression,
+    )
+
+    # Check that filter is stored correctly
+    assert text_query_with_filter_expr.filter == filter_expression
+
+    # Check that the generated query string includes both text search and filter
+    query_string_with_filter_expr = str(text_query_with_filter_expr)
+    assert (
+        f"@{text_field_name}:(search | document | 12345)"
+        in query_string_with_filter_expr
+    )
+    assert "AND @category:{tech}" in query_string_with_filter_expr
+
+    # Test with no filter - should only have text search
+    text_query_no_filter = TextQuery(
+        text=text,
+        text_field_name=text_field_name,
+    )
+
+    query_string_no_filter = str(text_query_no_filter)
+    assert f"@{text_field_name}:(search | document | 12345)" in query_string_no_filter
+    assert "AND" not in query_string_no_filter
+
+    # Test with wildcard filter - should only have text search (no AND clause)
+    text_query_wildcard = TextQuery(
+        text=text,
+        text_field_name=text_field_name,
+        filter_expression="*",
+    )
+
+    query_string_wildcard = str(text_query_wildcard)
+    assert f"@{text_field_name}:(search | document | 12345)" in query_string_wildcard
+    assert "AND" not in query_string_wildcard
+
+
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(
     "query",
     [
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index 108e984f..26782e14 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -3593,7 +3593,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "redisvl"
-version = "0.8.1"
+version = "0.8.2"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "jsonpath-ng" },