diff --git a/CHANGELOG.unreleased.md b/CHANGELOG.unreleased.md
index e4e02843cd..1f0225d766 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.unreleased.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.unreleased.md
@@ -28,13 +28,14 @@ For upgrade instructions, please check the [migration guide](MIGRATIONS.released
 - Fixed a bug that uploading a zarr dataset with an already existing `datasource-properties.json` file failed. [#8268](https://github.com/scalableminds/webknossos/pull/8268)
 - Fixed the organization switching feature for datasets opened via old links. [#8257](https://github.com/scalableminds/webknossos/pull/8257)
 - Fixed that uploading an NML file without an organization id failed. Now the user's organization is used as fallback. [#8277](https://github.com/scalableminds/webknossos/pull/8277)
-- Fixed that the frontend did not ensure a minium length for annotation layer names. Moreover, names starting with a `.` are also disallowed now. [#8244](https://github.com/scalableminds/webknossos/pull/8244)
+- Fixed that the frontend did not ensure a minimum length for annotation layer names. Moreover, names starting with a `.` are also disallowed now. [#8244](https://github.com/scalableminds/webknossos/pull/8244)
 - Fixed a bug where in the add remote dataset view the dataset name setting was not in sync with the datasource setting of the advanced tab making the form not submittable. [#8245](https://github.com/scalableminds/webknossos/pull/8245)
 - Fix read and update dataset route for versions 8 and lower. [#8263](https://github.com/scalableminds/webknossos/pull/8263)
 - Fixed that task bounding boxes are again converted to user bounding boxes when uploading annotations via nmls. [#8280](https://github.com/scalableminds/webknossos/pull/8280)
 - Added missing legacy support for `isValidNewName` route. [#8252](https://github.com/scalableminds/webknossos/pull/8252)
 - Fixed some layout issues in the upload view. [#8231](https://github.com/scalableminds/webknossos/pull/8231)
 - Fixed `FATAL: role "postgres" does not exist` error message in Docker compose. [#8240](https://github.com/scalableminds/webknossos/pull/8240)
+- Fixed the Zarr 3 implementation not accepting BytesCodec without "configuration" key. [#8282](https://github.com/scalableminds/webknossos/pull/8282)
 
 ### Removed
 - Removed support for HTTP API versions 3 and 4. [#8075](https://github.com/scalableminds/webknossos/pull/8075)
diff --git a/webknossos-datastore/app/com/scalableminds/webknossos/datastore/datareaders/zarr3/Zarr3ArrayHeader.scala b/webknossos-datastore/app/com/scalableminds/webknossos/datastore/datareaders/zarr3/Zarr3ArrayHeader.scala
index 1706960b23..4d4caf2696 100644
--- a/webknossos-datastore/app/com/scalableminds/webknossos/datastore/datareaders/zarr3/Zarr3ArrayHeader.scala
+++ b/webknossos-datastore/app/com/scalableminds/webknossos/datastore/datareaders/zarr3/Zarr3ArrayHeader.scala
@@ -211,12 +211,19 @@ object Zarr3ArrayHeader extends JsonImplicits {
       val codecSpecs = rawCodecSpecs.map(c => {
         for {
           spec: CodecConfiguration <- c("name") match {
-            case JsString(BytesCodecConfiguration.name)       => c(configurationKey).validate[BytesCodecConfiguration]
-            case JsString(BytesCodecConfiguration.legacyName) => c(configurationKey).validate[BytesCodecConfiguration]
-            case JsString(TransposeCodecConfiguration.name)   => c(configurationKey).validate[TransposeCodecConfiguration]
-            case JsString(GzipCodecConfiguration.name)        => c(configurationKey).validate[GzipCodecConfiguration]
-            case JsString(BloscCodecConfiguration.name)       => c(configurationKey).validate[BloscCodecConfiguration]
-            case JsString(ZstdCodecConfiguration.name)        => c(configurationKey).validate[ZstdCodecConfiguration]
+            // BytesCodec may have no "configuration" key
+            case JsString(BytesCodecConfiguration.name) =>
+              (c \ configurationKey).toOption
+                .map(_.validate[BytesCodecConfiguration])
+                .getOrElse(JsSuccess(BytesCodecConfiguration(None)))
+            case JsString(BytesCodecConfiguration.legacyName) =>
+              (c \ configurationKey).toOption
+                .map(_.validate[BytesCodecConfiguration])
+                .getOrElse(JsSuccess(BytesCodecConfiguration(None)))
+            case JsString(TransposeCodecConfiguration.name) => c(configurationKey).validate[TransposeCodecConfiguration]
+            case JsString(GzipCodecConfiguration.name)      => c(configurationKey).validate[GzipCodecConfiguration]
+            case JsString(BloscCodecConfiguration.name)     => c(configurationKey).validate[BloscCodecConfiguration]
+            case JsString(ZstdCodecConfiguration.name)      => c(configurationKey).validate[ZstdCodecConfiguration]
             case JsString(Crc32CCodecConfiguration.name) =>
               JsSuccess(Crc32CCodecConfiguration) // Crc32 codec has no configuration
             case JsString(ShardingCodecConfiguration.name) => readShardingCodecConfiguration(c(configurationKey))