diff --git a/pym/cl_utils.py b/pym/cl_utils.py
index 059010d..23a4ae1 100644
--- a/pym/cl_utils.py
+++ b/pym/cl_utils.py
@@ -500,7 +500,7 @@ def convertStrListDict(val):
         if re.match("^{.*}$",val):
             return str2dict(val)
         # detect list
-        elif re.match("^[.*]$",val):
+        elif re.match("^\[.*\]$",val):
             return str2list(val)
         # else is simple string
         else: