diff --git a/apps/frontend/src/pages/moderation/technical-review/rules.vue b/apps/frontend/src/pages/moderation/technical-review/rules.vue
index bf106a13ef..325e29cc44 100644
--- a/apps/frontend/src/pages/moderation/technical-review/rules.vue
+++ b/apps/frontend/src/pages/moderation/technical-review/rules.vue
@@ -46,8 +46,8 @@
 				</div>
 			</div>
 			<p class="m-0 text-sm text-secondary">
-				Return <code>null</code> when the rule does not match, or a map containing
-				<code>severity</code> when it does.
+				Return <code>null</code> when the rule does not match, or return a severity string such as
+				<code>"low"</code>. A map containing <code>severity</code> is also supported.
 			</p>
 
 			<details class="rounded-xl border border-divider bg-bg-raised p-3">
@@ -433,7 +433,7 @@ import type { Component } from 'vue'
 import IssueDetailPath from '~/components/ui/moderation/IssueDetailPath.vue'
 
 const DEFAULT_RULE = `trace.issue_type == "OBFUSCATED_NAMES"
-	? {"severity": "low"}
+	? "low"
 	: null`
 const RULE_EDITOR_OPTIONS: Partial<Ace.EditorOptions> = {
 	useWorker: false,
diff --git a/apps/labrinth/fixtures/delphi-trace-rules.sql b/apps/labrinth/fixtures/delphi-trace-rules.sql
index 03d7ab790d..4e9baa13cb 100644
--- a/apps/labrinth/fixtures/delphi-trace-rules.sql
+++ b/apps/labrinth/fixtures/delphi-trace-rules.sql
@@ -216,7 +216,7 @@ INSERT INTO delphi_rules (name, rule, priority, revision)
 VALUES
 	(
 		'[DEV trace-rule fixture] Escalate known malware host',
-		'trace.issue_type == "SUSPICIOUS_NETWORK_ACCESS" && trace.data.host == "evil.example" ? {"severity": "malware"} : null',
+		'trace.issue_type == "SUSPICIOUS_NETWORK_ACCESS" && trace.data.host == "evil.example" ? "malware" : null',
 		1000,
 		(SELECT revision FROM delphi_rule_revisions LIMIT 1)
 	),
@@ -234,7 +234,7 @@ VALUES
 	),
 	(
 		'[DEV trace-rule fixture] Hide known-safe obfuscation',
-		'trace.issue_type == "OBFUSCATED_NAMES" && trace.data.confidence >= 0.95 ? {"severity": "hidden"} : null',
+		'trace.issue_type == "OBFUSCATED_NAMES" && trace.data.confidence >= 0.95 ? "hidden" : null',
 		700,
 		(SELECT revision FROM delphi_rule_revisions LIMIT 1)
 	),
@@ -252,7 +252,7 @@ VALUES
 	),
 	(
 		'[DEV trace-rule fixture] Downgrade bundled libraries',
-		'trace.issue_type == "BUNDLED_LIBRARY" ? {"severity": "low"} : null',
+		'trace.issue_type == "BUNDLED_LIBRARY" ? "low" : null',
 		400,
 		(SELECT revision FROM delphi_rule_revisions LIMIT 1)
 	),
diff --git a/apps/labrinth/src/routes/internal/moderation/tech_review/rules.rs b/apps/labrinth/src/routes/internal/moderation/tech_review/rules.rs
index 58b4aebeba..ff5ec950d3 100644
--- a/apps/labrinth/src/routes/internal/moderation/tech_review/rules.rs
+++ b/apps/labrinth/src/routes/internal/moderation/tech_review/rules.rs
@@ -97,6 +97,13 @@ pub struct DelphiRuleEffect {
     pub severity: DelphiSeverity,
 }
 
+#[derive(Serialize, utoipa::ToSchema)]
+#[serde(untagged)]
+pub enum DelphiRuleOutput {
+    Severity(DelphiSeverity),
+    Effect(DelphiRuleEffect),
+}
+
 struct ValidatedRule {
     name: String,
     rule: String,
diff --git a/apps/labrinth/src/routes/internal/moderation/tech_review/rules_scan.rs b/apps/labrinth/src/routes/internal/moderation/tech_review/rules_scan.rs
index 4cd7f6d6ba..b8ad0d999c 100644
--- a/apps/labrinth/src/routes/internal/moderation/tech_review/rules_scan.rs
+++ b/apps/labrinth/src/routes/internal/moderation/tech_review/rules_scan.rs
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ use tokio_stream::wrappers::UnboundedReceiverStream;
 use utoipa::{PartialSchema, ToSchema};
 use xredis::RedisPool;
 
-use super::rules::DelphiRuleEffect;
+use super::rules::{DelphiRuleEffect, DelphiRuleOutput};
 use crate::routes::internal::delphi::tech_review_queue::{
     self, TechReviewRemovalReason,
 };
@@ -156,12 +156,12 @@ pub async fn get_rule_schema(
 
     let mut schemas = Vec::new();
     <RuleInput as ToSchema>::schemas(&mut schemas);
-    <Option<DelphiRuleEffect> as ToSchema>::schemas(&mut schemas);
+    <Option<DelphiRuleOutput> as ToSchema>::schemas(&mut schemas);
 
     Ok(web::Json(DelphiRuleSchemaResponse {
         input: schema_to_value(<RuleInput as PartialSchema>::schema())?,
         output: schema_to_value(
-            <Option<DelphiRuleEffect> as PartialSchema>::schema(),
+            <Option<DelphiRuleOutput> as PartialSchema>::schema(),
         )?,
         components: schemas
             .into_iter()
@@ -972,6 +972,12 @@ fn evaluate_rule_inner(
 
     match value {
         serde_json::Value::Null => Ok(None),
+        serde_json::Value::String(severity) => {
+            let severity =
+                serde_json::from_value(serde_json::Value::String(severity))
+                    .wrap_err("cel expression returned an invalid severity")?;
+            Ok(Some(DelphiRuleEffect { severity }))
+        }
         value => serde_json::from_value(value)
             .map(Some)
             .wrap_err("cel expression returned an invalid rule effect"),