diff --git a/artiq/master/worker_impl.py b/artiq/master/worker_impl.py
index b9fa404de..539b09b90 100644
--- a/artiq/master/worker_impl.py
+++ b/artiq/master/worker_impl.py
@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ def examine(device_mgr, dataset_mgr, file):
                 if exp_class.__doc__ is None:
                     name = class_name
                 else:
-                    name = exp_class.__doc__.splitlines()[0].strip()
+                    name = exp_class.__doc__.strip().splitlines()[0].strip()
                     if name[-1] == ".":
                         name = name[:-1]
                 argument_mgr = TraceArgumentManager()