diff --git a/dump_json_append.c b/dump_json_append.c
index ea735ec..836d279 100644
--- a/dump_json_append.c
+++ b/dump_json_append.c
@@ -147,6 +147,19 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv) {
         return 0;
     }
 
+    // Trim leading and trailing whitespace
+    char *start = line;
+    while (isspace((unsigned char)*start)) start++;
+    char *end = start + strlen(start) - 1;
+    while (end > start && isspace((unsigned char)*end)) end--;
+    *(end + 1) = '\0';
+
+    if (strlen(start) == 0) {
+        fprintf(stderr, "Input is empty.\n");
+        free(line);
+        return 0;
+    }
+
     LogMessage msg = parse_log_line(line);
     append_log_to_file(filename, &msg);
     free(line);