diff --git a/examples/collect_links/collect_links.rs b/examples/collect_links/collect_links.rs
index 57edd5f..9299c94 100644
--- a/examples/collect_links/collect_links.rs
+++ b/examples/collect_links/collect_links.rs
@@ -7,18 +7,10 @@ use tokio_stream::StreamExt;
 async fn main() -> Result<()> {
     // Collect all links from the following inputs
     let inputs = vec![
-        Input {
-            source: InputSource::RemoteUrl(Box::new(
-                Url::parse("https://github.com/lycheeverse/lychee").unwrap(),
-            )),
-            file_type_hint: None,
-            excluded_paths: None,
-        },
-        Input {
-            source: InputSource::FsPath(PathBuf::from("fixtures/TEST.md")),
-            file_type_hint: None,
-            excluded_paths: None,
-        },
+        Input::from_input_source(InputSource::RemoteUrl(Box::new(
+            Url::parse("https://github.com/lycheeverse/lychee").unwrap(),
+        ))),
+        Input::from_input_source(InputSource::FsPath(PathBuf::from("fixtures/TEST.md"))),
     ];
 
     let links = Collector::default()
diff --git a/lychee-bin/src/options.rs b/lychee-bin/src/options.rs
index 924d0c7..e53639f 100644
--- a/lychee-bin/src/options.rs
+++ b/lychee-bin/src/options.rs
@@ -331,15 +331,16 @@ impl LycheeOptions {
     // accept a `Vec<Input>` in `LycheeOptions` and do the conversion there, but
     // we wouldn't get access to `glob_ignore_case`.
     pub(crate) fn inputs(&self) -> Result<Vec<Input>> {
-        let excluded = if self.config.exclude_path.is_empty() {
-            None
-        } else {
-            Some(self.config.exclude_path.clone())
-        };
-
         self.raw_inputs
             .iter()
-            .map(|s| Input::new(s, None, self.config.glob_ignore_case, excluded.clone()))
+            .map(|s| {
+                Input::new(
+                    s,
+                    None,
+                    self.config.glob_ignore_case,
+                    self.config.exclude_path.clone(),
+                )
+            })
             .collect::<Result<_, _>>()
             .context("Cannot parse inputs from arguments")
     }
diff --git a/lychee-lib/src/collector.rs b/lychee-lib/src/collector.rs
index 8ce6861..c3db7ff 100644
--- a/lychee-lib/src/collector.rs
+++ b/lychee-lib/src/collector.rs
@@ -274,7 +274,12 @@ mod tests {
         // Treat as plaintext file (no extension)
         let file_path = temp_dir.path().join("README");
         let _file = File::create(&file_path).unwrap();
-        let input = Input::new(&file_path.as_path().display().to_string(), None, true, None)?;
+        let input = Input::new(
+            &file_path.as_path().display().to_string(),
+            None,
+            true,
+            vec![],
+        )?;
         let contents: Vec<_> = input
             .get_contents(
                 true,
@@ -293,7 +298,7 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn test_url_without_extension_is_html() -> Result<()> {
-        let input = Input::new("https://example.com/", None, true, None)?;
+        let input = Input::new("https://example.com/", None, true, vec![])?;
         let contents: Vec<_> = input
             .get_contents(
                 true,
@@ -330,33 +335,17 @@ mod tests {
         let mock_server = mock_server!(StatusCode::OK, set_body_string(TEST_URL));
 
         let inputs = vec![
-            Input {
-                source: InputSource::String(TEST_STRING.to_owned()),
-                file_type_hint: None,
-                excluded_paths: None,
-            },
-            Input {
-                source: InputSource::RemoteUrl(Box::new(
-                    Url::parse(&mock_server.uri())
-                        .map_err(|e| (mock_server.uri(), e))
-                        .unwrap(),
-                )),
-                file_type_hint: None,
-                excluded_paths: None,
-            },
-            Input {
-                source: InputSource::FsPath(file_path),
-                file_type_hint: None,
-                excluded_paths: None,
-            },
-            Input {
-                source: InputSource::FsGlob {
-                    pattern: temp_dir_path.join("glob*").to_str().unwrap().to_owned(),
-                    ignore_case: true,
-                },
-                file_type_hint: None,
-                excluded_paths: None,
-            },
+            Input::from_input_source(InputSource::String(TEST_STRING.to_owned())),
+            Input::from_input_source(InputSource::RemoteUrl(Box::new(
+                Url::parse(&mock_server.uri())
+                    .map_err(|e| (mock_server.uri(), e))
+                    .unwrap(),
+            ))),
+            Input::from_input_source(InputSource::FsPath(file_path)),
+            Input::from_input_source(InputSource::FsGlob {
+                pattern: temp_dir_path.join("glob*").to_str().unwrap().to_owned(),
+                ignore_case: true,
+            }),
         ];
 
         let links = collect_verbatim(inputs, None, None, FileType::default_extensions())
@@ -383,7 +372,7 @@ mod tests {
         let input = Input {
             source: InputSource::String("This is [a test](https://endler.dev). This is a relative link test [Relative Link Test](relative_link)".to_string()),
             file_type_hint: Some(FileType::Markdown),
-            excluded_paths: None,
+            excluded_paths: vec![],
         };
         let links = collect(vec![input], None, Some(base)).await.ok().unwrap();
 
@@ -409,7 +398,7 @@ mod tests {
                     .to_string(),
             ),
             file_type_hint: Some(FileType::Html),
-            excluded_paths: None,
+            excluded_paths: vec![],
         };
         let links = collect(vec![input], None, Some(base)).await.ok().unwrap();
 
@@ -438,7 +427,7 @@ mod tests {
                 .to_string(),
             ),
             file_type_hint: Some(FileType::Html),
-            excluded_paths: None,
+            excluded_paths: vec![],
         };
         let links = collect(vec![input], None, Some(base)).await.ok().unwrap();
 
@@ -464,7 +453,7 @@ mod tests {
                     .to_string(),
             ),
             file_type_hint: Some(FileType::Markdown),
-            excluded_paths: None,
+            excluded_paths: vec![],
         };
 
         let links = collect(vec![input], None, Some(base)).await.ok().unwrap();
@@ -487,7 +476,7 @@ mod tests {
         let input = Input {
             source: InputSource::String(input),
             file_type_hint: Some(FileType::Html),
-            excluded_paths: None,
+            excluded_paths: vec![],
         };
         let links = collect(vec![input], None, Some(base)).await.ok().unwrap();
 
@@ -516,11 +505,7 @@ mod tests {
 
         let server_uri = Url::parse(&mock_server.uri()).unwrap();
 
-        let input = Input {
-            source: InputSource::RemoteUrl(Box::new(server_uri.clone())),
-            file_type_hint: None,
-            excluded_paths: None,
-        };
+        let input = Input::from_input_source(InputSource::RemoteUrl(Box::new(server_uri.clone())));
 
         let links = collect(vec![input], None, None).await.ok().unwrap();
 
@@ -534,13 +519,10 @@ mod tests {
 
     #[tokio::test]
     async fn test_email_with_query_params() {
-        let input = Input {
-            source: InputSource::String(
-                "This is a mailto:user@example.com?subject=Hello link".to_string(),
-            ),
-            file_type_hint: None,
-            excluded_paths: None,
-        };
+        let input = Input::from_input_source(InputSource::String(
+            "This is a mailto:user@example.com?subject=Hello link".to_string(),
+        ));
+
         let links = collect(vec![input], None, None).await.ok().unwrap();
 
         let expected_links = HashSet::from_iter([mail("user@example.com")]);
@@ -569,7 +551,7 @@ mod tests {
                     .unwrap(),
                 )),
                 file_type_hint: Some(FileType::Html),
-                excluded_paths: None,
+                excluded_paths: vec![],
             },
             Input {
                 source: InputSource::RemoteUrl(Box::new(
@@ -580,7 +562,7 @@ mod tests {
                     .unwrap(),
                 )),
                 file_type_hint: Some(FileType::Html),
-                excluded_paths: None,
+                excluded_paths: vec![],
             },
         ];
 
@@ -615,7 +597,7 @@ mod tests {
                 .into(),
             ),
             file_type_hint: Some(FileType::Html),
-            excluded_paths: None,
+            excluded_paths: vec![],
         };
 
         let links = collect(vec![input], None, Some(base)).await.ok().unwrap();
diff --git a/lychee-lib/src/types/input.rs b/lychee-lib/src/types/input.rs
index 6665085..42ea761 100644
--- a/lychee-lib/src/types/input.rs
+++ b/lychee-lib/src/types/input.rs
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ pub struct Input {
     /// Hint to indicate which extractor to use
     pub file_type_hint: Option<FileType>,
     /// Excluded paths that will be skipped when reading content
-    pub excluded_paths: Option<Vec<PathBuf>>,
+    pub excluded_paths: Vec<PathBuf>,
 }
 
 impl Input {
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ impl Input {
         value: &str,
         file_type_hint: Option<FileType>,
         glob_ignore_case: bool,
-        excluded_paths: Option<Vec<PathBuf>>,
+        excluded_paths: Vec<PathBuf>,
     ) -> Result<Self> {
         let source = if value == STDIN {
             InputSource::Stdin
@@ -200,7 +200,16 @@ impl Input {
     /// Returns an error if the input does not exist (i.e. invalid path)
     /// and the input cannot be parsed as a URL.
     pub fn from_value(value: &str) -> Result<Self> {
-        Self::new(value, None, false, None)
+        Self::new(value, None, false, vec![])
+    }
+
+    /// Convenience constructor
+    pub fn from_input_source(source: InputSource) -> Self {
+        Self {
+            source,
+            file_type_hint: None,
+            excluded_paths: vec![],
+        }
     }
 
     /// Retrieve the contents from the input
@@ -360,10 +369,7 @@ impl Input {
 
     /// Check if the given path was excluded from link checking
     fn is_excluded_path(&self, path: &PathBuf) -> bool {
-        let Some(excluded_paths) = &self.excluded_paths else {
-            return false;
-        };
-        is_excluded_path(excluded_paths, path)
+        is_excluded_path(&self.excluded_paths, path)
     }
 
     /// Get the input content of a given path
@@ -437,15 +443,15 @@ mod tests {
         assert!(path.exists());
         assert!(path.is_relative());
 
-        let input = Input::new(test_file, None, false, None);
+        let input = Input::new(test_file, None, false, vec![]);
         assert!(input.is_ok());
         assert!(matches!(
             input,
             Ok(Input {
                 source: InputSource::FsPath(PathBuf { .. }),
                 file_type_hint: None,
-                excluded_paths: None,
-            })
+                excluded_paths
+            }) if excluded_paths.is_empty()
         ));
     }