diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index d65b047..0c8c284 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 [project]
 name = "uipath-runtime"
-version = "0.2.1"
+version = "0.2.2"
 description = "Runtime abstractions and interfaces for building agents and automation scripts in the UiPath ecosystem"
 readme = { file = "README.md", content-type = "text/markdown" }
 requires-python = ">=3.11"
diff --git a/src/uipath/runtime/context.py b/src/uipath/runtime/context.py
index 64accab..87fe29c 100644
--- a/src/uipath/runtime/context.py
+++ b/src/uipath/runtime/context.py
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ class UiPathRuntimeContext(BaseModel):
 
     model_config = ConfigDict(arbitrary_types_allowed=True, extra="allow")
 
-    def get_input(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    def get_input(self) -> dict[str, Any] | None:
         """Get parsed input data.
 
         Priority:
@@ -107,10 +107,10 @@ def _read_input_from_file(self, file_path: str) -> dict[str, Any]:
                 category=UiPathErrorCategory.SYSTEM,
             ) from e
 
-    def _parse_input_string(self, input_str: str | None) -> dict[str, Any]:
+    def _parse_input_string(self, input_str: str | None) -> dict[str, Any] | None:
         """Parse input from JSON string."""
         if not input_str or input_str.strip() == "":
-            return {}
+            return None
 
         try:
             parsed = json.loads(input_str)
diff --git a/tests/test_context.py b/tests/test_context.py
index fac501f..9f744e9 100644
--- a/tests/test_context.py
+++ b/tests/test_context.py
@@ -146,3 +146,30 @@ def test_result_file_written_on_fault_contains_error_contract(tmp_path: Path) ->
     assert error["code"] == "ERROR_RuntimeError"
     assert error["title"] == "Runtime error: RuntimeError"
     assert "Stream blew up" in error["detail"]
+
+
+def test_parse_input_string_returns_none_for_empty_string() -> None:
+    """Test that empty input string returns None, not empty dict."""
+    ctx = UiPathRuntimeContext(input="")
+
+    result = ctx.get_input()
+
+    assert result is None
+
+
+def test_parse_input_string_returns_none_for_whitespace_only() -> None:
+    """Test that whitespace-only input string returns None, not empty dict."""
+    ctx = UiPathRuntimeContext(input="   ")
+
+    result = ctx.get_input()
+
+    assert result is None
+
+
+def test_parse_input_string_returns_none_for_none() -> None:
+    """Test that None input returns None."""
+    ctx = UiPathRuntimeContext(input=None)
+
+    result = ctx.get_input()
+
+    assert result is None
diff --git a/uv.lock b/uv.lock
index c75b711..dd6dfa4 100644
--- a/uv.lock
+++ b/uv.lock
@@ -1005,7 +1005,7 @@ wheels = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "uipath-runtime"
-version = "0.2.1"
+version = "0.2.2"
 source = { editable = "." }
 dependencies = [
     { name = "uipath-core" },