diff --git a/src/gitingest/query_parser.py b/src/gitingest/query_parser.py
index dc4ccdef..65b0df0c 100644
--- a/src/gitingest/query_parser.py
+++ b/src/gitingest/query_parser.py
@@ -43,6 +43,10 @@ async def parse_remote_repo(source: str, token: str | None = None) -> IngestionQ
         A dictionary containing the parsed details of the repository.
 
     """
+    if not source.strip():
+        msg = "Invalid repository URL: cannot be empty or spaces only."
+        raise ValueError(msg)
+    
     parsed_url = await _normalise_source(source, token=token)
     host = parsed_url.netloc
     user, repo = _get_user_and_repo_from_path(parsed_url.path)
diff --git a/src/server/models.py b/src/server/models.py
index 97739416..be581eb3 100644
--- a/src/server/models.py
+++ b/src/server/models.py
@@ -49,10 +49,7 @@ class IngestRequest(BaseModel):
     @field_validator("input_text")
     @classmethod
     def validate_input_text(cls, v: str) -> str:
-        """Validate that ``input_text`` is not empty."""
-        if not v.strip():
-            err = "input_text cannot be empty"
-            raise ValueError(err)
+        """Validate ``input_text`` field."""
         return removesuffix(v.strip(), ".git")
 
     @field_validator("pattern")