diff --git a/handlers/items.go b/handlers/items.go
index 16c0f49..7cb90ea 100644
--- a/handlers/items.go
+++ b/handlers/items.go
@@ -24,14 +24,19 @@ func GetItems(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	storeMu.RLock()
 	defer storeMu.RUnlock()
 
-	// BUG: when store is nil (fresh start), json.Marshal(nil map values)
-	// causes unexpected behavior — should return [] but may panic or 500.
+	w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
+
+	if store == nil || len(store) == 0 {
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusOK)
+		w.Write([]byte("[]"))
+		return
+	}
+
 	items := make([]Item, 0, len(store))
 	for _, item := range store {
 		items = append(items, item)
 	}
 
-	w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
 	if err := json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(items); err != nil {
 		http.Error(w, `{"error":"internal server error"}`, http.StatusInternalServerError)
 	}