diff --git a/internal/collector/collector.go b/internal/collector/collector.go
index 30a9a8a..d5e4017 100644
--- a/internal/collector/collector.go
+++ b/internal/collector/collector.go
@@ -132,7 +132,10 @@ func New(cfg Config, log *slog.Logger) *Collector {
 		notifier = cfg.Notifier
 	}
 	c := &Collector{
-		cfg:       cfg,
+		cfg: cfg,
+		// Disks starts as [] rather than nil so it marshals as [] (not
+		// null) before the first fast tick completes, matching docs/API.md.
+		latest:    Snapshot{Disks: []Disk{}},
 		alerts:    alerts,
 		notifier:  notifier,
 		cpu:       NewCPUCollector(),
@@ -365,6 +368,11 @@ func (c *Collector) fastTick(ctx context.Context) {
 	c.latest.Throttled = s.throttled
 	c.latest.Memory = s.mem
 	c.latest.Swap = s.swap
+	if s.disks == nil {
+		// A failed collection (e.g. /proc/mounts unreadable) leaves s.disks
+		// nil; keep Snapshot.Disks marshaling as [] rather than null.
+		s.disks = []Disk{}
+	}
 	c.latest.Disks = s.disks
 	c.latest.Network = s.netIfaces
 
diff --git a/internal/collector/collector_test.go b/internal/collector/collector_test.go
index 419ace5..fcbb386 100644
--- a/internal/collector/collector_test.go
+++ b/internal/collector/collector_test.go
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package collector
 
 import (
 	"context"
+	"encoding/json"
 	"testing"
 	"time"
 
@@ -46,6 +47,62 @@ func TestCollector_FastTick_PopulatesSnapshot(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// TestCollector_Disks_NeverMarshalsAsNull covers issue #70: docs/API.md
+// documents disks as reading as an empty array before the first fast tick,
+// but a nil []Disk marshals to JSON null, not []. Snapshot.Disks must stay
+// a non-nil (possibly empty) slice both before the first tick and after.
+func TestCollector_Disks_NeverMarshalsAsNull(t *testing.T) {
+	c := newTestCollector()
+
+	assertDisksMarshalsAsEmptyArray := func(t *testing.T, snap Snapshot) {
+		t.Helper()
+		if snap.Disks == nil {
+			t.Fatal("expected Snapshot.Disks to be non-nil")
+		}
+		b, err := json.Marshal(snap)
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("json.Marshal: %v", err)
+		}
+		var raw map[string]json.RawMessage
+		if err := json.Unmarshal(b, &raw); err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("json.Unmarshal: %v", err)
+		}
+		if got := string(raw["disks"]); got == "null" {
+			t.Fatalf(`expected "disks" to marshal as [], got %s`, got)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Before the first fast tick completes.
+	assertDisksMarshalsAsEmptyArray(t, c.Snapshot())
+
+	// After a tick.
+	c.fastTick(context.Background())
+	assertDisksMarshalsAsEmptyArray(t, c.Snapshot())
+}
+
+// TestCollector_FastTick_DiskCollectionErrorYieldsEmptyNotNilDisks covers
+// the failed-collection path directly: DiskCollector.Collect returns
+// (nil, err) when /proc/mounts can't be read, and fastTick must still
+// normalize that nil into a non-nil empty slice rather than storing it
+// verbatim.
+func TestCollector_FastTick_DiskCollectionErrorYieldsEmptyNotNilDisks(t *testing.T) {
+	c := newTestCollector()
+	c.disk = &DiskCollector{
+		mountsPath:     "/nonexistent/proc/mounts",
+		excludedFSType: defaultExcludedFSTypes,
+	}
+
+	c.fastTick(context.Background())
+
+	snap := c.Snapshot()
+	if snap.Disks == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected Snapshot.Disks to be non-nil even when disk collection fails")
+	}
+	if len(snap.Disks) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 0 disks after a failed collection, got %d", len(snap.Disks))
+	}
+}
+
 func TestCollector_FastTick_BuildsHistory(t *testing.T) {
 	c := newTestCollector()
 	ctx := context.Background()
diff --git a/internal/collector/disk.go b/internal/collector/disk.go
index 6d779df..3b45c25 100644
--- a/internal/collector/disk.go
+++ b/internal/collector/disk.go
@@ -195,7 +195,9 @@ func (c *DiskCollector) Collect() ([]Disk, error) {
 	order, byMountpoint := dedupeMounts(entries)
 
 	now := c.clock()
-	var disks []Disk
+	// Always non-nil (even with zero entries) so Snapshot.Disks marshals as
+	// [] rather than null, matching docs/API.md.
+	disks := make([]Disk, 0, len(order))
 	for _, mp := range order {
 		e := byMountpoint[mp]
 		if c.excludedFSType[e.fstype] {
diff --git a/internal/collector/disk_test.go b/internal/collector/disk_test.go
index f656168..a337e3b 100644
--- a/internal/collector/disk_test.go
+++ b/internal/collector/disk_test.go
@@ -263,6 +263,36 @@ func TestDiskCollector_Collect_SkipsFailingStatfs(t *testing.T) {
 	if len(disks) != 0 {
 		t.Fatalf("expected 0 disks when all statfs calls fail, got %d", len(disks))
 	}
+	if disks == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected non-nil empty slice (marshals as [], not null), got nil")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestDiskCollector_Collect_NoMountsReturnsEmptyNotNilSlice(t *testing.T) {
+	// Only pseudo filesystems, all excluded by default: order/byMountpoint
+	// end up empty, but Collect must still return a non-nil slice so
+	// Snapshot.Disks marshals as [] rather than null (issue #70).
+	fixture := "proc /proc proc rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime 0 0\n"
+	mountsPath := writeMountsFixture(t, fixture)
+
+	c := &DiskCollector{
+		mountsPath:     mountsPath,
+		excludedFSType: defaultExcludedFSTypes,
+		statfs: func(path string, buf *syscall.Statfs_t) error {
+			return os.ErrNotExist
+		},
+	}
+
+	disks, err := c.Collect()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("Collect: %v", err)
+	}
+	if disks == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected non-nil empty slice when no mountpoints qualify, got nil")
+	}
+	if len(disks) != 0 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 0 disks, got %d", len(disks))
+	}
 }
 
 func TestDiskCollector_Collect_HungStatfsTimesOutAndCoolsDown(t *testing.T) {