diff --git a/src/RemoteTagCache.cxx b/src/RemoteTagCache.cxx
index fc1bc88c9..474dd45cd 100644
--- a/src/RemoteTagCache.cxx
+++ b/src/RemoteTagCache.cxx
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ RemoteTagCache::Lookup(const std::string &uri) noexcept
 		lock.unlock();
 
 		try {
-			item->scanner = InputScanTags(uri.c_str(), *item);
+			item->scanner = InputScanTags(uri, *item);
 			if (!item->scanner) {
 				/* unsupported */
 				lock.lock();
diff --git a/src/command/FileCommands.cxx b/src/command/FileCommands.cxx
index fae16dceb..475d20894 100644
--- a/src/command/FileCommands.cxx
+++ b/src/command/FileCommands.cxx
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ find_stream_art(std::string_view directory, Mutex &mutex)
 		std::string art_file = PathTraitsUTF8::Build(directory, name);
 
 		try {
-			return InputStream::OpenReady(art_file.c_str(), mutex);
+			return InputStream::OpenReady(art_file, mutex);
 		} catch (...) {
 			auto e = std::current_exception();
 			if (!IsFileNotFound(e))
diff --git a/src/command/FingerprintCommands.cxx b/src/command/FingerprintCommands.cxx
index c6f46600b..fc60e52d2 100644
--- a/src/command/FingerprintCommands.cxx
+++ b/src/command/FingerprintCommands.cxx
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ private:
 	void DecodeFile();
 
 	/* virtual methods from class DecoderClient */
-	InputStreamPtr OpenUri(const char *uri) override;
+	InputStreamPtr OpenUri(std::string_view uri) override;
 	size_t Read(InputStream &is,
 		    std::span<std::byte> dest) noexcept override;
 
@@ -246,14 +246,14 @@ try {
 	if (!path.IsNull())
 		DecodeFile();
 	else
-		DecodeStream(*OpenUri(uri.c_str()));
+		DecodeStream(*OpenUri(uri));
 
 	ChromaprintDecoderClient::Finish();
 } catch (StopDecoder) {
 }
 
 InputStreamPtr
-GetChromaprintCommand::OpenUri(const char *uri2)
+GetChromaprintCommand::OpenUri(std::string_view uri2)
 {
 	if (cancel)
 		throw StopDecoder();
diff --git a/src/decoder/Bridge.cxx b/src/decoder/Bridge.cxx
index 0eec4a1d1..c2acf362b 100644
--- a/src/decoder/Bridge.cxx
+++ b/src/decoder/Bridge.cxx
@@ -372,7 +372,7 @@ DecoderBridge::SeekError() noexcept
 }
 
 InputStreamPtr
-DecoderBridge::OpenUri(const char *uri)
+DecoderBridge::OpenUri(std::string_view uri)
 {
 	assert(dc.state == DecoderState::START ||
 	       dc.state == DecoderState::DECODE);
diff --git a/src/decoder/Bridge.hxx b/src/decoder/Bridge.hxx
index 663fd1a1a..403b5f3b8 100644
--- a/src/decoder/Bridge.hxx
+++ b/src/decoder/Bridge.hxx
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ public:
 	SongTime GetSeekTime() noexcept override;
 	uint64_t GetSeekFrame() noexcept override;
 	void SeekError() noexcept override;
-	InputStreamPtr OpenUri(const char *uri) override;
+	InputStreamPtr OpenUri(std::string_view uri) override;
 	size_t Read(InputStream &is,
 		    std::span<std::byte> dest) noexcept override;
 	void SubmitTimestamp(FloatDuration t) noexcept override;
diff --git a/src/decoder/Client.hxx b/src/decoder/Client.hxx
index 775b3d227..80156a8c5 100644
--- a/src/decoder/Client.hxx
+++ b/src/decoder/Client.hxx
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 #include <cstddef>
 #include <cstdint>
 #include <span>
+#include <string_view>
 
 struct AudioFormat;
 struct Tag;
@@ -80,7 +81,7 @@ public:
 	 *
 	 * Throws std::runtime_error on error.
 	 */
-	virtual InputStreamPtr OpenUri(const char *uri) = 0;
+	virtual InputStreamPtr OpenUri(std::string_view uri) = 0;
 
 	/**
 	 * Blocking read from the input stream.
diff --git a/src/decoder/Thread.cxx b/src/decoder/Thread.cxx
index 0e5518d8f..60ff299f5 100644
--- a/src/decoder/Thread.cxx
+++ b/src/decoder/Thread.cxx
@@ -227,7 +227,7 @@ decoder_run_stream_plugin(DecoderBridge &bridge, InputStream &is,
 static DecodeResult
 decoder_run_stream_locked(DecoderBridge &bridge, InputStream &is,
 			  std::unique_lock<Mutex> &lock,
-			  const char *uri)
+			  std::string_view uri)
 {
 	const auto suffix = uri_get_suffix(uri);
 
diff --git a/src/decoder/plugins/WavpackDecoderPlugin.cxx b/src/decoder/plugins/WavpackDecoderPlugin.cxx
index a7cbb4085..95d8a19b5 100644
--- a/src/decoder/plugins/WavpackDecoderPlugin.cxx
+++ b/src/decoder/plugins/WavpackDecoderPlugin.cxx
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@
 #include "fs/Path.hxx"
 #include "lib/fmt/PathFormatter.hxx"
 #include "lib/fmt/RuntimeError.hxx"
-#include "util/AllocatedString.hxx"
 #include "util/Math.hxx"
 #include "util/ScopeExit.hxx"
 
@@ -407,10 +406,8 @@ static constexpr WavpackStreamReader64 mpd_is_reader = {
 static InputStreamPtr
 wavpack_open_wvc(DecoderClient &client, std::string_view uri)
 {
-	const AllocatedString wvc_url{uri, "c"sv};
-
 	try {
-		return client.OpenUri(wvc_url.c_str());
+		return client.OpenUri(fmt::format("{}c", uri));
 	} catch (...) {
 		return nullptr;
 	}
diff --git a/src/input/InputPlugin.cxx b/src/input/InputPlugin.cxx
index cddcccce9..89e539fe7 100644
--- a/src/input/InputPlugin.cxx
+++ b/src/input/InputPlugin.cxx
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 #include <iterator>
 
 bool
-InputPlugin::SupportsUri(const char *uri) const noexcept
+InputPlugin::SupportsUri(std::string_view uri) const noexcept
 {
 	assert(prefixes || protocols);
 	if (prefixes != nullptr) {
diff --git a/src/input/InputPlugin.hxx b/src/input/InputPlugin.hxx
index 742618e55..31dfe9911 100644
--- a/src/input/InputPlugin.hxx
+++ b/src/input/InputPlugin.hxx
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ struct InputPlugin {
 	 *
 	 * Throws std::runtime_error on error.
 	 */
-	InputStreamPtr (*open)(const char *uri, Mutex &mutex);
+	InputStreamPtr (*open)(std::string_view uri, Mutex &mutex);
 
 	/**
 	 * return a set of supported protocols
@@ -63,11 +63,11 @@ struct InputPlugin {
 	 *
 	 * @return nullptr if the given URI is not supported.
 	 */
-	std::unique_ptr<RemoteTagScanner> (*scan_tags)(const char *uri,
+	std::unique_ptr<RemoteTagScanner> (*scan_tags)(std::string_view uri,
 						       RemoteTagHandler &handler) = nullptr;
 
 	[[gnu::pure]]
-	bool SupportsUri(const char *uri) const noexcept;
+	bool SupportsUri(std::string_view uri) const noexcept;
 
 	template<typename F>
 	void ForeachSupportedUri(F lambda) const noexcept {
diff --git a/src/input/InputStream.cxx b/src/input/InputStream.cxx
index 3b9fa6a47..81844ac74 100644
--- a/src/input/InputStream.cxx
+++ b/src/input/InputStream.cxx
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 #include "InputStream.hxx"
 #include "Handler.hxx"
 #include "tag/Tag.hxx"
-#include "util/ASCII.hxx"
+#include "util/StringCompare.hxx"
 
 #include <cassert>
 #include <stdexcept>
@@ -38,17 +38,17 @@ InputStream::SetReady() noexcept
  */
 [[gnu::pure]]
 static bool
-ExpensiveSeeking(const char *uri) noexcept
+ExpensiveSeeking(std::string_view uri) noexcept
 {
-	return StringStartsWithCaseASCII(uri, "http://") ||
-		StringStartsWithCaseASCII(uri, "qobuz://") ||
-		StringStartsWithCaseASCII(uri, "https://");
+	return StringStartsWithIgnoreCase(uri, "http://") ||
+		StringStartsWithIgnoreCase(uri, "qobuz://") ||
+		StringStartsWithIgnoreCase(uri, "https://");
 }
 
 bool
 InputStream::CheapSeeking() const noexcept
 {
-	return IsSeekable() && !ExpensiveSeeking(uri.c_str());
+	return IsSeekable() && !ExpensiveSeeking(uri);
 }
 
 //[[noreturn]]
diff --git a/src/input/InputStream.hxx b/src/input/InputStream.hxx
index d35ceb9d9..a56545483 100644
--- a/src/input/InputStream.hxx
+++ b/src/input/InputStream.hxx
@@ -111,14 +111,14 @@ public:
 	 * @return an #InputStream object on success
 	 */
 	[[nodiscard]]
-	static InputStreamPtr Open(const char *uri, Mutex &mutex);
+	static InputStreamPtr Open(std::string_view uri, Mutex &mutex);
 
 	/**
 	 * Just like Open(), but waits for the stream to become ready.
 	 * It is a wrapper for Open(), WaitReady() and Check().
 	 */
 	[[nodiscard]]
-	static InputStreamPtr OpenReady(const char *uri, Mutex &mutex);
+	static InputStreamPtr OpenReady(std::string_view uri, Mutex &mutex);
 
 	/**
 	 * Install a new handler.
diff --git a/src/input/Open.cxx b/src/input/Open.cxx
index b5656688b..af3aba617 100644
--- a/src/input/Open.cxx
+++ b/src/input/Open.cxx
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
 #include <stdexcept>
 
 InputStreamPtr
-InputStream::Open(const char *url, Mutex &mutex)
+InputStream::Open(std::string_view url, Mutex &mutex)
 {
 	if (PathTraitsUTF8::IsAbsolute(url)) {
 		const auto path = AllocatedPath::FromUTF8Throw(url);
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ InputStream::Open(const char *url, Mutex &mutex)
 }
 
 InputStreamPtr
-InputStream::OpenReady(const char *uri, Mutex &mutex)
+InputStream::OpenReady(std::string_view uri, Mutex &mutex)
 {
 	auto is = Open(uri, mutex);
 	LockWaitReady(*is);
diff --git a/src/input/ProxyInputStream.hxx b/src/input/ProxyInputStream.hxx
index 93c7959bd..b928e4fe6 100644
--- a/src/input/ProxyInputStream.hxx
+++ b/src/input/ProxyInputStream.hxx
@@ -1,8 +1,7 @@
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later
 // Copyright The Music Player Daemon Project
 
-#ifndef MPD_PROXY_INPUT_STREAM_HXX
-#define MPD_PROXY_INPUT_STREAM_HXX
+#pragma once
 
 #include "InputStream.hxx"
 #include "Ptr.hxx"
@@ -26,15 +25,17 @@ protected:
 	InputStreamPtr input;
 
 public:
+	[[nodiscard]]
 	explicit ProxyInputStream(InputStreamPtr _input) noexcept;
 
 	/**
 	 * Construct an instance without an #InputStream instance.
 	 * Once that instance becomes available, call SetInput().
 	 */
-	ProxyInputStream(const char *_uri,
-			 Mutex &_mutex) noexcept
-		:InputStream(_uri, _mutex) {}
+	template<typename U>
+	[[nodiscard]]
+	ProxyInputStream(U &&_uri, Mutex &_mutex) noexcept
+		:InputStream(std::forward<U>(_uri), _mutex) {}
 
 	~ProxyInputStream() noexcept override;
 
@@ -78,5 +79,3 @@ protected:
 		InvokeOnAvailable();
 	}
 };
-
-#endif
diff --git a/src/input/Registry.cxx b/src/input/Registry.cxx
index a574592e7..f642d0cae 100644
--- a/src/input/Registry.cxx
+++ b/src/input/Registry.cxx
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ static constexpr std::size_t n_input_plugins = std::size(input_plugins) - 1;
 bool input_plugins_enabled[std::max(n_input_plugins, std::size_t(1))];
 
 bool
-HasRemoteTagScanner(const char *uri) noexcept
+HasRemoteTagScanner(std::string_view uri) noexcept
 {
 	for (const auto &plugin : GetEnabledInputPlugins()) {
 		if (plugin.scan_tags != nullptr &&
diff --git a/src/input/Registry.hxx b/src/input/Registry.hxx
index f17934b4e..8dacf99c8 100644
--- a/src/input/Registry.hxx
+++ b/src/input/Registry.hxx
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
 #include "util/FilteredContainer.hxx"
 #include "util/TerminatedArray.hxx"
 
+#include <string_view>
+
 /**
  * NULL terminated list of all input plugins which were enabled at
  * compile time.
@@ -30,4 +32,4 @@ GetEnabledInputPlugins() noexcept
 
 [[gnu::pure]]
 bool
-HasRemoteTagScanner(const char *uri) noexcept;
+HasRemoteTagScanner(std::string_view uri) noexcept;
diff --git a/src/input/ScanTags.cxx b/src/input/ScanTags.cxx
index 224c22c2b..ffc717ab3 100644
--- a/src/input/ScanTags.cxx
+++ b/src/input/ScanTags.cxx
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 #include "Registry.hxx"
 
 std::unique_ptr<RemoteTagScanner>
-InputScanTags(const char *uri, RemoteTagHandler &handler)
+InputScanTags(std::string_view uri, RemoteTagHandler &handler)
 {
 	for (const auto &plugin : GetEnabledInputPlugins()) {
 		if (plugin.scan_tags == nullptr || !plugin.SupportsUri(uri))
diff --git a/src/input/ScanTags.hxx b/src/input/ScanTags.hxx
index f5a6420b9..bd7e11bab 100644
--- a/src/input/ScanTags.hxx
+++ b/src/input/ScanTags.hxx
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 // SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-or-later
 // Copyright The Music Player Daemon Project
 
-#ifndef MPD_INPUT_SCAN_TAGS_HXX
-#define MPD_INPUT_SCAN_TAGS_HXX
+#pragma once
 
 #include <memory>
+#include <string_view>
 
 class RemoteTagScanner;
 class RemoteTagHandler;
@@ -19,6 +19,4 @@ class RemoteTagHandler;
  * by any (enabled) plugin
  */
 std::unique_ptr<RemoteTagScanner>
-InputScanTags(const char *uri, RemoteTagHandler &handler);
-
-#endif
+InputScanTags(std::string_view uri, RemoteTagHandler &handler);
diff --git a/src/input/ThreadInputStream.cxx b/src/input/ThreadInputStream.cxx
index bb3b0c82e..9519b1acc 100644
--- a/src/input/ThreadInputStream.cxx
+++ b/src/input/ThreadInputStream.cxx
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
 #include <string.h>
 
 ThreadInputStream::ThreadInputStream(const char *_plugin,
-				     const char *_uri,
+				     std::string_view _uri,
 				     Mutex &_mutex,
 				     size_t _buffer_size) noexcept
 	:InputStream(_uri, _mutex),
diff --git a/src/input/ThreadInputStream.hxx b/src/input/ThreadInputStream.hxx
index f74cd1b00..e650f7a6e 100644
--- a/src/input/ThreadInputStream.hxx
+++ b/src/input/ThreadInputStream.hxx
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ class ThreadInputStream : public InputStream {
 
 public:
 	ThreadInputStream(const char *_plugin,
-			  const char *_uri, Mutex &_mutex,
+			  std::string_view _uri, Mutex &_mutex,
 			  size_t _buffer_size) noexcept;
 
 #ifndef NDEBUG
diff --git a/src/input/plugins/AlsaInputPlugin.cxx b/src/input/plugins/AlsaInputPlugin.cxx
index 39aa6abd3..f8099686c 100644
--- a/src/input/plugins/AlsaInputPlugin.cxx
+++ b/src/input/plugins/AlsaInputPlugin.cxx
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ public:
 	AlsaInputStream(const AlsaInputStream &) = delete;
 	AlsaInputStream &operator=(const AlsaInputStream &) = delete;
 
-	static InputStreamPtr Create(EventLoop &event_loop, const char *uri,
+	static InputStreamPtr Create(EventLoop &event_loop, std::string_view uri,
 				     Mutex &mutex);
 
 protected:
@@ -194,11 +194,9 @@ AlsaInputStream::AlsaInputStream(EventLoop &_loop,
 }
 
 inline InputStreamPtr
-AlsaInputStream::Create(EventLoop &event_loop, const char *uri,
+AlsaInputStream::Create(EventLoop &event_loop, std::string_view uri,
 			Mutex &mutex)
 {
-	assert(uri != nullptr);
-
 	AlsaInputStream::SourceSpec spec(uri);
 	if (!spec.IsValidScheme())
 		return nullptr;
@@ -451,7 +449,7 @@ alsa_input_init(EventLoop &event_loop, const ConfigBlock &block)
 }
 
 static InputStreamPtr
-alsa_input_open(const char *uri, Mutex &mutex)
+alsa_input_open(std::string_view uri, Mutex &mutex)
 {
 	return AlsaInputStream::Create(*global_config.event_loop, uri,
 				       mutex);
diff --git a/src/input/plugins/CdioParanoiaInputPlugin.cxx b/src/input/plugins/CdioParanoiaInputPlugin.cxx
index 94021befa..2d341193f 100644
--- a/src/input/plugins/CdioParanoiaInputPlugin.cxx
+++ b/src/input/plugins/CdioParanoiaInputPlugin.cxx
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ class CdioParanoiaInputStream final : public InputStream {
 	lsn_t buffer_lsn;
 
  public:
-	CdioParanoiaInputStream(const char *_uri, Mutex &_mutex,
+	CdioParanoiaInputStream(std::string_view _uri, Mutex &_mutex,
 				cdrom_drive_t *_drv, CdIo_t *_cdio,
 				bool reverse_endian,
 				lsn_t _lsn_from, lsn_t lsn_to)
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ cdio_detect_device()
 }
 
 static InputStreamPtr
-input_cdio_open(const char *uri,
+input_cdio_open(std::string_view uri,
 		Mutex &mutex)
 {
 	const auto parsed_uri = parse_cdio_uri(uri);
diff --git a/src/input/plugins/CurlInputPlugin.cxx b/src/input/plugins/CurlInputPlugin.cxx
index e9a22794d..fcee9135d 100644
--- a/src/input/plugins/CurlInputPlugin.cxx
+++ b/src/input/plugins/CurlInputPlugin.cxx
@@ -19,9 +19,9 @@
 #include "lib/fmt/ToBuffer.hxx"
 #include "event/Call.hxx"
 #include "event/Loop.hxx"
-#include "util/ASCII.hxx"
 #include "util/CNumberParser.hxx"
 #include "util/Domain.hxx"
+#include "util/StringCompare.hxx"
 #include "Log.hxx"
 #include "PluginUnavailable.hxx"
 #include "config.h"
@@ -42,6 +42,8 @@
 
 #include <curl/curl.h>
 
+using std::string_view_literals::operator""sv;
+
 /**
  * Do not buffer more than this number of bytes.  It should be a
  * reasonable limit that doesn't make low-end machines suffer too
@@ -596,10 +598,10 @@ OpenCurlInputStream(std::string_view uri, const Curl::Headers &headers,
 }
 
 static InputStreamPtr
-input_curl_open(const char *url, Mutex &mutex)
+input_curl_open(std::string_view url, Mutex &mutex)
 {
-	if (!StringStartsWithCaseASCII(url, "http://") &&
-	    !StringStartsWithCaseASCII(url, "https://"))
+	if (!StringStartsWithIgnoreCase(url, "http://"sv) &&
+	    !StringStartsWithIgnoreCase(url, "https://"sv))
 		return nullptr;
 
 	return CurlInputStream::Open(url, {}, mutex);
diff --git a/src/input/plugins/FfmpegInputPlugin.cxx b/src/input/plugins/FfmpegInputPlugin.cxx
index 3f9c69a7d..1d7cbc17a 100644
--- a/src/input/plugins/FfmpegInputPlugin.cxx
+++ b/src/input/plugins/FfmpegInputPlugin.cxx
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ class FfmpegInputStream final : public ThreadInputStream {
 	Ffmpeg::IOContext io;
 
 public:
-	FfmpegInputStream(const char *_uri, Mutex &_mutex)
+	FfmpegInputStream(std::string_view _uri, Mutex &_mutex)
 		:ThreadInputStream("ffmpeg", _uri, _mutex, BUFFER_SIZE)
 	{
 		Start();
@@ -82,8 +82,7 @@ input_ffmpeg_protocols() noexcept
 }
 
 static InputStreamPtr
-input_ffmpeg_open(const char *uri,
-		  Mutex &mutex)
+input_ffmpeg_open(std::string_view uri, Mutex &mutex)
 {
 	return std::make_unique<FfmpegInputStream>(uri, mutex);
 }
diff --git a/src/input/plugins/MmsInputPlugin.cxx b/src/input/plugins/MmsInputPlugin.cxx
index 2cd340a3a..5941d5c9e 100644
--- a/src/input/plugins/MmsInputPlugin.cxx
+++ b/src/input/plugins/MmsInputPlugin.cxx
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ class MmsInputStream final : public ThreadInputStream {
 	mmsx_t *mms;
 
 public:
-	MmsInputStream(const char *_uri, Mutex &_mutex)
+	MmsInputStream(std::string_view _uri, Mutex &_mutex)
 		:ThreadInputStream(input_plugin_mms.name, _uri, _mutex,
 				   BUFFER_SIZE)
 	{
@@ -56,8 +56,7 @@ MmsInputStream::Open()
 }
 
 static InputStreamPtr
-input_mms_open(const char *url,
-	       Mutex &mutex)
+input_mms_open(std::string_view url, Mutex &mutex)
 {
 	return std::make_unique<MmsInputStream>(url, mutex);
 }
diff --git a/src/input/plugins/NfsInputPlugin.cxx b/src/input/plugins/NfsInputPlugin.cxx
index 2fccc4d14..ef7d91887 100644
--- a/src/input/plugins/NfsInputPlugin.cxx
+++ b/src/input/plugins/NfsInputPlugin.cxx
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ input_nfs_finish() noexcept
 }
 
 static InputStreamPtr
-input_nfs_open(const char *uri,
+input_nfs_open(std::string_view uri,
 	       Mutex &mutex)
 {
 	auto is = std::make_unique<NfsInputStream>(uri, mutex);
diff --git a/src/input/plugins/QobuzInputPlugin.cxx b/src/input/plugins/QobuzInputPlugin.cxx
index ce3e739bf..0635bd972 100644
--- a/src/input/plugins/QobuzInputPlugin.cxx
+++ b/src/input/plugins/QobuzInputPlugin.cxx
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@
 
 #include <memory>
 
+using std::string_view_literals::operator""sv;
+
 static QobuzClient *qobuz_client;
 
 class QobuzInputStream final
@@ -29,7 +31,7 @@ class QobuzInputStream final
 	std::exception_ptr error;
 
 public:
-	QobuzInputStream(const char *_uri, const char *_track_id,
+	QobuzInputStream(std::string_view _uri, std::string_view _track_id,
 			 Mutex &_mutex) noexcept
 		:ProxyInputStream(_uri, _mutex),
 		 track_id(_track_id)
@@ -151,27 +153,23 @@ FinishQobuzInput() noexcept
 }
 
 [[gnu::pure]]
-static const char *
-ExtractQobuzTrackId(const char *uri)
+static std::string_view 
+ExtractQobuzTrackId(std::string_view uri) noexcept
 {
 	// TODO: what's the standard "qobuz://" URI syntax?
-	const char *track_id = StringAfterPrefix(uri, "qobuz://track/");
-	if (track_id == nullptr)
-		return nullptr;
+	if (SkipPrefix(uri, "qobuz://track/"sv))
+		return uri;
 
-	if (*track_id == 0)
-		return nullptr;
-
-	return track_id;
+	return {};
 }
 
 static InputStreamPtr
-OpenQobuzInput(const char *uri, Mutex &mutex)
+OpenQobuzInput(std::string_view uri, Mutex &mutex)
 {
 	assert(qobuz_client != nullptr);
 
-	const char *track_id = ExtractQobuzTrackId(uri);
-	if (track_id == nullptr)
+	const auto track_id = ExtractQobuzTrackId(uri);
+	if (track_id.empty())
 		return nullptr;
 
 	// TODO: validate track_id
@@ -180,12 +178,12 @@ OpenQobuzInput(const char *uri, Mutex &mutex)
 }
 
 static std::unique_ptr<RemoteTagScanner>
-ScanQobuzTags(const char *uri, RemoteTagHandler &handler)
+ScanQobuzTags(std::string_view uri, RemoteTagHandler &handler)
 {
 	assert(qobuz_client != nullptr);
 
-	const char *track_id = ExtractQobuzTrackId(uri);
-	if (track_id == nullptr)
+	const auto track_id = ExtractQobuzTrackId(uri);
+	if (track_id.empty())
 		return nullptr;
 
 	return std::make_unique<QobuzTagScanner>(*qobuz_client, track_id,
diff --git a/src/input/plugins/QobuzTagScanner.cxx b/src/input/plugins/QobuzTagScanner.cxx
index ffc3b4edc..90ed69c43 100644
--- a/src/input/plugins/QobuzTagScanner.cxx
+++ b/src/input/plugins/QobuzTagScanner.cxx
@@ -61,16 +61,16 @@ public:
 };
 
 static std::string
-MakeTrackUrl(QobuzClient &client, const char *track_id)
+MakeTrackUrl(QobuzClient &client, std::string_view track_id)
 {
 	return client.MakeUrl("track", "get",
 			      {
-				      {"track_id", track_id},
+				      {"track_id", std::string{track_id}},
 			      });
 }
 
 QobuzTagScanner::QobuzTagScanner(QobuzClient &client,
-				 const char *track_id,
+				 std::string_view track_id,
 				 RemoteTagHandler &_handler)
 	:request(client.GetCurl(),
 		 MakeTrackUrl(client, track_id).c_str(),
diff --git a/src/input/plugins/QobuzTagScanner.hxx b/src/input/plugins/QobuzTagScanner.hxx
index 2da7a260f..8b78df239 100644
--- a/src/input/plugins/QobuzTagScanner.hxx
+++ b/src/input/plugins/QobuzTagScanner.hxx
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ public:
 	class ResponseParser;
 
 	QobuzTagScanner(QobuzClient &client,
-			const char *track_id,
+			std::string_view track_id,
 			RemoteTagHandler &_handler);
 
 	~QobuzTagScanner() noexcept override;
diff --git a/src/input/plugins/SmbclientInputPlugin.cxx b/src/input/plugins/SmbclientInputPlugin.cxx
index 70333df17..1fead3720 100644
--- a/src/input/plugins/SmbclientInputPlugin.cxx
+++ b/src/input/plugins/SmbclientInputPlugin.cxx
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ class SmbclientInputStream final : public InputStream {
 	SMBCFILE *const handle;
 
 public:
-	SmbclientInputStream(const char *_uri,
+	SmbclientInputStream(std::string &&_uri,
 			     Mutex &_mutex,
 			     SmbclientContext &&_ctx,
 			     SMBCFILE *_handle, const struct stat &st)
@@ -64,12 +64,13 @@ input_smbclient_init(EventLoop &, const ConfigBlock &)
 }
 
 static InputStreamPtr
-input_smbclient_open(const char *uri,
+input_smbclient_open(std::string_view _uri,
 		     Mutex &mutex)
 {
 	auto ctx = SmbclientContext::New();
 
-	SMBCFILE *handle = ctx.OpenReadOnly(uri);
+	std::string uri{_uri};
+	SMBCFILE *handle = ctx.OpenReadOnly(uri.c_str());
 	if (handle == nullptr)
 		throw MakeErrno("smbc_open() failed");
 
@@ -81,7 +82,7 @@ input_smbclient_open(const char *uri,
 	}
 
 	return std::make_unique<MaybeBufferedInputStream>
-		(std::make_unique<SmbclientInputStream>(uri, mutex,
+		(std::make_unique<SmbclientInputStream>(std::move(uri), mutex,
 							std::move(ctx),
 							handle, st));
 }
diff --git a/src/lib/chromaprint/DecoderClient.hxx b/src/lib/chromaprint/DecoderClient.hxx
index f5385ca5c..a294af65f 100644
--- a/src/lib/chromaprint/DecoderClient.hxx
+++ b/src/lib/chromaprint/DecoderClient.hxx
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ public:
 
 	void SeekError() noexcept override {}
 
-	//InputStreamPtr OpenUri(const char *) override;
+	//InputStreamPtr OpenUri(std::string_view uri) override;
 
 	size_t Read(InputStream &is,
 		    std::span<std::byte> dest) noexcept override;
diff --git a/src/storage/plugins/SmbclientStorage.cxx b/src/storage/plugins/SmbclientStorage.cxx
index c5c7f410e..f63d0f66d 100644
--- a/src/storage/plugins/SmbclientStorage.cxx
+++ b/src/storage/plugins/SmbclientStorage.cxx
@@ -119,8 +119,7 @@ SmbclientStorage::GetInfo(std::string_view uri_utf8, [[maybe_unused]] bool follo
 InputStreamPtr
 SmbclientStorage::OpenFile(std::string_view uri_utf8, Mutex &file_mutex)
 {
-	auto uri = MapUTF8(uri_utf8);
-	return InputStream::Open(uri.c_str(), file_mutex);
+	return InputStream::Open(MapUTF8(uri_utf8), file_mutex);
 }
 
 std::unique_ptr<StorageDirectoryReader>
diff --git a/test/DumpDecoderClient.cxx b/test/DumpDecoderClient.cxx
index 809af22c0..e9bc4a17b 100644
--- a/test/DumpDecoderClient.cxx
+++ b/test/DumpDecoderClient.cxx
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ DumpDecoderClient::SeekError() noexcept
 }
 
 InputStreamPtr
-DumpDecoderClient::OpenUri(const char *uri)
+DumpDecoderClient::OpenUri(std::string_view uri)
 {
 	return InputStream::OpenReady(uri, mutex);
 }
diff --git a/test/DumpDecoderClient.hxx b/test/DumpDecoderClient.hxx
index 828a5b73b..d35fd60ee 100644
--- a/test/DumpDecoderClient.hxx
+++ b/test/DumpDecoderClient.hxx
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ public:
 	SongTime GetSeekTime() noexcept override;
 	uint64_t GetSeekFrame() noexcept override;
 	void SeekError() noexcept override;
-	InputStreamPtr OpenUri(const char *uri) override;
+	InputStreamPtr OpenUri(std::string_view uri) override;
 	size_t Read(InputStream &is,
 		    std::span<std::byte> dest) noexcept override;
 	void SubmitTimestamp(FloatDuration t) noexcept override;
diff --git a/test/RunChromaprint.cxx b/test/RunChromaprint.cxx
index 3560fd5a0..e17dc534e 100644
--- a/test/RunChromaprint.cxx
+++ b/test/RunChromaprint.cxx
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ public:
 
 class MyChromaprintDecoderClient final : public ChromaprintDecoderClient {
 public:
-	InputStreamPtr OpenUri(const char *) override {
+	InputStreamPtr OpenUri(std::string_view) override {
 		throw std::runtime_error("Not implemented");
 	}
 };