diff --git a/lib/getopt/getopt.ww b/lib/getopt/getopt.ww
index 45406ed0..24d61f5d 100644
--- a/lib/getopt/getopt.ww
+++ b/lib/getopt/getopt.ww
@@ -28,9 +28,10 @@
 //     the same reason (task #5), and because task #6 (arr[i].field
 //     = v) blocks the obvious `h[i].kind = ...` callsite spelling.
 //   * [[option]] is a `struct { flag: rune, value: str }` rather
-//     than Hare's `(rune, str)` 2-tuple: ww's cgen mis-sizes a
-//     tuple of (i32, str) as 20B (no 4B pad before the str field).
-//     The struct shape lays out as 24B as expected.
+//     than Hare's `(rune, str)` 2-tuple: ww's cgen mis-pads a
+//     tuple of (i32, str) (no 4B pad before the str field). The
+//     struct shape lays out as rune (4) + pad (4) + str (24) = 32B
+//     as expected.
 //   * [[error]] is a flat 24B struct (kind + flag + name). Hare's
 //     `!(str, []help, (requiresarg | unknownopt | unknownsubcmd))`
 //     3-tuple-with-nested-union doesn't map onto ww's single-payload
@@ -161,8 +162,9 @@ export type errorkind = enum i32 {
 	UNKNOWNOPT  = 1,	// -X isn't in the help list
 };
 
-// error — parse failure. 24B layout (i32 kind + rune flag + str
-// name) so `(void | error)` rides the tagged-union return ABI.
+// error — parse failure. 32B (i32 kind + rune flag + str name);
+// the 40B `(void | error)` slot exceeds the 24B register cap, so
+// it returns via sret/MEMORY, not the register ABI (see #38).
 export type error = struct {
 	kind: errorkind,
 	flag: rune,	// the offending letter
@@ -170,9 +172,9 @@ export type error = struct {
 };
 
 // option — one element of the parsed option list. Hare's getopts
-// uses a `(rune, str)` 2-tuple; ww's cgen mis-sizes that as 20B
-// (no 4B pad before the str field), so we use a named struct — the
-// struct layout pads correctly.
+// uses a `(rune, str)` 2-tuple; ww's cgen mis-pads that (no 4B pad
+// before the str field), so we use a named struct — the struct
+// layout pads correctly to rune (4) + pad (4) + str (24) = 32B.
 export type option = struct {
 	flag:  rune,
 	value: str,
@@ -283,7 +285,7 @@ export fn tryparse(out: *command, argv: []str, help: []help) (void | error) = {
 			case void => {
 				if (opts.cap > 0) {
 					os.free(opts.ptr: *void,
-					    (opts.cap: u64) * 24u64);
+					    (opts.cap: u64) * size(option): u64);
 				};
 				let e: error;
 				e.kind = errorkind.UNKNOWNOPT;
@@ -317,7 +319,7 @@ export fn tryparse(out: *command, argv: []str, help: []help) (void | error) = {
 						if (i + 1 >= argv.len) {
 							if (opts.cap > 0) {
 								os.free(opts.ptr: *void,
-								    (opts.cap: u64) * 24u64);
+								    (opts.cap: u64) * size(option): u64);
 							};
 							let e: error;
 							e.kind = errorkind.REQUIRESARG;
@@ -352,8 +354,8 @@ export fn tryparse(out: *command, argv: []str, help: []help) (void | error) = {
 // tryparse; args is a borrowed view into argv.
 export fn finish(cmd: *command) void = {
 	if (cmd.optscap > 0) {
-		// option layout: rune (4) + pad (4) + str (16) = 24B.
-		os.free(cmd.optsptr: *void, (cmd.optscap: u64) * 24u64);
+		// option layout: rune (4) + pad (4) + str (24) = 32B.
+		os.free(cmd.optsptr: *void, (cmd.optscap: u64) * size(option): u64);
 	};
 	cmd.optsptr = nil: *option;
 	cmd.optslen = 0;
diff --git a/lib/getopt/getopttest.ww b/lib/getopt/getopttest.ww
index f9250185..49a9f0e9 100644
--- a/lib/getopt/getopttest.ww
+++ b/lib/getopt/getopttest.ww
@@ -434,6 +434,65 @@ fn streq(a: str, b: str) bool = {
 	};
 };
 
+// ---- optionsizepin: option is 32B, not 24B -----------------------------
+//
+// tryparse/finish free the parsed-option array at `cap * size(option)`.
+// option = rune (4) + pad (4) + str (24, #1/Phase 3) = 32B. A hardcoded
+// `24u64` here was an 8-byte-per-element under-free; pinning the size
+// keeps the literal from silently drifting back and catches any future
+// cgen struct mis-sizing before it corrupts the heap.
+@test fn optionsizepin() void = {
+	assert(!(size(getopt.option) != 32));
+};
+
+// ---- freeroundtrip: parse → finish over {0, 1, several} options --------
+//
+// Exercises the free path at three distinct cap values so the
+// `cap * size(option)` free in [[finish]] runs for an empty, single,
+// and multi-element option array. The under-free is not directly
+// observable through the allocator here, so this guards the parse →
+// finish roundtrip doesn't crash/corrupt across the three sizes; the
+// exact-size guarantee rides on optionsizepin above.
+@test fn freeroundtrip() void = {
+	let helps: [3]getopt.help;
+	getopt.cmdhelp(&helps[0], "prog");
+	getopt.flaghelp(&helps[1], 'v': rune, "verbose");
+	getopt.flaghelp(&helps[2], 'a': rune, "all");
+
+	// row 0: ["p"]		→ 0 opts  (nil opts, finish no-ops)
+	// row 1: ["p","-v"]	→ 1 opt   (finish frees 1*32)
+	// row 2: ["p","-vav"]	→ 3 opts  (finish frees 3*32)
+	let srcs: [5]str;
+	srcs[0]="p";
+	srcs[1]="p"; srcs[2]="-v";
+	srcs[3]="p"; srcs[4]="-vav";
+
+	let argo:     [3]i32;
+	let argn:     [3]i32;
+	let wantopts: [3]i32;
+	argo[0]=0; argn[0]=1; wantopts[0]=0;
+	argo[1]=1; argn[1]=2; wantopts[1]=1;
+	argo[2]=3; argn[2]=2; wantopts[2]=3;
+
+	let i: i32 = 0;
+	for (i < 3) {
+		let argv: []str;
+		argv.ptr = &srcs[argo[i]];
+		argv.len = argn[i];
+		argv.cap = argn[i];
+
+		let cmd: getopt.command;
+		let r: (void | getopt.error) = getopt.tryparse(&cmd, argv, helps[0:3]);
+		match (r) {
+		case void => {};
+		case let e: getopt.error => abort();
+		};
+		assert(!(cmd.optslen != wantopts[i]));
+		getopt.finish(&cmd);
+		i += 1;
+	};
+};
+
 // ---- printhelp_cases: table of help-output paths ----------------------
 //
 // ref/hare/getopt/getopts.ha:281-314.