diff --git a/src/ir/inst.zig b/src/ir/inst.zig
index b3c8c14c..407a964e 100644
--- a/src/ir/inst.zig
+++ b/src/ir/inst.zig
@@ -323,6 +323,11 @@ pub const Subslice = struct {
     base: Ref,
     lo: Ref,
     hi: Ref,
+    /// The base operand's IR type (array vs slice vs string). The runtime
+    /// backend reads array/slice-ness off `LLVMTypeOf`, but the comptime
+    /// interp can't tell a 2-element array from a `{ptr,len}` fat pointer by
+    /// Value shape alone, so it consults this. `.void` for old call sites.
+    base_ty: TypeId = .void,
 };
 
 pub const Call = struct {
diff --git a/src/ir/interp.zig b/src/ir/interp.zig
index e236d557..9a6f61ed 100644
--- a/src/ir/interp.zig
+++ b/src/ir/interp.zig
@@ -1234,15 +1234,28 @@ pub const Interpreter = struct {
             },
             .subslice => |sub| {
                 const base = frame.getRef(sub.base);
-                const lo_val = frame.getRef(sub.lo);
-                const hi_val = frame.getRef(sub.hi);
-                const lo: usize = @intCast(lo_val.asInt() orelse return error.TypeError);
-                const hi: usize = @intCast(hi_val.asInt() orelse return error.TypeError);
+                const lo: usize = @intCast(frame.getRef(sub.lo).asInt() orelse return bailDetail("comptime subslice: lo index is not an integer"));
+                const hi: usize = @intCast(frame.getRef(sub.hi).asInt() orelse return bailDetail("comptime subslice: hi index is not an integer"));
+                if (hi < lo) return error.OutOfBounds;
                 if (base.asString(self)) |s| {
                     if (hi > s.len) return error.OutOfBounds;
                     return .{ .value = .{ .string = s[lo..hi] } };
                 }
-                return bailDetail("comptime subslice: base is not a string-backed value (slice over non-string aggregates not yet supported)");
+                // Non-string aggregate (array or `{data,len}` slice). The
+                // underlying element list comes from the aggregate directly (an
+                // array) or its data field (a slice) — `sub.base_ty` picks which,
+                // since a 2-element array and a `{ptr,len}` pair are
+                // indistinguishable by Value shape alone.
+                const elems = self.subsliceElements(frame, base, sub.base_ty) orelse
+                    return bailDetail("comptime subslice: base is not a sliceable array/slice value");
+                if (hi > elems.len) return error.OutOfBounds;
+                const sub_elems = elems[lo..hi];
+                // Return a proper slice VALUE `{data, len}`: data is the element
+                // aggregate, len the (int) count. The int len is what lets
+                // downstream `.length` / `index_get` / `decodeVariantElements`
+                // read this as a slice and not a bare array.
+                const pair = self.alloc.dupe(Value, &.{ .{ .aggregate = sub_elems }, .{ .int = @intCast(sub_elems.len) } }) catch return error.CannotEvalComptime;
+                return .{ .value = .{ .aggregate = pair } };
             },
 
             // ── Addr/deref ─────────────────────────────────────
@@ -1753,6 +1766,33 @@ pub const Interpreter = struct {
         return current;
     }
 
+    /// The element list backing a comptime array/slice VALUE, for `subslice`.
+    /// `base_ty` (threaded onto the op at lower time) disambiguates the two
+    /// shapes that look identical as Values: an ARRAY's aggregate holds its
+    /// elements directly, while a SLICE is a `{data, len}` fat pointer whose
+    /// `data` field holds them. Returns null for any other shape (caller bails).
+    fn subsliceElements(self: *Interpreter, frame: *Frame, base: Value, base_ty: TypeId) ?[]const Value {
+        var b = base;
+        if (b == .slot_ptr) b = self.resolveSlotChain(frame, b);
+        const fields = switch (b) {
+            .aggregate => |f| f,
+            else => return null,
+        };
+        const is_slice = !base_ty.isBuiltin() and self.module.types.get(base_ty) == .slice;
+        if (is_slice) {
+            if (fields.len != 2) return null;
+            const len: usize = @intCast(fields[1].asInt() orelse return null);
+            var data = fields[0];
+            if (data == .slot_ptr) data = self.resolveSlotChain(frame, data);
+            return switch (data) {
+                .aggregate => |arr| if (len <= arr.len) arr[0..len] else null,
+                else => null,
+            };
+        }
+        // Array (or unknown base_ty fallback): the fields ARE the elements.
+        return fields;
+    }
+
     // ── Constant → Value conversion ─────────────────────────────
 
     fn constToValue(self: *Interpreter, cv: inst_mod.ConstantValue) Value {
diff --git a/src/ir/lower/expr.zig b/src/ir/lower/expr.zig
index 1fef4e92..94aa021b 100644
--- a/src/ir/lower/expr.zig
+++ b/src/ir/lower/expr.zig
@@ -1397,19 +1397,29 @@ pub fn lowerIndexExpr(self: *Lowering, ie: *const ast.IndexExpr) Ref {
 
 pub fn lowerSliceExpr(self: *Lowering, se: *const ast.SliceExpr) Ref {
     const obj = self.lowerExpr(se.object);
+    const obj_ty = self.inferExprType(se.object);
     var lo = if (se.start) |s| self.lowerExpr(s) else self.builder.constInt(0, .i64);
     if (se.start_exclusive) lo = self.builder.add(lo, self.builder.constInt(1, .i64), .i64);
-    var hi = if (se.end) |e| self.lowerExpr(e) else self.builder.emit(.{ .length = .{ .operand = obj } }, .i64);
+    // Open-ended `hi`: for a fixed-size array the length is a compile-time
+    // constant — emit it directly rather than a runtime `.length` op. Runtime
+    // codegen folds the identical constant for an array (`emitLength`), so the
+    // result is unchanged; the win is the comptime interp, which can't
+    // disambiguate a 2-element array from a `{ptr,len}` fat pointer by Value
+    // shape and so would misread a `.length` op on an array.
+    var hi = if (se.end) |e|
+        self.lowerExpr(e)
+    else if (!obj_ty.isBuiltin() and self.module.types.get(obj_ty) == .array)
+        self.builder.constInt(@intCast(self.module.types.get(obj_ty).array.length), .i64)
+    else
+        self.builder.emit(.{ .length = .{ .operand = obj } }, .i64);
     if (se.end_inclusive) hi = self.builder.add(hi, self.builder.constInt(1, .i64), .i64);
-    // Infer result slice type from the object
-    const obj_ty = self.inferExprType(se.object);
     // Subslice of string stays string (same {ptr, i64} layout, correct type category)
     if (obj_ty == .string) {
-        return self.builder.emit(.{ .subslice = .{ .base = obj, .lo = lo, .hi = hi } }, .string);
+        return self.builder.emit(.{ .subslice = .{ .base = obj, .lo = lo, .hi = hi, .base_ty = obj_ty } }, .string);
     }
     const elem_ty = self.getElementType(obj_ty);
     const slice_ty = if (elem_ty != .void) self.module.types.sliceOf(elem_ty) else self.module.types.sliceOf(.u8);
-    return self.builder.emit(.{ .subslice = .{ .base = obj, .lo = lo, .hi = hi } }, slice_ty);
+    return self.builder.emit(.{ .subslice = .{ .base = obj, .lo = lo, .hi = hi, .base_ty = obj_ty } }, slice_ty);
 }
 
 pub fn lowerTupleLiteral(self: *Lowering, tl: *const ast.TupleLiteral) Ref {