diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 465b809..f3c2018 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -46,6 +46,11 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
   (10000 levels, which no hand-written document approaches): a document that
   nests arrays or inline tables deeper used to run the stack out and is now
   rejected with a `SyntaxError` naming the limit.
+- A TOML array decodes into a Go fixed-size array, `[N]T`, where only a slice
+  was accepted before; the encoder could already encode one. A length mismatch
+  is an error wrapped with the key path.
+- `MarshalAppend(buf, v)` appends the TOML encoding of v to buf and returns
+  the extended buffer, the shape `json.MarshalAppend` has.
 - `ParseFile(path)` reads the file and parses it into a `Document`, with the
   file name at the front of every error it returns, read failure and parse
   failure alike. `Valid(data)` reports whether a document parses, nil on
diff --git a/decode.go b/decode.go
index 492b6dc..e7d39e1 100644
--- a/decode.go
+++ b/decode.go
@@ -309,31 +309,58 @@ func (d *decoder) assignMap(tbl map[string]any, dst reflect.Value) error {
 }
 
 func (d *decoder) assignSlice(items []any, dst reflect.Value) error {
-	if dst.Kind() != reflect.Slice {
+	switch dst.Kind() {
+	case reflect.Slice:
+		out := reflect.MakeSlice(dst.Type(), len(items), len(items))
+		for i, item := range items {
+			if err := d.assign(item, out.Index(i)); err != nil {
+				return newDecodeError(fmt.Sprintf("[%d]", i), err)
+			}
+		}
+		dst.Set(out)
+		return nil
+	case reflect.Array:
+		// A fixed-size array takes the elements in place; a length mismatch is
+		// the error, because a TOML array carries no way to name a default for
+		// the elements it is short of, and the surplus has nowhere to go.
+		if dst.Len() != len(items) {
+			return fmt.Errorf("interpres: cannot assign %d elements to %s", len(items), dst.Type())
+		}
+		for i, item := range items {
+			if err := d.assign(item, dst.Index(i)); err != nil {
+				return newDecodeError(fmt.Sprintf("[%d]", i), err)
+			}
+		}
+		return nil
+	default:
 		return fmt.Errorf("interpres: cannot assign array to %s", dst.Type())
 	}
-	out := reflect.MakeSlice(dst.Type(), len(items), len(items))
-	for i, item := range items {
-		if err := d.assign(item, out.Index(i)); err != nil {
-			return newDecodeError(fmt.Sprintf("[%d]", i), err)
-		}
-	}
-	dst.Set(out)
-	return nil
 }
 
 func (d *decoder) assignTableSlice(items []map[string]any, dst reflect.Value) error {
-	if dst.Kind() != reflect.Slice {
+	switch dst.Kind() {
+	case reflect.Slice:
+		out := reflect.MakeSlice(dst.Type(), len(items), len(items))
+		for i, item := range items {
+			if err := d.assign(item, out.Index(i)); err != nil {
+				return newDecodeError(fmt.Sprintf("[%d]", i), err)
+			}
+		}
+		dst.Set(out)
+		return nil
+	case reflect.Array:
+		if dst.Len() != len(items) {
+			return fmt.Errorf("interpres: cannot assign %d elements to %s", len(items), dst.Type())
+		}
+		for i, item := range items {
+			if err := d.assign(item, dst.Index(i)); err != nil {
+				return newDecodeError(fmt.Sprintf("[%d]", i), err)
+			}
+		}
+		return nil
+	default:
 		return fmt.Errorf("interpres: cannot assign array of tables to %s", dst.Type())
 	}
-	out := reflect.MakeSlice(dst.Type(), len(items), len(items))
-	for i, item := range items {
-		if err := d.assign(item, out.Index(i)); err != nil {
-			return newDecodeError(fmt.Sprintf("[%d]", i), err)
-		}
-	}
-	dst.Set(out)
-	return nil
 }
 
 // --- low-level setters -----------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/decode_test.go b/decode_test.go
index 4271748..b06dc73 100644
--- a/decode_test.go
+++ b/decode_test.go
@@ -1273,3 +1273,46 @@ func TestSourceLineEdgePositions(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("SourceLine(offset past end) =\n%q\nwant:\n%q", got, want)
 	}
 }
+
+func TestDecodeFixedArray(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("value array", func(t *testing.T) {
+		var cfg struct {
+			Ports [2]int      `toml:"ports"`
+			Label [2]string   `toml:"label"`
+			Grid  [2][2]int64 `toml:"grid"`
+		}
+		in := []byte("ports = [8080, 9090]\nlabel = [\"a\", \"b\"]\ngrid = [[1, 2], [3, 4]]\n")
+		if err := Unmarshal(in, &cfg); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if cfg.Ports != [2]int{8080, 9090} || cfg.Label != [2]string{"a", "b"} || cfg.Grid != [2][2]int64{{1, 2}, {3, 4}} {
+			t.Errorf("decoded %+v", cfg)
+		}
+	})
+	t.Run("array of tables", func(t *testing.T) {
+		type Item struct {
+			Name string `toml:"name"`
+			Qty  int    `toml:"qty"`
+		}
+		var cfg struct {
+			Items [2]Item `toml:"items"`
+		}
+		in := []byte("[[items]]\nname = \"a\"\nqty = 1\n[[items]]\nname = \"b\"\nqty = 2\n")
+		if err := Unmarshal(in, &cfg); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if cfg.Items != [2]Item{{"a", 1}, {"b", 2}} {
+			t.Errorf("decoded %+v", cfg)
+		}
+	})
+	t.Run("a length mismatch is an error", func(t *testing.T) {
+		var cfg struct {
+			Ports [3]int `toml:"ports"`
+		}
+		err := Unmarshal([]byte("ports = [8080, 9090]\n"), &cfg)
+		want := "ports: interpres: cannot assign 2 elements to [3]int"
+		if err == nil || err.Error() != want {
+			t.Errorf("err = %v, want %q", err, want)
+		}
+	})
+}
diff --git a/docs/API.md b/docs/API.md
index a6ed4c7..6ef5154 100644
--- a/docs/API.md
+++ b/docs/API.md
@@ -158,6 +158,11 @@ out, err := interpres.Marshal(cfg)
 The cancellable variant of `Marshal`. The context is checked before any work
 and every 64 fields during the reflection walk.
 
+### `func MarshalAppend(buf []byte, v any) ([]byte, error)`
+
+Appends the TOML encoding of `v` to `buf` and returns the extended buffer, the
+shape `json.MarshalAppend` has. A failed encoding leaves `buf` untouched.
+
 ## Decoding
 
 ### Value mapping
@@ -282,6 +287,11 @@ destination is a slice, each element decodes into the slice's element type
 (`[]struct` or `[]map[string]V`); a mismatch on one element surfaces as an
 error wrapped with `[i]:` and the element index.
 
+A value array also decodes into a fixed-size array, `[N]T`, the mirror of the
+encoder's ability to encode one. The element count has to match: an array
+whose length differs from `N` is an error, `interpres: cannot assign 2
+elements to [3]int`, wrapped with the key path.
+
 ### Custom decoding: `Unmarshaler`
 
 A type that wants full control of its decode implements:
diff --git a/encode_test.go b/encode_test.go
index 754c7e4..c29a424 100644
--- a/encode_test.go
+++ b/encode_test.go
@@ -1998,3 +1998,29 @@ func TestMarshalNumber(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	})
 }
+
+func TestMarshalAppend(t *testing.T) {
+	buf := []byte("preamble\n")
+	out, err := MarshalAppend(buf, map[string]any{"a": int64(1)})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	want := "preamble\na = 1\n"
+	if string(out) != want {
+		t.Errorf("output %q, want %q", out, want)
+	}
+	if &out[0] != &buf[0] {
+		t.Log("append reallocated; capacity differed")
+	}
+	out2, err := MarshalAppend(out, map[string]any{"b": true})
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if string(out2) != want+"b = true\n" {
+		t.Errorf("second append %q", out2)
+	}
+	buf = []byte("keep\n")
+	if out3, err := MarshalAppend(buf, Document{}); err == nil {
+		t.Errorf("MarshalAppend with an unencodable value = %q, want an error", out3)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/interpres.go b/interpres.go
index 2307123..98962d1 100644
--- a/interpres.go
+++ b/interpres.go
@@ -399,6 +399,17 @@ func Marshal(v any) ([]byte, error) {
 	return MarshalContext(context.Background(), v)
 }
 
+// MarshalAppend appends the TOML encoding of v to buf and returns the extended
+// buffer, the shape json.MarshalAppend has. A failed encoding leaves buf
+// untouched and comes back with a nil slice.
+func MarshalAppend(buf []byte, v any) ([]byte, error) {
+	out, err := Marshal(v)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return append(buf, out...), nil
+}
+
 // MarshalContext is the cancellable variant of Marshal.
 func MarshalContext(ctx context.Context, v any) ([]byte, error) {
 	if err := ctx.Err(); err != nil {