diff --git a/.jules/bolt.md b/.jules/bolt.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7e0cbd3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.jules/bolt.md
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+## 2026-01-25 - Stack vs Heap in Hot Paths
+**Learning:** `drawstatusbar` in `bar.c` allocates and frees a buffer on every redraw. Since the buffer size is bounded by `stext` (1024 bytes), this is unnecessary overhead.
+**Action:** Use stack allocation for small, bounded buffers in frequent operations to avoid allocator overhead and fragmentation.
diff --git a/bar.c b/bar.c
index 8476144..b521107 100644
--- a/bar.c
+++ b/bar.c
@@ -53,15 +53,15 @@ int drawstatusbar(Monitor *m, int bh, char *stext) {
     int len;
     int cmdcounter;
     short isCode = 0;
-    char *text;
-    char *p;
+    char text_buf[1024];
+    char *text = text_buf;
 
     len = strlen(stext) + 1;
-    if (!(text = (char *)malloc(sizeof(char) * len))) {
-        die("malloc");
+    if (len > sizeof(text_buf)) {
+        len = sizeof(text_buf);
     }
-    p = text;
     memcpy(text, stext, len);
+    text[len - 1] = '\0';
 
     /* compute width of the status text */
     w = 0;
@@ -88,7 +88,7 @@ int drawstatusbar(Monitor *m, int bh, char *stext) {
     } else {
         isCode = 0;
     }
-    text = p;
+    text = text_buf;
     statuswidth = w;
     w += 2; /* 1px padding on both sides */
     ret = x = m->ww - w - getsystraywidth();
@@ -194,7 +194,6 @@ int drawstatusbar(Monitor *m, int bh, char *stext) {
     }
 
     drw_setscheme(drw, statusscheme);
-    free(p);
 
     return ret;
 }