diff --git a/NOW.md b/NOW.md
index f23cf7d144..e5e1ba848f 100644
--- a/NOW.md
+++ b/NOW.md
@@ -2,6 +2,11 @@
 
 Last updated: 2026-08-08
 
+## gen-rust: array literals emit elements, not empty vec![] (Closes #1938)
+
+- ExprArrayLiteral keeps element text in extra_size with no children; the Rust emitter mapped children only, so every spec array literal compiled to an empty Vec-typed vec![] (E0308 against a [T; N] return). Emits `[a, b, c]` / `[v; n]` from the text now, mirroring the Zig/C fixes
+- FROZEN_HASH resealed
+
 ## opt+gen-zig: typed aliases stay materialized; @"primitive" idents; unused tuple elements (Closes #1936)
 
 - copy_propagate ignored the declared type: `let lo: u16 = byte_param;` propagated the bare u8 identifier into every use, silently narrowing the arithmetic (u8 shift/add where the spec wrote u16 math) -- typed aliases are the widening idiom and are no longer propagated (all backends)
diff --git a/bootstrap/src/compiler.rs b/bootstrap/src/compiler.rs
index 01f45ecbf4..c790d2b6c0 100644
--- a/bootstrap/src/compiler.rs
+++ b/bootstrap/src/compiler.rs
@@ -14156,12 +14156,26 @@ impl RustCodegen {
                 format!("{}({})", node.name, args.join(", "))
             }
             NodeKind::ExprArrayLiteral => {
-                let elems: Vec<String> = node
-                    .children
-                    .iter()
-                    .map(|c| self.expr_to_rust(c))
-                    .collect();
-                format!("vec![{}]", elems.join(", "))
+                if node.children.is_empty() && !node.extra_size.trim().is_empty() {
+                    // The parser stores the literal's ELEMENT TEXT in
+                    // extra_size ("a,b,c" for a list, "v;n" for a repeat)
+                    // with no children; emitting from children alone
+                    // produced an empty (and Vec-typed) literal for a
+                    // [T; N] return. Element text is valid Rust as-is.
+                    let txt = node.extra_size.trim();
+                    if let Some((val, count)) = txt.rsplit_once(';') {
+                        format!("[{}; {}]", val.trim(), count.trim())
+                    } else {
+                        format!("[{}]", txt)
+                    }
+                } else {
+                    let elems: Vec<String> = node
+                        .children
+                        .iter()
+                        .map(|c| self.expr_to_rust(c))
+                        .collect();
+                    format!("[{}]", elems.join(", "))
+                }
             }
             NodeKind::ExprTuple => {
                 let elems: Vec<String> = node
diff --git a/bootstrap/stage0/FROZEN_HASH b/bootstrap/stage0/FROZEN_HASH
index 928cce0ecc..4095f9a1ce 100644
--- a/bootstrap/stage0/FROZEN_HASH
+++ b/bootstrap/stage0/FROZEN_HASH
@@ -1 +1 @@
-686003784746e4fccdcf481f581adf533c03e7f5421e7d99975fb69b5c7e47ea
+44c15f58d25650f0b0a4b3c89db3b844bdbb41b81040b01a8c7cd4b022f94bfd
diff --git a/docs/NOW.md b/docs/NOW.md
index e9af060e76..480ecdc9c7 100644
--- a/docs/NOW.md
+++ b/docs/NOW.md
@@ -2,6 +2,11 @@
 
 Last updated: 2026-08-08
 
+## gen-rust: array literals emit elements, not empty vec![] (Closes #1938)
+
+- ExprArrayLiteral keeps element text in extra_size with no children; the Rust emitter mapped children only, so every spec array literal compiled to an empty Vec-typed vec![] (E0308 against a [T; N] return). Emits `[a, b, c]` / `[v; n]` from the text now, mirroring the Zig/C fixes
+- FROZEN_HASH resealed
+
 ## opt+gen-zig: typed aliases stay materialized; @"primitive" idents; unused tuple elements (Closes #1936)
 
 - copy_propagate ignored the declared type: `let lo: u16 = byte_param;` propagated the bare u8 identifier into every use, silently narrowing the arithmetic (u8 shift/add where the spec wrote u16 math) -- typed aliases are the widening idiom and are no longer propagated (all backends)