diff --git a/src/interface.zig b/src/interface.zig
index 7cb9ded..7e6e6b5 100644
--- a/src/interface.zig
+++ b/src/interface.zig
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ pub const Response = extern struct {
 };
 
 pub const Request = extern struct {
-    method: [*]u8,
+    method: [*:0]u8,
     method_len: usize,
 
     content: [*]u8,
diff --git a/src/main-lib.zig b/src/main-lib.zig
index 97bfe78..0367431 100644
--- a/src/main-lib.zig
+++ b/src/main-lib.zig
@@ -3,23 +3,28 @@ const interface = @import("interface.zig");
 const testing = std.testing;
 
 const log = std.log.scoped(.@"main-lib");
-var child_allocator = std.heap.raw_c_allocator; // raw allocator recommended for use in arenas
-var arena: std.heap.ArenaAllocator = undefined;
 
+var allocator: ?*std.mem.Allocator = null;
 const Response = struct {
     body: *std.ArrayList(u8),
     headers: *std.StringHashMap([]const u8),
 };
 
+/// This function is optional and can be exported by zig libraries for
+/// initialization. If exported, it will be called once in the beginning of
+/// a request and will be provided a pointer to std.mem.Allocator, which is
+/// useful for reusing the parent allocator
+export fn zigInit(parent_allocator: *anyopaque) void {
+    allocator = @ptrCast(*std.mem.Allocator, @alignCast(@alignOf(*std.mem.Allocator), parent_allocator));
+}
 export fn handle_request() ?*interface.Response {
-    arena = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(child_allocator);
-    var allocator = arena.allocator();
+    var alloc = if (allocator) |a| a.* else @panic("zigInit not called prior to handle_request. This is a coding error");
 
     // setup response body
-    var response = std.ArrayList(u8).init(allocator);
+    var response = std.ArrayList(u8).init(alloc);
 
     // setup headers
-    var headers = std.StringHashMap([]const u8).init(allocator);
+    var headers = std.StringHashMap([]const u8).init(alloc);
     handleRequest(.{
         .body = &response,
         .headers = &headers,
@@ -34,10 +39,10 @@ export fn handle_request() ?*interface.Response {
     log.debug("response ptr: {*}", .{response.items.ptr});
     // Marshall data back for handling by server
 
-    var rc = allocator.create(interface.Response) catch @panic("OOM");
+    var rc = alloc.create(interface.Response) catch @panic("OOM");
     rc.ptr = response.items.ptr;
     rc.len = response.items.len;
-    rc.headers = interface.toHeaders(allocator, headers) catch |e| {
+    rc.headers = interface.toHeaders(alloc, headers) catch |e| {
         log.err("Unexpected error processing request: {any}", .{e});
         if (@errorReturnTrace()) |trace| {
             std.debug.dumpStackTrace(trace.*);
@@ -48,10 +53,10 @@ export fn handle_request() ?*interface.Response {
     return rc;
 }
 
-/// having request_deinit allows for a general deinit as well
-export fn request_deinit() void {
-    arena.deinit();
-}
+/// request_deinit is an optional export and will be called a the end of the
+/// request. Useful for deallocating memory
+// export fn request_deinit() void {
+// }
 
 // ************************************************************************
 // Boilerplate ^^, Custom code below
@@ -69,8 +74,10 @@ fn handleRequest(response: Response) !void {
 }
 
 test "handle_request" {
-    defer request_deinit();
-    child_allocator = std.testing.allocator;
+    var arena = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(std.testing.allocator);
+    defer arena.deinit();
+    var aa = arena.allocator();
+    allocator = &aa;
     const response = handle_request().?;
     try testing.expectEqualStrings(" 2.", response.ptr[0..response.len]);
     try testing.expectEqualStrings("X-custom-foo", response.headers[0].name_ptr[0..response.headers[0].name_len]);
diff --git a/src/main.zig b/src/main.zig
index 19480d1..28a9a98 100644
--- a/src/main.zig
+++ b/src/main.zig
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@ const std = @import("std");
 const builtin = @import("builtin");
 const interface = @import("interface.zig");
 const Watch = @import("Watch.zig");
-const serveFn = *const fn () ?*interface.Response;
+const serveFn = *const fn (*interface.Request) ?*interface.Response;
+const zigInitFn = *const fn (*anyopaque) void;
 const requestDeinitFn = *const fn () void;
 
 const timeout = 250;
@@ -19,6 +20,7 @@ const Executor = struct {
     // fields used at runtime to do real work
     library: ?*anyopaque = null,
     serveFn: ?serveFn = null,
+    zigInitFn: ?zigInitFn = null,
     requestDeinitFn: ?requestDeinitFn = null,
 
     // fields used for internal accounting
@@ -36,6 +38,7 @@ var executors = [_]Executor{
 
 var watcher = Watch.init(executorChanged);
 var watcher_thread: ?std.Thread = null;
+var timer: ?std.time.Timer = null; // timer used by processRequest
 
 const log = std.log.scoped(.main);
 pub const std_options = struct {
@@ -48,26 +51,33 @@ pub const std_options = struct {
 const SERVE_FN_NAME = "handle_request";
 const PORT = 8069;
 
-fn serve(allocator: std.mem.Allocator, response: *std.http.Server.Response) !*FullReturn {
-    // pub const Request = extern struct {
-    //     method: [*]u8,
-    //     method_len: usize,
-    //
-    //     content: [*]u8,
-    //     content_len: usize,
-    //
-    //     headers: [*]Header,
-    //     headers_len: usize,
-    // };
+fn serve(allocator: *std.mem.Allocator, response: *std.http.Server.Response) !*FullReturn {
     // if (some path routing thing) {
-    // TODO: Get request body into executor
-    // TODO: Get headers back from executor
-    // TODO: Get request headers into executor
     const executor = try getExecutor(0);
+    if (executor.zigInitFn) |f|
+        f(allocator);
+
     executor.in_request_lock = true;
     errdefer executor.in_request_lock = false;
     // Call external library
-    var serve_result = executor.serveFn.?().?; // ok for this pointer deref to fail
+    const method_tag = @tagName(response.request.method);
+    const headers = try toHeaders(allocator.*, response.request.headers);
+    var request_content: []u8 = &[_]u8{};
+    if (response.request.content_length) |l| {
+        request_content = try response.reader().readAllAlloc(allocator.*, @as(usize, l));
+    }
+    log.debug("{d} bytes read from request", .{request_content.len});
+    var request = interface.Request{
+        .method = @constCast(method_tag[0..].ptr),
+        .method_len = method_tag.len,
+
+        .headers = headers,
+        .headers_len = response.request.headers.list.items.len,
+
+        .content = request_content.ptr,
+        .content_len = request_content.len,
+    };
+    var serve_result = executor.serveFn.?(&request).?; // ok for this pointer deref to fail
     log.debug("target: {s}", .{response.request.target});
     log.warn("response ptr: {*}", .{serve_result.ptr}); // BUG: This works in tests, but does not when compiled (even debug mode)
     var slice: []u8 = serve_result.ptr[0..serve_result.len];
@@ -77,14 +87,13 @@ fn serve(allocator: std.mem.Allocator, response: *std.http.Server.Response) !*Fu
     var content_type_added = false;
     for (0..serve_result.headers_len) |inx| {
         const head = serve_result.headers[inx];
-        // head.name_ptr[0..head.name_len],
         try response.headers.append(
             head.name_ptr[0..head.name_len],
             head.value_ptr[0..head.value_len],
         );
 
-        // TODO: are these headers case insensitive?
-        content_type_added = std.mem.eql(u8, head.name_ptr[0..head.name_len], "content-type");
+        // headers are case insensitive
+        content_type_added = std.ascii.eqlIgnoreCase(head.name_ptr[0..head.name_len], "content-type");
     }
     if (!content_type_added)
         try response.headers.append("content-type", "text/plain");
@@ -129,6 +138,9 @@ fn loadOptionalSymbols(executor: *Executor) void {
     if (std.c.dlsym(executor.library.?, "request_deinit")) |s| {
         executor.requestDeinitFn = @ptrCast(requestDeinitFn, s);
     }
+    if (std.c.dlsym(executor.library.?, "zigInit")) |s| {
+        executor.zigInitFn = @ptrCast(zigInitFn, s);
+    }
 }
 fn executorChanged(watch: usize) void {
     // NOTE: This will be called off the main thread
@@ -240,31 +252,53 @@ pub fn main() !void {
         log.info("pid: {d}", .{std.os.linux.getpid()});
 
     try installSignalHandler();
+    var arena = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(allocator);
+    defer arena.deinit();
+    var aa = arena.allocator();
+    const bytes_preallocated = try preWarmArena(aa, &arena, 1);
     while (true) {
-        var arena = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(allocator);
-        defer arena.deinit();
+        // TODO: Learn what is typical and change this to .retain_with_limit = <value>
+        defer {
+            if (!arena.reset(.{ .retain_capacity = {} })) {
+                // reallocation failed, arena is degraded
+                log.warn("Arena reset failed and is degraded. Resetting arena", .{});
+                arena.deinit();
+                arena = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(allocator);
+                aa = arena.allocator();
+            }
+        }
 
-        processRequest(arena.allocator(), &server) catch |e| {
+        processRequest(&aa, &server, stdout) catch |e| {
             log.err("Unexpected error processing request: {any}", .{e});
             if (@errorReturnTrace()) |trace| {
                 std.debug.dumpStackTrace(trace.*);
             }
         };
+        try stdout.print(" (pre-alloc: {}, alloc: {})\n", .{ bytes_preallocated, arena.queryCapacity() });
+        try bw.flush();
     }
 }
 
-fn processRequest(allocator: std.mem.Allocator, server: *std.http.Server) !void {
+fn processRequest(allocator: *std.mem.Allocator, server: *std.http.Server, writer: anytype) !void {
     const max_header_size = 8192;
+    if (timer == null) timer = try std.time.Timer.start();
+    var tm = timer.?;
     const res = try server.accept(.{ .dynamic = max_header_size });
     defer res.deinit();
     defer res.reset();
-    try res.wait();
-
-    // TODO: deal with this
-    var buf: [1024]u8 = undefined;
-    const n = try res.readAll(&buf);
-    _ = n;
+    try res.wait(); // wait for client to send a complete request head
+    // I believe it's fair to start our timer after this is done
+    tm.reset();
 
+    // This is an nginx log:
+    // git.lerch.org 50.39.111.175 - - [16/May/2023:02:56:31 +0000] "POST /api/actions/runner.v1.RunnerService/FetchTask HTTP/2.0" 200 0 "-" "connect-go/1.2.0-dev (go1.20.1)" "172.20.0.5:3000"
+    // TODO: replicate this
+    try writer.print("{} - - \"{s} {s} {s}\"", .{
+        res.address,
+        @tagName(res.request.method),
+        res.request.target,
+        @tagName(res.request.version),
+    });
     // TODO: we need to also have a defer statement to deinit whatever happens
     // with the executor library. This will also add a race condition where
     // we could have a memory leak if the executor reloads in the middle of a
@@ -294,12 +328,48 @@ fn processRequest(allocator: std.mem.Allocator, server: *std.http.Server) !void
         response_bytes = f.response;
     res.transfer_encoding = .{ .content_length = response_bytes.len };
     try res.headers.append("connection", "close");
+    try writer.print(" {d} ttfb {d:.3}ms", .{ @enumToInt(res.status), @intToFloat(f64, tm.read()) / std.time.ns_per_ms });
     if (builtin.is_test) writeToTestBuffers(response_bytes, res);
     try res.do();
     _ = try res.writer().writeAll(response_bytes);
     try res.finish();
+    try writer.print(" {d} ttlb {d:.3}ms", .{
+        response_bytes.len,
+        @intToFloat(f64, tm.read()) / std.time.ns_per_ms,
+    });
 }
 
+fn toHeaders(allocator: std.mem.Allocator, headers: std.http.Headers) ![*]interface.Header {
+    var header_array = try std.ArrayList(interface.Header).initCapacity(allocator, headers.list.items.len);
+    for (headers.list.items) |kv| {
+        header_array.appendAssumeCapacity(.{
+            .name_ptr = @constCast(kv.name).ptr,
+            .name_len = kv.name.len,
+
+            .value_ptr = @constCast(kv.value).ptr,
+            .value_len = kv.value.len,
+        });
+    }
+    return header_array.items.ptr;
+}
+
+/// Allocates at least preallocated_kb kilobytes of ram for usage. Some overhead
+/// will mean that more
+fn preWarmArena(aa: std.mem.Allocator, arena: *std.heap.ArenaAllocator, preallocated_kb: usize) !usize {
+    if (preallocated_kb == 0) return 0;
+    // capacity 0 at this point
+    const warm_array = try aa.alloc(u8, 1024 * preallocated_kb); // after this, we are at 1569 (545 extra)
+    aa.free(warm_array);
+    log.debug(
+        "allocator preallocation. Limiting to: {d} bytes",
+        .{(arena.queryCapacity() + @as(usize, 1023)) / @as(usize, 1024) * 1024},
+    );
+    if (!arena.reset(.{ .retain_with_limit = (arena.queryCapacity() + @as(usize, 1023)) / @as(usize, 1024) * 1024 }))
+        log.warn("arena reset failed, arena degraded", .{});
+    var bytes_allocated = arena.queryCapacity();
+    log.debug("preallocated {d} bytes", .{bytes_allocated});
+    return bytes_allocated;
+}
 fn writeToTestBuffers(response: []const u8, res: *std.http.Server.Response) void {
     _ = res;
     log.debug("writing to test buffers", .{});
@@ -325,10 +395,17 @@ fn testRequest(request_bytes: []const u8) !void {
     try server.listen(address);
     const server_port = server.socket.listen_address.in.getPort();
 
+    var al = std.ArrayList(u8).init(allocator);
+    defer al.deinit();
+    var writer = al.writer();
+    var aa = arena.allocator();
+    var bytes_allocated: usize = 0;
+    // pre-warm
+    bytes_allocated = try preWarmArena(aa, &arena, 1);
     const server_thread = try std.Thread.spawn(
         .{},
         processRequest,
-        .{ arena.allocator(), &server },
+        .{ &aa, &server, writer },
     );
 
     const stream = try std.net.tcpConnectToHost(allocator, "127.0.0.1", server_port);
@@ -336,6 +413,8 @@ fn testRequest(request_bytes: []const u8) !void {
     _ = try stream.writeAll(request_bytes[0..]);
 
     server_thread.join();
+    log.debug("Bytes allocated during request: {d}", .{arena.queryCapacity() - bytes_allocated});
+    log.debug("Stdout: {s}", .{al.items});
 }
 
 fn testGet(comptime path: []const u8) !void {