diff --git a/base32.zig b/base32.zig
index fa4b77dc41e5aecfd7b5b6eccf9d32d8bd513cb1..183add841a1202ea4ff7da32d9744b213e1d89a7 100644
--- a/base32.zig
+++ b/base32.zig
@@ -7,8 +7,8 @@ const range = @import("range").range;
 const alphabet = "0123456789ABCDEFGHJKMNPQRSTVWXYZ";
 
 pub fn decode(alloc: std.mem.Allocator, input: string) ![]const u5 {
-    const list = &std.ArrayList(u5).init(alloc);
-    defer list.deinit();
+    var list = std.ArrayList(u5).init(alloc);
+    errdefer list.deinit();
 
     for (input) |c| {
         for (alphabet) |d, i| {