diff --git a/jgvariant-core/src/main/java/eu/mulk/jgvariant/core/Decoder.java b/jgvariant-core/src/main/java/eu/mulk/jgvariant/core/Decoder.java
index a28d792..f605b09 100644
--- a/jgvariant-core/src/main/java/eu/mulk/jgvariant/core/Decoder.java
+++ b/jgvariant-core/src/main/java/eu/mulk/jgvariant/core/Decoder.java
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 package eu.mulk.jgvariant.core;
 
 import static java.lang.Math.max;
+import static java.nio.ByteOrder.BIG_ENDIAN;
 import static java.nio.ByteOrder.LITTLE_ENDIAN;
 import static java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets.UTF_8;
 import static java.util.Objects.requireNonNullElse;
@@ -440,12 +441,16 @@
         ArrayList<Integer> framingOffsets = new ArrayList<>(value.size());
         int startOffset = byteWriter.position();
         for (var element : value) {
+          // Align the element.
+          var lastRelativeEnd = byteWriter.position() - startOffset;
+          byteWriter.write(new byte[align(lastRelativeEnd, alignment()) - lastRelativeEnd]);
+
+          // Encode the element.
           elementDecoder.encode(element, byteWriter);
+
+          // Record the framing offset of the element.
           var relativeEnd = byteWriter.position() - startOffset;
           framingOffsets.add(relativeEnd);
-
-          // Align the next element.
-          byteWriter.write(new byte[align(relativeEnd, alignment()) - relativeEnd]);
         }
 
         // Write the framing offsets.
@@ -710,21 +715,30 @@
     @Override
     @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
     void encode(Object[] value, ByteWriter byteWriter) {
+      // The unit type is encoded as a single zero byte.
+      if (value.length == 0) {
+        byteWriter.write((byte) 0);
+        return;
+      }
+
       int startOffset = byteWriter.position();
       ArrayList<Integer> framingOffsets = new ArrayList<>(value.length);
       for (int i = 0; i < value.length; ++i) {
         var componentDecoder = (Decoder<Object>) componentDecoders[i];
+
+        // Align the element.
+        var lastRelativeEnd = byteWriter.position() - startOffset;
+        byteWriter.write(new byte[align(lastRelativeEnd, componentDecoder.alignment()) - lastRelativeEnd]);
+
+        // Encode the element.
         componentDecoder.encode(value[i], byteWriter);
 
-        var relativeEnd = byteWriter.position() - startOffset;
-
+        // Record the framing offset of the element if it is of variable size.
         var fixedComponentSize = componentDecoders[i].fixedSize();
         if (fixedComponentSize == null && i < value.length - 1) {
+          var relativeEnd = byteWriter.position() - startOffset;
           framingOffsets.add(relativeEnd);
         }
-
-        // Align the next element.
-        byteWriter.write(new byte[align(relativeEnd, alignment()) - relativeEnd]);
       }
 
       // Write the framing offsets in reverse order.
@@ -732,6 +746,12 @@
       for (int i = framingOffsets.size() - 1; i >= 0; --i) {
         byteWriter.writeIntN(framingOffsets.get(i), framingOffsetSize);
       }
+
+      // Pad the structure to its alignment if it is of fixed size.
+      if (fixedSize() != null) {
+        var lastRelativeEnd = byteWriter.position() - startOffset;
+        byteWriter.write(new byte[align(lastRelativeEnd, alignment()) - lastRelativeEnd]);
+      }
     }
   }
 
@@ -975,7 +995,7 @@
 
     @Override
     void encode(String value, ByteWriter byteWriter) {
-      byteWriter.write(charset.encode(value));
+      byteWriter.write(charset.encode(value).rewind());
       byteWriter.write((byte) 0);
     }
   }
@@ -1044,7 +1064,7 @@
       var innerByteWriter = new ByteWriter();
       Decoder.this.encode(value, innerByteWriter);
       var transformedBuffer = encodingFunction.apply(innerByteWriter.toByteBuffer());
-      byteWriter.write(transformedBuffer);
+      byteWriter.write(transformedBuffer.rewind());
     }
   }
 
@@ -1136,7 +1156,7 @@
   }
 
   private static class ByteWriter {
-    private ByteOrder byteOrder = ByteOrder.nativeOrder();
+    private ByteOrder byteOrder = BIG_ENDIAN;
     private final ByteArrayOutputStream outputStream;
 
     ByteWriter() {
@@ -1167,19 +1187,19 @@
     }
 
     void write(int value) {
-      write(ByteBuffer.allocate(4).order(byteOrder).putInt(value));
+      write(ByteBuffer.allocate(4).order(byteOrder).putInt(value).rewind());
     }
 
     void write(long value) {
-      write(ByteBuffer.allocate(8).order(byteOrder).putLong(value));
+      write(ByteBuffer.allocate(8).order(byteOrder).putLong(value).rewind());
     }
 
     void write(short value) {
-      write(ByteBuffer.allocate(2).order(byteOrder).putShort(value));
+      write(ByteBuffer.allocate(2).order(byteOrder).putShort(value).rewind());
     }
 
     void write(double value) {
-      write(ByteBuffer.allocate(8).order(byteOrder).putDouble(value));
+      write(ByteBuffer.allocate(8).order(byteOrder).putDouble(value).rewind());
     }
 
     private void writeIntN(int value, int byteCount) {
@@ -1195,7 +1215,7 @@
           default ->
             throw new IllegalArgumentException("invalid byte count: %d".formatted(byteCount));
         }
-      write(byteBuffer);
+      write(byteBuffer.rewind());
     }
 
     ByteWriter duplicate() {
diff --git a/jgvariant-core/src/test/java/eu/mulk/jgvariant/core/DecoderTest.java b/jgvariant-core/src/test/java/eu/mulk/jgvariant/core/DecoderTest.java
index 068b051..d97cf88 100644
--- a/jgvariant-core/src/test/java/eu/mulk/jgvariant/core/DecoderTest.java
+++ b/jgvariant-core/src/test/java/eu/mulk/jgvariant/core/DecoderTest.java
@@ -14,9 +14,7 @@
 
 import java.nio.ByteBuffer;
 import java.text.ParseException;
-import java.util.List;
-import java.util.Map;
-import java.util.Optional;
+import java.util.*;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 
 /**
@@ -24,13 +22,14 @@
  * href="https://people.gnome.org/~desrt/gvariant-serialisation.pdf">~desrt/gvariant-serialisation.pdf</a>.
  */
 @SuppressWarnings({
+  "ByteBufferBackingArray",
   "ImmutableListOf",
   "ImmutableListOf1",
   "ImmutableListOf2",
   "ImmutableListOf3",
   "ImmutableListOf4",
   "ImmutableListOf5",
-  "ImmutableMapOf2"
+  "ImmutableMapOf2",
 })
 class DecoderTest {
 
@@ -39,6 +38,9 @@
     var data = new byte[] {0x68, 0x65, 0x6C, 0x6C, 0x6F, 0x20, 0x77, 0x6F, 0x72, 0x6C, 0x64, 0x00};
     var decoder = Decoder.ofString(UTF_8);
     assertEquals("hello world", decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode("hello world");
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -47,6 +49,9 @@
         new byte[] {0x68, 0x65, 0x6C, 0x6C, 0x6F, 0x20, 0x77, 0x6F, 0x72, 0x6C, 0x64, 0x00, 0x00};
     var decoder = Decoder.ofMaybe(Decoder.ofString(UTF_8));
     assertEquals(Optional.of("hello world"), decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(Optional.of("hello world"));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -54,6 +59,9 @@
     var data = new byte[] {0x01, 0x00, 0x00, 0x01, 0x01};
     var decoder = Decoder.ofArray(Decoder.ofBoolean());
     assertEquals(List.of(true, false, false, true, true), decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(List.of(true, false, false, true, true));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -67,6 +75,9 @@
 
     var decoder = Decoder.ofStructure(TestRecord.class, Decoder.ofString(UTF_8), Decoder.ofInt());
     assertEquals(new TestRecord("foo", -1), decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(new TestRecord("foo", -1));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -109,6 +120,10 @@
     assertEquals(
         List.of(new TestRecord("hi", -2), new TestRecord("bye", -1)),
         decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData =
+        decoder.encode(List.of(new TestRecord("hi", -2), new TestRecord("bye", -1)));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -143,6 +158,13 @@
     var decoder =
         Decoder.ofDictionary(Decoder.ofString(UTF_8), Decoder.ofInt().withByteOrder(LITTLE_ENDIAN));
     assertEquals(Map.of("hi", -2, "bye", -1), decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var entity = new LinkedHashMap<String, Integer>();
+    entity.put("hi", -2);
+    entity.put("bye", -1);
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(entity);
+    System.out.println(HexFormat.of().formatHex(roundtripData.array()));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -154,6 +176,9 @@
         };
     var decoder = Decoder.ofArray(Decoder.ofString(UTF_8));
     assertEquals(List.of("i", "can", "has", "strings?"), decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(List.of("i", "can", "has", "strings?"));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -176,6 +201,11 @@
     assertEquals(
         new TestParent(new TestChild((byte) 0x69, "can"), List.of("has", "strings?")),
         decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData =
+        decoder.encode(
+            new TestParent(new TestChild((byte) 0x69, "can"), List.of("has", "strings?")));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -195,6 +225,9 @@
         () -> assertEquals(2, result.length),
         () -> assertArrayEquals(new Object[] {(byte) 0x69, "can"}, (Object[]) result[0]),
         () -> assertEquals(List.of("has", "strings?"), result[1]));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(variant);
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -210,6 +243,9 @@
             Decoder.ofByte().withByteOrder(LITTLE_ENDIAN));
 
     assertEquals(new TestRecord((byte) 0x60, (byte) 0x70), decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(new TestRecord((byte) 0x60, (byte) 0x70));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -225,6 +261,9 @@
             Decoder.ofByte().withByteOrder(LITTLE_ENDIAN));
 
     assertEquals(new TestRecord(0x60, (byte) 0x70), decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(new TestRecord(0x60, (byte) 0x70));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -240,6 +279,9 @@
             Decoder.ofInt().withByteOrder(LITTLE_ENDIAN));
 
     assertEquals(new TestRecord((byte) 0x60, 0x70), decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(new TestRecord((byte) 0x60, 0x70));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -276,6 +318,10 @@
     assertEquals(
         List.of(new TestRecord(96, (byte) 0x70), new TestRecord(648, (byte) 0xf7)),
         decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData =
+        decoder.encode(List.of(new TestRecord(96, (byte) 0x70), new TestRecord(648, (byte) 0xf7)));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -287,6 +333,9 @@
     assertEquals(
         List.of((byte) 0x04, (byte) 0x05, (byte) 0x06, (byte) 0x07),
         decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(List.of((byte) 0x04, (byte) 0x05, (byte) 0x06, (byte) 0x07));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -296,6 +345,9 @@
     var decoder = Decoder.ofByteArray();
 
     assertArrayEquals(data, decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(data);
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -307,6 +359,9 @@
     var decoder = Decoder.ofStructure(TestRecord.class, Decoder.ofByteArray());
 
     assertArrayEquals(data, decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)).bytes());
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(new TestRecord(data));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -316,6 +371,9 @@
     var decoder = Decoder.ofArray(Decoder.ofInt().withByteOrder(LITTLE_ENDIAN));
 
     assertEquals(List.of(4, 258), decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(List.of(4, 258));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -327,6 +385,9 @@
         Decoder.ofDictionaryEntry(
             Decoder.ofString(UTF_8), Decoder.ofInt().withByteOrder(LITTLE_ENDIAN));
     assertEquals(Map.entry("a key", 514), decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(Map.entry("a key", 514));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -340,6 +401,9 @@
         Decoder.ofStructure(
             TestEntry.class, Decoder.ofString(UTF_8), Decoder.ofInt().withByteOrder(LITTLE_ENDIAN));
     assertEquals(new TestEntry("a key", 514), decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(new TestEntry("a key", 514));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -359,6 +423,10 @@
             Decoder.ofLong().withByteOrder(LITTLE_ENDIAN),
             Decoder.ofDouble());
     assertEquals(new TestRecord((short) 1, 2, 3.25), decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(new TestRecord((short) 1, 2, 3.25));
+
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -373,6 +441,9 @@
     assertEquals(
         new TestRecord(Optional.of((byte) 1), Optional.empty()),
         decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(new TestRecord(Optional.of((byte) 1), Optional.empty()));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -393,6 +464,9 @@
 
     var decoder = Decoder.ofStructure(TestRecord.class);
     assertEquals(new TestRecord(), decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(new TestRecord());
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -404,6 +478,9 @@
     var decoder = Decoder.ofArray(Decoder.ofStructure(TestRecord.class));
     assertEquals(
         List.of(new TestRecord(), new TestRecord()), decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(List.of(new TestRecord(), new TestRecord()));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -414,6 +491,9 @@
 
     var decoder = Decoder.ofArray(Decoder.ofStructure(TestRecord.class));
     assertEquals(List.of(new TestRecord()), decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(List.of(new TestRecord()));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -424,6 +504,9 @@
 
     var decoder = Decoder.ofArray(Decoder.ofStructure(TestRecord.class));
     assertEquals(List.of(), decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(List.of());
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -434,6 +517,9 @@
 
     var decoder = Decoder.ofArray(Decoder.ofStructure(TestRecord.class));
     assertEquals(List.of(), decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(List.of());
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -500,6 +586,9 @@
           List.of(11, 12)
         },
         (Object[]) decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)).value());
+
+    var roundtripData = decoder.encode(decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -610,5 +699,14 @@
             new TestChild((short) 5, (short) 6),
             new TestChild((short) 7, (short) 8)),
         decoder.decode(ByteBuffer.wrap(data)));
+
+    var roundtripData =
+        decoder.encode(
+            new TestParent(
+                new TestChild((short) 1, (short) 2),
+                new TestChild((short) 3, (short) 4),
+                new TestChild((short) 5, (short) 6),
+                new TestChild((short) 7, (short) 8)));
+    assertArrayEquals(data, roundtripData.array());
   }
 }