diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index c2c15813..c690e819 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -640,9 +640,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "toml"
-version = "0.9.12+spec-1.1.0"
+version = "1.0.3+spec-1.1.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "cf92845e79fc2e2def6a5d828f0801e29a2f8acc037becc5ab08595c7d5e9863"
+checksum = "c7614eaf19ad818347db24addfa201729cf2a9b6fdfd9eb0ab870fcacc606c0c"
 dependencies = [
  "indexmap",
  "serde_core",
@@ -655,9 +655,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "toml_datetime"
-version = "0.7.5+spec-1.1.0"
+version = "1.0.0+spec-1.1.0"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "92e1cfed4a3038bc5a127e35a2d360f145e1f4b971b551a2ba5fd7aedf7e1347"
+checksum = "32c2555c699578a4f59f0cc68e5116c8d7cabbd45e1409b989d4be085b53f13e"
 dependencies = [
  "serde_core",
 ]
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 25415ce4..068a3f49 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ rust-version = "1.88"
 
 [workspace.dependencies]
 serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }
-toml = { version = "0.9", default-features = false, features = ["std", "parse", "serde"] }
+toml = { version = "1", default-features = false, features = ["std", "parse", "serde"] }
 
 [package]
 name = "rustlings"
diff --git a/rustlings-macros/src/lib.rs b/rustlings-macros/src/lib.rs
index b20c6f1d..db758d59 100644
--- a/rustlings-macros/src/lib.rs
+++ b/rustlings-macros/src/lib.rs
@@ -3,14 +3,15 @@ use quote::quote;
 use serde::Deserialize;
 
 #[derive(Deserialize)]
-struct ExerciseInfo {
-    name: String,
-    dir: String,
+struct ExerciseInfo<'a> {
+    name: &'a str,
+    dir: &'a str,
 }
 
 #[derive(Deserialize)]
-struct InfoFile {
-    exercises: Vec<ExerciseInfo>,
+struct InfoFile<'a> {
+    #[serde(borrow)]
+    exercises: Vec<ExerciseInfo<'a>>,
 }
 
 #[proc_macro]
@@ -37,7 +38,7 @@ pub fn include_files(_: TokenStream) -> TokenStream {
             continue;
         }
 
-        dirs.push(exercise.dir.as_str());
+        dirs.push(exercise.dir);
         *dir_ind = dirs.len() - 1;
     }
 
diff --git a/src/app_state.rs b/src/app_state.rs
index d654d042..71a4fbbf 100644
--- a/src/app_state.rs
+++ b/src/app_state.rs
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ pub struct AppState {
     exercises: Vec<Exercise>,
     // Caches the number of done exercises to avoid iterating over all exercises every time.
     n_done: u16,
-    final_message: String,
+    final_message: &'static str,
     state_file: File,
     // Preallocated buffer for reading and writing the state file.
     file_buf: Vec<u8>,
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ pub struct AppState {
 impl AppState {
     pub fn new(
         exercise_infos: Vec<ExerciseInfo>,
-        final_message: String,
+        final_message: &'static str,
     ) -> Result<(Self, StateFileStatus)> {
         let cmd_runner = CmdRunner::build()?;
         let mut state_file = OpenOptions::new()
@@ -87,34 +87,33 @@ impl AppState {
                 // Leaking is not a problem because the `AppState` instance lives until
                 // the end of the program.
                 let path = exercise_info.path().leak();
-                let name = exercise_info.name.leak();
-                let dir = exercise_info.dir.map(|dir| &*dir.leak());
-                let hint = exercise_info.hint.leak().trim_ascii();
+                let hint = exercise_info.hint.trim_ascii();
 
                 let canonical_path = dir_canonical_path.as_deref().map(|dir_canonical_path| {
                     let mut canonical_path;
-                    if let Some(dir) = dir {
+                    if let Some(dir) = exercise_info.dir {
                         canonical_path = String::with_capacity(
-                            2 + dir_canonical_path.len() + dir.len() + name.len(),
+                            2 + dir_canonical_path.len() + dir.len() + exercise_info.name.len(),
                         );
                         canonical_path.push_str(dir_canonical_path);
                         canonical_path.push_str(MAIN_SEPARATOR_STR);
                         canonical_path.push_str(dir);
                     } else {
-                        canonical_path =
-                            String::with_capacity(1 + dir_canonical_path.len() + name.len());
+                        canonical_path = String::with_capacity(
+                            1 + dir_canonical_path.len() + exercise_info.name.len(),
+                        );
                         canonical_path.push_str(dir_canonical_path);
                     }
 
                     canonical_path.push_str(MAIN_SEPARATOR_STR);
-                    canonical_path.push_str(name);
+                    canonical_path.push_str(exercise_info.name);
                     canonical_path.push_str(".rs");
                     canonical_path
                 });
 
                 Exercise {
-                    dir,
-                    name,
+                    dir: exercise_info.dir,
+                    name: exercise_info.name,
                     path,
                     canonical_path,
                     test: exercise_info.test,
@@ -616,7 +615,7 @@ mod tests {
             current_exercise_ind: 0,
             exercises: vec![dummy_exercise(), dummy_exercise(), dummy_exercise()],
             n_done: 0,
-            final_message: String::new(),
+            final_message: "",
             state_file: tempfile::tempfile().unwrap(),
             file_buf: Vec::new(),
             official_exercises: true,
diff --git a/src/cargo_toml.rs b/src/cargo_toml.rs
index ce0dfd0c..9297da82 100644
--- a/src/cargo_toml.rs
+++ b/src/cargo_toml.rs
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ pub fn append_bins(
         buf.extend_from_slice(b"\", path = \"");
         buf.extend_from_slice(exercise_path_prefix);
         buf.extend_from_slice(b"exercises/");
-        if let Some(dir) = &exercise_info.dir {
+        if let Some(dir) = exercise_info.dir {
             buf.extend_from_slice(dir.as_bytes());
             buf.push(b'/');
         }
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ pub fn append_bins(
         buf.extend_from_slice(b"\", path = \"");
         buf.extend_from_slice(exercise_path_prefix);
         buf.extend_from_slice(b"solutions/");
-        if let Some(dir) = &exercise_info.dir {
+        if let Some(dir) = exercise_info.dir {
             buf.extend_from_slice(dir.as_bytes());
             buf.push(b'/');
         }
@@ -106,19 +106,19 @@ mod tests {
     fn test_bins() {
         let exercise_infos = [
             ExerciseInfo {
-                name: String::from("1"),
+                name: "1",
                 dir: None,
                 test: true,
                 strict_clippy: true,
-                hint: String::new(),
+                hint: "",
                 skip_check_unsolved: false,
             },
             ExerciseInfo {
-                name: String::from("2"),
-                dir: Some(String::from("d")),
+                name: "2",
+                dir: Some("d"),
                 test: false,
                 strict_clippy: false,
-                hint: String::new(),
+                hint: "",
                 skip_check_unsolved: false,
             },
         ];
diff --git a/src/dev/check.rs b/src/dev/check.rs
index f7111063..16d04563 100644
--- a/src/dev/check.rs
+++ b/src/dev/check.rs
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ fn check_info_file_exercises(info_file: &InfoFile) -> Result<HashSet<PathBuf>> {
 
     let mut file_buf = String::with_capacity(1 << 14);
     for exercise_info in &info_file.exercises {
-        let name = exercise_info.name.as_str();
+        let name = exercise_info.name;
         if name.is_empty() {
             bail!("Found an empty exercise name in `info.toml`");
         }
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ fn check_info_file_exercises(info_file: &InfoFile) -> Result<HashSet<PathBuf>> {
             bail!("Char `{c}` in the exercise name `{name}` is not allowed");
         }
 
-        if let Some(dir) = &exercise_info.dir {
+        if let Some(dir) = exercise_info.dir {
             if dir.is_empty() {
                 bail!("The exercise `{name}` has an empty dir name in `info.toml`");
             }
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ fn check_exercises_unsolved(
             Some(
                 thread::Builder::new()
                     .spawn(|| exercise_info.run_exercise(None, cmd_runner))
-                    .map(|handle| (exercise_info.name.as_str(), handle)),
+                    .map(|handle| (exercise_info.name, handle)),
             )
         })
         .collect::<Result<Vec<_>, _>>()
diff --git a/src/embedded.rs b/src/embedded.rs
index 61a5f581..bee4119c 100644
--- a/src/embedded.rs
+++ b/src/embedded.rs
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ impl EmbeddedFiles {
             exercise_path.truncate(prefix.len());
             exercise_path.push_str(dir.name);
             exercise_path.push('/');
-            exercise_path.push_str(&exercise_info.name);
+            exercise_path.push_str(exercise_info.name);
             exercise_path.push_str(".rs");
 
             fs::write(&exercise_path, exercise_files.exercise)
@@ -141,13 +141,14 @@ mod tests {
     use super::*;
 
     #[derive(Deserialize)]
-    struct ExerciseInfo {
-        dir: String,
+    struct ExerciseInfo<'a> {
+        dir: &'a str,
     }
 
     #[derive(Deserialize)]
-    struct InfoFile {
-        exercises: Vec<ExerciseInfo>,
+    struct InfoFile<'a> {
+        #[serde(borrow)]
+        exercises: Vec<ExerciseInfo<'a>>,
     }
 
     #[test]
diff --git a/src/info_file.rs b/src/info_file.rs
index 04e5d644..8a90fcca 100644
--- a/src/info_file.rs
+++ b/src/info_file.rs
@@ -8,9 +8,9 @@ use crate::{embedded::EMBEDDED_FILES, exercise::RunnableExercise};
 #[derive(Deserialize)]
 pub struct ExerciseInfo {
     /// Exercise's unique name.
-    pub name: String,
+    pub name: &'static str,
     /// Exercise's directory name inside the `exercises/` directory.
-    pub dir: Option<String>,
+    pub dir: Option<&'static str>,
     /// Run `cargo test` on the exercise.
     #[serde(default = "default_true")]
     pub test: bool,
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ pub struct ExerciseInfo {
     #[serde(default)]
     pub strict_clippy: bool,
     /// The exercise's hint to be shown to the user on request.
-    pub hint: String,
+    pub hint: &'static str,
     /// The exercise is already solved. Ignore it when checking that all exercises are unsolved.
     #[serde(default)]
     pub skip_check_unsolved: bool,
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ const fn default_true() -> bool {
 impl ExerciseInfo {
     /// Path to the exercise file starting with the `exercises/` directory.
     pub fn path(&self) -> String {
-        let mut path = if let Some(dir) = &self.dir {
+        let mut path = if let Some(dir) = self.dir {
             // 14 = 10 + 1 + 3
             // exercises/ + / + .rs
             let mut path = String::with_capacity(14 + dir.len() + self.name.len());
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ impl ExerciseInfo {
             path
         };
 
-        path.push_str(&self.name);
+        path.push_str(self.name);
         path.push_str(".rs");
 
         path
@@ -57,12 +57,12 @@ impl ExerciseInfo {
 impl RunnableExercise for ExerciseInfo {
     #[inline]
     fn name(&self) -> &str {
-        &self.name
+        self.name
     }
 
     #[inline]
     fn dir(&self) -> Option<&str> {
-        self.dir.as_deref()
+        self.dir
     }
 
     #[inline]
@@ -82,9 +82,9 @@ pub struct InfoFile {
     /// For possible breaking changes in the future for community exercises.
     pub format_version: u8,
     /// Shown to users when starting with the exercises.
-    pub welcome_message: Option<String>,
+    pub welcome_message: Option<&'static str>,
     /// Shown to users after finishing all exercises.
-    pub final_message: Option<String>,
+    pub final_message: Option<&'static str>,
     /// List of all exercises.
     pub exercises: Vec<ExerciseInfo>,
 }
@@ -95,7 +95,8 @@ impl InfoFile {
     pub fn parse() -> Result<Self> {
         // Read a local `info.toml` if it exists.
         let slf = match fs::read_to_string("info.toml") {
-            Ok(file_content) => toml::de::from_str::<Self>(&file_content)
+            // Leaking is fine since `InfoFile` is used until the end of the program.
+            Ok(file_content) => toml::de::from_str::<Self>(file_content.leak())
                 .context("Failed to parse the `info.toml` file")?,
             Err(e) => {
                 if e.kind() == ErrorKind::NotFound {
diff --git a/src/init.rs b/src/init.rs
index 16ea35e8..9ef211e1 100644
--- a/src/init.rs
+++ b/src/init.rs
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ use std::{
     env::set_current_dir,
     fs::{self, create_dir},
     io::{self, Write},
-    path::{Path, PathBuf},
+    path::Path,
     process::{Command, Stdio},
 };
 
@@ -18,8 +18,9 @@ use crate::{
 };
 
 #[derive(Deserialize)]
-struct CargoLocateProject {
-    root: PathBuf,
+struct CargoLocateProject<'a> {
+    #[serde(borrow)]
+    root: &'a Path,
 }
 
 pub fn init() -> Result<()> {
@@ -72,7 +73,7 @@ pub fn init() -> Result<()> {
                 )?
                 .root;
 
-        let workspace_manifest_content = fs::read_to_string(&workspace_manifest)
+        let workspace_manifest_content = fs::read_to_string(workspace_manifest)
             .with_context(|| format!("Failed to read the file {}", workspace_manifest.display()))?;
         if !workspace_manifest_content.contains("[workspace]")
             && !workspace_manifest_content.contains("workspace.")
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index ffd2dfa7..b541b68f 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ fn main() -> Result<ExitCode> {
                 None
             } else {
                 // For the notify event handler thread.
-                // Leaking is not a problem because the slice lives until the end of the program.
+                // Leaking is fine since the slice is used until the end of the program.
                 Some(
                     &*app_state
                         .exercises()