diff --git a/qemu/Cargo.toml b/qemu/Cargo.toml
index 18d0fa4..1100725 100644
--- a/qemu/Cargo.toml
+++ b/qemu/Cargo.toml
@@ -5,3 +5,7 @@ edition = "2021"
 
 [dependencies]
 const-default = { version = "~1", features = ["derive"] }
+libc = "^0"
+
+[dev-dependencies]
+matches = ">=0"
diff --git a/qemu/src/util/foreign.rs b/qemu/src/util/foreign.rs
index a591925..0b8b708 100644
--- a/qemu/src/util/foreign.rs
+++ b/qemu/src/util/foreign.rs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 /// Similar to glib-rs but a bit simpler and possibly more
 /// idiomatic.
 use std::borrow::Cow;
+use std::ffi::{c_char, c_void, CStr, CString};
 use std::fmt;
 use std::fmt::Debug;
 use std::mem;
@@ -22,6 +23,14 @@ pub trait CloneToForeign {
     /// # Safety
     ///
     /// `p` must be `NULL` or point to valid data.
+    ///
+    /// ```
+    /// # use qemu::CloneToForeign;
+    /// let foreign = "Hello, world!".clone_to_foreign();
+    /// unsafe {
+    ///     String::free_foreign(foreign.into_inner());
+    /// }
+    /// ```
     unsafe fn free_foreign(p: *mut Self::Foreign);
 
     /// Convert a native Rust object to a foreign C struct, copying
@@ -119,6 +128,17 @@ pub trait IntoNative<T> {
     ///
     /// `p` must point to valid data, or can be `NULL` if Self is an
     /// `Option` type.  It becomes invalid after the function returns.
+    ///
+    /// ```
+    /// # use qemu::{CloneToForeign, IntoNative};
+    /// let s = "Hello, world!".to_string();
+    /// let foreign = s.clone_to_foreign();
+    /// let native: String = unsafe {
+    ///     foreign.into_native()
+    ///     // foreign is not leaked
+    /// };
+    /// assert_eq!(s, native);
+    /// ```
     unsafe fn into_native(self) -> T;
 }
 
@@ -141,6 +161,15 @@ pub trait FromForeign: CloneToForeign + Sized {
     ///
     /// `p` must point to valid data, or can be `NULL` is `Self` is an
     /// `Option` type.
+    ///
+    /// ```
+    /// # use qemu::FromForeign;
+    /// let p = c"Hello, world!".as_ptr();
+    /// let s = unsafe {
+    ///     String::cloned_from_foreign(p as *const std::ffi::c_char)
+    /// };
+    /// assert_eq!(s, "Hello, world!");
+    /// ```
     unsafe fn cloned_from_foreign(p: *const Self::Foreign) -> Self;
 
     /// Convert a C datum to a native Rust object, taking ownership of
@@ -152,6 +181,16 @@ pub trait FromForeign: CloneToForeign + Sized {
     ///
     /// `p` must point to valid data, or can be `NULL` is `Self` is an
     /// `Option` type.  `p` becomes invalid after the function returns.
+    ///
+    /// ```
+    /// # use qemu::{CloneToForeign, FromForeign};
+    /// let s = "Hello, world!";
+    /// let foreign = s.clone_to_foreign();
+    /// unsafe {
+    ///     assert_eq!(String::from_foreign(foreign.into_inner()), s);
+    /// }
+    /// // foreign is not leaked
+    /// ```
     unsafe fn from_foreign(p: *mut Self::Foreign) -> Self {
         let result = Self::cloned_from_foreign(p);
         Self::free_foreign(p);
@@ -176,6 +215,12 @@ impl<T: CloneToForeign + ?Sized> OwnedPointer<T> {
 
     /// Safely create an `OwnedPointer` from one that has the same
     /// freeing function.
+    /// ```
+    /// # use qemu::{CloneToForeign, OwnedPointer};
+    /// let s = "Hello, world!";
+    /// let foreign_str = s.clone_to_foreign();
+    /// let foreign_string = OwnedPointer::<String>::from(foreign_str);
+    /// # assert_eq!(foreign_string.into_native(), s);
     pub fn from<U>(x: OwnedPointer<U>) -> Self
     where
         U: CloneToForeign<Foreign = <T as CloneToForeign>::Foreign> + ?Sized,
@@ -189,6 +234,12 @@ impl<T: CloneToForeign + ?Sized> OwnedPointer<T> {
 
     /// Safely convert an `OwnedPointer` into one that has the same
     /// freeing function.
+    /// ```
+    /// # use qemu::{CloneToForeign, OwnedPointer};
+    /// let s = "Hello, world!";
+    /// let foreign_str = s.clone_to_foreign();
+    /// let foreign_string: OwnedPointer<String> = foreign_str.into();
+    /// # assert_eq!(foreign_string.into_native(), s);
     pub fn into<U>(self) -> OwnedPointer<U>
     where
         U: CloneToForeign<Foreign = <T as CloneToForeign>::Foreign>,
@@ -198,6 +249,16 @@ impl<T: CloneToForeign + ?Sized> OwnedPointer<T> {
 
     /// Return the pointer that is stored in the `OwnedPointer`.  The
     /// pointer is valid for as long as the `OwnedPointer` itself.
+    ///
+    /// ```
+    /// # use qemu::CloneToForeign;
+    /// let s = "Hello, world!";
+    /// let foreign = s.clone_to_foreign();
+    /// let p = foreign.as_ptr();
+    /// let len = unsafe { libc::strlen(p) };
+    /// drop(foreign);
+    /// # assert_eq!(len, 13);
+    /// ```
     pub fn as_ptr(&self) -> *const <T as CloneToForeign>::Foreign {
         self.ptr
     }
@@ -208,6 +269,15 @@ impl<T: CloneToForeign + ?Sized> OwnedPointer<T> {
 
     /// Return the pointer that is stored in the `OwnedPointer`,
     /// consuming the `OwnedPointer` but not freeing the pointer.
+    ///
+    /// ```
+    /// # use qemu::CloneToForeign;
+    /// let s = "Hello, world!";
+    /// let p = s.clone_to_foreign().into_inner();
+    /// let len = unsafe { libc::strlen(p) };
+    /// // p needs to be freed manually
+    /// # assert_eq!(len, 13);
+    /// ```
     pub fn into_inner(mut self) -> *mut <T as CloneToForeign>::Foreign {
         let result = mem::replace(&mut self.ptr, ptr::null_mut());
         mem::forget(self);
@@ -218,6 +288,17 @@ impl<T: CloneToForeign + ?Sized> OwnedPointer<T> {
 impl<T: FromForeign + ?Sized> OwnedPointer<T> {
     /// Convert a C datum to a native Rust object, taking ownership of
     /// the pointer or Rust object (same as `from_glib_full` in `glib-rs`)
+    ///
+    /// ```
+    /// # use qemu::{CloneToForeign, IntoNative};
+    /// let s = "Hello, world!".to_string();
+    /// let foreign = s.clone_to_foreign();
+    /// let native: String = unsafe {
+    ///     foreign.into_native()
+    ///     // foreign is not leaked
+    /// };
+    /// assert_eq!(s, native);
+    /// ```
     pub fn into_native(self) -> T {
         // SAFETY: the pointer was passed to the unsafe constructor OwnedPointer::new
         unsafe { T::from_foreign(self.into_inner()) }
@@ -245,3 +326,378 @@ impl<T: CloneToForeign + ?Sized> Drop for OwnedPointer<T> {
         unsafe { T::free_foreign(p) }
     }
 }
+
+impl CloneToForeign for str {
+    type Foreign = c_char;
+
+    unsafe fn free_foreign(ptr: *mut c_char) {
+        libc::free(ptr as *mut c_void);
+    }
+
+    fn clone_to_foreign(&self) -> OwnedPointer<Self> {
+        // SAFETY: self.as_ptr() is guaranteed to point to self.len() bytes;
+        // the destination is freshly allocated
+        unsafe {
+            let p = libc::malloc(self.len() + 1) as *mut c_char;
+            ptr::copy_nonoverlapping(self.as_ptr() as *const c_char, p, self.len());
+            *p.add(self.len()) = 0;
+            OwnedPointer::new(p)
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl CloneToForeign for CStr {
+    type Foreign = c_char;
+
+    unsafe fn free_foreign(ptr: *mut c_char) {
+        libc::free(ptr as *mut c_void);
+    }
+
+    fn clone_to_foreign(&self) -> OwnedPointer<Self> {
+        // SAFETY: self.as_ptr() is guaranteed to point to self.len() bytes;
+        // the destination is freshly allocated
+        unsafe {
+            let slice = self.to_bytes_with_nul();
+            let p = libc::malloc(slice.len()) as *mut c_char;
+            ptr::copy_nonoverlapping(self.as_ptr() as *const c_char, p, slice.len());
+            OwnedPointer::new(p)
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+impl CloneToForeign for String {
+    type Foreign = c_char;
+
+    unsafe fn free_foreign(ptr: *mut c_char) {
+        libc::free(ptr as *mut c_void);
+    }
+
+    fn clone_to_foreign(&self) -> OwnedPointer<Self> {
+        self.as_str().clone_to_foreign().into()
+    }
+}
+
+impl FromForeign for String {
+    unsafe fn cloned_from_foreign(p: *const c_char) -> Self {
+        let cstr = CStr::from_ptr(p);
+        String::from_utf8_lossy(cstr.to_bytes()).into_owned()
+    }
+}
+
+impl CloneToForeign for CString {
+    type Foreign = c_char;
+
+    unsafe fn free_foreign(ptr: *mut c_char) {
+        libc::free(ptr as *mut c_void);
+    }
+
+    fn clone_to_foreign(&self) -> OwnedPointer<Self> {
+        self.as_c_str().clone_to_foreign().into()
+    }
+}
+
+impl FromForeign for CString {
+    unsafe fn cloned_from_foreign(p: *const c_char) -> Self {
+        CStr::from_ptr(p).to_owned()
+    }
+}
+
+impl FromForeign for Cow<'_, str>
+{
+    unsafe fn cloned_from_foreign(p: *const c_char) -> Self {
+        let cstr = CStr::from_ptr(p);
+        cstr.to_string_lossy()
+    }
+}
+
+macro_rules! foreign_copy_type {
+    ($rust_type:ty, $foreign_type:ty) => {
+        impl CloneToForeign for $rust_type {
+            type Foreign = $foreign_type;
+
+            unsafe fn free_foreign(ptr: *mut Self::Foreign) {
+                libc::free(ptr as *mut c_void);
+            }
+
+            fn clone_to_foreign(&self) -> OwnedPointer<Self> {
+                // Safety: we are copying into a freshly-allocated block
+                unsafe {
+                    let p = libc::malloc(mem::size_of::<Self>()) as *mut Self::Foreign;
+                    *p = *self as Self::Foreign;
+                    OwnedPointer::new(p)
+                }
+            }
+        }
+
+        impl FromForeign for $rust_type {
+            unsafe fn cloned_from_foreign(p: *const Self::Foreign) -> Self {
+                *p
+            }
+        }
+
+        impl CloneToForeign for [$rust_type] {
+            type Foreign = $foreign_type;
+
+            unsafe fn free_foreign(ptr: *mut Self::Foreign) {
+                libc::free(ptr as *mut c_void);
+            }
+
+            fn clone_to_foreign(&self) -> OwnedPointer<Self> {
+                // SAFETY: self.as_ptr() is guaranteed to point to the same number of bytes
+                // as the freshly allocated destination
+                unsafe {
+                    let size = mem::size_of::<Self::Foreign>();
+                    let p = libc::malloc(self.len() * size) as *mut Self::Foreign;
+                    ptr::copy_nonoverlapping(self.as_ptr() as *const Self::Foreign, p, self.len());
+                    OwnedPointer::new(p)
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    };
+}
+foreign_copy_type!(i8, i8);
+foreign_copy_type!(u8, u8);
+foreign_copy_type!(i16, i16);
+foreign_copy_type!(u16, u16);
+foreign_copy_type!(i32, i32);
+foreign_copy_type!(u32, u32);
+foreign_copy_type!(i64, i64);
+foreign_copy_type!(u64, u64);
+foreign_copy_type!(isize, libc::ptrdiff_t);
+foreign_copy_type!(usize, libc::size_t);
+foreign_copy_type!(f32, f32);
+foreign_copy_type!(f64, f64);
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    #![allow(clippy::shadow_unrelated)]
+
+    use super::*;
+    use matches::assert_matches;
+    use std::ffi::c_void;
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_foreign_int_convert() {
+        let i = 123i8;
+        let p = i.clone_to_foreign();
+        unsafe {
+            assert_eq!(i, *p.as_ptr());
+            assert_eq!(i, i8::cloned_from_foreign(p.as_ptr()));
+        }
+        assert_eq!(i, p.into_native());
+
+        let p = i.clone_to_foreign();
+        unsafe {
+            assert_eq!(i, i8::from_foreign(p.into_inner()));
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_cloned_from_foreign_string_cow() {
+        let s = "Hello, world!".to_string();
+        let cstr = c"Hello, world!";
+        let cloned = unsafe { Cow::cloned_from_foreign(cstr.as_ptr()) };
+        assert_eq!(s, cloned);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_cloned_from_foreign_string() {
+        let s = "Hello, world!".to_string();
+        let cstr = c"Hello, world!";
+        let cloned = unsafe { String::cloned_from_foreign(cstr.as_ptr()) };
+        assert_eq!(s, cloned);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_cloned_from_foreign_cstring() {
+        let s = CString::new("Hello, world!").unwrap();
+        let cloned = s.clone_to_foreign();
+        let copy = unsafe { CString::cloned_from_foreign(cloned.as_ptr()) };
+        assert_ne!(copy.as_ptr(), cloned.as_ptr());
+        assert_ne!(copy.as_ptr(), s.as_ptr());
+        assert_eq!(copy, s);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_from_foreign_string() {
+        let s = "Hello, world!".to_string();
+        let cloned = s.clone_to_foreign_ptr();
+        let copy = unsafe { String::from_foreign(cloned) };
+        assert_eq!(s, copy);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_owned_pointer_default() {
+        let s: String = Default::default();
+        let foreign: OwnedPointer<String> = Default::default();
+        let native = foreign.into_native();
+        assert_eq!(s, native);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_owned_pointer_into() {
+        let s = "Hello, world!".to_string();
+        let cloned: OwnedPointer<String> = s.clone_to_foreign().into();
+        let copy = cloned.into_native();
+        assert_eq!(s, copy);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_owned_pointer_into_native() {
+        let s = "Hello, world!".to_string();
+        let cloned = s.clone_to_foreign();
+        let copy = cloned.into_native();
+        assert_eq!(s, copy);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_ptr_into_native() {
+        let s = "Hello, world!".to_string();
+        let cloned = s.clone_to_foreign_ptr();
+        let copy: String = unsafe { cloned.into_native() };
+        assert_eq!(s, copy);
+
+        // This is why type bounds are needed... they aren't for
+        // OwnedPointer::into_native
+        let cloned = s.clone_to_foreign_ptr();
+        let copy: c_char = unsafe { cloned.into_native() };
+        assert_eq!(s.as_bytes()[0], copy as u8);
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_clone_to_foreign_str() {
+        let s = "Hello, world!";
+        let p = c"Hello, world!".as_ptr();
+        let cloned = s.clone_to_foreign();
+        unsafe {
+            let len = libc::strlen(cloned.as_ptr());
+            assert_eq!(len, s.len());
+            assert_eq!(
+                libc::memcmp(
+                    cloned.as_ptr() as *const c_void,
+                    p as *const c_void,
+                    len + 1
+                ),
+                0
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_clone_to_foreign_cstr() {
+        let s: &CStr = c"Hello, world!";
+        let cloned = s.clone_to_foreign();
+        unsafe {
+            let len = libc::strlen(cloned.as_ptr());
+            assert_eq!(len, s.count_bytes());
+            assert_eq!(
+                libc::memcmp(
+                    cloned.as_ptr() as *const c_void,
+                    s.as_ptr() as *const c_void,
+                    len + 1
+                ),
+                0
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_clone_to_foreign_string_cow() {
+        let p = c"Hello, world!".as_ptr();
+        for s in vec![
+            Into::<Cow<str>>::into("Hello, world!"),
+            Into::<Cow<str>>::into("Hello, world!".to_string())] {
+            let cloned = s.clone_to_foreign();
+            unsafe {
+                let len = libc::strlen(cloned.as_ptr());
+                assert_eq!(len, s.len());
+                assert_eq!(
+                    libc::memcmp(
+                        cloned.as_ptr() as *const c_void,
+                        p as *const c_void,
+                        len + 1
+                    ),
+                    0
+                );
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_clone_to_foreign_bytes() {
+        let s = b"Hello, world!\0";
+        let cloned = s.clone_to_foreign();
+        unsafe {
+            let len = libc::strlen(cloned.as_ptr() as *const c_char);
+            assert_eq!(len, s.len() - 1);
+            assert_eq!(
+                libc::memcmp(
+                    cloned.as_ptr() as *const c_void,
+                    s.as_ptr() as *const c_void,
+                    len + 1
+                ),
+                0
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_clone_to_foreign_cstring() {
+        let s = CString::new("Hello, world!").unwrap();
+        let cloned = s.clone_to_foreign();
+        unsafe {
+            assert_ne!(s.as_ptr(), cloned.as_ptr());
+            assert_eq!(
+                libc::strcmp(
+                    cloned.as_ptr() as *const c_char,
+                    s.as_ptr() as *const c_char,
+                ),
+                0
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_clone_to_foreign_string() {
+        let s = "Hello, world!".to_string();
+        let cstr = c"Hello, world!";
+        let cloned = s.clone_to_foreign();
+        unsafe {
+            let len = libc::strlen(cloned.as_ptr());
+            assert_eq!(len, s.len());
+            assert_eq!(
+                libc::memcmp(
+                    cloned.as_ptr() as *const c_void,
+                    cstr.as_ptr() as *const c_void,
+                    len + 1
+                ),
+                0
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_option() {
+        // An Option can be used to produce or convert NULL pointers
+        let s = Some("Hello, world!".to_string());
+        let cstr = c"Hello, world!";
+        unsafe {
+            assert_eq!(Option::<String>::cloned_from_foreign(cstr.as_ptr()), s);
+            assert_matches!(Option::<String>::cloned_from_foreign(ptr::null()), None);
+            assert_matches!(Option::<String>::from_foreign(ptr::null_mut()), None);
+        }
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn test_box() {
+        // A box can be produced if the inner type has the capability.
+        let s = Box::new("Hello, world!".to_string());
+        let cstr = c"Hello, world!";
+        let cloned = unsafe { Box::<String>::cloned_from_foreign(cstr.as_ptr()) };
+        assert_eq!(s, cloned);
+
+        let s = Some(Box::new("Hello, world!".to_string()));
+        let cloned = unsafe { Option::<Box<String>>::cloned_from_foreign(cstr.as_ptr()) };
+        assert_eq!(s, cloned);
+    }
+}
