diff --git a/src/Compilation.zig b/src/Compilation.zig
index 98f4012a26..6c7f1d0d83 100644
--- a/src/Compilation.zig
+++ b/src/Compilation.zig
@@ -2311,7 +2311,7 @@ pub fn update(comp: *Compilation, main_progress_node: *std.Progress.Node) !void
 fn flush(comp: *Compilation, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !void {
     if (comp.bin_file) |lf| {
         // This is needed before reading the error flags.
-        lf.flush(comp, prog_node) catch |err| switch (err) {
+        lf.flush(arena, prog_node) catch |err| switch (err) {
             error.FlushFailure => {}, // error reported through link_error_flags
             error.LLDReportedFailure => {}, // error reported via lockAndParseLldStderr
             else => |e| return e,
diff --git a/src/link.zig b/src/link.zig
index 89f4125888..5c296b49ab 100644
--- a/src/link.zig
+++ b/src/link.zig
@@ -547,19 +547,22 @@ pub const File = struct {
 
     /// Commit pending changes and write headers. Takes into account final output mode
     /// and `use_lld`, not only `effectiveOutputMode`.
-    pub fn flush(base: *File, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) FlushError!void {
+    /// `arena` has the lifetime of the call to `Compilation.update`.
+    pub fn flush(base: *File, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) FlushError!void {
         if (build_options.only_c) {
             assert(base.tag == .c);
-            return @fieldParentPtr(C, "base", base).flush(comp, prog_node);
+            return @fieldParentPtr(C, "base", base).flush(arena, prog_node);
         }
+        const comp = base.comp;
         if (comp.clang_preprocessor_mode == .yes) {
+            const gpa = comp.gpa;
             const emit = base.emit;
             // TODO: avoid extra link step when it's just 1 object file (the `zig cc -c` case)
             // Until then, we do `lld -r -o output.o input.o` even though the output is the same
             // as the input. For the preprocessing case (`zig cc -E -o foo`) we copy the file
             // to the final location. See also the corresponding TODO in Coff linking.
-            const full_out_path = try emit.directory.join(comp.gpa, &[_][]const u8{emit.sub_path});
-            defer comp.gpa.free(full_out_path);
+            const full_out_path = try emit.directory.join(gpa, &[_][]const u8{emit.sub_path});
+            defer gpa.free(full_out_path);
             assert(comp.c_object_table.count() == 1);
             const the_key = comp.c_object_table.keys()[0];
             const cached_pp_file_path = the_key.status.success.object_path;
@@ -571,25 +574,25 @@ pub const File = struct {
         const output_mode = comp.config.output_mode;
         const link_mode = comp.config.link_mode;
         if (use_lld and output_mode == .Lib and link_mode == .Static) {
-            return base.linkAsArchive(comp, prog_node);
+            return base.linkAsArchive(arena, prog_node);
         }
         switch (base.tag) {
             inline else => |tag| {
-                return @fieldParentPtr(tag.Type(), "base", base).flush(comp, prog_node);
+                return @fieldParentPtr(tag.Type(), "base", base).flush(arena, prog_node);
             },
         }
     }
 
     /// Commit pending changes and write headers. Works based on `effectiveOutputMode`
     /// rather than final output mode.
-    pub fn flushModule(base: *File, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) FlushError!void {
+    pub fn flushModule(base: *File, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) FlushError!void {
         switch (base.tag) {
             .c => {
-                return @fieldParentPtr(C, "base", base).flushModule(comp, prog_node);
+                return @fieldParentPtr(C, "base", base).flushModule(arena, prog_node);
             },
             inline else => |tag| {
                 if (build_options.only_c) unreachable;
-                return @fieldParentPtr(tag.Type(), "base", base).flushModule(comp, prog_node);
+                return @fieldParentPtr(tag.Type(), "base", base).flushModule(arena, prog_node);
             },
         }
     }
@@ -707,14 +710,12 @@ pub const File = struct {
         }
     }
 
-    pub fn linkAsArchive(base: *File, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) FlushError!void {
+    pub fn linkAsArchive(base: *File, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) FlushError!void {
         const tracy = trace(@src());
         defer tracy.end();
 
+        const comp = base.comp;
         const gpa = comp.gpa;
-        var arena_allocator = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(gpa);
-        defer arena_allocator.deinit();
-        const arena = arena_allocator.allocator();
 
         const directory = base.emit.directory; // Just an alias to make it shorter to type.
         const full_out_path = try directory.join(arena, &[_][]const u8{base.emit.sub_path});
@@ -724,7 +725,7 @@ pub const File = struct {
         // If there is no Zig code to compile, then we should skip flushing the output file
         // because it will not be part of the linker line anyway.
         const zcu_obj_path: ?[]const u8 = if (opt_zcu != null) blk: {
-            try base.flushModule(comp, prog_node);
+            try base.flushModule(arena, prog_node);
 
             const dirname = fs.path.dirname(full_out_path_z) orelse ".";
             break :blk try fs.path.join(arena, &.{ dirname, base.zcu_object_sub_path.? });
diff --git a/src/link/C.zig b/src/link/C.zig
index 958ce12a06..68facb374b 100644
--- a/src/link/C.zig
+++ b/src/link/C.zig
@@ -376,8 +376,8 @@ pub fn updateDeclLineNumber(self: *C, module: *Module, decl_index: InternPool.De
     _ = decl_index;
 }
 
-pub fn flush(self: *C, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !void {
-    return self.flushModule(comp, prog_node);
+pub fn flush(self: *C, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !void {
+    return self.flushModule(arena, prog_node);
 }
 
 fn abiDefines(self: *C, target: std.Target) !std.ArrayList(u8) {
@@ -393,7 +393,9 @@ fn abiDefines(self: *C, target: std.Target) !std.ArrayList(u8) {
     return defines;
 }
 
-pub fn flushModule(self: *C, _: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !void {
+pub fn flushModule(self: *C, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !void {
+    _ = arena; // Has the same lifetime as the call to Compilation.update.
+
     const tracy = trace(@src());
     defer tracy.end();
 
@@ -401,7 +403,8 @@ pub fn flushModule(self: *C, _: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !vo
     sub_prog_node.activate();
     defer sub_prog_node.end();
 
-    const gpa = self.base.comp.gpa;
+    const comp = self.base.comp;
+    const gpa = comp.gpa;
     const module = self.base.comp.module.?;
 
     {
diff --git a/src/link/Coff.zig b/src/link/Coff.zig
index 7c95c3803e..7d825ef4d1 100644
--- a/src/link/Coff.zig
+++ b/src/link/Coff.zig
@@ -1706,28 +1706,26 @@ fn resolveGlobalSymbol(self: *Coff, current: SymbolWithLoc) !void {
     gop.value_ptr.* = current;
 }
 
-pub fn flush(self: *Coff, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
-    const use_lld = build_options.have_llvm and self.base.comp.config.use_lld;
+pub fn flush(self: *Coff, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
+    const comp = self.base.comp;
+    const use_lld = build_options.have_llvm and comp.config.use_lld;
     if (use_lld) {
-        return lld.linkWithLLD(self, comp, prog_node);
+        return lld.linkWithLLD(self, arena, prog_node);
     }
-    switch (self.base.comp.config.output_mode) {
-        .Exe, .Obj => return self.flushModule(comp, prog_node),
+    switch (comp.config.output_mode) {
+        .Exe, .Obj => return self.flushModule(arena, prog_node),
         .Lib => return error.TODOImplementWritingLibFiles,
     }
 }
 
-pub fn flushModule(self: *Coff, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
+pub fn flushModule(self: *Coff, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
     const tracy = trace(@src());
     defer tracy.end();
 
+    const comp = self.base.comp;
     const gpa = comp.gpa;
 
     if (self.llvm_object) |llvm_object| {
-        var arena_allocator = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(gpa);
-        defer arena_allocator.deinit();
-        const arena = arena_allocator.allocator();
-
         try self.base.emitLlvmObject(arena, llvm_object, prog_node);
         return;
     }
diff --git a/src/link/Coff/lld.zig b/src/link/Coff/lld.zig
index 3a833c40ae..914be5a443 100644
--- a/src/link/Coff/lld.zig
+++ b/src/link/Coff/lld.zig
@@ -17,14 +17,12 @@ const Allocator = mem.Allocator;
 const Coff = @import("../Coff.zig");
 const Compilation = @import("../../Compilation.zig");
 
-pub fn linkWithLLD(self: *Coff, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !void {
+pub fn linkWithLLD(self: *Coff, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !void {
     const tracy = trace(@src());
     defer tracy.end();
 
+    const comp = self.base.comp;
     const gpa = comp.gpa;
-    var arena_allocator = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(gpa);
-    defer arena_allocator.deinit();
-    const arena = arena_allocator.allocator();
 
     const directory = self.base.emit.directory; // Just an alias to make it shorter to type.
     const full_out_path = try directory.join(arena, &[_][]const u8{self.base.emit.sub_path});
@@ -32,7 +30,7 @@ pub fn linkWithLLD(self: *Coff, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Nod
     // If there is no Zig code to compile, then we should skip flushing the output file because it
     // will not be part of the linker line anyway.
     const module_obj_path: ?[]const u8 = if (comp.module != null) blk: {
-        try self.flushModule(comp, prog_node);
+        try self.flushModule(arena, prog_node);
 
         if (fs.path.dirname(full_out_path)) |dirname| {
             break :blk try fs.path.join(arena, &.{ dirname, self.base.zcu_object_sub_path.? });
diff --git a/src/link/Elf.zig b/src/link/Elf.zig
index a74b4b5ae6..2f1d5703f9 100644
--- a/src/link/Elf.zig
+++ b/src/link/Elf.zig
@@ -1026,22 +1026,20 @@ pub fn markDirty(self: *Elf, shdr_index: u16) void {
     }
 }
 
-pub fn flush(self: *Elf, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
+pub fn flush(self: *Elf, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
     const use_lld = build_options.have_llvm and self.base.comp.config.use_lld;
     if (use_lld) {
-        return self.linkWithLLD(comp, prog_node);
+        return self.linkWithLLD(arena, prog_node);
     }
-    try self.flushModule(comp, prog_node);
+    try self.flushModule(arena, prog_node);
 }
 
-pub fn flushModule(self: *Elf, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
+pub fn flushModule(self: *Elf, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
     const tracy = trace(@src());
     defer tracy.end();
 
+    const comp = self.base.comp;
     const gpa = comp.gpa;
-    var arena_allocator = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(gpa);
-    defer arena_allocator.deinit();
-    const arena = arena_allocator.allocator();
 
     if (self.llvm_object) |llvm_object| {
         try self.base.emitLlvmObject(arena, llvm_object, prog_node);
@@ -2349,22 +2347,20 @@ fn scanRelocs(self: *Elf) !void {
     }
 }
 
-fn linkWithLLD(self: *Elf, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !void {
+fn linkWithLLD(self: *Elf, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !void {
     const tracy = trace(@src());
     defer tracy.end();
 
-    const gpa = self.base.comp.gpa;
-    var arena_allocator = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(gpa);
-    defer arena_allocator.deinit();
-    const arena = arena_allocator.allocator();
+    const comp = self.base.comp;
+    const gpa = comp.gpa;
 
     const directory = self.base.emit.directory; // Just an alias to make it shorter to type.
     const full_out_path = try directory.join(arena, &[_][]const u8{self.base.emit.sub_path});
 
     // If there is no Zig code to compile, then we should skip flushing the output file because it
     // will not be part of the linker line anyway.
-    const module_obj_path: ?[]const u8 = if (self.base.comp.module != null) blk: {
-        try self.flushModule(comp, prog_node);
+    const module_obj_path: ?[]const u8 = if (comp.module != null) blk: {
+        try self.flushModule(arena, prog_node);
 
         if (fs.path.dirname(full_out_path)) |dirname| {
             break :blk try fs.path.join(arena, &.{ dirname, self.base.zcu_object_sub_path.? });
@@ -2378,15 +2374,15 @@ fn linkWithLLD(self: *Elf, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !v
     sub_prog_node.context.refresh();
     defer sub_prog_node.end();
 
-    const output_mode = self.base.comp.config.output_mode;
+    const output_mode = comp.config.output_mode;
     const is_obj = output_mode == .Obj;
     const is_lib = output_mode == .Lib;
-    const link_mode = self.base.comp.config.link_mode;
+    const link_mode = comp.config.link_mode;
     const is_dyn_lib = link_mode == .Dynamic and is_lib;
     const is_exe_or_dyn_lib = is_dyn_lib or output_mode == .Exe;
     const have_dynamic_linker = comp.config.link_libc and
         link_mode == .Dynamic and is_exe_or_dyn_lib;
-    const target = self.base.comp.root_mod.resolved_target.result;
+    const target = comp.root_mod.resolved_target.result;
     const compiler_rt_path: ?[]const u8 = blk: {
         if (comp.compiler_rt_lib) |x| break :blk x.full_object_path;
         if (comp.compiler_rt_obj) |x| break :blk x.full_object_path;
@@ -2459,8 +2455,8 @@ fn linkWithLLD(self: *Elf, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !v
         man.hash.add(self.hash_style);
         // strip does not need to go into the linker hash because it is part of the hash namespace
         if (comp.config.link_libc) {
-            man.hash.add(self.base.comp.libc_installation != null);
-            if (self.base.comp.libc_installation) |libc_installation| {
+            man.hash.add(comp.libc_installation != null);
+            if (comp.libc_installation) |libc_installation| {
                 man.hash.addBytes(libc_installation.crt_dir.?);
             }
             if (have_dynamic_linker) {
@@ -2469,7 +2465,7 @@ fn linkWithLLD(self: *Elf, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !v
         }
         man.hash.addOptionalBytes(self.soname);
         man.hash.addOptional(comp.version);
-        try link.hashAddSystemLibs(&man, self.base.comp.system_libs);
+        try link.hashAddSystemLibs(&man, comp.system_libs);
         man.hash.addListOfBytes(comp.force_undefined_symbols.keys());
         man.hash.add(self.base.allow_shlib_undefined);
         man.hash.add(self.bind_global_refs_locally);
@@ -2743,7 +2739,7 @@ fn linkWithLLD(self: *Elf, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !v
         if (self.each_lib_rpath) {
             var test_path = std.ArrayList(u8).init(arena);
             for (self.lib_dirs) |lib_dir_path| {
-                for (self.base.comp.system_libs.keys()) |link_lib| {
+                for (comp.system_libs.keys()) |link_lib| {
                     if (!(try self.accessLibPath(&test_path, null, lib_dir_path, link_lib, .Dynamic)))
                         continue;
                     if ((try rpath_table.fetchPut(lib_dir_path, {})) == null) {
@@ -2771,7 +2767,7 @@ fn linkWithLLD(self: *Elf, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !v
         }
 
         if (comp.config.link_libc) {
-            if (self.base.comp.libc_installation) |libc_installation| {
+            if (comp.libc_installation) |libc_installation| {
                 try argv.append("-L");
                 try argv.append(libc_installation.crt_dir.?);
             }
@@ -2841,8 +2837,8 @@ fn linkWithLLD(self: *Elf, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !v
 
         // Shared libraries.
         if (is_exe_or_dyn_lib) {
-            const system_libs = self.base.comp.system_libs.keys();
-            const system_libs_values = self.base.comp.system_libs.values();
+            const system_libs = comp.system_libs.keys();
+            const system_libs_values = comp.system_libs.values();
 
             // Worst-case, we need an --as-needed argument for every lib, as well
             // as one before and one after.
@@ -2890,7 +2886,7 @@ fn linkWithLLD(self: *Elf, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !v
             // libc dep
             comp.link_error_flags.missing_libc = false;
             if (comp.config.link_libc) {
-                if (self.base.comp.libc_installation != null) {
+                if (comp.libc_installation != null) {
                     const needs_grouping = link_mode == .Static;
                     if (needs_grouping) try argv.append("--start-group");
                     try argv.appendSlice(target_util.libcFullLinkFlags(target));
@@ -2939,7 +2935,7 @@ fn linkWithLLD(self: *Elf, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !v
             try argv.append("-Bsymbolic");
         }
 
-        if (self.base.comp.verbose_link) {
+        if (comp.verbose_link) {
             // Skip over our own name so that the LLD linker name is the first argv item.
             Compilation.dump_argv(argv.items[1..]);
         }
diff --git a/src/link/MachO.zig b/src/link/MachO.zig
index c0a259d982..cb26aa0ca3 100644
--- a/src/link/MachO.zig
+++ b/src/link/MachO.zig
@@ -315,13 +315,14 @@ pub fn open(
     return createEmpty(arena, comp, emit, options);
 }
 
-pub fn flush(self: *MachO, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
-    const gpa = self.base.comp.gpa;
-    const output_mode = self.base.comp.config.output_mode;
+pub fn flush(self: *MachO, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
+    const comp = self.base.comp;
+    const gpa = comp.gpa;
+    const output_mode = comp.config.output_mode;
 
-    if (output_mode == .Lib and self.base.comp.config.link_mode == .Static) {
+    if (output_mode == .Lib and comp.config.link_mode == .Static) {
         if (build_options.have_llvm) {
-            return self.base.linkAsArchive(comp, prog_node);
+            return self.base.linkAsArchive(arena, prog_node);
         } else {
             try comp.link_errors.ensureUnusedCapacity(gpa, 1);
             comp.link_errors.appendAssumeCapacity(.{
@@ -332,19 +333,17 @@ pub fn flush(self: *MachO, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) li
     }
 
     switch (self.mode) {
-        .zld => return zld.linkWithZld(self, comp, prog_node),
-        .incremental => return self.flushModule(comp, prog_node),
+        .zld => return zld.linkWithZld(self, arena, prog_node),
+        .incremental => return self.flushModule(arena, prog_node),
     }
 }
 
-pub fn flushModule(self: *MachO, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
+pub fn flushModule(self: *MachO, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
     const tracy = trace(@src());
     defer tracy.end();
 
+    const comp = self.base.comp;
     const gpa = comp.gpa;
-    var arena_allocator = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(gpa);
-    defer arena_allocator.deinit();
-    const arena = arena_allocator.allocator();
 
     if (self.llvm_object) |llvm_object| {
         try self.base.emitLlvmObject(arena, llvm_object, prog_node);
diff --git a/src/link/MachO/zld.zig b/src/link/MachO/zld.zig
index 81b10c59d9..b266bfeb47 100644
--- a/src/link/MachO/zld.zig
+++ b/src/link/MachO/zld.zig
@@ -1,27 +1,24 @@
 pub fn linkWithZld(
     macho_file: *MachO,
-    comp: *Compilation,
+    arena: Allocator,
     prog_node: *std.Progress.Node,
 ) link.File.FlushError!void {
     const tracy = trace(@src());
     defer tracy.end();
 
-    const gpa = macho_file.base.comp.gpa;
-    const target = macho_file.base.comp.root_mod.resolved_target.result;
+    const comp = macho_file.base.comp;
+    const gpa = comp.gpa;
+    const target = comp.root_mod.resolved_target.result;
     const emit = macho_file.base.emit;
 
-    var arena_allocator = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(gpa);
-    defer arena_allocator.deinit();
-    const arena = arena_allocator.allocator();
-
     const directory = emit.directory; // Just an alias to make it shorter to type.
     const full_out_path = try directory.join(arena, &[_][]const u8{emit.sub_path});
-    const opt_zcu = macho_file.base.comp.module;
+    const opt_zcu = comp.module;
 
     // If there is no Zig code to compile, then we should skip flushing the output file because it
     // will not be part of the linker line anyway.
     const module_obj_path: ?[]const u8 = if (opt_zcu != null) blk: {
-        try macho_file.flushModule(comp, prog_node);
+        try macho_file.flushModule(arena, prog_node);
 
         if (fs.path.dirname(full_out_path)) |dirname| {
             break :blk try fs.path.join(arena, &.{ dirname, macho_file.base.zcu_object_sub_path.? });
@@ -35,8 +32,8 @@ pub fn linkWithZld(
     sub_prog_node.context.refresh();
     defer sub_prog_node.end();
 
-    const output_mode = macho_file.base.comp.config.output_mode;
-    const link_mode = macho_file.base.comp.config.link_mode;
+    const output_mode = comp.config.output_mode;
+    const link_mode = comp.config.link_mode;
     const cpu_arch = target.cpu.arch;
     const is_lib = output_mode == .Lib;
     const is_dyn_lib = link_mode == .Dynamic and is_lib;
@@ -50,7 +47,7 @@ pub fn linkWithZld(
 
     var digest: [Cache.hex_digest_len]u8 = undefined;
 
-    const objects = macho_file.base.comp.objects;
+    const objects = comp.objects;
 
     if (!macho_file.base.disable_lld_caching) {
         man = comp.cache_parent.obtain();
@@ -76,7 +73,7 @@ pub fn linkWithZld(
         man.hash.add(macho_file.headerpad_max_install_names);
         man.hash.add(macho_file.base.gc_sections);
         man.hash.add(macho_file.dead_strip_dylibs);
-        man.hash.add(macho_file.base.comp.root_mod.strip);
+        man.hash.add(comp.root_mod.strip);
         try MachO.hashAddFrameworks(&man, macho_file.frameworks);
         man.hash.addListOfBytes(macho_file.base.rpath_list);
         if (is_dyn_lib) {
@@ -406,7 +403,7 @@ pub fn linkWithZld(
         try macho_file.createDyldPrivateAtom();
         try macho_file.createTentativeDefAtoms();
 
-        if (macho_file.base.comp.config.output_mode == .Exe) {
+        if (comp.config.output_mode == .Exe) {
             const global = macho_file.getEntryPoint().?;
             if (macho_file.getSymbol(global).undf()) {
                 // We do one additional check here in case the entry point was found in one of the dylibs.
diff --git a/src/link/NvPtx.zig b/src/link/NvPtx.zig
index 1f5af5b86e..111b59fc3b 100644
--- a/src/link/NvPtx.zig
+++ b/src/link/NvPtx.zig
@@ -106,18 +106,18 @@ pub fn freeDecl(self: *NvPtx, decl_index: InternPool.DeclIndex) void {
     return self.llvm_object.freeDecl(decl_index);
 }
 
-pub fn flush(self: *NvPtx, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
-    return self.flushModule(comp, prog_node);
+pub fn flush(self: *NvPtx, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
+    return self.flushModule(arena, prog_node);
 }
 
-pub fn flushModule(self: *NvPtx, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
+pub fn flushModule(self: *NvPtx, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
     if (build_options.skip_non_native)
         @panic("Attempted to compile for architecture that was disabled by build configuration");
 
     // The code that was here before mutated the Compilation's file emission mechanism.
     // That's not supposed to happen in flushModule, so I deleted the code.
+    _ = arena;
     _ = self;
-    _ = comp;
     _ = prog_node;
     @panic("TODO: rewrite the NvPtx.flushModule function");
 }
diff --git a/src/link/Plan9.zig b/src/link/Plan9.zig
index e93c889dcd..a635b0bf5b 100644
--- a/src/link/Plan9.zig
+++ b/src/link/Plan9.zig
@@ -608,8 +608,9 @@ fn allocateGotIndex(self: *Plan9) usize {
     }
 }
 
-pub fn flush(self: *Plan9, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
-    const use_lld = build_options.have_llvm and self.base.comp.config.use_lld;
+pub fn flush(self: *Plan9, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
+    const comp = self.base.comp;
+    const use_lld = build_options.have_llvm and comp.config.use_lld;
     assert(!use_lld);
 
     switch (link.File.effectiveOutputMode(use_lld, comp.config.output_mode)) {
@@ -618,7 +619,7 @@ pub fn flush(self: *Plan9, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) li
         .Obj => return error.TODOImplementPlan9Objs,
         .Lib => return error.TODOImplementWritingLibFiles,
     }
-    return self.flushModule(comp, prog_node);
+    return self.flushModule(arena, prog_node);
 }
 
 pub fn changeLine(l: *std.ArrayList(u8), delta_line: i32) !void {
@@ -666,11 +667,14 @@ fn atomCount(self: *Plan9) usize {
     return data_decl_count + fn_decl_count + unnamed_const_count + lazy_atom_count + extern_atom_count + anon_atom_count;
 }
 
-pub fn flushModule(self: *Plan9, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
+pub fn flushModule(self: *Plan9, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
     if (build_options.skip_non_native and builtin.object_format != .plan9) {
         @panic("Attempted to compile for object format that was disabled by build configuration");
     }
 
+    _ = arena; // Has the same lifetime as the call to Compilation.update.
+
+    const comp = self.base.comp;
     const gpa = comp.gpa;
     const target = comp.root_mod.resolved_target.result;
 
diff --git a/src/link/SpirV.zig b/src/link/SpirV.zig
index fc9e0c9a60..7b66d914bf 100644
--- a/src/link/SpirV.zig
+++ b/src/link/SpirV.zig
@@ -173,15 +173,17 @@ pub fn freeDecl(self: *SpirV, decl_index: InternPool.DeclIndex) void {
     _ = decl_index;
 }
 
-pub fn flush(self: *SpirV, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
-    return self.flushModule(comp, prog_node);
+pub fn flush(self: *SpirV, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
+    return self.flushModule(arena, prog_node);
 }
 
-pub fn flushModule(self: *SpirV, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
+pub fn flushModule(self: *SpirV, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
     if (build_options.skip_non_native) {
         @panic("Attempted to compile for architecture that was disabled by build configuration");
     }
 
+    _ = arena; // Has the same lifetime as the call to Compilation.update.
+
     const tracy = trace(@src());
     defer tracy.end();
 
@@ -191,6 +193,7 @@ pub fn flushModule(self: *SpirV, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.No
 
     const spv = &self.object.spv;
 
+    const comp = self.base.comp;
     const gpa = comp.gpa;
     const target = comp.getTarget();
 
diff --git a/src/link/Wasm.zig b/src/link/Wasm.zig
index a0907d6c51..185d802588 100644
--- a/src/link/Wasm.zig
+++ b/src/link/Wasm.zig
@@ -3480,33 +3480,29 @@ fn resetState(wasm: *Wasm) void {
     wasm.debug_pubtypes_index = null;
 }
 
-pub fn flush(wasm: *Wasm, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
+pub fn flush(wasm: *Wasm, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
+    const comp = wasm.base.comp;
     const use_lld = build_options.have_llvm and comp.config.use_lld;
     const use_llvm = comp.config.use_llvm;
 
     if (use_lld) {
-        return wasm.linkWithLLD(comp, prog_node);
+        return wasm.linkWithLLD(arena, prog_node);
     } else if (use_llvm) {
-        return wasm.linkWithZld(comp, prog_node);
+        return wasm.linkWithZld(arena, prog_node);
     } else {
-        return wasm.flushModule(comp, prog_node);
+        return wasm.flushModule(arena, prog_node);
     }
 }
 
 /// Uses the in-house linker to link one or multiple object -and archive files into a WebAssembly binary.
-fn linkWithZld(wasm: *Wasm, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
+fn linkWithZld(wasm: *Wasm, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
     const tracy = trace(@src());
     defer tracy.end();
 
-    const gpa = comp.gpa;
+    const comp = wasm.base.comp;
     const shared_memory = comp.config.shared_memory;
     const import_memory = comp.config.import_memory;
 
-    // Used for all temporary memory allocated during flushin
-    var arena_instance = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(gpa);
-    defer arena_instance.deinit();
-    const arena = arena_instance.allocator();
-
     const directory = wasm.base.emit.directory; // Just an alias to make it shorter to type.
     const full_out_path = try directory.join(arena, &[_][]const u8{wasm.base.emit.sub_path});
     const opt_zcu = comp.module;
@@ -3516,7 +3512,7 @@ fn linkWithZld(wasm: *Wasm, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) l
     // will not be part of the linker line anyway.
     const module_obj_path: ?[]const u8 = if (opt_zcu != null) blk: {
         assert(use_llvm); // `linkWithZld` should never be called when the Wasm backend is used
-        try wasm.flushModule(comp, prog_node);
+        try wasm.flushModule(arena, prog_node);
 
         if (fs.path.dirname(full_out_path)) |dirname| {
             break :blk try fs.path.join(arena, &.{ dirname, wasm.base.zcu_object_sub_path.? });
@@ -3708,15 +3704,11 @@ fn linkWithZld(wasm: *Wasm, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) l
     }
 }
 
-pub fn flushModule(wasm: *Wasm, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
+pub fn flushModule(wasm: *Wasm, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) link.File.FlushError!void {
     const tracy = trace(@src());
     defer tracy.end();
 
-    const gpa = comp.gpa;
-    // Used for all temporary memory allocated during flushin
-    var arena_instance = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(gpa);
-    defer arena_instance.deinit();
-    const arena = arena_instance.allocator();
+    const comp = wasm.base.comp;
 
     if (wasm.llvm_object) |llvm_object| {
         try wasm.base.emitLlvmObject(arena, llvm_object, prog_node);
@@ -4589,19 +4581,17 @@ fn emitImport(wasm: *Wasm, writer: anytype, import: types.Import) !void {
     }
 }
 
-fn linkWithLLD(wasm: *Wasm, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !void {
+fn linkWithLLD(wasm: *Wasm, arena: Allocator, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !void {
     const tracy = trace(@src());
     defer tracy.end();
 
+    const comp = wasm.base.comp;
     const shared_memory = comp.config.shared_memory;
     const export_memory = comp.config.export_memory;
     const import_memory = comp.config.import_memory;
     const target = comp.root_mod.resolved_target.result;
 
     const gpa = comp.gpa;
-    var arena_allocator = std.heap.ArenaAllocator.init(gpa);
-    defer arena_allocator.deinit();
-    const arena = arena_allocator.allocator();
 
     const directory = wasm.base.emit.directory; // Just an alias to make it shorter to type.
     const full_out_path = try directory.join(arena, &[_][]const u8{wasm.base.emit.sub_path});
@@ -4609,7 +4599,7 @@ fn linkWithLLD(wasm: *Wasm, comp: *Compilation, prog_node: *std.Progress.Node) !
     // If there is no Zig code to compile, then we should skip flushing the output file because it
     // will not be part of the linker line anyway.
     const module_obj_path: ?[]const u8 = if (comp.module != null) blk: {
-        try wasm.flushModule(comp, prog_node);
+        try wasm.flushModule(arena, prog_node);
 
         if (fs.path.dirname(full_out_path)) |dirname| {
             break :blk try fs.path.join(arena, &.{ dirname, wasm.base.zcu_object_sub_path.? });