diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 1eb02576ea..5b088bfd9c 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ CONDITIONAL_WASM_TAG := -tags=opa_wasm
 endif
 override GO_TAGS := $(GO_TAGS) $(CONDITIONAL_WASM_TAG)
 
-GOLANGCI_LINT_VERSION := v2.6.2
+GOLANGCI_LINT_VERSION := v2.9.0
 YAML_LINT_VERSION := 0.29.0
 YAML_LINT_FORMAT ?= auto
 
diff --git a/cmd/build_test.go b/cmd/build_test.go
index 56e8a9bdb0..077afddf1a 100644
--- a/cmd/build_test.go
+++ b/cmd/build_test.go
@@ -77,6 +77,7 @@ func TestBuildProducesBundle(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestBuildRespectsCapabilities(t *testing.T) {
+	//nolint:prealloc // test slice is extended dynamically, initial values are clearer as slice literal
 	tests := []struct {
 		note       string
 		caps       string
@@ -3276,7 +3277,7 @@ Warning: .manifest file found in %q but -b flag not specified. Manifest will be
 				params.bundleMode = tc.bundleMode
 				params.stderr = &stderr
 
-				var args []string
+				args := make([]string, 0, len(tc.buildArgs))
 				for _, arg := range tc.buildArgs {
 					args = append(args, path.Join(root, arg))
 				}
diff --git a/cmd/check_test.go b/cmd/check_test.go
index 998ac09faf..8bcf87863f 100644
--- a/cmd/check_test.go
+++ b/cmd/check_test.go
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 func TestCheckRespectsCapabilities(t *testing.T) {
+	//nolint:prealloc // test slice is extended dynamically, initial values are clearer as slice literal
 	tests := []struct {
 		note       string
 		caps       string
diff --git a/cmd/eval_test.go b/cmd/eval_test.go
index 063075f06a..0d5f162cb9 100755
--- a/cmd/eval_test.go
+++ b/cmd/eval_test.go
@@ -1185,10 +1185,10 @@ func TestEvalWithStrictBuiltinErrors(t *testing.T) {
 
 func assertResultSet(t *testing.T, rs rego.ResultSet, expected string) {
 	t.Helper()
-	result := []any{}
+	result := make([]any, 0, len(rs))
 
 	for i := range rs {
-		values := []any{}
+		values := make([]any, 0, len(rs[i].Expressions))
 		for j := range rs[i].Expressions {
 			values = append(values, rs[i].Expressions[j].Value)
 		}
diff --git a/cmd/parse_test.go b/cmd/parse_test.go
index acc59582a4..ce036565d5 100644
--- a/cmd/parse_test.go
+++ b/cmd/parse_test.go
@@ -1187,7 +1187,7 @@ func testParse(t *testing.T, files map[string]string, params *parseParams) (int,
 
 	var tempDirUsed string
 	test.WithTempFS(files, func(path string) {
-		var args []string
+		args := make([]string, 0, len(files))
 		for file := range files {
 			args = append(args, filepath.Join(path, file))
 		}
diff --git a/internal/bundle/inspect/inspect_test.go b/internal/bundle/inspect/inspect_test.go
index 5e17cc382c..8efedf6ef1 100644
--- a/internal/bundle/inspect/inspect_test.go
+++ b/internal/bundle/inspect/inspect_test.go
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ func TestGenerateBundleInfoWithFileDir(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Fatalf("expected namespaces %v, but got %v", expectedNamespaces, info.Namespaces)
 		}
 
-		var builtinNames []string
+		builtinNames := make([]string, 0, len(info.Required.Builtins))
 		for _, bi := range info.Required.Builtins {
 			builtinNames = append(builtinNames, bi.Name)
 		}
@@ -250,7 +250,7 @@ func TestGenerateBundleInfoWithBundleTarGz(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Fatalf("expected namespaces %v, but got %v", expectedNamespaces, info.Namespaces)
 		}
 
-		expectedWasmModules := []map[string]any{}
+		expectedWasmModules := make([]map[string]any, 0, 2)
 		expectedWasmModule1 := map[string]any{
 			"path":        "/example/policy.wasm",
 			"url":         filepath.Join(bundleFile, "example", "policy.wasm"),
diff --git a/internal/compiler/wasm/wasm.go b/internal/compiler/wasm/wasm.go
index 92a117112a..e531a9b9b9 100644
--- a/internal/compiler/wasm/wasm.go
+++ b/internal/compiler/wasm/wasm.go
@@ -1285,6 +1285,7 @@ func (c *Compiler) compileScan(scan *ir.ScanStmt, result *[]instruction.Instruct
 }
 
 func (c *Compiler) compileScanBlock(scan *ir.ScanStmt) ([]instruction.Instruction, error) {
+	//nolint:prealloc // instruction list is known and fixed, clearer as slice literal
 	instrs := []instruction.Instruction{
 		// Execute iterator.
 		instruction.GetLocal{Index: c.local(scan.Source)},
@@ -1486,7 +1487,7 @@ func (c *Compiler) compileUpsert(local ir.Local, path []int, value ir.Operand, _
 }
 
 func (c *Compiler) compileCallDynamicStmt(stmt *ir.CallDynamicStmt, result *[]instruction.Instruction) error {
-	instrs := []instruction.Instruction{}
+	instrs := make([]instruction.Instruction, 0, 3+3*len(stmt.Path)+len(stmt.Args)+10)
 	larray := c.genLocal()
 	lidx := c.genLocal()
 
@@ -1559,7 +1560,7 @@ func (c *Compiler) compileCallStmt(stmt *ir.CallStmt, result *[]instruction.Inst
 
 func (c *Compiler) compileInternalCall(stmt *ir.CallStmt, index uint32, result *[]instruction.Instruction) error {
 
-	instrs := []instruction.Instruction{}
+	instrs := make([]instruction.Instruction, 0, len(stmt.Args)+4)
 
 	// Prepare function args and call.
 	for _, arg := range stmt.Args {
diff --git a/internal/levenshtein/levenshtein.go b/internal/levenshtein/levenshtein.go
index 63b93aa6da..217081a68d 100644
--- a/internal/levenshtein/levenshtein.go
+++ b/internal/levenshtein/levenshtein.go
@@ -16,7 +16,8 @@ func ClosestStrings(minDistance int, a string, candidates iter.Seq[string]) []st
 		levDist := levenshtein.ComputeDistance(a, c)
 		switch {
 		case levDist < minDistance:
-			closestStrings = []string{c}
+			closestStrings = make([]string, 1, 2)
+			closestStrings[0] = c
 			minDistance = levDist
 		case levDist == minDistance:
 			closestStrings = append(closestStrings, c)
diff --git a/internal/pathwatcher/utils_test.go b/internal/pathwatcher/utils_test.go
index 52d2294aea..ee05ab5aac 100644
--- a/internal/pathwatcher/utils_test.go
+++ b/internal/pathwatcher/utils_test.go
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ func TestWatchPaths(t *testing.T) {
 		if err != nil {
 			t.Fatalf("Unexpected error: %v", err)
 		}
-		result := []string{}
+		result := make([]string, 0, len(paths))
 		for _, p := range paths {
 			result = append(result, filepath.Clean(strings.TrimPrefix(p, rootDir)))
 		}
diff --git a/internal/planner/planner.go b/internal/planner/planner.go
index 6ec686d571..445b5d7c2a 100644
--- a/internal/planner/planner.go
+++ b/internal/planner/planner.go
@@ -2070,7 +2070,7 @@ func (p *Planner) planRefDataExtent(virtual *ruletrie, base *baseptr, iter plani
 			}
 		}
 		if anyKeyNonGround {
-			var rules []*ast.Rule
+			rules := make([]*ast.Rule, 0, len(virtual.Children()))
 			for _, key := range virtual.Children() {
 				// TODO(sr): skip functions
 				rules = append(rules, virtual.Get(key).Rules()...)
diff --git a/internal/presentation/presentation.go b/internal/presentation/presentation.go
index 9f7397ee08..902be00dc0 100644
--- a/internal/presentation/presentation.go
+++ b/internal/presentation/presentation.go
@@ -544,7 +544,7 @@ func prettyProfile(w io.Writer, profile []profiler.ExprStats) error {
 	tableProfile := generateTableProfile(w)
 
 	for _, rs := range profile {
-		line := []string{}
+		line := make([]string, 0, 5)
 		timeNs := time.Duration(rs.ExprTimeNs) * time.Nanosecond
 		timeNsStr := timeNs.String()
 		numEval := strconv.FormatInt(int64(rs.NumEval), 10)
@@ -695,13 +695,13 @@ func populateTableMetrics(m metrics.Metrics, table *tablewriter.Table, prettyLim
 	for varName, varValueInterface := range m.All() {
 		val, ok := varValueInterface.(map[string]any)
 		if !ok {
-			line := []string{}
+			line := make([]string, 0, 2)
 			varValue := checkStrLimit(fmt.Sprintf("%v", varValueInterface), prettyLimit)
 			line = append(line, varName, varValue)
 			lines = append(lines, line)
 		} else {
 			for k, v := range val {
-				line := []string{}
+				line := make([]string, 0, 2)
 				newVarName := fmt.Sprintf("%v_%v", varName, k)
 				value := checkStrLimit(fmt.Sprintf("%v", v), prettyLimit)
 				line = append(line, newVarName, value)
@@ -718,9 +718,10 @@ func populateTableMetrics(m metrics.Metrics, table *tablewriter.Table, prettyLim
 }
 
 func populateTableAggregatedMetrics(ms map[string]any, table *tablewriter.Table, prettyLimit int) (int, error) {
-	lines := [][]string{}
+	lines := make([][]string, 0, len(ms))
 	for name, vals := range ms {
-		line := []string{name}
+		line := make([]string, 0, 1+len(statKeys))
+		line = append(line, name)
 		vs := vals.(map[string]any)
 		for _, k := range statKeys {
 			line = append(line, checkStrLimit(fmt.Sprintf("%v", vs[k]), prettyLimit))
diff --git a/internal/runtime/init/init_test.go b/internal/runtime/init/init_test.go
index 19c1f5953e..667f7cccb4 100644
--- a/internal/runtime/init/init_test.go
+++ b/internal/runtime/init/init_test.go
@@ -432,7 +432,7 @@ func TestWalkPaths(t *testing.T) {
 
 	test.WithTempFS(files, func(rootDir string) {
 
-		paths := []string{}
+		paths := make([]string, 0, 2)
 		paths = append(paths, filepath.Join(rootDir, "bundle1"), filepath.Join(rootDir, "bundle2"))
 
 		// bundle mode
diff --git a/ir/encoding/encoding_test.go b/ir/encoding/encoding_test.go
index b4c88d493c..e7f0061979 100644
--- a/ir/encoding/encoding_test.go
+++ b/ir/encoding/encoding_test.go
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ func TestRoundTrip(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
-	modules := []*ast.Module{}
+	modules := make([]*ast.Module, 0, len(c.Modules))
 
 	for _, m := range c.Modules {
 		modules = append(modules, m)
diff --git a/v1/ast/compile.go b/v1/ast/compile.go
index 71554e48f3..2ee66e2695 100644
--- a/v1/ast/compile.go
+++ b/v1/ast/compile.go
@@ -974,7 +974,7 @@ func (c *Compiler) PassesTypeCheck(body Body) bool {
 
 // PassesTypeCheckRules determines whether the given rules passes type checking
 func (c *Compiler) PassesTypeCheckRules(rules []*Rule) Errors {
-	elems := []util.T{}
+	elems := make([]util.T, 0, len(rules))
 
 	for _, rule := range rules {
 		elems = append(elems, rule)
diff --git a/v1/ast/compile_test.go b/v1/ast/compile_test.go
index ec655e4fd5..4ccefec849 100644
--- a/v1/ast/compile_test.go
+++ b/v1/ast/compile_test.go
@@ -5615,7 +5615,7 @@ func TestRewriteLocalVarDeclarationErrors(t *testing.T) {
 
 	sort.Strings(expectedErrors)
 
-	result := []string{}
+	result := make([]string, 0, len(c.Errors))
 
 	for i := range c.Errors {
 		result = append(result, c.Errors[i].Message)
@@ -11544,7 +11544,7 @@ foorule = true if {
 }
 
 func compilerErrsToStringSlice(errors []*Error) []string {
-	result := []string{}
+	result := make([]string, 0, len(errors))
 	for _, e := range errors {
 		msg := strings.SplitN(e.Error(), ":", 3)[2]
 		result = append(result, strings.TrimSpace(msg))
diff --git a/v1/ast/policy.go b/v1/ast/policy.go
index 4ce31953f3..632b5aa6d5 100644
--- a/v1/ast/policy.go
+++ b/v1/ast/policy.go
@@ -989,7 +989,7 @@ func (head *Head) HasDynamicRef() bool {
 
 // Copy returns a deep copy of a.
 func (a Args) Copy() Args {
-	cpy := Args{}
+	cpy := make(Args, 0, len(a))
 	for _, t := range a {
 		cpy = append(cpy, t.Copy())
 	}
diff --git a/v1/ast/schema_test.go b/v1/ast/schema_test.go
index 3955dfb517..8202488e21 100644
--- a/v1/ast/schema_test.go
+++ b/v1/ast/schema_test.go
@@ -361,7 +361,7 @@ func TestAllOfSchemas(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestParseSchemaUntypedField(t *testing.T) {
 	// Expected type is: object<foo: any>
-	staticProps := []*types.StaticProperty{}
+	staticProps := make([]*types.StaticProperty, 0, 1)
 	staticProps = append(staticProps, &types.StaticProperty{Key: "foo", Value: types.A})
 	expectedType := types.NewObject(staticProps, nil)
 	testParseSchema(t, untypedFieldObjectSchema, expectedType, nil)
@@ -375,7 +375,7 @@ func TestParseSchemaNoChildren(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestParseSchemaArrayNoItems(t *testing.T) {
 	// Expected type is: object<b: array[any]>
-	staticProps := []*types.StaticProperty{}
+	staticProps := make([]*types.StaticProperty, 0, 1)
 	staticProps = append(staticProps, &types.StaticProperty{Key: "b", Value: types.NewArray(nil, types.A)})
 	expectedType := types.NewObject(staticProps, nil)
 	testParseSchema(t, arrayNoItemsSchema, expectedType, nil)
@@ -383,7 +383,7 @@ func TestParseSchemaArrayNoItems(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestParseSchemaBooleanField(t *testing.T) {
 	// Expected type is: object<a: boolean>
-	staticProps := []*types.StaticProperty{}
+	staticProps := make([]*types.StaticProperty, 0, 1)
 	staticProps = append(staticProps, &types.StaticProperty{Key: "a", Value: types.B})
 	expectedType := types.NewObject(staticProps, nil)
 	testParseSchema(t, booleanSchema, expectedType, nil)
diff --git a/v1/ast/term_test.go b/v1/ast/term_test.go
index f56c0074a5..ff93964749 100644
--- a/v1/ast/term_test.go
+++ b/v1/ast/term_test.go
@@ -755,7 +755,7 @@ func TestRefExtend(t *testing.T) {
 
 func TestRefConcat(t *testing.T) {
 	a := MustParseRef("foo.bar.baz")
-	terms := []*Term{}
+	terms := make([]*Term, 0, 2)
 	if !a.Concat(terms).Equal(a) {
 		t.Fatal("Expected no change")
 	}
diff --git a/v1/bundle/sign_test.go b/v1/bundle/sign_test.go
index cfad8cc9cd..93086c6e32 100644
--- a/v1/bundle/sign_test.go
+++ b/v1/bundle/sign_test.go
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ func TestGenerateSignedToken(t *testing.T) {
 		{"/data.json", `{"x": {"y": true}, "a": {"b": {"z": true}}}`},
 	}
 
-	input := []FileInfo{}
+	input := make([]FileInfo, 0, len(files))
 
 	expDigests := make([]string, len(files))
 	expDigests[0] = "a005c38a509dc2d5a7407b9494efb2ad"
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ func TestGenerateSignedTokenWithClaims(t *testing.T) {
 		{"/data.json", `{"x": {"y": true}, "a": {"b": {"z": true}}}}`},
 	}
 
-	input := []FileInfo{}
+	input := make([]FileInfo, 0, len(files))
 
 	expDigests := make([]string, len(files))
 	expDigests[0] = "a005c38a509dc2d5a7407b9494efb2ad"
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ func TestGeneratePayload(t *testing.T) {
 		{"/.manifest", `{"revision": "quickbrownfaux"}`},
 	}
 
-	input := []FileInfo{}
+	input := make([]FileInfo, 0, 1)
 
 	file := FileInfo{
 		Name:      files[0][0],
diff --git a/v1/bundle/store_test.go b/v1/bundle/store_test.go
index 865530f4fe..51c101e0c8 100644
--- a/v1/bundle/store_test.go
+++ b/v1/bundle/store_test.go
@@ -3696,7 +3696,7 @@ func testWriteData(t *testing.T, tc testWriteModuleCase, legacy bool) {
 		// if supplied, pre-parse the module files
 
 		for _, b := range tc.bundles {
-			var parsedMods []ModuleFile
+			parsedMods := make([]ModuleFile, 0, len(b.Modules))
 			for _, mf := range b.Modules {
 				parsedMods = append(parsedMods, ModuleFile{
 					Path:   mf.Path,
diff --git a/v1/compile/compile_test.go b/v1/compile/compile_test.go
index 3474874d58..781fa97d98 100644
--- a/v1/compile/compile_test.go
+++ b/v1/compile/compile_test.go
@@ -3695,7 +3695,9 @@ type prettyBundle struct {
 }
 
 func (p prettyBundle) String() string {
-	buf := []string{fmt.Sprintf("%d module(s) (hiding data):", len(p.Modules)), ""}
+	buf := make([]string, 2, 2+len(p.Modules)*5)
+	buf[0] = fmt.Sprintf("%d module(s) (hiding data):", len(p.Modules))
+	buf[1] = ""
 
 	for _, mf := range p.Modules {
 		buf = append(buf,
diff --git a/v1/debug/breakpoint.go b/v1/debug/breakpoint.go
index 03dd6246d1..3b3d94fd1d 100644
--- a/v1/debug/breakpoint.go
+++ b/v1/debug/breakpoint.go
@@ -90,7 +90,11 @@ func (bc *breakpointCollection) all() breakpointList {
 	bc.mtx.Lock()
 	defer bc.mtx.Unlock()
 
-	var bps breakpointList
+	count := 0
+	for _, list := range bc.breakpoints {
+		count += len(list)
+	}
+	bps := make(breakpointList, 0, count)
 	for _, list := range bc.breakpoints {
 		bps = append(bps, list...)
 	}
diff --git a/v1/dependencies/deps_test.go b/v1/dependencies/deps_test.go
index 8d260f9c04..3570ada71c 100644
--- a/v1/dependencies/deps_test.go
+++ b/v1/dependencies/deps_test.go
@@ -362,7 +362,8 @@ func TestDependencies(t *testing.T) {
 
 			// Test that we get the same result by analyzing all the
 			// rules separately.
-			var minRules, fullRules []ast.Ref
+			minRules := make([]ast.Ref, 0, len(mod.Rules))
+			fullRules := make([]ast.Ref, 0, len(mod.Rules))
 			for _, rule := range mod.Rules {
 				m, f := runDeps(t, rule)
 				minRules = append(minRules, m...)
diff --git a/v1/plugins/logs/encoder_test.go b/v1/plugins/logs/encoder_test.go
index e44f27cb97..943957314c 100644
--- a/v1/plugins/logs/encoder_test.go
+++ b/v1/plugins/logs/encoder_test.go
@@ -518,7 +518,7 @@ func TestChunkEncoderAdaptive(t *testing.T) {
 func decodeChunks(t *testing.T, bs [][]byte) []EventV1 {
 	t.Helper()
 
-	var events []EventV1
+	events := make([]EventV1, 0, len(bs))
 	for _, chunk := range bs {
 		e, err := newChunkDecoder(chunk).decode()
 		if err != nil {
diff --git a/v1/profiler/profiler.go b/v1/profiler/profiler.go
index ffe8605b16..2efaea9e01 100644
--- a/v1/profiler/profiler.go
+++ b/v1/profiler/profiler.go
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ func (p *Profiler) ReportByFile() Report {
 	report := Report{Files: map[string]*FileReport{}}
 
 	for file, hits := range p.hits {
-		stats := []ExprStats{}
+		stats := make([]ExprStats, 0, len(hits))
 		for row, stat := range hits {
 			if entry, ok := p.hitsByExprIndex[file][row]; ok {
 				stat.NumGenExpr = len(entry)
diff --git a/v1/rego/rego_test.go b/v1/rego/rego_test.go
index 1f6ee78119..30f6770310 100644
--- a/v1/rego/rego_test.go
+++ b/v1/rego/rego_test.go
@@ -414,10 +414,10 @@ func assertPreparedEvalQueryEval(t *testing.T, pq PreparedEvalQuery, options []E
 
 func assertResultSet(t *testing.T, rs ResultSet, expected string) {
 	t.Helper()
-	result := []any{}
+	result := make([]any, 0, len(rs))
 
 	for i := range rs {
-		values := []any{}
+		values := make([]any, 0, len(rs[i].Expressions))
 		for j := range rs[i].Expressions {
 			values = append(values, rs[i].Expressions[j].Value)
 		}
diff --git a/v1/repl/repl.go b/v1/repl/repl.go
index 465202f31b..4b1af65faf 100644
--- a/v1/repl/repl.go
+++ b/v1/repl/repl.go
@@ -1485,7 +1485,7 @@ func printHelpCommands(output io.Writer) {
 	all := append(extra[:], builtin[:]...)
 
 	// Compute max length of all command and topic names.
-	names := []string{}
+	names := make([]string, 0, len(all)+len(topics))
 
 	for _, x := range all {
 		names = append(names, x.syntax())
diff --git a/v1/sdk/opa.go b/v1/sdk/opa.go
index 152a640c3c..efc4cfcc6e 100644
--- a/v1/sdk/opa.go
+++ b/v1/sdk/opa.go
@@ -167,6 +167,7 @@ func (opa *OPA) configure(ctx context.Context, bs []byte, ready chan struct{}, b
 		return err
 	}
 
+	//nolint:prealloc // option list has known initial values, extended with opa.managerOpts
 	opts := []func(*plugins.Manager){
 		plugins.Info(info),
 		plugins.Logger(opa.logger),
diff --git a/v1/tester/runner_test.go b/v1/tester/runner_test.go
index cda2d9fa85..cef9111b73 100644
--- a/v1/tester/runner_test.go
+++ b/v1/tester/runner_test.go
@@ -726,7 +726,7 @@ func TestRunnerWithCustomBuiltin(t *testing.T) {
 			t.Fatal(err)
 		}
 
-		var results []*tester.Result
+		results := make([]*tester.Result, 0, 10)
 
 		for r := range ch {
 			results = append(results, r)
diff --git a/v1/topdown/http_test.go b/v1/topdown/http_test.go
index 058489bed3..5f52f77d7a 100644
--- a/v1/topdown/http_test.go
+++ b/v1/topdown/http_test.go
@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ type Person struct {
 func TestHTTPGetRequest(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 
-	var people []Person
+	people := make([]Person, 0, 1)
 
 	// test data
 	people = append(people, Person{ID: "1", Firstname: "John"})
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ func TestHTTPGetRequest(t *testing.T) {
 	expectedResult["status"] = "200 OK"
 	expectedResult["status_code"] = http.StatusOK
 
-	var body []any
+	body := make([]any, 0, 1)
 	bodyMap := map[string]string{"id": "1", "firstname": "John"}
 	body = append(body, bodyMap)
 	expectedResult["body"] = body
@@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ func TestHTTPGetRequestTlsInsecureSkipVerify(t *testing.T) {
 		"status_code": http.StatusOK,
 	}
 
-	var body []any
+	body := make([]any, 0, 1)
 	bodyMap := map[string]string{"id": "1", "firstname": "John"}
 	body = append(body, bodyMap)
 	expectedResult["body"] = body
@@ -558,7 +558,7 @@ func TestHTTPDeleteRequest(t *testing.T) {
 	expectedResult["status"] = "200 OK"
 	expectedResult["status_code"] = http.StatusOK
 
-	var body []any
+	body := make([]any, 0, 1)
 	bodyMap := map[string]string{"id": "1", "firstname": "John"}
 	body = append(body, bodyMap)
 	expectedResult["body"] = body
@@ -3555,7 +3555,7 @@ var httpSendHelperRules = []string{
 func TestSocketHTTPGetRequest(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Parallel()
 
-	var people []Person
+	people := make([]Person, 0, 1)
 
 	// test data
 	people = append(people, Person{ID: "1", Firstname: "John"})
@@ -3598,7 +3598,7 @@ func TestSocketHTTPGetRequest(t *testing.T) {
 	expectedResult["status"] = "200 OK"
 	expectedResult["status_code"] = http.StatusOK
 
-	var body []any
+	body := make([]any, 0, 1)
 	bodyMap := map[string]string{"id": "1", "firstname": "John"}
 	body = append(body, bodyMap)
 	expectedResult["body"] = body
diff --git a/v1/topdown/json_bench_test.go b/v1/topdown/json_bench_test.go
index e226c97d90..942355e2b4 100644
--- a/v1/topdown/json_bench_test.go
+++ b/v1/topdown/json_bench_test.go
@@ -366,7 +366,7 @@ func genRandom3LayerObjectJSONPatchListData(l1Keys, l2Keys, l3Keys, p int) ast.V
 		depth := rand.Intn(3) + 1 // (max - min) + min method of getting a random range.
 
 		// Random values for each path segment.
-		segments := []string{}
+		segments := make([]string, 0, 2*depth)
 		for j := range depth {
 			pathSegment := strconv.FormatInt(int64(rand.Intn(numKeys[j])), 10)
 			segments = append(segments, "/", pathSegment)
diff --git a/v1/topdown/tokens_test.go b/v1/topdown/tokens_test.go
index e3dcf19a1b..20295c52d4 100644
--- a/v1/topdown/tokens_test.go
+++ b/v1/topdown/tokens_test.go
@@ -388,12 +388,10 @@ func TestTopDownJWTEncodeSignES512(t *testing.T) {
 		note  string
 		rules []string
 	}
-	var tests []test
-
-	tests = append(tests, test{
+	tests := []test{{
 		params.note,
 		[]string{fmt.Sprintf(`p = x { io.jwt.encode_sign_raw(%s, %s, %s, x) }`, params.input1, params.input2, params.input3)},
-	})
+	}}
 
 	tc := tests[0]
 
diff --git a/v1/topdown/topdown_test.go b/v1/topdown/topdown_test.go
index f59efc8bc1..344f98f1ac 100644
--- a/v1/topdown/topdown_test.go
+++ b/v1/topdown/topdown_test.go
@@ -1946,7 +1946,7 @@ func compileModules(input []string) *ast.Compiler {
 
 func compileRules(imports []string, input []string, modules []string) (*ast.Compiler, error) {
 
-	is := []*ast.Import{}
+	is := make([]*ast.Import, 0, len(imports))
 	for _, i := range imports {
 		is = append(is, &ast.Import{
 			Path: ast.MustParseTerm(i),
@@ -1960,7 +1960,7 @@ func compileRules(imports []string, input []string, modules []string) (*ast.Comp
 		Imports: is,
 	}
 
-	rules := []*ast.Rule{}
+	rules := make([]*ast.Rule, 0, len(input))
 	for i := range input {
 		rules = append(rules, ast.MustParseRuleWithOpts(input[i], popts))
 		rules[i].Module = m
@@ -2096,7 +2096,7 @@ func runTopDownTestCaseWithContext(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, data map[s
 	options ...func(*Query) *Query) {
 	t.Helper()
 
-	imports := []string{}
+	imports := make([]string, 0, len(data))
 	for k := range data {
 		imports = append(imports, "data."+k)
 	}
@@ -2381,7 +2381,7 @@ func getTestNamespace() string {
 
 func dump(note string, modules map[string]*ast.Module, data any, docpath []string, input *ast.Term, exp any, requiresSort bool) {
 
-	moduleSet := []string{}
+	moduleSet := make([]string, 0, len(modules))
 	for _, module := range modules {
 		moduleSet = append(moduleSet, string(bytes.ReplaceAll(format.MustAst(module), []byte("\t"), []byte("  "))))
 	}
diff --git a/v1/types/types.go b/v1/types/types.go
index 794f80ea2b..fc1db120a0 100644
--- a/v1/types/types.go
+++ b/v1/types/types.go
@@ -219,7 +219,7 @@ func (t *Array) toMap() map[string]any {
 
 func (t *Array) String() string {
 	prefix := "array"
-	buf := []string{}
+	buf := make([]string, 0, len(t.static))
 	for _, tpe := range t.static {
 		buf = append(buf, Sprint(tpe))
 	}
diff --git a/v1/util/graph_test.go b/v1/util/graph_test.go
index 9c05b3e31d..1e6c537e96 100644
--- a/v1/util/graph_test.go
+++ b/v1/util/graph_test.go
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ func newTestTraversal(g map[int][]int) *testTraversal {
 }
 
 func (t *testTraversal) Edges(x T) []T {
-	r := []T{}
+	r := make([]T, 0, len(t.g[x.(int)]))
 	for _, v := range t.g[x.(int)] {
 		r = append(r, v)
 	}