diff --git a/lib/erlang/runtime.sx b/lib/erlang/runtime.sx
index b4043b1e..f6db3733 100644
--- a/lib/erlang/runtime.sx
+++ b/lib/erlang/runtime.sx
@@ -1561,7 +1561,66 @@
     (er-register-pure-bif! "crypto" "hash" 2 er-bif-crypto-hash)
     (er-register-pure-bif! "cid" "from_bytes" 1 er-bif-cid-from-bytes)
     (er-register-pure-bif! "cid" "to_string" 1 er-bif-cid-to-string)
+
+;; ── binary_to_list / list_to_binary (Step 3b — term codec) ──────
+;; Standard Erlang semantics:
+;;   binary_to_list(<<B1,B2,...>>) -> [B1, B2, ...]   (Erlang cons of ints)
+;;   list_to_binary(IoList)        -> <<...>>         (flattens nested
+;;     iolists; elements are byte ints 0-255 or binaries)
+;; Bad arg / out-of-range byte / non-iolist element -> error:badarg.
+
+(define er-bif-binary-to-list
+  (fn (vs)
+    (let ((v (nth vs 0)))
+      (cond
+        (not (er-binary? v))
+          (raise (er-mk-error-marker (er-mk-atom "badarg")))
+        :else
+          (let ((bs (get v :bytes)) (out (er-mk-nil)))
+            (for-each
+              (fn (i)
+                (set! out (er-mk-cons (nth bs (- (- (len bs) 1) i)) out)))
+              (range 0 (len bs)))
+            out)))))
+
+;; Walk an Erlang iolist, appending bytes to `acc` (a mutable SX list).
+;; Accepts: nil, cons-of-X, binary, integer in 0..255. Anything else
+;; signals failure by setting (nth fail 0) to true.
+(define er-iolist-walk!
+  (fn (v acc fail)
+    (cond
+      (nth fail 0) nil
+      (er-nil? v) nil
+      (er-cons? v)
+        (do (er-iolist-walk! (get v :head) acc fail)
+            (er-iolist-walk! (get v :tail) acc fail))
+      (er-binary? v)
+        (for-each
+          (fn (i) (append! acc (nth (get v :bytes) i)))
+          (range 0 (len (get v :bytes))))
+      (= (type-of v) "number")
+        (cond
+          (and (>= v 0) (<= v 255)) (append! acc v)
+          :else (set-nth! fail 0 true))
+      :else (set-nth! fail 0 true))))
+
+(define er-bif-list-to-binary
+  (fn (vs)
+    (let ((v (nth vs 0)) (acc (list)) (fail (list false)))
+      (cond
+        (not (or (er-nil? v) (er-cons? v) (er-binary? v)))
+          (raise (er-mk-error-marker (er-mk-atom "badarg")))
+        :else
+          (do
+            (er-iolist-walk! v acc fail)
+            (cond
+              (nth fail 0)
+                (raise (er-mk-error-marker (er-mk-atom "badarg")))
+              :else (er-mk-binary acc)))))))
+
     (er-register-bif! "file" "list_dir" 1 er-bif-file-list-dir)
+    (er-register-pure-bif! "erlang" "binary_to_list" 1 er-bif-binary-to-list)
+    (er-register-pure-bif! "erlang" "list_to_binary"  1 er-bif-list-to-binary)
     (er-mk-atom "ok")))
 
 ;; Register everything at load time.
diff --git a/lib/erlang/scoreboard.json b/lib/erlang/scoreboard.json
index f5b6e981..a86b5fc6 100644
--- a/lib/erlang/scoreboard.json
+++ b/lib/erlang/scoreboard.json
@@ -1,18 +1,18 @@
 {
   "language": "erlang",
-  "total_pass": 729,
-  "total": 729,
+  "total_pass": 761,
+  "total": 761,
   "suites": [
     {"name":"tokenize","pass":62,"total":62,"status":"ok"},
     {"name":"parse","pass":52,"total":52,"status":"ok"},
-    {"name":"eval","pass":385,"total":385,"status":"ok"},
+    {"name":"eval","pass":408,"total":408,"status":"ok"},
     {"name":"runtime","pass":93,"total":93,"status":"ok"},
     {"name":"ring","pass":4,"total":4,"status":"ok"},
     {"name":"ping-pong","pass":4,"total":4,"status":"ok"},
     {"name":"bank","pass":8,"total":8,"status":"ok"},
     {"name":"echo","pass":7,"total":7,"status":"ok"},
     {"name":"fib","pass":8,"total":8,"status":"ok"},
-    {"name":"ffi","pass":28,"total":28,"status":"ok"},
+    {"name":"ffi","pass":37,"total":37,"status":"ok"},
     {"name":"vm","pass":78,"total":78,"status":"ok"}
   ]
 }
diff --git a/lib/erlang/scoreboard.md b/lib/erlang/scoreboard.md
index 75f3fe39..bd4087cc 100644
--- a/lib/erlang/scoreboard.md
+++ b/lib/erlang/scoreboard.md
@@ -1,19 +1,19 @@
 # Erlang-on-SX Scoreboard
 
-**Total: 729 / 729 tests passing**
+**Total: 761 / 761 tests passing**
 
 |  | Suite | Pass | Total |
 |---|---|---|---|
 | ✅ | tokenize | 62 | 62 |
 | ✅ | parse | 52 | 52 |
-| ✅ | eval | 385 | 385 |
+| ✅ | eval | 408 | 408 |
 | ✅ | runtime | 93 | 93 |
 | ✅ | ring | 4 | 4 |
 | ✅ | ping-pong | 4 | 4 |
 | ✅ | bank | 8 | 8 |
 | ✅ | echo | 7 | 7 |
 | ✅ | fib | 8 | 8 |
-| ✅ | ffi | 28 | 28 |
+| ✅ | ffi | 37 | 37 |
 | ✅ | vm | 78 | 78 |
 
 
diff --git a/lib/erlang/tests/eval.sx b/lib/erlang/tests/eval.sx
index 4bd322db..dca0765d 100644
--- a/lib/erlang/tests/eval.sx
+++ b/lib/erlang/tests/eval.sx
@@ -228,9 +228,10 @@
 (er-eval-test "tuple_size 0" (ev "tuple_size({})") 0)
 
 ;; ── BIFs: atom / list conversions ───────────────────────────────
-(er-eval-test "atom_to_list" (ev "atom_to_list(hello)") "hello")
+(er-eval-test "atom_to_list -> charlist length" (ev "length(atom_to_list(hello))") 5)
+(er-eval-test "atom_to_list -> head $h" (ev "hd(atom_to_list(hello))") 104)
 (er-eval-test "list_to_atom roundtrip"
-  (nm (ev "list_to_atom(atom_to_list(foo))")) "foo")
+  (nm (ev "list_to_atom(atom_to_list(foo))")) "foo")  ;; round-trip via charlist
 (er-eval-test "list_to_atom fresh"
   (nm (ev "list_to_atom(\"bar\")")) "bar")
 
@@ -1060,11 +1061,13 @@
 (er-eval-test "list_to_tuple roundtrip"
   (ev "tuple_size(list_to_tuple([10, 20, 30]))") 3)
 
-(er-eval-test "integer_to_list" (ev "integer_to_list(42)") "42")
-(er-eval-test "integer_to_list neg" (ev "integer_to_list(-99)") "-99")
+(er-eval-test "integer_to_list -> charlist length" (ev "length(integer_to_list(42))") 2)
+(er-eval-test "integer_to_list 42 head $4" (ev "hd(integer_to_list(42))") 52)
+(er-eval-test "integer_to_list neg -> charlist length" (ev "length(integer_to_list(-99))") 3)
+(er-eval-test "integer_to_list -99 head $-" (ev "hd(integer_to_list(-99))") 45)
 (er-eval-test "list_to_integer" (ev "list_to_integer(\"123\")") 123)
 (er-eval-test "list_to_integer roundtrip"
-  (ev "list_to_integer(integer_to_list(7))") 7)
+  (ev "list_to_integer(integer_to_list(7))") 7)  ;; round-trip via charlist
 
 (er-eval-test "is_function fun"
   (nm (ev "F = fun (X) -> X end, is_function(F)")) "true")
@@ -1341,6 +1344,42 @@
   (get (nth (get er-rt-cap-result :elements) 4) :name) "true")
 
 
+
+;; ── $X char literals (Step 3b substrate fix 2026-06-04) ──────────
+(er-eval-test "char $A" (ev "$A") 65)
+(er-eval-test "char $a" (ev "$a") 97)
+(er-eval-test "char $0 is digit, not escape-NUL" (ev "$0") 48)
+(er-eval-test "char $\\n is newline (10)" (ev "$\\n") 10)
+(er-eval-test "char $\\t is tab (9)" (ev "$\\t") 9)
+(er-eval-test "char $\\r is CR (13)" (ev "$\\r") 13)
+(er-eval-test "char $\\s is space (32)" (ev "$\\s") 32)
+(er-eval-test "char $\\0 is NUL (0)" (ev "$\\0") 0)
+(er-eval-test "char $\\\\ is backslash (92)" (ev "$\\\\") 92)
+(er-eval-test "[$h,$i] head is 104" (ev "hd([$h, $i])") 104)
+(er-eval-test "list_to_binary char-list -> bytes"
+  (ev "byte_size(list_to_binary([$f, $e, $d]))") 3)
+(er-eval-test "list_to_binary char-list round-trip"
+  (nm (ev "list_to_binary([$h, $i]) =:= <<104, 105>>")) "true")
+
+
+;; ── atom_to_list / integer_to_list charlist semantics (Step 3b substrate fix #3) ──
+(er-eval-test "atom_to_list hd is char code"
+  (ev "hd(atom_to_list(hi))") 104)
+(er-eval-test "atom_to_list maps to bytes via list_to_binary"
+  (ev "byte_size(list_to_binary(atom_to_list(hello)))") 5)
+(er-eval-test "atom_to_list -> list_to_binary -> bytes content"
+  (nm (ev "list_to_binary(atom_to_list(ok)) =:= <<111, 107>>")) "true")
+(er-eval-test "integer_to_list 12345 -> 5 chars"
+  (ev "length(integer_to_list(12345))") 5)
+(er-eval-test "integer_to_list -> bytes -> back"
+  (ev "list_to_integer(integer_to_list(99999))") 99999)
+(er-eval-test "list_to_atom from charlist"
+  (nm (ev "list_to_atom([$f, $o, $o])")) "foo")
+(er-eval-test "list_to_atom from SX-string back-compat"
+  (nm (ev "list_to_atom(\"bar\")")) "bar")
+(er-eval-test "list_to_integer from charlist"
+  (ev "list_to_integer([$1, $0, $0])") 100)
+
 (define
   er-eval-test-summary
   (str "eval " er-eval-test-pass "/" er-eval-test-count))
diff --git a/lib/erlang/tests/ffi.sx b/lib/erlang/tests/ffi.sx
index e08a31bf..29af1c9e 100644
--- a/lib/erlang/tests/ffi.sx
+++ b/lib/erlang/tests/ffi.sx
@@ -160,6 +160,51 @@
   (ffi-nm (ffi-ev "element(2, file:list_dir(\"/no/such/dir/xyz\"))"))
   "enoent")
 
+(er-ffi-test
+  "binary_to_list <<1,2,3>> length"
+  (ffi-ev "length(binary_to_list(<<1,2,3,4,5>>))")
+  5)
+
+(er-ffi-test
+  "binary_to_list hd byte"
+  (ffi-ev "hd(binary_to_list(<<7,8,9>>))")
+  7)
+
+(er-ffi-test
+  "binary_to_list empty -> []"
+  (ffi-nm (ffi-ev "case binary_to_list(<<>>) of [] -> empty end"))
+  "empty")
+
+(er-ffi-test
+  "list_to_binary flat list bytes"
+  (ffi-ev "byte_size(list_to_binary([1,2,3]))")
+  3)
+
+(er-ffi-test
+  "list_to_binary nested iolist"
+  (ffi-ev "byte_size(list_to_binary([1, <<2,3>>, [4, [5]]]))")
+  5)
+
+(er-ffi-test
+  "list_to_binary round-trip via binary_to_list"
+  (ffi-nm (ffi-ev "list_to_binary(binary_to_list(<<10,20,30>>)) =:= <<10,20,30>>"))
+  "true")
+
+(er-ffi-test
+  "binary_to_list non-binary -> error:badarg"
+  (ffi-nm (ffi-ev "try binary_to_list(42) catch error:badarg -> ok end"))
+  "ok")
+
+(er-ffi-test
+  "list_to_binary out-of-range byte -> error:badarg"
+  (ffi-nm (ffi-ev "try list_to_binary([300]) catch error:badarg -> ok end"))
+  "ok")
+
+(er-ffi-test
+  "list_to_binary non-iolist -> error:badarg"
+  (ffi-nm (ffi-ev "try list_to_binary(42) catch error:badarg -> ok end"))
+  "ok")
+
 ;; ── Still deferred (no host primitive): httpc (HTTP client, v2),
 ;; sqlite-* (v2 indexes). Assert NOT registered so a future iteration
 ;; that wires them without updating this suite fails fast.
diff --git a/lib/erlang/tokenizer.sx b/lib/erlang/tokenizer.sx
index c46e7bc6..8a70bde4 100644
--- a/lib/erlang/tokenizer.sx
+++ b/lib/erlang/tokenizer.sx
@@ -229,13 +229,37 @@
                 (= ch "$")
                 (do
                   (er-advance! 1)
-                  (if
-                    (and (< pos src-len) (= (er-cur) "\\"))
-                    (do
-                      (er-advance! 1)
-                      (when (< pos src-len) (er-advance! 1)))
-                    (when (< pos src-len) (er-advance! 1)))
-                  (er-emit! "integer" (slice src start pos) start)
+                  ;; Emit the char's decimal code as the integer token value
+                  ;; (was: raw "$X" text — parse-number then returned nil).
+                  (let
+                    ((code (cond
+                       (>= pos src-len) 0
+                       (= (er-cur) "\\")
+                         (do
+                           (er-advance! 1)
+                           (let ((esc (if (< pos src-len) (er-cur) "")))
+                             (when (< pos src-len) (er-advance! 1))
+                             (cond
+                               (= esc "n")  10
+                               (= esc "t")  9
+                               (= esc "r")  13
+                               (= esc "s")  32
+                               (= esc "b")  8
+                               (= esc "e")  27
+                               (= esc "f")  12
+                               (= esc "v")  11
+                               (= esc "d")  127
+                               (= esc "0")  0
+                               (= esc "\\")  92
+                               (= esc "\"") 34
+                               (= esc "'")  39
+                               (= esc "")   0
+                               :else (char->integer (nth (string->list esc) 0)))))
+                       :else
+                         (let ((c (er-cur)))
+                           (er-advance! 1)
+                           (char->integer (nth (string->list c) 0))))))
+                    (er-emit! "integer" (str code) start))
                   (scan!))
                 (er-lower? ch)
                 (do
diff --git a/lib/erlang/transpile.sx b/lib/erlang/transpile.sx
index 915d31b6..12e14b6f 100644
--- a/lib/erlang/transpile.sx
+++ b/lib/erlang/transpile.sx
@@ -107,7 +107,12 @@
     (let
       ((ty (get node :type)))
       (cond
-        (= ty "integer") (parse-number (get node :value))
+        (= ty "integer")
+          (let ((n (parse-number (get node :value))))
+            (cond
+              (= n nil) (error (str "Erlang: invalid integer literal: "
+                                     (get node :value)))
+              :else (truncate n)))
         (= ty "float") (parse-number (get node :value))
         (= ty "atom") (er-mk-atom (get node :value))
         (= ty "string") (get node :value)
@@ -821,16 +826,30 @@
         (len (get v :elements))
         (error "Erlang: tuple_size: not a tuple")))))
 
+(define er-string->charlist
+  (fn (s)
+    (let ((cs (string->list s)) (out (er-mk-nil)))
+      (for-each
+        (fn (i)
+          (set! out (er-mk-cons
+                      (char->integer (nth cs (- (- (len cs) 1) i)))
+                      out)))
+        (range 0 (len cs)))
+      out)))
+
 (define
   er-bif-atom-to-list
   (fn
     (vs)
     (let
       ((v (er-bif-arg1 vs "atom_to_list")))
+      ;; Standard Erlang: atom_to_list/1 returns an Erlang charlist
+      ;; (list of integer char codes). Was: SX string of :name —
+      ;; unusable from Erlang-land for [Char|T] / ++ / binary segments.
       (if
         (er-atom? v)
-        (get v :name)
-        (error "Erlang: atom_to_list: not an atom")))))
+        (er-string->charlist (get v :name))
+        (raise (er-mk-error-marker (er-mk-atom "badarg")))))))
 
 (define
   er-bif-list-to-atom
@@ -838,10 +857,11 @@
     (vs)
     (let
       ((v (er-bif-arg1 vs "list_to_atom")))
-      (if
-        (= (type-of v) "string")
-        (er-mk-atom v)
-        (error "Erlang: list_to_atom: not a string")))))
+      ;; Accept Erlang charlist (cons of ints) or SX string.
+      (let ((s (er-source-to-string v)))
+        (cond
+          (= s nil) (raise (er-mk-error-marker (er-mk-atom "badarg")))
+          :else (er-mk-atom s))))))
 
 ;; ── lists module ─────────────────────────────────────────────────
 (define
@@ -1597,10 +1617,12 @@
     (vs)
     (let
       ((v (er-bif-arg1 vs "integer_to_list")))
+      ;; Standard Erlang: integer_to_list/1 returns an Erlang charlist
+      ;; (e.g. integer_to_list(42) -> [$4, $2] -> [52, 50]).
       (cond
         (not (= (type-of v) "number"))
         (raise (er-mk-error-marker (er-mk-atom "badarg")))
-        :else (str v)))))
+        :else (er-string->charlist (str v))))))
 
 (define
   er-bif-list-to-integer
@@ -1608,15 +1630,14 @@
     (vs)
     (let
       ((v (er-bif-arg1 vs "list_to_integer")))
-      (cond
-        (not (= (type-of v) "string"))
-        (raise (er-mk-error-marker (er-mk-atom "badarg")))
-        :else (let
-          ((n (parse-number v)))
-          (cond
-            (= n nil)
-            (raise (er-mk-error-marker (er-mk-atom "badarg")))
-            :else n))))))
+      ;; Accept Erlang charlist (cons of ints) or SX string.
+      (let ((s (er-source-to-string v)))
+        (cond
+          (= s nil) (raise (er-mk-error-marker (er-mk-atom "badarg")))
+          :else (let ((n (parse-number s)))
+            (cond
+              (= n nil) (raise (er-mk-error-marker (er-mk-atom "badarg")))
+              :else n)))))))
 
 (define
   er-bif-is-function