diff --git a/examples/server/utils.hpp b/examples/server/utils.hpp
index c47ed3e47a76d..335ec79f6af64 100644
--- a/examples/server/utils.hpp
+++ b/examples/server/utils.hpp
@@ -341,9 +341,9 @@ static std::string llama_get_chat_template(const struct llama_model * model) {
     if (res < 0) {
         return "";
     } else {
-        std::vector<char> model_template(res, 0);
+        std::vector<char> model_template(res + 1, 0);
         llama_model_meta_val_str(model, template_key.c_str(), model_template.data(), model_template.size());
-        return std::string(model_template.data(), model_template.size());
+        return std::string(model_template.data(), model_template.size() - 1);
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/include/llama.h b/include/llama.h
index 90791d5f5ea12..cd592aa179d4f 100644
--- a/include/llama.h
+++ b/include/llama.h
@@ -451,6 +451,7 @@ extern "C" {
     // Functions to access the model's GGUF metadata scalar values
     // - The functions return the length of the string on success, or -1 on failure
     // - The output string is always null-terminated and cleared on failure
+    // - When retrieving a string, an extra byte must be allocated to account for the null terminator
     // - GGUF array values are not supported by these functions
 
     // Get metadata value as a string by key name