diff --git a/crates/coremem/src/render.rs b/crates/coremem/src/render.rs
index 7ae7e46..b56a033 100644
--- a/crates/coremem/src/render.rs
+++ b/crates/coremem/src/render.rs
@@ -640,9 +640,12 @@ impl SerializerRenderer {
             measurements,
         };
         let name = self.fmt_str.replace("{step_no}", &*frame.state.step_no().to_string());
-        let out = BufWriter::new(File::create(name).unwrap());
-        //serde_cbor::to_writer(out, &snap).unwrap();
+        // serialize to a temporary file -- in case we run out of disk space, etc.
+        let temp_name = format!("{}.incomplete", name);
+        let out = BufWriter::new(File::create(&temp_name).unwrap());
         bincode::serialize_into(out, &frame).unwrap();
+        // atomically complete the write.
+        std::fs::rename(temp_name, name).unwrap();
     }
 
     pub fn try_load<S: AbstractSim + for <'a> Deserialize<'a>>(&self) -> Option<SerializedFrame<S>> {