diff --git a/Setup.hs b/Setup.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Setup.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+import Distribution.Simple
+main = defaultMain
diff --git a/acid-state.cabal b/acid-state.cabal
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/acid-state.cabal
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+-- acid-state.cabal auto-generated by cabal init. For additional
+-- options, see
+-- http://www.haskell.org/cabal/release/cabal-latest/doc/users-guide/authors.html#pkg-descr.
+-- The name of the package.
+Name:                acid-state
+
+-- The package version. See the Haskell package versioning policy
+-- (http://www.haskell.org/haskellwiki/Package_versioning_policy) for
+-- standards guiding when and how versions should be incremented.
+Version:             0.1
+
+-- A short (one-line) description of the package.
+Synopsis:            Add ACID guarantees to any serializable Haskell data structure.
+
+-- A longer description of the package.
+Description:         Use regular Haskell data structures as your database and get stronger ACID guarantees than most RDBMS offer.
+
+-- URL for the project homepage or repository.
+Homepage:            http://acid-state.seize.it/
+
+-- The license under which the package is released.
+License:             PublicDomain
+
+-- The package author(s).
+Author:              David Himmelstrup
+
+-- An email address to which users can send suggestions, bug reports,
+-- and patches.
+Maintainer:          Lemmih <lemmih@gmail.com>
+
+-- A copyright notice.
+-- Copyright:           
+
+Category:            Database
+
+Build-type:          Simple
+
+-- Extra files to be distributed with the package, such as examples or
+-- a README.
+Extra-source-files:  examples/*.hs
+
+-- Constraint on the version of Cabal needed to build this package.
+Cabal-version:       >=1.6
+
+
+Library
+  -- Modules exported by the library.
+  Exposed-Modules:     Data.State.Acid, Data.State.Acid.Local, Data.State.Acid.Core
+
+  -- Modules not exported by this package.
+  Other-modules:       Data.State.Acid.Log, Data.State.Acid.Archive,
+                       Data.State.Acid.CRC
+  
+  -- Packages needed in order to build this package.
+  Build-depends:       base >= 4 && < 5, binary, bytestring, stm, filepath, directory,
+                       monads-fd, array, containers
+
+  Hs-Source-Dirs:         src/
+  
+  -- Extra tools (e.g. alex, hsc2hs, ...) needed to build the source.
+  -- Build-tools:         
+  
diff --git a/examples/HelloWorld.hs b/examples/HelloWorld.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/HelloWorld.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE DeriveDataTypeable, TypeFamilies, StandaloneDeriving #-}
+module Main (main) where
+
+import Data.State.Acid.Core
+import Data.State.Acid
+
+import qualified Control.Monad.State as State
+import Control.Monad.Reader
+import System.Environment
+import Data.Binary
+
+import Data.Typeable
+
+------------------------------------------------------
+-- The Haskell structure that we want to encapsulate
+
+data HelloWorldState = HelloWorldState String
+    deriving (Show, Typeable)
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------
+-- The transaction we will execute over the state.
+
+writeState :: String -> Update HelloWorldState ()
+writeState newValue
+    = State.put (HelloWorldState newValue)
+
+queryState :: Query HelloWorldState String
+queryState = do HelloWorldState string <- ask
+                return string
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------
+-- This is how AcidState is used:
+
+main :: IO ()
+main = do acid <- mkAcidState myEvents (HelloWorldState "Hello world")
+          args <- getArgs
+          if null args
+             then do string <- query acid QueryState
+                     putStrLn $ "The state is: " ++ string
+             else do update acid (WriteState (unwords args))
+                     putStrLn $ "The state has been modified!"
+
+
+------------------------------------------------------
+-- The gritty details. These things may be done with
+-- Template Haskell in the future.
+
+data WriteState = WriteState String
+data QueryState = QueryState
+
+
+deriving instance Typeable WriteState
+instance Binary WriteState where
+    put (WriteState st) = put st
+    get = liftM WriteState get
+instance Method WriteState where
+    type MethodResult WriteState = ()
+instance UpdateEvent WriteState
+
+deriving instance Typeable QueryState
+instance Binary QueryState where
+    put QueryState = return ()
+    get = return QueryState
+instance Method QueryState where
+    type MethodResult QueryState = String
+instance QueryEvent QueryState
+
+instance Binary HelloWorldState where
+    put (HelloWorldState state) = put state
+    get = liftM HelloWorldState get
+
+myEvents :: [Event HelloWorldState]
+myEvents = [ UpdateEvent (\(WriteState newState) -> writeState newState)
+           , QueryEvent (\QueryState             -> queryState)
+           ]
diff --git a/src/Data/State/Acid.hs b/src/Data/State/Acid.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Data/State/Acid.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+module Data.State.Acid
+    ( module Data.State.Acid.Local
+    ) where
+
+import Data.State.Acid.Local
diff --git a/src/Data/State/Acid/Archive.hs b/src/Data/State/Acid/Archive.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Data/State/Acid/Archive.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+{-
+Format:
+ |content length| crc16   | content |
+ |8 bytes       | 2 bytes | n bytes |
+-}
+module Data.State.Acid.Archive
+    ( Entry
+    , Entries(..)
+    , putEntries
+    , packEntries
+    , readEntries
+    , entriesToList
+    , entriesToListNoFail
+    ) where
+
+import Data.State.Acid.CRC
+
+import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy as Lazy
+import qualified Data.ByteString as Strict
+import Data.Binary.Get
+import Data.Binary.Builder
+import Data.Monoid
+
+type Entry = Lazy.ByteString
+data Entries = Done | Next Entry Entries | Fail String
+    deriving (Show)
+
+entriesToList :: Entries -> [Entry]
+entriesToList Done              = []
+entriesToList (Next entry next) = entry : entriesToList next
+entriesToList (Fail msg)        = fail msg
+
+entriesToListNoFail :: Entries -> [Entry]
+entriesToListNoFail Done              = []
+entriesToListNoFail (Next entry next) = entry : entriesToListNoFail next
+entriesToListNoFail Fail{}            = []
+
+putEntry :: Entry -> Builder
+putEntry content
+    = putWord64le contentLength `mappend`
+      putWord16le contentHash `mappend`
+      fromLazyByteString content
+    where contentLength = fromIntegral $ Lazy.length content
+          contentHash   = crc16 content
+
+putEntries :: [Entry] -> Builder
+putEntries = mconcat . map putEntry
+
+packEntries :: [Entry] -> Lazy.ByteString
+packEntries = toLazyByteString . putEntries
+
+readEntries :: Lazy.ByteString -> Entries
+readEntries bs
+    | Lazy.null bs
+    = Done
+    | Lazy.length header < headerSize
+    = Fail "Incomplete header."
+    | Lazy.length content /= fromIntegral contentLength
+    = Fail "Insuficient content."
+    | crc16 content /= contentHash
+    = Fail "Invalid hash"
+    | otherwise
+    = Next content (readEntries rest)
+    where header        = Lazy.take headerSize bs
+          headerSize    = 10
+          contentLength = fromIntegral $ runGet getWord64le header
+          contentHash   = runGet getWord16le $ Lazy.drop 8 header
+          content       = Lazy.take contentLength $ Lazy.drop headerSize bs
+          rest          = Lazy.drop (contentLength+headerSize) bs
+
+lazyToStrict :: Lazy.ByteString -> Strict.ByteString
+lazyToStrict = Strict.concat . Lazy.toChunks
+
diff --git a/src/Data/State/Acid/CRC.hs b/src/Data/State/Acid/CRC.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Data/State/Acid/CRC.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+{- CRC16 checksum inspired by http://hackage.haskell.org/package/crc16-table
+   As of 2011-04-13, this module is about 20x faster than crc16-table.
+-}
+module Data.State.Acid.CRC
+    ( crc16
+    ) where
+
+import Data.Word                                ( Word16 )
+import Data.Array.Unboxed                       ( UArray, listArray )
+import Data.Array.Base                          ( unsafeAt )
+import Data.Bits                                ( Bits(..) )
+
+import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy as Lazy   ( ByteString, foldl' )
+
+
+tableList :: [Word16]
+tableList =
+  [0x00000,0x01189,0x02312,0x0329B,0x04624,0x057AD,0x06536,0x074BF,
+   0x08C48,0x09DC1,0x0AF5A,0x0BED3,0x0CA6C,0x0DBE5,0x0E97E,0x0F8F7,
+   0x01081,0x00108,0x03393,0x0221A,0x056A5,0x0472C,0x075B7,0x0643E,
+   0x09CC9,0x08D40,0x0BFDB,0x0AE52,0x0DAED,0x0CB64,0x0F9FF,0x0E876,
+   0x02102,0x0308B,0x00210,0x01399,0x06726,0x076AF,0x04434,0x055BD,
+   0x0AD4A,0x0BCC3,0x08E58,0x09FD1,0x0EB6E,0x0FAE7,0x0C87C,0x0D9F5,
+   0x03183,0x0200A,0x01291,0x00318,0x077A7,0x0662E,0x054B5,0x0453C,
+   0x0BDCB,0x0AC42,0x09ED9,0x08F50,0x0FBEF,0x0EA66,0x0D8FD,0x0C974,
+   0x04204,0x0538D,0x06116,0x0709F,0x00420,0x015A9,0x02732,0x036BB,
+   0x0CE4C,0x0DFC5,0x0ED5E,0x0FCD7,0x08868,0x099E1,0x0AB7A,0x0BAF3,
+   0x05285,0x0430C,0x07197,0x0601E,0x014A1,0x00528,0x037B3,0x0263A,
+   0x0DECD,0x0CF44,0x0FDDF,0x0EC56,0x098E9,0x08960,0x0BBFB,0x0AA72,
+   0x06306,0x0728F,0x04014,0x0519D,0x02522,0x034AB,0x00630,0x017B9,
+   0x0EF4E,0x0FEC7,0x0CC5C,0x0DDD5,0x0A96A,0x0B8E3,0x08A78,0x09BF1,
+   0x07387,0x0620E,0x05095,0x0411C,0x035A3,0x0242A,0x016B1,0x00738,
+   0x0FFCF,0x0EE46,0x0DCDD,0x0CD54,0x0B9EB,0x0A862,0x09AF9,0x08B70,
+   0x08408,0x09581,0x0A71A,0x0B693,0x0C22C,0x0D3A5,0x0E13E,0x0F0B7,
+   0x00840,0x019C9,0x02B52,0x03ADB,0x04E64,0x05FED,0x06D76,0x07CFF,
+   0x09489,0x08500,0x0B79B,0x0A612,0x0D2AD,0x0C324,0x0F1BF,0x0E036,
+   0x018C1,0x00948,0x03BD3,0x02A5A,0x05EE5,0x04F6C,0x07DF7,0x06C7E,
+   0x0A50A,0x0B483,0x08618,0x09791,0x0E32E,0x0F2A7,0x0C03C,0x0D1B5,
+   0x02942,0x038CB,0x00A50,0x01BD9,0x06F66,0x07EEF,0x04C74,0x05DFD,
+   0x0B58B,0x0A402,0x09699,0x08710,0x0F3AF,0x0E226,0x0D0BD,0x0C134,
+   0x039C3,0x0284A,0x01AD1,0x00B58,0x07FE7,0x06E6E,0x05CF5,0x04D7C,
+   0x0C60C,0x0D785,0x0E51E,0x0F497,0x08028,0x091A1,0x0A33A,0x0B2B3,
+   0x04A44,0x05BCD,0x06956,0x078DF,0x00C60,0x01DE9,0x02F72,0x03EFB,
+   0x0D68D,0x0C704,0x0F59F,0x0E416,0x090A9,0x08120,0x0B3BB,0x0A232,
+   0x05AC5,0x04B4C,0x079D7,0x0685E,0x01CE1,0x00D68,0x03FF3,0x02E7A,
+   0x0E70E,0x0F687,0x0C41C,0x0D595,0x0A12A,0x0B0A3,0x08238,0x093B1,
+   0x06B46,0x07ACF,0x04854,0x059DD,0x02D62,0x03CEB,0x00E70,0x01FF9,
+   0x0F78F,0x0E606,0x0D49D,0x0C514,0x0B1AB,0x0A022,0x092B9,0x08330,
+   0x07BC7,0x06A4E,0x058D5,0x0495C,0x03DE3,0x02C6A,0x01EF1,0x00F78]
+
+table :: UArray Word16 Word16
+table = listArray (0,255) tableList
+
+crc16 :: Lazy.ByteString -> Word16
+crc16 = table `seq` complement . Lazy.foldl' worker 0xFFFF
+    where worker acc x = (acc `shiftR` 8) `xor` (table `unsafeAt` idx)
+              where idx = fromIntegral ((acc `xor` fromIntegral x) .&. 0xFF)
+
diff --git a/src/Data/State/Acid/Core.hs b/src/Data/State/Acid/Core.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Data/State/Acid/Core.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,164 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE GADTs, OverloadedStrings, DeriveDataTypeable, TypeFamilies,
+             FlexibleContexts, BangPatterns #-}
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-- |
+-- Module      :  Data.State.Acid.Core
+-- Copyright   :  PublicDomain
+--
+-- Maintainer  :  lemmih@gmail.com
+-- Portability :  portable
+--
+-- Low-level controls for transaction-based state changes. This module defines
+-- structures and tools for running state modifiers indexed either by an Method
+-- or a serialized Method. This module should rarely be used directly although
+-- the 'Method' class is needed when defining events manually.
+--
+-- The term \'Event\' is loosely used for transactions with ACID guarantees.
+-- \'Method\' is loosely used for state operations without ACID guarantees
+--
+module Data.State.Acid.Core
+    ( Core
+    , Method(..)
+    , MethodContainer(..)
+    , Tagged
+    , mkCore
+    , closeCore
+    , modifyCoreState
+    , modifyCoreState_
+    , withCoreState
+    , lookupHotMethod
+    , lookupColdMethod
+    , runHotMethod
+    , runColdMethod
+    ) where
+
+import Control.Concurrent
+import Control.Monad
+import Control.Monad.State (State, runState )
+import qualified Data.Map as Map
+import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy as Lazy
+import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy.Char8 as Lazy.Char8
+
+import Data.Binary
+
+import Data.Typeable
+import Unsafe.Coerce (unsafeCoerce)
+
+
+-- | The basic Method class. Each Method has an indexed result type
+--   and a unique tag.
+class ( Typeable ev, Binary ev
+      , Typeable (MethodResult ev), Binary (MethodResult ev)) =>
+      Method ev where
+    type MethodResult ev
+    methodTag :: ev -> Tag
+    methodTag ev = Lazy.Char8.pack (show (typeOf ev))
+
+-- | The control structure at the very center of acid-state.
+--   This module provides access to a mutable state through
+--   methods. No efforts towards durability, checkpointing or
+--   sharding happens at this level.
+--   Important things to keep in mind in this module:
+--     * We don't distinguish between updates and queries.
+--     * We allow direct access to the core state as well
+--       as through events.
+data Core st
+    = Core { coreState   :: MVar st
+           , coreMethods :: MethodMap st
+           }
+
+-- | Construct a new Core using an initial state and a list of Methods.
+mkCore :: [MethodContainer st]   -- ^ List of methods capable of modifying the state.
+       -> st                     -- ^ Initial state value.
+       -> IO (Core st)
+mkCore methods initialValue
+    = do mvar <- newMVar initialValue
+         return Core{ coreState   = mvar
+                    , coreMethods = mkMethodMap methods }
+
+-- | Mark Core as closed. Any subsequent use will throw an exception.
+closeCore :: Core st -> IO ()
+closeCore core
+    = do swapMVar (coreState core) errorMsg
+         return ()
+    where errorMsg = error "Access failure: Core closed."
+
+-- | Modify the state component. The resulting state is ensured to be in
+--   WHNF.
+modifyCoreState :: Core st -> (st -> IO (st, a)) -> IO a
+modifyCoreState core action
+    = modifyMVar (coreState core) $ \st -> do (!st, a) <- action st
+                                              return (st, a)
+
+-- | Modify the state component. The resulting state is ensured to be in
+--   WHNF.
+modifyCoreState_ :: Core st -> (st -> IO st) -> IO ()
+modifyCoreState_ core action
+    = modifyMVar_ (coreState core) $ \st -> do !st' <- action st
+                                               return st'
+
+-- | Access the state component.
+withCoreState :: Core st -> (st -> IO a) -> IO a
+withCoreState core action
+    = withMVar (coreState core) action
+
+-- | Execute a method as given by a type identifier and an encoded string.
+--   The exact format of the encoded string depends on the type identifier.
+--   Results are encoded and type tagged before they're handed back out.
+--   This function is used when running events from a log-file or from another
+--   server. Events that originate locally are most likely executed with
+--   the faster 'runHotMethod'.
+runColdMethod :: Core st -> Tagged Lazy.ByteString -> IO Lazy.ByteString
+runColdMethod core taggedMethod
+    = modifyCoreState core $ \st ->
+      do let (a, st') = runState (lookupColdMethod core taggedMethod) st
+         return ( st', a)
+
+-- | Find the state action that corresponds to a tagged and serialized method.
+lookupColdMethod :: Core st -> Tagged Lazy.ByteString -> (State st Lazy.ByteString)
+lookupColdMethod core (methodTag, methodContent)
+    = case Map.lookup methodTag (coreMethods core) of
+        Nothing      -> error $ "Method tag doesn't exist: " ++ show methodTag
+        Just (Method method)
+          -> liftM encode (method (decode methodContent))
+      
+-- | Apply an in-memory method to the state.
+runHotMethod :: Method method => Core st -> method -> IO (MethodResult method)
+runHotMethod core method
+    = modifyCoreState core $ \st ->
+      do let (a, st') = runState (lookupHotMethod core method) st
+         return ( st', a)
+
+-- | Find the state action that corresponds to an in-memory method.
+lookupHotMethod :: Method method => Core st -> method -> State st (MethodResult method)
+lookupHotMethod core method
+    = case Map.lookup (methodTag method) (coreMethods core) of
+        Nothing -> error $ "Method type doesn't exist: " ++ show (typeOf method)
+        Just (Method methodHandler)
+          -> -- If the methodTag doesn't index the right methodHandler then we're in deep
+             -- trouble. Luckly, it would take deliberate malevolence for that to happen.
+             unsafeCoerce methodHandler method
+
+-- | Method tags must be unique and are most commenly generated automatically.
+type Tag = Lazy.ByteString
+type Tagged a = (Tag, a)
+
+-- | Method container structure that hides the exact type of the method.
+data MethodContainer st where
+    Method :: Method method => (method -> State st (MethodResult method)) -> MethodContainer st
+
+-- | Collection of Methods indexed by a Tag.
+type MethodMap st = Map.Map Tag (MethodContainer st)
+
+-- | Construct a 'MethodMap' from a list of Methods using their associated tag.
+mkMethodMap :: [MethodContainer st] -> MethodMap st
+mkMethodMap methods
+    = Map.fromList [ (methodType method, method) | method <- methods ]
+    where -- A little bit of ugliness is required to access the methodTags.
+          methodType :: MethodContainer st -> Tag
+          methodType m = case m of
+                           Method fn -> let ev :: (ev -> State st res) -> ev
+                                            ev _ = undefined
+                                        in methodTag (ev fn)
+
+
diff --git a/src/Data/State/Acid/Local.hs b/src/Data/State/Acid/Local.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Data/State/Acid/Local.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,183 @@
+{-# LANGUAGE GADTs, OverloadedStrings, DeriveDataTypeable, TypeFamilies,
+             MagicHash, GeneralizedNewtypeDeriving #-}
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-- |
+-- Module      :  Data.State.Acid.Local
+-- Copyright   :  PublicDomain
+--
+-- Maintainer  :  lemmih@gmail.com
+-- Portability :  portable
+--
+-- AcidState container using a transaction log on disk. The term \'Event\' is
+-- loosely used for transactions with ACID guarantees. \'Method\' is loosely
+-- used for state operations without ACID guarantees (see "Data.State.Acid.Core").
+--
+
+module Data.State.Acid.Local
+    ( AcidState
+    , Event(..)
+    , EventResult
+    , UpdateEvent
+    , QueryEvent
+    , Update
+    , Query
+    , mkAcidState
+    , closeAcidState
+    , createCheckpoint
+    , update
+    , query
+    ) where
+
+import Data.State.Acid.Log as Log
+import Data.State.Acid.Core
+
+import Control.Concurrent
+import qualified Control.Monad.State as State
+import Control.Monad.Reader
+import Control.Applicative
+import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy as Lazy
+
+import Data.Binary
+import Data.Typeable
+import System.FilePath
+
+-- | Events return the same thing as Methods. The exact type of 'EventResult'
+--   depends on the event.
+type EventResult ev = MethodResult ev
+
+-- | We distinguish between events that modify the state and those that do not.
+--
+--   UpdateEvents are executed in a MonadState context and have to be serialized
+--   to disk before they are considered durable.
+--
+--   QueryEvents are executed in a MonadReader context and obviously do not have
+--   to be serialized to disk.
+data Event st where
+    UpdateEvent :: UpdateEvent ev => (ev -> Update st (EventResult ev)) -> Event st
+    QueryEvent  :: QueryEvent  ev => (ev -> Query st (EventResult ev)) -> Event st
+
+-- | All UpdateEvents are also Methods.
+class Method ev => UpdateEvent ev
+-- | All QueryEvents are also Methods.
+class Method ev => QueryEvent ev
+
+
+eventsToMethods :: [Event st] -> [MethodContainer st]
+eventsToMethods = map worker
+    where worker (UpdateEvent fn) = Method (unUpdate . fn)
+          worker (QueryEvent fn)  = Method (\ev -> do st <- State.get
+                                                      return (runReader (unQuery $ fn ev) st)
+                                           )
+{-| State container offering full ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation and Durability)
+    guarantees.
+
+    [@Atomicity@]  State changes are all-or-nothing. This is what you'd expect of any state
+                   variable in Haskell and AcidState doesn't change that.
+
+    [@Consistency@] No event or set of events will break your data invariants. This includes
+                    power outages, 
+
+    [@Isolation@] Transactions cannot interfere with each other even when issued in parallel.
+
+    [@Durability@] Successful transaction are guaranteed to survive system failure (both
+                   hardware and software).
+-}
+data AcidState st
+    = AcidState { localCore        :: Core st
+                , localEvents      :: FileLog (Tagged Lazy.ByteString)
+                , localCheckpoints :: FileLog Checkpoint
+                }
+
+-- | Context monad for Update events.
+newtype Update st a = Update { unUpdate :: State.State st a }
+    deriving (Monad, State.MonadState st)
+
+-- | Context monad for Query events.
+newtype Query st a  = Query { unQuery :: Reader st a }
+    deriving (Monad, MonadReader st)
+
+-- | Issue an Update event and wait for its result. Once this call returns, you are
+--   guaranteed that the changes to the state are durable. Events may be issued in
+--   parallel.
+--   
+--   It's a run-time error to issue events that aren't supported by the AcidState.
+update :: UpdateEvent event => AcidState st -> event -> IO (EventResult event)
+update acidState event
+    = do mvar <- newEmptyMVar
+         modifyCoreState_ (localCore acidState) $ \st ->
+           do let (result, st') = State.runState hotMethod st
+              -- schedule the log entry. Very important that it happens when 'localCore' is locked.
+              pushEntry (localEvents acidState) (methodTag event, encode event) $ putMVar mvar result
+              return st'
+         takeMVar mvar
+    where hotMethod = lookupHotMethod (localCore acidState) event
+
+-- | Issue a Query event and wait for its result. Events may be issued in parallel.
+query  :: QueryEvent event  => AcidState st -> event -> IO (EventResult event)
+query acidState event
+    = runHotMethod (localCore acidState) event
+
+-- | Take a snapshot of the state and save it to disk. Creating checkpoints
+--   makes it faster to resume AcidStates and you're free to create them as
+--   often or seldom as fits your needs. Transactions can run concurrently
+--   with this call.
+--   
+--   This call will not return until the operation has succeeded.
+createCheckpoint :: Binary st => AcidState st -> IO ()
+createCheckpoint acidState
+    = do mvar <- newEmptyMVar
+         withCoreState (localCore acidState) $ \st ->
+           do eventId <- askCurrentEntryId (localEvents acidState)
+              pushEntry (localCheckpoints acidState) (Checkpoint eventId (encode st)) (putMVar mvar ())
+         takeMVar mvar
+         
+
+
+data Checkpoint = Checkpoint EntryId Lazy.ByteString
+
+instance Binary Checkpoint where
+    put (Checkpoint eventEntryId content)
+        = do put eventEntryId
+             put content
+    get = Checkpoint <$> get <*> get
+
+
+-- | Create an AcidState given a list of events (aka. transactions) and an initial value.
+--   
+--   This will create or resume a log found in the \"state\/[typeOf state]\/\" directory.
+mkAcidState :: (Typeable st, Binary st)
+            => [Event st]                -- ^ List of events capable of updating or querying the state.
+            -> st                        -- ^ Initial state value. This value is only used if no checkpoint is
+                                         --   found.
+            -> IO (AcidState st)
+mkAcidState events initialState
+    = do core <- mkCore (eventsToMethods events) initialState
+         let directory = "state" </> show (typeOf initialState)
+         let eventsLogKey = LogKey { logDirectory = directory
+                                   , logPrefix = "events" }
+             checkpointsLogKey = LogKey { logDirectory = directory
+                                        , logPrefix = "checkpoints" }
+         mbLastCheckpoint <- Log.newestEntry checkpointsLogKey
+         n <- case mbLastCheckpoint of
+                Nothing
+                  -> return 0
+                Just (Checkpoint eventCutOff content)
+                  -> do modifyCoreState_ core (\_oldState -> return (decode content))
+                        return eventCutOff
+         events <- entriesAfterCutoff eventsLogKey n
+         mapM_ (runColdMethod core) events
+         eventsLog <- openFileLog eventsLogKey
+         checkpointsLog <- openFileLog checkpointsLogKey
+         return AcidState { localCore = core
+                          , localEvents = eventsLog
+                          , localCheckpoints = checkpointsLog
+                          }
+
+-- | Close an AcidState and associated logs.
+--   Any subsequent usage of the AcidState will throw an exception.
+closeAcidState :: AcidState st -> IO ()
+closeAcidState acidState
+    = do closeCore (localCore acidState)
+         closeFileLog (localEvents acidState)
+         closeFileLog (localCheckpoints acidState)
+
diff --git a/src/Data/State/Acid/Log.hs b/src/Data/State/Acid/Log.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Data/State/Acid/Log.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,169 @@
+module Data.State.Acid.Log
+    ( FileLog
+    , LogKey(..)
+    , EntryId
+    , openFileLog
+    , closeFileLog
+    , pushEntry
+    , newestEntry
+    , entriesAfterCutoff
+    , askCurrentEntryId
+    ) where
+
+import Data.State.Acid.Archive as Archive
+import System.Directory
+import System.FilePath
+import System.IO
+import Control.Monad
+import Control.Concurrent
+import Control.Concurrent.STM
+import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy as Lazy
+--import qualified Data.ByteString as Strict
+import Data.List
+import Data.Maybe
+import Data.Binary
+
+import Text.Printf
+
+type EntryId = Int
+
+data FileLog object
+    = FileLog { logIdentifier  :: LogKey object
+              , logCurrent     :: MVar (Handle)
+              , logNextEntryId :: TVar EntryId
+              , logQueue       :: TVar [(Lazy.ByteString,IO ())]
+              , logThreads     :: [ThreadId]
+              }
+
+data LogKey object
+    = LogKey
+      { logDirectory :: FilePath
+      , logPrefix    :: String
+      }
+
+formatLogFile :: String -> EntryId -> String
+formatLogFile tag n
+    = printf "%s-%010d.log" tag n
+
+findLogFiles :: LogKey object -> IO [(EntryId, FilePath)]
+findLogFiles identifier
+    = do createDirectoryIfMissing True (logDirectory identifier)
+         files <- getDirectoryContents (logDirectory identifier)
+         return  [ (tid, logDirectory identifier </> file)
+                 | file <- files
+                 , logFile <- maybeToList (stripPrefix (logPrefix identifier ++ "-") file)
+                 , (tid, ".log") <- reads logFile ]
+
+openFileLog :: LogKey object -> IO (FileLog object)
+openFileLog identifier
+    = do logFiles <- findLogFiles identifier
+         currentState <- newEmptyMVar
+         queue <- newTVarIO []
+         nextEntryRef <- newTVarIO 0
+         tid2 <- forkIO $ forever $ do pairs <- atomically $ do vals <- readTVar queue
+                                                                guard (not $ null vals)
+                                                                writeTVar queue []
+                                                                return (reverse vals)
+                                       let (entries, actions) = unzip pairs
+                                       withMVar currentState $ \handle ->
+                                         do let arch = Archive.packEntries entries
+                                            seq (Lazy.length arch) (return ())
+                                            Lazy.hPutStr handle arch
+                                            hFlush handle
+                                            return ()
+                                       sequence_ actions
+                                       yield
+         let log = FileLog { logIdentifier  = identifier
+                           , logCurrent     = currentState
+                           , logNextEntryId = nextEntryRef
+                           , logQueue       = queue
+                           , logThreads     = [tid2] }
+         if null logFiles
+            then do let currentEntryId = 0
+                    currentHandle <- openBinaryFile (logDirectory identifier </> formatLogFile (logPrefix identifier) currentEntryId) WriteMode
+                    putMVar currentState currentHandle
+            else do let (lastFileEntryId, lastFilePath) = maximum logFiles
+                    entries <- readEntities lastFilePath
+                    let currentEntryId = lastFileEntryId + length entries
+                    atomically $ writeTVar nextEntryRef currentEntryId
+                    currentHandle <- openFile (logDirectory identifier </> formatLogFile (logPrefix identifier) currentEntryId) WriteMode
+                    putMVar currentState currentHandle
+         return log
+
+closeFileLog :: FileLog object -> IO ()
+closeFileLog log
+    = modifyMVar_ (logCurrent log) $ \handle ->
+      do hClose handle
+         forkIO $ forM_ (logThreads log) killThread
+         return $ error "FileLog has been closed"
+
+readEntities :: FilePath -> IO [Lazy.ByteString]
+readEntities path
+    = do archive <- Lazy.readFile path
+         return $ worker (Archive.readEntries archive)
+    where worker Done = []
+          worker (Next entry next)
+              = entry : worker next
+          worker Fail{} = []
+
+-- Return entries newer than or equal to the cutoff.
+-- Do not use after the log has been opened.
+-- Implementation: 1) find the files that /may/ contain entries
+--                    younger than the cutoff.
+--                 2) parse all the entries in those files.
+--                 3) drop the entries that are too old.
+entriesAfterCutoff :: Binary object => LogKey object -> EntryId -> IO [object]
+entriesAfterCutoff identifier cutoff
+    = do logFiles <- findLogFiles identifier
+         let sorted   = reverse $ sort logFiles       -- newest files first
+             relevant = reverse $ takeRelevant sorted -- oldest files first
+             (entryIds, files) = unzip relevant
+         case entryIds of
+           [] -> return []
+           (firstEntryId : _)
+             -> do archive <- liftM Lazy.concat $ mapM Lazy.readFile files
+                   let events = entriesToList $ readEntries archive
+                   return $ map decode $ drop (cutoff - firstEntryId) events
+    where takeRelevant [] = []
+          takeRelevant ((firstEntryId, file) : rest)
+              | firstEntryId < cutoff
+              = [ (firstEntryId, file) ]
+              | otherwise
+              = (firstEntryId, file) : takeRelevant rest
+
+
+-- Finds the newest entry in the log. Doesn't work on open logs.
+-- Do not use after the log has been opened.
+-- Implementation: Search the newest log files first. Once a file
+--                 containing at least one valid entry is found,
+--                 return the last entry in that file.
+newestEntry :: Binary object => LogKey object -> IO (Maybe object)
+newestEntry identifier
+    = do logFiles <- findLogFiles identifier
+         let sorted = reverse $ sort logFiles
+             (eventIds, files) = unzip sorted
+         archives <- mapM Lazy.readFile files
+         return $ worker archives
+    where worker [] = Nothing
+          worker (archive:archives)
+              = case Archive.readEntries archive of
+                  Done            -> worker archives
+                  Next entry next -> Just (decode (lastEntry entry next))
+                  Fail{}          -> worker archives
+          lastEntry entry Done   = entry
+          lastEntry entry Fail{} = entry
+          lastEntry _ (Next entry next) = lastEntry entry next
+
+-- Schedule a new log entry. May not block.
+pushEntry :: Binary object => FileLog object -> object -> IO () -> IO ()
+pushEntry log object finally
+    = atomically $
+      do tid <- readTVar (logNextEntryId log)
+         writeTVar (logNextEntryId log) (tid+1)
+         pairs <- readTVar (logQueue log)
+         writeTVar (logQueue log) ((encoded, finally) : pairs)
+    where encoded = encode object
+
+askCurrentEntryId :: FileLog object -> IO EntryId
+askCurrentEntryId log
+    = atomically $ readTVar (logNextEntryId log)
