diff --git a/checkpoint.go b/checkpoint.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..2ab5f8d95c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/checkpoint.go
@@ -0,0 +1,279 @@
+// Copyright 2018 The Prometheus Authors
+
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package tsdb
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"io/ioutil"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strconv"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/go-kit/kit/log"
+	"github.com/go-kit/kit/log/level"
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
+	"github.com/prometheus/tsdb/fileutil"
+	"github.com/prometheus/tsdb/wal"
+)
+
+// CheckpointStats returns stats about a created checkpoint.
+type CheckpointStats struct {
+	DroppedSeries     int
+	DroppedSamples    int
+	DroppedTombstones int
+	TotalSeries       int
+	TotalSamples      int
+	TotalTombstones   int
+}
+
+// LastCheckpoint returns the directory name of the most recent checkpoint.
+// If dir does not contain any checkpoints, ErrNotFound is returned.
+func LastCheckpoint(dir string) (string, int, error) {
+	files, err := ioutil.ReadDir(dir)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", 0, err
+	}
+	// Traverse list backwards since there may be multiple checkpoints left.
+	for i := len(files) - 1; i >= 0; i-- {
+		fi := files[i]
+
+		if !strings.HasPrefix(fi.Name(), checkpointPrefix) {
+			continue
+		}
+		if !fi.IsDir() {
+			return "", 0, errors.Errorf("checkpoint %s is not a directory", fi.Name())
+		}
+		k, err := strconv.Atoi(fi.Name()[len(checkpointPrefix):])
+		if err != nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		return fi.Name(), k, nil
+	}
+	return "", 0, ErrNotFound
+}
+
+// DeleteCheckpoints deletes all checkpoints in dir that have an index
+// below n.
+func DeleteCheckpoints(dir string, n int) error {
+	var errs MultiError
+
+	files, err := ioutil.ReadDir(dir)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	for _, fi := range files {
+		if !strings.HasPrefix(fi.Name(), checkpointPrefix) {
+			continue
+		}
+		k, err := strconv.Atoi(fi.Name()[len(checkpointPrefix):])
+		if err != nil || k >= n {
+			continue
+		}
+		if err := os.RemoveAll(filepath.Join(dir, fi.Name())); err != nil {
+			errs.Add(err)
+		}
+	}
+	return errs.Err()
+}
+
+const checkpointPrefix = "checkpoint."
+
+// Checkpoint creates a compacted checkpoint of segments in range [m, n] in the given WAL.
+// It includes the most recent checkpoint if it exists.
+// All series not satisfying keep and samples below mint are dropped.
+//
+// The checkpoint is stored in a directory named checkpoint.N in the same
+// segmented format as the original WAL itself.
+// This makes it easy to read it through the WAL package and concatenate
+// it with the original WAL.
+//
+// Non-critical errors are logged and not returned.
+func Checkpoint(logger log.Logger, w *wal.WAL, m, n int, keep func(id uint64) bool, mint int64) (*CheckpointStats, error) {
+	if logger == nil {
+		logger = log.NewNopLogger()
+	}
+	stats := &CheckpointStats{}
+
+	var sr io.Reader
+	{
+		lastFn, k, err := LastCheckpoint(w.Dir())
+		if err != nil && err != ErrNotFound {
+			return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "find last checkpoint")
+		}
+		if err == nil {
+			if m > k+1 {
+				return nil, errors.New("unexpected gap to last checkpoint")
+			}
+			// Ignore WAL files below the checkpoint. They shouldn't exist to begin with.
+			m = k + 1
+
+			last, err := wal.NewSegmentsReader(filepath.Join(w.Dir(), lastFn))
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "open last checkpoint")
+			}
+			defer last.Close()
+			sr = last
+		}
+
+		segs, err := wal.NewSegmentsRangeReader(w.Dir(), m, n)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "create segment reader")
+		}
+		defer segs.Close()
+
+		if sr != nil {
+			sr = io.MultiReader(sr, segs)
+		} else {
+			sr = segs
+		}
+	}
+
+	cpdir := filepath.Join(w.Dir(), fmt.Sprintf("checkpoint.%06d", n))
+	cpdirtmp := cpdir + ".tmp"
+
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(cpdirtmp, 0777); err != nil {
+		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "create checkpoint dir")
+	}
+	cp, err := wal.New(nil, nil, cpdirtmp)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "open checkpoint")
+	}
+
+	r := wal.NewReader(sr)
+
+	var (
+		series  []RefSeries
+		samples []RefSample
+		tstones []Stone
+		dec     RecordDecoder
+		enc     RecordEncoder
+		buf     []byte
+		recs    [][]byte
+	)
+	for r.Next() {
+		series, samples, tstones = series[:0], samples[:0], tstones[:0]
+
+		// We don't reset the buffer since we batch up multiple records
+		// before writing them to the checkpoint.
+		// Remember where  the record for this iteration starts.
+		start := len(buf)
+		rec := r.Record()
+
+		switch dec.Type(rec) {
+		case RecordSeries:
+			series, err = dec.Series(rec, series)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "decode series")
+			}
+			// Drop irrelevant series in place.
+			repl := series[:0]
+			for _, s := range series {
+				if keep(s.Ref) {
+					repl = append(repl, s)
+				}
+			}
+			if len(repl) > 0 {
+				buf = enc.Series(repl, buf)
+			}
+			stats.TotalSeries += len(series)
+			stats.DroppedSeries += len(series) - len(repl)
+
+		case RecordSamples:
+			samples, err = dec.Samples(rec, samples)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "decode samples")
+			}
+			// Drop irrelevant samples in place.
+			repl := samples[:0]
+			for _, s := range samples {
+				if s.T >= mint {
+					repl = append(repl, s)
+				}
+			}
+			if len(repl) > 0 {
+				buf = enc.Samples(repl, buf)
+			}
+			stats.TotalSamples += len(samples)
+			stats.DroppedSamples += len(samples) - len(repl)
+
+		case RecordTombstones:
+			tstones, err = dec.Tombstones(rec, tstones)
+			if err != nil {
+				return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "decode deletes")
+			}
+			// Drop irrelevant tombstones in place.
+			repl := tstones[:0]
+			for _, s := range tstones {
+				for _, iv := range s.intervals {
+					if iv.Maxt >= mint {
+						repl = append(repl, s)
+						break
+					}
+				}
+			}
+			if len(repl) > 0 {
+				buf = enc.Tombstones(repl, buf)
+			}
+			stats.TotalTombstones += len(tstones)
+			stats.DroppedTombstones += len(tstones) - len(repl)
+
+		default:
+			return nil, errors.New("invalid record type")
+		}
+		if len(buf[start:]) == 0 {
+			continue // All contents discarded.
+		}
+		recs = append(recs, buf[start:])
+
+		// Flush records in 1 MB increments.
+		if len(buf) > 1*1024*1024 {
+			if err := cp.Log(recs...); err != nil {
+				return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "flush records")
+			}
+			buf, recs = buf[:0], recs[:0]
+		}
+	}
+	// If we hit any corruption during checkpointing, repairing is not an option.
+	// The head won't know which series records are lost.
+	if r.Err() != nil {
+		return nil, errors.Wrap(r.Err(), "read segments")
+	}
+
+	// Flush remaining records.
+	if err := cp.Log(recs...); err != nil {
+		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "flush records")
+	}
+	if err := cp.Close(); err != nil {
+		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "close checkpoint")
+	}
+	if err := fileutil.Rename(cpdirtmp, cpdir); err != nil {
+		return nil, errors.Wrap(err, "rename checkpoint file")
+	}
+	if err := w.Truncate(n + 1); err != nil {
+		// If truncating fails, we'll just try again at the next checkpoint.
+		// Leftover segments will just be ignored in the future if there's a checkpoint
+		// that supersedes them.
+		level.Error(logger).Log("msg", "truncating segments failed", "err", err)
+	}
+	if err := DeleteCheckpoints(w.Dir(), n); err != nil {
+		// Leftover old checkpoints do not cause problems down the line beyond
+		// occupying disk space.
+		// They will just be ignored since a higher checkpoint exists.
+		level.Error(logger).Log("msg", "delete old checkpoints", "err", err)
+	}
+	return stats, nil
+}
diff --git a/checkpoint_test.go b/checkpoint_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..074bb46e8c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/checkpoint_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,182 @@
+// Copyright 2018 The Prometheus Authors
+
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package tsdb
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"io/ioutil"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/prometheus/tsdb/fileutil"
+	"github.com/prometheus/tsdb/labels"
+	"github.com/prometheus/tsdb/testutil"
+	"github.com/prometheus/tsdb/wal"
+)
+
+func TestLastCheckpoint(t *testing.T) {
+	dir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "test_checkpoint")
+	testutil.Ok(t, err)
+	defer os.RemoveAll(dir)
+
+	s, k, err := LastCheckpoint(dir)
+	testutil.Equals(t, ErrNotFound, err)
+
+	testutil.Ok(t, os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(dir, "checkpoint.0000"), 0777))
+	s, k, err = LastCheckpoint(dir)
+	testutil.Ok(t, err)
+	testutil.Equals(t, "checkpoint.0000", s)
+	testutil.Equals(t, 0, k)
+
+	testutil.Ok(t, os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(dir, "checkpoint.xyz"), 0777))
+	s, k, err = LastCheckpoint(dir)
+	testutil.Ok(t, err)
+	testutil.Equals(t, "checkpoint.0000", s)
+	testutil.Equals(t, 0, k)
+
+	testutil.Ok(t, os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(dir, "checkpoint.1"), 0777))
+	s, k, err = LastCheckpoint(dir)
+	testutil.Ok(t, err)
+	testutil.Equals(t, "checkpoint.1", s)
+	testutil.Equals(t, 1, k)
+
+	testutil.Ok(t, os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(dir, "checkpoint.1000"), 0777))
+	s, k, err = LastCheckpoint(dir)
+	testutil.Ok(t, err)
+	testutil.Equals(t, "checkpoint.1000", s)
+	testutil.Equals(t, 1000, k)
+}
+
+func TestDeleteCheckpoints(t *testing.T) {
+	dir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "test_checkpoint")
+	testutil.Ok(t, err)
+	defer os.RemoveAll(dir)
+
+	testutil.Ok(t, DeleteCheckpoints(dir, 0))
+
+	testutil.Ok(t, os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(dir, "checkpoint.00"), 0777))
+	testutil.Ok(t, os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(dir, "checkpoint.01"), 0777))
+	testutil.Ok(t, os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(dir, "checkpoint.02"), 0777))
+	testutil.Ok(t, os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(dir, "checkpoint.03"), 0777))
+
+	testutil.Ok(t, DeleteCheckpoints(dir, 2))
+
+	files, err := fileutil.ReadDir(dir)
+	testutil.Ok(t, err)
+	testutil.Equals(t, []string{"checkpoint.02", "checkpoint.03"}, files)
+}
+
+func TestCheckpoint(t *testing.T) {
+	dir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "test_checkpoint")
+	testutil.Ok(t, err)
+	fmt.Println(dir)
+
+	var enc RecordEncoder
+	// Create a dummy segment to bump the initial number.
+	seg, err := wal.CreateSegment(dir, 100)
+	testutil.Ok(t, err)
+	testutil.Ok(t, seg.Close())
+
+	// Manually create checkpoint for 99 and earlier.
+	w, err := wal.New(nil, nil, filepath.Join(dir, "checkpoint.0099"))
+	testutil.Ok(t, err)
+
+	// Add some data we expect to be around later.
+	err = w.Log(enc.Series([]RefSeries{
+		{Ref: 0, Labels: labels.FromStrings("a", "b", "c", "0")},
+		{Ref: 1, Labels: labels.FromStrings("a", "b", "c", "1")},
+	}, nil))
+	testutil.Ok(t, err)
+	testutil.Ok(t, w.Close())
+
+	// Start a WAL and write records to it as usual.
+	w, err = wal.NewSize(nil, nil, dir, 64*1024)
+	testutil.Ok(t, err)
+
+	var last int64
+	for i := 0; ; i++ {
+		_, n, err := w.Segments()
+		testutil.Ok(t, err)
+		if n >= 106 {
+			break
+		}
+		// Write some series initially.
+		if i == 0 {
+			b := enc.Series([]RefSeries{
+				{Ref: 2, Labels: labels.FromStrings("a", "b", "c", "2")},
+				{Ref: 3, Labels: labels.FromStrings("a", "b", "c", "3")},
+				{Ref: 4, Labels: labels.FromStrings("a", "b", "c", "4")},
+				{Ref: 5, Labels: labels.FromStrings("a", "b", "c", "5")},
+			}, nil)
+			testutil.Ok(t, w.Log(b))
+		}
+		// Write samples until the WAL has enough segments.
+		// Make them have drifting timestamps within a record to see that they
+		// get filtered properly.
+		b := enc.Samples([]RefSample{
+			{Ref: 0, T: last, V: float64(i)},
+			{Ref: 1, T: last + 10000, V: float64(i)},
+			{Ref: 2, T: last + 20000, V: float64(i)},
+			{Ref: 3, T: last + 30000, V: float64(i)},
+		}, nil)
+		testutil.Ok(t, w.Log(b))
+
+		last += 100
+	}
+	testutil.Ok(t, w.Close())
+
+	stats, err = Checkpoint(nil, w, 100, 106, func(x uint64) bool {
+		return x%2 == 0
+	}, last/2)
+	testutil.Ok(t, err)
+	testutil.Equals(t, 106, stats.HighSegment)
+
+	// Only the new checkpoint should be left.
+	files, err := fileutil.ReadDir(dir)
+	testutil.Ok(t, err)
+	testutil.Equals(t, 1, len(files))
+	testutil.Equals(t, "checkpoint.000106", files[0])
+
+	sr, err := wal.NewSegmentsReader(filepath.Join(dir, "checkpoint.000106"))
+	testutil.Ok(t, err)
+	defer sr.Close()
+
+	var dec RecordDecoder
+	var series []RefSeries
+	r := wal.NewReader(sr)
+
+	for r.Next() {
+		rec := r.Record()
+
+		switch dec.Type(rec) {
+		case RecordSeries:
+			series, err = dec.Series(rec, series)
+			testutil.Ok(t, err)
+		case RecordSamples:
+			samples, err := dec.Samples(rec, nil)
+			testutil.Ok(t, err)
+			for _, s := range samples {
+				testutil.Assert(t, s.T >= last/2, "sample with wrong timestamp")
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	testutil.Ok(t, r.Err())
+	testutil.Equals(t, []RefSeries{
+		{Ref: 0, Labels: labels.FromStrings("a", "b", "c", "0")},
+		{Ref: 2, Labels: labels.FromStrings("a", "b", "c", "2")},
+		{Ref: 4, Labels: labels.FromStrings("a", "b", "c", "4")},
+	}, series)
+}
diff --git a/fileutil/fileutil.go b/fileutil/fileutil.go
index c2c25842ad..397858958b 100644
--- a/fileutil/fileutil.go
+++ b/fileutil/fileutil.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ package fileutil
 
 import (
 	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
 	"sort"
 )
 
@@ -23,3 +24,25 @@ func ReadDir(dirpath string) ([]string, error) {
 	sort.Strings(names)
 	return names, nil
 }
+
+// Rename safely renames a file.
+func Rename(from, to string) error {
+	if err := os.RemoveAll(to); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	if err := os.Rename(from, to); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	// Directory was renamed; sync parent dir to persist rename.
+	pdir, err := OpenDir(filepath.Dir(to))
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	if err = Fsync(pdir); err != nil {
+		pdir.Close()
+		return err
+	}
+	return pdir.Close()
+}
diff --git a/record.go b/record.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c8cc7a5043
--- /dev/null
+++ b/record.go
@@ -0,0 +1,213 @@
+// Copyright 2018 The Prometheus Authors
+
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package tsdb
+
+import (
+	"math"
+	"sort"
+
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
+	"github.com/prometheus/tsdb/labels"
+)
+
+// RecordType represents the data type of a record.
+type RecordType uint8
+
+const (
+	RecordInvalid    RecordType = 255
+	RecordSeries     RecordType = 1
+	RecordSamples    RecordType = 2
+	RecordTombstones RecordType = 3
+)
+
+type RecordLogger interface {
+	Log(recs ...[]byte) error
+}
+
+type RecordReader interface {
+	Next() bool
+	Err() error
+	Record() []byte
+}
+
+// RecordDecoder decodes series, sample, and tombstone records.
+// The zero value is ready to use.
+type RecordDecoder struct {
+}
+
+// Type returns the type of the record.
+// Return RecordInvalid if no valid record type is found.
+func (d *RecordDecoder) Type(rec []byte) RecordType {
+	if len(rec) < 1 {
+		return RecordInvalid
+	}
+	switch t := RecordType(rec[0]); t {
+	case RecordSeries, RecordSamples, RecordTombstones:
+		return t
+	}
+	return RecordInvalid
+}
+
+// Series appends series in rec to the given slice.
+func (d *RecordDecoder) Series(rec []byte, series []RefSeries) ([]RefSeries, error) {
+	dec := decbuf{b: rec}
+
+	if RecordType(dec.byte()) != RecordSeries {
+		return nil, errors.New("invalid record type")
+	}
+	for len(dec.b) > 0 && dec.err() == nil {
+		ref := dec.be64()
+
+		lset := make(labels.Labels, dec.uvarint())
+
+		for i := range lset {
+			lset[i].Name = dec.uvarintStr()
+			lset[i].Value = dec.uvarintStr()
+		}
+		sort.Sort(lset)
+
+		series = append(series, RefSeries{
+			Ref:    ref,
+			Labels: lset,
+		})
+	}
+	if dec.err() != nil {
+		return nil, dec.err()
+	}
+	if len(dec.b) > 0 {
+		return nil, errors.Errorf("unexpected %d bytes left in entry", len(dec.b))
+	}
+	return series, nil
+}
+
+// Samples appends samples in rec to the given slice.
+func (d *RecordDecoder) Samples(rec []byte, samples []RefSample) ([]RefSample, error) {
+	dec := decbuf{b: rec}
+
+	if RecordType(dec.byte()) != RecordSamples {
+		return nil, errors.New("invalid record type")
+	}
+	if dec.len() == 0 {
+		return samples, nil
+	}
+	var (
+		baseRef  = dec.be64()
+		baseTime = dec.be64int64()
+	)
+	for len(dec.b) > 0 && dec.err() == nil {
+		dref := dec.varint64()
+		dtime := dec.varint64()
+		val := dec.be64()
+
+		samples = append(samples, RefSample{
+			Ref: uint64(int64(baseRef) + dref),
+			T:   baseTime + dtime,
+			V:   math.Float64frombits(val),
+		})
+	}
+
+	if dec.err() != nil {
+		return nil, errors.Wrapf(dec.err(), "decode error after %d samples", len(samples))
+	}
+	if len(dec.b) > 0 {
+		return nil, errors.Errorf("unexpected %d bytes left in entry", len(dec.b))
+	}
+	return samples, nil
+}
+
+// Tombstones appends tombstones in rec to the given slice.
+func (d *RecordDecoder) Tombstones(rec []byte, tstones []Stone) ([]Stone, error) {
+	dec := decbuf{b: rec}
+
+	if RecordType(dec.byte()) != RecordTombstones {
+		return nil, errors.New("invalid record type")
+	}
+	for dec.len() > 0 && dec.err() == nil {
+		tstones = append(tstones, Stone{
+			ref: dec.be64(),
+			intervals: Intervals{
+				{Mint: dec.varint64(), Maxt: dec.varint64()},
+			},
+		})
+	}
+	if dec.err() != nil {
+		return nil, dec.err()
+	}
+	if len(dec.b) > 0 {
+		return nil, errors.Errorf("unexpected %d bytes left in entry", len(dec.b))
+	}
+	return tstones, nil
+}
+
+// RecordEncoder encodes series, sample, and tombstones records.
+// The zero value is ready to use.
+type RecordEncoder struct {
+}
+
+// Series appends the encoded series to b and returns the resulting slice.
+func (e *RecordEncoder) Series(series []RefSeries, b []byte) []byte {
+	buf := encbuf{b: b}
+	buf.putByte(byte(RecordSeries))
+
+	for _, s := range series {
+		buf.putBE64(s.Ref)
+		buf.putUvarint(len(s.Labels))
+
+		for _, l := range s.Labels {
+			buf.putUvarintStr(l.Name)
+			buf.putUvarintStr(l.Value)
+		}
+	}
+	return buf.get()
+}
+
+// Samples appends the encoded samples to b and returns the resulting slice.
+func (e *RecordEncoder) Samples(samples []RefSample, b []byte) []byte {
+	buf := encbuf{b: b}
+	buf.putByte(byte(RecordSamples))
+
+	if len(samples) == 0 {
+		return buf.get()
+	}
+
+	// Store base timestamp and base reference number of first sample.
+	// All samples encode their timestamp and ref as delta to those.
+	first := samples[0]
+
+	buf.putBE64(first.Ref)
+	buf.putBE64int64(first.T)
+
+	for _, s := range samples {
+		buf.putVarint64(int64(s.Ref) - int64(first.Ref))
+		buf.putVarint64(s.T - first.T)
+		buf.putBE64(math.Float64bits(s.V))
+	}
+	return buf.get()
+}
+
+// Tombstones appends the encoded tombstones to b and returns the resulting slice.
+func (e *RecordEncoder) Tombstones(tstones []Stone, b []byte) []byte {
+	buf := encbuf{b: b}
+	buf.putByte(byte(RecordTombstones))
+
+	for _, s := range tstones {
+		for _, iv := range s.intervals {
+			buf.putBE64(s.ref)
+			buf.putVarint64(iv.Mint)
+			buf.putVarint64(iv.Maxt)
+		}
+	}
+	return buf.get()
+}
diff --git a/record_test.go b/record_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..4257fc0c52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/record_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+// Copyright 2018 The Prometheus Authors
+
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+// http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+package tsdb
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/prometheus/tsdb/labels"
+	"github.com/prometheus/tsdb/testutil"
+)
+
+func TestRecord_EncodeDecode(t *testing.T) {
+	var enc RecordEncoder
+	var dec RecordDecoder
+
+	series := []RefSeries{
+		{
+			Ref:    100,
+			Labels: labels.FromStrings("abc", "def", "123", "456"),
+		}, {
+			Ref:    1,
+			Labels: labels.FromStrings("abc", "def2", "1234", "4567"),
+		}, {
+			Ref:    435245,
+			Labels: labels.FromStrings("xyz", "def", "foo", "bar"),
+		},
+	}
+	decSeries, err := dec.Series(enc.Series(series, nil), nil)
+	testutil.Ok(t, err)
+	testutil.Equals(t, series, decSeries)
+
+	samples := []RefSample{
+		{Ref: 0, T: 12423423, V: 1.2345},
+		{Ref: 123, T: -1231, V: -123},
+		{Ref: 2, T: 0, V: 99999},
+	}
+	decSamples, err := dec.Samples(enc.Samples(samples, nil), nil)
+	testutil.Ok(t, err)
+	testutil.Equals(t, samples, decSamples)
+
+	// Intervals get split up into single entries. So we don't get back exactly
+	// what we put in.
+	tstones := []Stone{
+		{ref: 123, intervals: Intervals{
+			{Mint: -1000, Maxt: 1231231},
+			{Mint: 5000, Maxt: 0},
+		}},
+		{ref: 13, intervals: Intervals{
+			{Mint: -1000, Maxt: -11},
+			{Mint: 5000, Maxt: 1000},
+		}},
+	}
+	decTstones, err := dec.Tombstones(enc.Tombstones(tstones, nil), nil)
+	testutil.Ok(t, err)
+	testutil.Equals(t, []Stone{
+		{ref: 123, intervals: Intervals{{Mint: -1000, Maxt: 1231231}}},
+		{ref: 123, intervals: Intervals{{Mint: 5000, Maxt: 0}}},
+		{ref: 13, intervals: Intervals{{Mint: -1000, Maxt: -11}}},
+		{ref: 13, intervals: Intervals{{Mint: 5000, Maxt: 1000}}},
+	}, decTstones)
+}