diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 2d0cd09d9..354096b87 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+datastore
 www/bower_components/*
 node_modules
 /config.js
diff --git a/NetfluxWebsocketSrv.js b/NetfluxWebsocketSrv.js
index d92510749..a5e75c6cf 100644
--- a/NetfluxWebsocketSrv.js
+++ b/NetfluxWebsocketSrv.js
@@ -33,7 +33,13 @@ const sendChannelMessage = function (ctx, channel, msgStruct) {
       }
     });
     if (USE_HISTORY_KEEPER && msgStruct[2] === 'MSG') {
-        ctx.store.message(channel.id, JSON.stringify(msgStruct), function () { });
+        ctx.store.message(channel.id, JSON.stringify(msgStruct), function (err) {
+            if (err && typeof(err) !== 'function') {
+                // ignore functions because older datastores
+                // might pass waitFors into the callback
+                console.log("Error writing message: " + err);
+            }
+        });
     }
 };
 
@@ -90,7 +96,11 @@ const getHistory = function (ctx, channelName, handler, cb) {
     var messageBuf = [];
     ctx.store.getMessages(channelName, function (msgStr) {
         messageBuf.push(JSON.parse(msgStr));
-    }, function () {
+    }, function (err) {
+        if (err) {
+            console.log("Error getting messages " + err.stack);
+            // TODO: handle this better
+        }
         var startPoint;
         var cpCount = 0;
         var msgBuff2 = [];
diff --git a/config.js.dist b/config.js.dist
index 4b5702574..e88b06b0a 100644
--- a/config.js.dist
+++ b/config.js.dist
@@ -17,52 +17,30 @@ module.exports = {
      */
     logToStdout: false,
 
-    /*  Cryptpad can be configured to remove channels some number of ms
-        after the last remaining client has disconnected.
-
-        Default behaviour is to keep channels forever.
-        If you enable channel removal, the default removal time is one minute
+    /*
+        Cryptpad stores each document in an individual file on your hard drive.
+        Specify a directory where files should be stored.
+        It will be created automatically if it does not already exist.
     */
-    removeChannels: false,
-    channelRemovalTimeout: 60000,
-
-    // You now have a choice of storage engines
-
-    /* amnesiadb only exists in memory.
-     * it will not persist across server restarts
-     * it will not scale well if your server stays alive for a long time.
-     * but it is completely dependency free
-     */
-    //storage: './storage/amnesia',
-
-    /* the 'lvl' storage module uses leveldb
-     * it persists, and will perform better than amnesiadb
-     * you will need to run 'npm install level' to use it
-     * 
-     * you can provide a path to a database folder, which will be created
-     * if it does not already exist. If you use level and do not pass a path
-     * it will be created at cryptpad/test.level.db
-     *
-     * to delete all pads, run `rm -rf $YOUR_DB`
-     */
-    storage: './storage/lvl',
-    levelPath: './test.level.db'
-
-    /* mongo is the original storage engine for cryptpad
-     * it has been more thoroughly tested, but requires a little more setup
-     */
-    // storage: './storage/mongo',
-
-    /* this url is accessible over the internet, it is useful for testing
-     * but should not be used in production
-     */
-    // mongoUri: "mongodb://demo_user:demo_password@ds027769.mongolab.com:27769/demo_database",
-
-    /* mongoUri should really be used to refer to a local installation of mongodb
-     * to install the mongodb client, run `npm install mongodb`
-     */
-    // mongoUri: "mongodb://localhost:27017/cryptpad",
-    // mongoCollectionName: 'cryptpad',
+    filePath: './datastore/',
+
+    /*
+        You have the option of specifying an alternative storage adaptor.
+        These status of these alternatives are specified in their READMEs,
+        which are available at the following URLs:
+
+        mongodb: a noSQL database
+            https://github.com/xwiki-labs/cryptpad-mongo-store
+        amnesiadb: in memory storage
+            https://github.com/xwiki-labs/cryptpad-amnesia-store
+        leveldb: a simple, fast, key-value store
+            https://github.com/xwiki-labs/cryptpad-level-store
+        sql: an adaptor for a variety of sql databases via knexjs
+            https://github.com/xwiki-labs/cryptpad-sql-store
+
+        For the most up to date solution, use the default storage adaptor.
+    */
+    storage: './storage/file',
 
     /* it is recommended that you serve cryptpad over https
      * the filepaths below are used to configure your certificates
diff --git a/import b/import
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..1bf1d5de9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/import
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env node
+/* globals process */
+
+var Config = require("./config");
+var Fs = require("fs");
+var Storage = require(Config.storage);
+
+var args = process.argv.slice(2);
+
+if (!args.length) {
+    console.log("Insufficient arguments!");
+    console.log("Pass a path to a database backup!");
+    process.exit();
+}
+
+var dump = Fs.readFileSync(args[0], 'utf-8');
+
+var ready = function (store) {
+    var lock = 0;
+    dump.split(/\n/)
+    .filter(function (line) {
+        return line;
+    })
+    .forEach(function (line, i) {
+        lock++;
+        var parts;
+
+        var channel;
+        var msg;
+
+        line.replace(/^(.*?)\|(.*)$/, function (all, c, m) {
+            channel = c;
+            msg = m;
+            return '';
+        });
+
+        if (!channel || !msg) {
+            console.log("BAD LINE on line %s", i);
+            return;
+        }
+
+        try {
+            JSON.parse(msg);
+        } catch (err) {
+            console.log("BAD LINE on line %s", i);
+            console.log(msg);
+            console.log();
+        }
+
+        store.message(channel, msg, function () {
+            console.log(line);
+            lock--;
+            if (!lock) {
+                console.log("DONE");
+                process.exit(0);
+            }
+        });
+    });
+};
+
+Storage.create(Config, function (store) {
+    console.log("READY");
+    ready(store);
+});
+
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 06d115bab..c61266ee7 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
   "dependencies": {
     "express": "~4.10.1",
     "ws": "^1.0.1",
-    "level": "~1.4.0",
     "nthen": "~0.1.0"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
diff --git a/storage/amnesia.js b/storage/amnesia.js
deleted file mode 100644
index b7c1702e6..000000000
--- a/storage/amnesia.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,56 +0,0 @@
-/*
-    As the log statement says, this module does nothing to persist your data
-    across sessions. If your process crashes for any reason, all pads will die.
-
-    This might be useful if you want to debug other parts of the codebase, if
-    you want to test out cryptpad without installing mongodb locally, or if
-    you don't want to rely on a remote db like the one at mongolab.com.
-
-    Maybe you just like the idea of a forgetful pad? To use this module, edit
-    config.js to include a directive `storage: './storage/amnesia'
-
-    Enjoy!
-*/
-
-module.exports.create = function(conf, cb){
-    console.log("Loading amnesiadb. This is a horrible idea in production,"+
-        " as data *will not* persist\n");
-
-    var db=[],
-        index=0;
-
-    if (conf.removeChannels) {
-        console.log("Server is set to remove channels %sms after the last remaining client leaves.", conf.channelRemovalTimeout);
-    }
-
-    cb({
-        message: function(channelName, content, cb){
-            var val = {
-                id:index++,
-                chan: channelName,
-                msg: content,
-                time: new Date().getTime(),
-            };
-            db.push(val);
-            if (cb) { cb(); }
-        },
-        getMessages: function(channelName, handler, cb){
-            db.sort(function(a,b){
-                return a.id - b.id;
-            });
-            db.filter(function(val){
-                return val.chan === channelName;
-            }).forEach(function(doc){
-                handler(doc.msg);
-            });
-            if (cb) { cb(); }
-        },
-        removeChannel: function (channelName, cb) {
-            var err = false;
-            db = db.filter(function (msg) {
-                return msg.chan !== channelName;
-            });
-            cb(err);
-        },
-    });
-};
diff --git a/storage/file.js b/storage/file.js
index 0c6b6734c..b25a5c99f 100644
--- a/storage/file.js
+++ b/storage/file.js
@@ -1,22 +1,195 @@
 var Fs = require("fs");
+var Path = require("path");
+var nThen = require("nthen");
 
-var insert = function (env, channel, content, cb) {
+var mkPath = function (env, channelId) {
+    return Path.join(env.root, channelId.slice(0, 2), channelId) + '.ndjson';
+};
+
+var readMessages = function (path, msgHandler, cb) {
+    var remainder = '';
+    var stream = Fs.createReadStream(path, 'utf8');
+    var complete = function (err) {
+        var _cb = cb;
+        cb = undefined;
+        if (_cb) { _cb(err); }
+    };
+    stream.on('data', function (chunk) {
+        var lines = chunk.split('\n');
+        lines[0] = remainder + lines[0];
+        remainder = lines.pop();
+        lines.forEach(msgHandler);
+    });
+    stream.on('end', function () {
+        msgHandler(remainder);
+        complete();
+    });
+    stream.on('error', function (e) { complete(e); });
+};
+
+var checkPath = function (path, callback) {
+    Fs.stat(path, function (err, stats) {
+        if (!err) {
+            callback(undefined, true);
+            return;
+        }
+        if (err.code !== 'ENOENT') {
+            callback(err);
+            return;
+        }
+        var dirPath = path.replace(/\/[^\/]*$/, '/');
+        Fs.mkdir(dirPath, function (err) {
+            if (err && err.code !== 'EEXIST') {
+                callback(err);
+                return;
+            }
+            callback(undefined, false);
+        });
+    });
+};
 
+var getChannel = function (env, id, callback) {
+    if (env.channels[id]) {
+        var chan = env.channels[id];
+        if (chan.whenLoaded) {
+            chan.whenLoaded.push(callback);
+        } else {
+            callback(undefined, chan);
+        }
+        return;
+    }
+    var channel = env.channels[id] = {
+        atime: +new Date(),
+        messages: [],
+        writeStream: undefined,
+        whenLoaded: [ callback ],
+        onError: [ ]
+    };
+    var complete = function (err) {
+        var whenLoaded = channel.whenLoaded;
+        // no guarantee stream.on('error') will not cause this to be called multiple times
+        if (!whenLoaded) { return; }
+        channel.whenLoaded = undefined;
+        if (err) {
+            delete env.channels[id];
+        }
+        whenLoaded.forEach(function (wl) { wl(err, (err) ? undefined : channel); });
+    };
+    var path = mkPath(env, id);
+    var fileExists;
+    var errorState;
+    nThen(function (waitFor) {
+        checkPath(path, waitFor(function (err, exists) {
+            if (err) {
+                errorState = true;
+                complete(err);
+                return;
+            }
+            fileExists = exists;
+        }));
+    }).nThen(function (waitFor) {
+        if (errorState) { return; }
+        if (!fileExists) { return; }
+        readMessages(path, function (msg) {
+            channel.messages.push(msg);
+        }, waitFor(function (err) {
+            if (err) {
+                errorState = true;
+                complete(err);
+            }
+        }));
+    }).nThen(function (waitFor) {
+        if (errorState) { return; }
+        var stream = channel.writeStream = Fs.createWriteStream(path, { flags: 'a' });
+        stream.on('open', waitFor());
+        stream.on('error', function (err) {
+            // this might be called after this nThen block closes.
+            if (channel.whenLoaded) {
+                complete(err);
+            } else {
+                channel.onError.forEach(function (handler) {
+                    handler(err);
+                });
+            }
+        });
+    }).nThen(function (waitFor) {
+        if (errorState) { return; }
+        complete();
+    });
 };
 
-var getMessages = function (env, channelName, msgHandler, cb) {
+var message = function (env, chanName, msg, cb) {
+    getChannel(env, chanName, function (err, chan) {
+        if (err) {
+            cb(err);
+            return;
+        }
+        var complete = function (err) {
+            var _cb = cb;
+            cb = undefined;
+            if (_cb) { _cb(err); }
+        };
+        chan.onError.push(complete);
+        chan.writeStream.write(msg + '\n', function () {
+            chan.onError.splice(chan.onError.indexOf(complete) - 1, 1);
+            if (!cb) { return; }
+            chan.messages.push(msg);
+            chan.atime = +new Date();
+            complete();
+        });
+    });
+};
+
+var getMessages = function (env, chanName, handler, cb) {
+    getChannel(env, chanName, function (err, chan) {
+        if (err) {
+            cb(err);
+            return;
+        }
+        try {
+            chan.messages
+                .forEach(function (message) {
+                    if (!message) { return; }
+                    handler(message);
+                });
+        } catch (err2) {
+            console.error(err2);
+            cb(err2);
+            return;
+        }
+        chan.atime = +new Date();
+        cb();
+    });
+};
 
+var removeChannel = function (env, channelName, cb) {
+    var filename = Path.join(env.root, channelName.slice(0, 2), channelName + '.ndjson');
+    Fs.unlink(filename, cb);
 };
 
 module.exports.create = function (conf, cb) {
-    var env = {};
-
-    cb({
-        message: function (channelName, content, cb) {
-            insert(env, channelName, content, cb);
-        },
-        getMessages: function (channelName, msgHandler, cb) {
-            getMessages(env, channelName, msgHandler, cb);
-        },
+    var env = {
+        root: conf.filePath || './datastore',
+        channels: { },
+    };
+    console.log('storing data in ' + env.root);
+    Fs.mkdir(env.root, function (err) {
+        if (err && err.code !== 'EEXIST') {
+            // TODO: somehow return a nice error
+            throw err;
+        }
+        cb({
+            message: function (channelName, content, cb) {
+                message(env, channelName, content, cb);
+            },
+            getMessages: function (channelName, msgHandler, cb) {
+                getMessages(env, channelName, msgHandler, cb);
+            },
+            removeChannel: function (channelName, cb) {
+                removeChannel(env, channelName, function (err) {
+                    cb(err);
+                });
+            },
+        });
     });
 };
diff --git a/storage/kad.js b/storage/kad.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 84287c70e..000000000
--- a/storage/kad.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,51 +0,0 @@
-var kad=require("kad");
-var levelup=require("levelup");
-
-/*
-    THiS FILE IS NOT PRODUCTION READY
-    DON'T USE IT!
-*/
-
-module.exports.create=function(conf,cb){
-    var dht= kad({
-        address:conf.kadAddress,
-        port:conf.kadPort,
-        storage:levelup(conf.kadStore),
-        seeds:conf.kadSeeds,
-        transport: kad.transports.UDP,
-    });
-
-    var getIndex=function(cName,f){
-        dht.get(cName+'=>index',function(e,out){
-            e && console.error(e) || f(Number(out));
-        });
-    };
-
-    cb({
-        message:function(cName, content, cb){
-            getIndex(cName, function(index){
-                index+=1;
-                dht.put(cName+'=>index', ''+index,function(e){
-                    e && console.error("ERROR updating index (%s): %s",index,e) ||
-                    console.log("PUT SUCCESS: %s", cName+'=>index')
-                });
-                dht.put(cName+'=>'+index, content, function(e){
-                    e && console.error("ERROR updating value at %s: %s",cName+'=>'+index,e)||
-                    console.log("PUT SUCCESS: %s", cName+'=>index')
-                    cb();
-                });
-            });
-        },
-        getMessages: function(cName, cb){
-            getIndex(cName, function(index){
-                for(var i=index;i>=0;i--){
-                    dht.get(cName+'=>'+i,function(e,out){
-                        if(e) return console.error("DHT GET ERROR: %s",e);
-                        console.log("GET SUCCESS: %s", cName+'=>index')
-                        cb(out);
-                    });
-                }
-            });
-        },
-    });
-};
diff --git a/storage/lvl.js b/storage/lvl.js
deleted file mode 100644
index ff6713a0c..000000000
--- a/storage/lvl.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,73 +0,0 @@
-var Level = require("level");
-var nThen = require('nthen');
-
-var getIndex = function(db, cName, cb) {
-    db.get(cName+'=>index', function(e, out){
-        if (e) {
-            if (e.notFound) {
-                cb(-1);
-            } else {
-                throw e;
-            }
-            return;
-        }
-        cb(parseInt(out));
-    });
-};
-
-var insert = function (db, channelName, content, cb) {
-    var index;
-    var doIt = function () {
-        db.locked = true;
-        nThen(function (waitFor) {
-            getIndex(db, channelName, waitFor(function (i) { index = i+1; }));
-        }).nThen(function (waitFor) {
-            db.put(channelName+'=>'+index, content, waitFor(function (e) { if (e) { throw e; } }));
-        }).nThen(function (waitFor) {
-            db.put(channelName+'=>index', ''+index, waitFor(function (e) { if (e) { throw e; } }));
-        }).nThen(function (waitFor) {
-            db.locked = false;
-            if (!db.queue.length) { return; }
-            db.queue.shift()();
-        }).nThen(cb);
-    };
-    if (db.locked) {
-        db.queue.push(doIt);
-    } else {
-        doIt();
-    }
-};
-
-var getMessages = function (db, channelName, msgHandler, cb) {
-    var index;
-    nThen(function (waitFor) {
-        getIndex(db, channelName, waitFor(function (i) {
-            index = i;
-        }));
-    }).nThen(function (waitFor) {
-        var again = function (i) {
-            db.get(channelName + '=>' + i, waitFor(function (e, out) {
-                if (e) { throw e; }
-                msgHandler(out);
-                if (i < index) { again(i+1); }
-                else if (cb) { cb(); }
-            }));
-        };
-        if (index > -1) { again(0); }
-        else if (cb) { cb(); }
-    });
-};
-
-module.exports.create = function (conf, cb) {
-    var db = Level(conf.levelPath || './test.level.db');
-    db.locked = false;
-    db.queue = [];
-    cb({
-        message: function (channelName, content, cb) {
-            insert(db, channelName, content, cb);
-        },
-        getMessages: function (channelName, msgHandler, cb) {
-            getMessages(db, channelName, msgHandler, cb);
-        }
-    });
-};
diff --git a/storage/mongo.js b/storage/mongo.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 67f662a09..000000000
--- a/storage/mongo.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,61 +0,0 @@
-/*
- * Copyright 2014 XWiki SAS
- *
- * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
- * it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
- * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
- * (at your option) any later version.
- *
- * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
- * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
- * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
- * GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
- *
- * You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
- * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
- */
-var MongoClient = require('mongodb').MongoClient;
-
-var MONGO_URI = "mongodb://demo_user:demo_password@ds027769.mongolab.com:27769/demo_database";
-var COLLECTION_NAME = 'cryptpad';
-
-var insert = function (coll, channelName, content, cb) {
-    var val = {chan: channelName, msg:content, time: (new Date()).getTime()};
-    coll.insertOne(val, {}, function (err, r) {
-        console.log(r);
-        if (err || (r.insertedCount !== 1)) {
-            console.log('failed to insert ' + err);
-            return;
-        }
-        cb();
-    });
-};
-
-var getMessages = function (coll, channelName, cb) {
-    // find entries with a matching channelname
-    coll.find({chan:channelName})
-    // sort by _id, ascending
-    .sort( { _id: 1 } )
-    // iterate over entries
-    .forEach(function (doc) {
-        cb(doc.msg);
-    }, function (err) {
-        if (!err) { return; }
-        console.log('error ' + err);
-    });
-};
-
-module.exports.create = function (conf, cb) {
-    MongoClient.connect(conf.mongoUri, function(err, db) {
-        var coll = db.collection(conf.mongoCollectionName);
-        if (err) { throw err; }
-        cb({
-            message: function (channelName, content, cb) {
-                insert(coll, channelName, content, cb);
-            },
-            getMessages: function (channelName, msgHandler) {
-                getMessages(coll, channelName, msgHandler);
-            }            
-        });
-    });
-};
diff --git a/storage/sql.js b/storage/sql.js
deleted file mode 100644
index 9bb07519d..000000000
--- a/storage/sql.js
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,58 +0,0 @@
-var Knex = require("knex");
-
-var getMessages = function (knex, channel, msgHandler, cb) {
-    return knex('messages')
-        .where({
-            channel: channel,
-        })
-        .select('*')
-        .then(function (rows) {
-            rows.forEach(function (row) {
-                msgHandler(row.content);
-            });
-            cb();
-        })
-        .catch(function (e) {
-            console.error(e);
-            cb();
-        });
-};
-
-var insert = function (knex, channel, content, cb) {
-    knex.table('messages').insert({
-        channel: channel,
-        content: content,
-    })
-    .then(function () {
-        cb();
-    });
-};
-
-module.exports.create = function (conf, cb) {
-    var knex = Knex({
-        dialect: 'sqlite3',
-        connection: conf.dbConnection,
-        useNullAsDefault: true,
-    });
-
-    knex.schema.hasTable('messages').then(function (exists) {
-        if (exists) { return; }
-
-        return knex.schema.createTable('messages', function (table) {
-            table.increments('id');
-            table.string('content');
-            table.string('channel');
-            table.timestamps();
-        });
-    })
-    .then(function () {
-        cb({
-            message: function (channelName, content, cb) {
-                insert(knex, channelName, content, cb);
-            },
-            getMessages: function (channelName, msgHandler, cb) {
-                getMessages(knex, channelName, msgHandler, cb);
-            },
-        });
-    });
-};