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+Document Attachments
+====================
+
+.. contents:: Contents:
+   :local:
+
+The content of a Soledad document is assumed to be JSON. This is particularly
+bad for storing larger amounts of binary data, because:
+
+* the only way to store data in JSON is as unicode string, and this uses more
+  space than needed for binary data storage.
+
+* the process of synchronization of Soledad documents depends on completing the
+  transfer and decryption of the content of all new/updated documents before
+  synchronized documents are available for use.
+
+Document attachments were introduced as a means to store large payloads of
+binary data and have them be synchronized separate from the usual Soledad
+document synchronization process.
+
+Example
+-------
+
+The attachments API is currently available in the `Document` class, and the
+document needs to know about the store to be able to manage attachments. When
+you create a new document with soledad, that document will already know about
+the store that created it, and can put/get/delete an attachment:
+
+.. code-block:: python
+
+    from twisted.internet.defer import inlineCallbacks
+
+    @inlineCallbacks
+    def attachment_example(soledad):
+        doc = yield soledad.create_doc({})
+
+        state = yield doc.get_attachment_state()
+        dirty = yield doc.is_dirty()
+        assert state == AttachmentStates.NONE
+        assert dirty == False
+
+        yield doc.put_attachment(open('hackers.txt'))
+        state = yield doc.get_attachment_state()
+        dirty = yield doc.is_dirty()
+        assert state | AttachmentState.LOCAL
+        assert dirty == True
+
+        yield soledad.put_doc(doc)
+        dirty = yield doc.is_dirty()
+        assert dirty == False
+
+        yield doc.upload_attachment()
+        state = yield doc.get_attachment_state()
+        assert state | AttachmentState.REMOTE
+        assert state == AttachmentState.SYNCED
+
+        fd = yield doc.get_attachment()
+        assert fd.read() == open('hackers.txt').read()
+
+Implementation
+--------------
+
+The current implementation of document attachments store data in a separate
+SQLCipher database in the client (using SQLite's BLOB type) and in the
+filesystem in the server. Encryption of data before it's sent to the server is
+the same used by normal Soledad synchronization process (AES-256 GCM mode).
+
+Document attachment API
+-----------------------
+
+.. autoclass:: leap.soledad.client._document.AttachmentStates
+   :members:
+   :undoc-members:
+
+.. autointerface:: leap.soledad.client._document.IDocumentWithAttachment
+   :members:
+   :undoc-members: