diff --git a/akd_ext/artifacts/__init__.py b/akd_ext/artifacts/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..16e5007
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akd_ext/artifacts/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+from ._base import Artifact, ArtifactStore
+
+__all__ = ["Artifact", "ArtifactStore"]
diff --git a/akd_ext/artifacts/_base.py b/akd_ext/artifacts/_base.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..858af2e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/akd_ext/artifacts/_base.py
@@ -0,0 +1,170 @@
+from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
+from datetime import datetime
+from pathlib import PurePosixPath
+from typing import Any, Self
+
+from pydantic import BaseModel, Field, field_validator
+
+
+class Artifact[T](BaseModel):
+    path: str = Field(..., description="Slug that identifies the artifact.")
+    name: str | None = Field(default=None, description="Name of the artifact.")
+    description: str | None = Field(
+        default=None,
+        description="One-line summary; helps an agent decide whether to load this artifact.",
+    )
+    content: T = Field(..., description="The content of the artifact.")
+    metadata: dict[str, Any] = Field(
+        default_factory=dict,
+        description="Backend-specific escape hatch (mime type, commit sha, author, tags, etc.). Could be loaded from frontmatter as well if md file",
+    )
+    created_at: datetime | None = Field(
+        default=None,
+        description=(
+            "When the artifact was first stored. Output-only: populated by the store "
+            "on read; ignored on write (stores set it according to their backend)."
+        ),
+    )
+    updated_at: datetime | None = Field(
+        default=None,
+        description=(
+            "When the artifact was last modified. Output-only: populated by the store "
+            "on read; ignored on write (stores set it according to their backend)."
+        ),
+    )
+
+    @field_validator("path")
+    @classmethod
+    def _normalize_path(cls, v: str) -> str:
+        """Reject clearly broken paths; normalize obvious oddities.
+
+        - Rejects: empty/whitespace-only, null byte, '..' segments.
+        - Normalizes: leading '/' stripped, '//' collapsed, './' collapsed.
+        - Backend-specific path-traversal defense still lives in each store.
+        """
+        v = v.strip()
+        if not v:
+            raise ValueError("path cannot be empty")
+        if "\0" in v:
+            raise ValueError("path contains null byte")
+        p = PurePosixPath(v.lstrip("/"))
+        if ".." in p.parts:
+            raise ValueError(f"path contains '..' segment: {v!r}")
+        return str(p)
+
+
+class ArtifactStore[T](ABC):
+    """
+    Abstract storage for artifacts keyed by path.
+
+    The in-memory `self._artifacts` dict is the authoritative index for listing.
+    Subclasses are responsible for:
+      - Populating `self._artifacts` (eagerly in __init__ or lazily on read).
+      - Keeping it in sync on writes.
+      - Overriding `refresh()` to re-sync from the backend if needed.
+
+    Timestamp fields (`created_at`, `updated_at`) on Artifact are output-only:
+    stores populate them on read; caller-supplied values on write are ignored.
+    """
+
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        root: str,
+        *,
+        index_file: str | None = "index.md",
+        debug: bool = False,
+    ) -> None:
+        self.root = root
+        self.index_file = index_file
+        self.debug = bool(debug)
+        self._artifacts: dict[str, Artifact[T]] = {}
+
+    def index_for(self, dir_path: str = "") -> Artifact[T] | None:
+        """Return the designated index artifact for a directory (or the
+        root overview if `dir_path` is empty). Returns None if `index_file`
+        is None or no such artifact is cached.
+
+        Transparent across backend conventions: set `index_file` to
+        "index.md" (dev/local), "README.md" (GitHub), "SKILL.md" (Anthropic
+        skills), or "AGENT.md" (agent manifests) per store."""
+        if not self.index_file:
+            return None
+        dir_path = dir_path.strip("/")
+        if not dir_path:
+            return self._artifacts.get(self.index_file)
+        key = str(PurePosixPath(dir_path) / self.index_file)
+        return self._artifacts.get(key)
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    async def read_artifact(self, path: str) -> Artifact[T]:
+        """Fetch a single artifact (content included). Raise on miss.
+        Implementations MAY cache the result into `self._artifacts`."""
+        raise NotImplementedError()
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    async def write_artifact(self, artifact: Artifact[T]) -> Artifact[T]:
+        """Persist to the backend. Returns the stored artifact with timestamps
+        populated. Implementations MUST update `self._artifacts` to keep the
+        cache consistent."""
+        raise NotImplementedError()
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    async def load_artifacts(self) -> Self:
+        """Populate `self._artifacts` from the backend and return `self` for
+        fluent chaining. Called once after construction (and again by
+        `refresh()`). Functional counterpart of ada's
+        `@model_validator(mode='after')` loader, but explicit so the base
+        class does not depend on pydantic."""
+        raise NotImplementedError()
+
+    async def refresh(self) -> Self:
+        """Re-sync the cache from the backend. Clears in-memory state and
+        re-invokes `load_artifacts()`. Returns `self` for fluent chaining."""
+        self._artifacts.clear()
+        await self.load_artifacts()
+        return self
+
+    async def list_artifacts(self, prefix: str | None = None) -> list[Artifact[T]]:
+        """List from the in-memory cache. Override only if the backend must be
+        queried live."""
+        if prefix is None:
+            return list(self._artifacts.values())
+        return [a for k, a in self._artifacts.items() if k.startswith(prefix)]
+
+    def keys(self, prefix: str = "") -> list[str]:
+        return [k for k in self._artifacts if k.startswith(prefix)]
+
+    def __getitem__(self, path: str) -> Artifact[T]:
+        """Cache-only lookup. Raises KeyError on miss. For async
+        fetch-if-missing, use `await store.read_artifact(path)`."""
+        return self._artifacts[path]
+
+    def __setitem__(self, path: str, artifact: Artifact[T]) -> None:
+        """Cache-only write. Does NOT persist to the backend. Subclasses use
+        this inside `write_artifact` / `read_artifact` to keep the cache in
+        sync after real I/O."""
+        self._artifacts[path] = artifact
+
+    def __delitem__(self, path: str) -> None:
+        """Cache-only removal. Does NOT delete from the backend."""
+        del self._artifacts[path]
+
+    def __contains__(self, path: str) -> bool:
+        return path in self._artifacts
+
+    def __len__(self) -> int:
+        return len(self._artifacts)
+
+    def __iter__(self):
+        return iter(self._artifacts)
+
+    def __str__(self) -> str:
+        """Flat bulleted list of paths (with descriptions where available),
+        suitable for dropping into an LLM system prompt. Each line contains
+        the exact path the caller should pass to `read_artifact`."""
+        lines = []
+        for path in sorted(self._artifacts):
+            a = self._artifacts[path]
+            desc = f" — {a.description}" if a.description else ""
+            lines.append(f"- {path}{desc}")
+        return "\n".join(lines)
diff --git a/akd_ext/artifacts/stores/__init__.py b/akd_ext/artifacts/stores/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/artifacts/__init__.py b/tests/artifacts/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/tests/artifacts/test_base.py b/tests/artifacts/test_base.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..46aaebf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/artifacts/test_base.py
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+"""Barebone tests for ArtifactStore: load, read, write."""
+
+from akd_ext.artifacts import Artifact, ArtifactStore
+
+
+class _MemStore(ArtifactStore[str]):
+    async def load_artifacts(self):
+        self["test.md"] = Artifact[str](path="test.md", content="hi")
+        return self
+
+    async def read_artifact(self, path: str) -> Artifact[str]:
+        return self[path]
+
+    async def write_artifact(self, artifact: Artifact[str]) -> Artifact[str]:
+        self[artifact.path] = artifact
+        return artifact
+
+
+async def test_load():
+    store = await _MemStore(root="mem://").load_artifacts()
+    assert "test.md" in store
+
+
+async def test_read():
+    store = await _MemStore(root="mem://").load_artifacts()
+    assert (await store.read_artifact("test.md")).content == "hi"
+
+
+async def test_write():
+    store = _MemStore(root="mem://")
+    await store.write_artifact(Artifact[str](path="new.md", content="fresh"))
+    assert (await store.read_artifact("new.md")).content == "fresh"