diff --git a/tsdb/engine.go b/tsdb/engine.go
index ba27d6ff2ec..73c74fa63be 100644
--- a/tsdb/engine.go
+++ b/tsdb/engine.go
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ type Engine interface {
 	Export(w io.Writer, basePath string, start time.Time, end time.Time) error
 	Restore(r io.Reader, basePath string) error
 	Import(r io.Reader, basePath string) error
+	Digest() (io.ReadCloser, error)
 
 	CreateIterator(ctx context.Context, measurement string, opt query.IteratorOptions) (query.Iterator, error)
 	CreateCursor(ctx context.Context, r *CursorRequest) (Cursor, error)
diff --git a/tsdb/engine/tsm1/digest.go b/tsdb/engine/tsm1/digest.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7b3d9142a78
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tsdb/engine/tsm1/digest.go
@@ -0,0 +1,136 @@
+package tsm1
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"math"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"sort"
+)
+
+type DigestOptions struct {
+	MinTime, MaxTime int64
+	MinKey, MaxKey   []byte
+}
+
+// DigestWithOptions writes a digest of dir to w using options to filter by
+// time and key range.
+func DigestWithOptions(dir string, opts DigestOptions, w io.WriteCloser) error {
+	if dir == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("dir is required")
+	}
+
+	files, err := filepath.Glob(filepath.Join(dir, fmt.Sprintf("*.%s", TSMFileExtension)))
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	readers := make([]*TSMReader, 0, len(files))
+
+	for _, fi := range files {
+		f, err := os.Open(fi)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		r, err := NewTSMReader(f)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		readers = append(readers, r)
+	}
+
+	ch := make([]chan seriesKey, 0, len(files))
+	for _, fi := range files {
+		f, err := os.Open(fi)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		r, err := NewTSMReader(f)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+		defer r.Close()
+
+		s := make(chan seriesKey)
+		ch = append(ch, s)
+		go func() {
+			for i := 0; i < r.KeyCount(); i++ {
+				key, typ := r.KeyAt(i)
+				if len(opts.MinKey) > 0 && bytes.Compare(key, opts.MinKey) < 0 {
+					continue
+				}
+
+				if len(opts.MaxKey) > 0 && bytes.Compare(key, opts.MaxKey) > 0 {
+					continue
+				}
+
+				s <- seriesKey{key: key, typ: typ}
+			}
+			close(s)
+		}()
+
+	}
+
+	dw, err := NewDigestWriter(w)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	defer dw.Close()
+
+	var n int
+	for key := range merge(ch...) {
+
+		ts := &DigestTimeSpan{}
+		n++
+		kstr := string(key.key)
+
+		for _, r := range readers {
+			entries := r.Entries(key.key)
+			for _, entry := range entries {
+				crc, b, err := r.ReadBytes(&entry, nil)
+				if err != nil {
+					return err
+				}
+
+				// Filter blocks that are outside the time filter.  If they overlap, we
+				// still include them.
+				if entry.MaxTime < opts.MinTime || entry.MinTime > opts.MaxTime {
+					continue
+				}
+
+				cnt := BlockCount(b)
+				ts.Add(entry.MinTime, entry.MaxTime, cnt, crc)
+			}
+		}
+
+		sort.Sort(ts)
+		if err := dw.WriteTimeSpan(kstr, ts); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+	return dw.Close()
+}
+
+// Digest writes a digest of dir to w of a full shard dir.
+func Digest(dir string, w io.WriteCloser) error {
+	return DigestWithOptions(dir, DigestOptions{
+		MinTime: math.MinInt64,
+		MaxTime: math.MaxInt64,
+	}, w)
+}
+
+type rwPair struct {
+	r    *TSMReader
+	w    TSMWriter
+	outf *os.File
+}
+
+func (rw *rwPair) close() {
+	rw.r.Close()
+	rw.w.Close()
+	rw.outf.Close()
+}
diff --git a/tsdb/engine/tsm1/digest_reader.go b/tsdb/engine/tsm1/digest_reader.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..215b3f60bb2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tsdb/engine/tsm1/digest_reader.go
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+package tsm1
+
+import (
+	"bufio"
+	"compress/gzip"
+	"encoding/binary"
+	"io"
+)
+
+type DigestReader struct {
+	io.ReadCloser
+}
+
+func NewDigestReader(r io.ReadCloser) (*DigestReader, error) {
+	gr, err := gzip.NewReader(bufio.NewReader(r))
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return &DigestReader{ReadCloser: gr}, nil
+}
+
+func (w *DigestReader) ReadTimeSpan() (string, *DigestTimeSpan, error) {
+	var n uint16
+	if err := binary.Read(w.ReadCloser, binary.BigEndian, &n); err != nil {
+		return "", nil, err
+	}
+
+	b := make([]byte, n)
+	if _, err := io.ReadFull(w.ReadCloser, b); err != nil {
+		return "", nil, err
+	}
+
+	var cnt uint32
+	if err := binary.Read(w.ReadCloser, binary.BigEndian, &cnt); err != nil {
+		return "", nil, err
+	}
+
+	ts := &DigestTimeSpan{}
+	for i := 0; i < int(cnt); i++ {
+		var min, max int64
+		var crc uint32
+
+		if err := binary.Read(w.ReadCloser, binary.BigEndian, &min); err != nil {
+			return "", nil, err
+		}
+
+		if err := binary.Read(w.ReadCloser, binary.BigEndian, &max); err != nil {
+			return "", nil, err
+		}
+
+		if err := binary.Read(w.ReadCloser, binary.BigEndian, &crc); err != nil {
+			return "", nil, err
+		}
+
+		if err := binary.Read(w.ReadCloser, binary.BigEndian, &n); err != nil {
+			return "", nil, err
+		}
+		ts.Add(min, max, int(n), crc)
+	}
+
+	return string(b), ts, nil
+}
+
+func (w *DigestReader) Close() error {
+	return w.ReadCloser.Close()
+}
diff --git a/tsdb/engine/tsm1/digest_writer.go b/tsdb/engine/tsm1/digest_writer.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..bd523de5196
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tsdb/engine/tsm1/digest_writer.go
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+package tsm1
+
+import (
+	"compress/gzip"
+	"encoding/binary"
+	"io"
+)
+
+type writeFlushCloser interface {
+	Close() error
+	Write(b []byte) (int, error)
+	Flush() error
+}
+
+// DigestWriter allows for writing a digest of a shard.  A digest is a condensed
+// representation of the contents of a shard.  It can be scoped to one or more series
+// keys, ranges of times or sets of files.
+type DigestWriter struct {
+	F writeFlushCloser
+}
+
+func NewDigestWriter(w io.WriteCloser) (*DigestWriter, error) {
+	gw := gzip.NewWriter(w)
+	return &DigestWriter{F: gw}, nil
+}
+
+func (w *DigestWriter) WriteTimeSpan(key string, t *DigestTimeSpan) error {
+	if err := binary.Write(w.F, binary.BigEndian, uint16(len(key))); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	if _, err := w.F.Write([]byte(key)); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	if err := binary.Write(w.F, binary.BigEndian, uint32(t.Len())); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+
+	for _, tr := range t.Ranges {
+		if err := binary.Write(w.F, binary.BigEndian, tr.Min); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		if err := binary.Write(w.F, binary.BigEndian, tr.Max); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		if err := binary.Write(w.F, binary.BigEndian, tr.CRC); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		if err := binary.Write(w.F, binary.BigEndian, uint16(tr.N)); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (w *DigestWriter) Flush() error {
+	return w.F.Flush()
+}
+
+func (w *DigestWriter) Close() error {
+	if err := w.Flush(); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	return w.F.Close()
+}
+
+type DigestTimeSpan struct {
+	Ranges []DigestTimeRange
+}
+
+func (a DigestTimeSpan) Len() int      { return len(a.Ranges) }
+func (a DigestTimeSpan) Swap(i, j int) { a.Ranges[i], a.Ranges[j] = a.Ranges[j], a.Ranges[i] }
+func (a DigestTimeSpan) Less(i, j int) bool {
+	return a.Ranges[i].Min < a.Ranges[j].Min
+}
+
+func (t *DigestTimeSpan) Add(min, max int64, n int, crc uint32) {
+	for _, v := range t.Ranges {
+		if v.Min == min && v.Max == max && v.N == n && v.CRC == crc {
+			return
+		}
+	}
+	t.Ranges = append(t.Ranges, DigestTimeRange{Min: min, Max: max, N: n, CRC: crc})
+}
+
+type DigestTimeRange struct {
+	Min, Max int64
+	N        int
+	CRC      uint32
+}
diff --git a/tsdb/engine/tsm1/engine.go b/tsdb/engine/tsm1/engine.go
index 434d9e93ae3..f4a6c8a35a4 100644
--- a/tsdb/engine/tsm1/engine.go
+++ b/tsdb/engine/tsm1/engine.go
@@ -226,6 +226,48 @@ func NewEngine(id uint64, idx tsdb.Index, database, path string, walPath string,
 	return e
 }
 
+// Digest returns a reader for the shard's digest.
+func (e *Engine) Digest() (io.ReadCloser, error) {
+	digestPath := filepath.Join(e.path, "digest.tsd")
+
+	// See if there's an existing digest file on disk.
+	f, err := os.Open(digestPath)
+	if err == nil {
+		// There is an existing digest file. Now see if it is still fresh.
+		fi, err := f.Stat()
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+
+		if !e.LastModified().After(fi.ModTime()) {
+			// Existing digest is still fresh so return a reader for it.
+			return f, nil
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Either no digest existed or the existing one was stale
+	// so generate a new digest.
+
+	// Create a tmp file to write the digest to.
+	tf, err := os.Create(digestPath + ".tmp")
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	// Write the new digest to the tmp file.
+	if err := Digest(e.path, tf); err != nil {
+		tf.Close()
+		os.Remove(tf.Name())
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	// Rename the temporary digest file to the actual digest file.
+	renameFile(tf.Name(), digestPath)
+
+	// Create and return a reader for the new digest file.
+	return os.Open(digestPath)
+}
+
 // SetEnabled sets whether the engine is enabled.
 func (e *Engine) SetEnabled(enabled bool) {
 	e.enableCompactionsOnOpen = enabled
diff --git a/tsdb/engine/tsm1/engine_test.go b/tsdb/engine/tsm1/engine_test.go
index 842d414c92f..e48121bf985 100644
--- a/tsdb/engine/tsm1/engine_test.go
+++ b/tsdb/engine/tsm1/engine_test.go
@@ -148,6 +148,165 @@ func TestEngine_DeleteWALLoadMetadata(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+// Ensure that the engine can write & read shard digest files.
+func TestEngine_Digest(t *testing.T) {
+	// Create a tmp directory for test files.
+	tmpDir, err := ioutil.TempDir("", "TestEngine_Digest")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	defer os.RemoveAll(tmpDir)
+
+	walPath := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "wal")
+	os.MkdirAll(walPath, 0777)
+
+	idxPath := filepath.Join(tmpDir, "index")
+
+	// Create an engine to write a tsm file.
+	dbName := "db0"
+	opt := tsdb.NewEngineOptions()
+	opt.InmemIndex = inmem.NewIndex(dbName)
+	idx := tsdb.MustOpenIndex(1, dbName, idxPath, opt)
+	defer idx.Close()
+
+	e := tsm1.NewEngine(1, idx, dbName, tmpDir, walPath, opt).(*tsm1.Engine)
+
+	if err := e.Open(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to open tsm1 engine: %s", err.Error())
+	}
+
+	// Create a few points.
+	points := []models.Point{
+		MustParsePointString("cpu,host=A value=1.1 1000000000"),
+		MustParsePointString("cpu,host=B value=1.2 2000000000"),
+	}
+
+	if err := e.WritePoints(points); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to write points: %s", err.Error())
+	}
+
+	// Force a compaction.
+	e.ScheduleFullCompaction()
+
+	digest := func() ([]span, error) {
+		// Get a reader for the shard's digest.
+		r, err := e.Digest()
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+
+		// Make sure the digest can be read.
+		dr, err := tsm1.NewDigestReader(r)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+
+		got := []span{}
+
+		for {
+			k, s, err := dr.ReadTimeSpan()
+			if err == io.EOF {
+				break
+			} else if err != nil {
+				return nil, err
+			}
+
+			got = append(got, span{
+				key:   k,
+				tspan: s,
+			})
+		}
+
+		if err := dr.Close(); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+
+		return got, nil
+	}
+
+	exp := []span{
+		span{
+			key: "cpu,host=A#!~#value",
+			tspan: &tsm1.DigestTimeSpan{
+				Ranges: []tsm1.DigestTimeRange{
+					tsm1.DigestTimeRange{
+						Min: 1000000000,
+						Max: 1000000000,
+						N:   1,
+						CRC: 1048747083,
+					},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+		span{
+			key: "cpu,host=B#!~#value",
+			tspan: &tsm1.DigestTimeSpan{
+				Ranges: []tsm1.DigestTimeRange{
+					tsm1.DigestTimeRange{
+						Min: 2000000000,
+						Max: 2000000000,
+						N:   1,
+						CRC: 734984746,
+					},
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	}
+
+	for n := 0; n < 2; n++ {
+		got, err := digest()
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("n = %d: %s", n, err)
+		}
+
+		// Make sure the data in the digest was valid.
+		if !reflect.DeepEqual(exp, got) {
+			t.Fatalf("n = %d\nexp = %v\ngot = %v\n", n, exp, got)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Test that writing more points causes the digest to be updated.
+	points = []models.Point{
+		MustParsePointString("cpu,host=C value=1.1 3000000000"),
+	}
+
+	if err := e.WritePoints(points); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to write points: %s", err.Error())
+	}
+
+	// Force a compaction.
+	e.ScheduleFullCompaction()
+
+	// Get new digest.
+	got, err := digest()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	exp = append(exp, span{
+		key: "cpu,host=C#!~#value",
+		tspan: &tsm1.DigestTimeSpan{
+			Ranges: []tsm1.DigestTimeRange{
+				tsm1.DigestTimeRange{
+					Min: 3000000000,
+					Max: 3000000000,
+					N:   1,
+					CRC: 2553233514,
+				},
+			},
+		},
+	})
+
+	if !reflect.DeepEqual(exp, got) {
+		t.Fatalf("\nexp = %v\ngot = %v\n", exp, got)
+	}
+}
+
+type span struct {
+	key   string
+	tspan *tsm1.DigestTimeSpan
+}
+
 // Ensure that the engine will backup any TSM files created since the passed in time
 func TestEngine_Backup(t *testing.T) {
 	// Generate temporary file.
diff --git a/tsdb/shard.go b/tsdb/shard.go
index 492b447d40f..4beedcf3bd4 100644
--- a/tsdb/shard.go
+++ b/tsdb/shard.go
@@ -71,6 +71,10 @@ var (
 	// the file's magic number.
 	ErrUnknownFieldsFormat = errors.New("unknown field index format")
 
+	// ErrShardNotIdle is returned when an operation requring the shard to be idle/cold is
+	// attempted on a hot shard.
+	ErrShardNotIdle = errors.New("shard not idle")
+
 	// fieldsIndexMagicNumber is the file magic number for the fields index file.
 	fieldsIndexMagicNumber = []byte{0, 6, 1, 3}
 )
@@ -1172,6 +1176,22 @@ func (s *Shard) TagKeyCardinality(name, key []byte) int {
 	return engine.TagKeyCardinality(name, key)
 }
 
+// Digest returns a digest of the shard.
+func (s *Shard) Digest() (io.ReadCloser, error) {
+	engine, err := s.engine()
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+
+	// Make sure the shard is idle/cold. (No use creating a digest of a
+	// hot shard that is rapidly changing.)
+	if !engine.IsIdle() {
+		return nil, ErrShardNotIdle
+	}
+
+	return engine.Digest()
+}
+
 // engine safely (under an RLock) returns a reference to the shard's Engine, or
 // an error if the Engine is closed, or the shard is currently disabled.
 //
diff --git a/tsdb/store.go b/tsdb/store.go
index 6d3c6bdea29..a26e4e8fcf9 100644
--- a/tsdb/store.go
+++ b/tsdb/store.go
@@ -379,6 +379,16 @@ func (s *Store) ShardN() int {
 	return len(s.shards)
 }
 
+// ShardDigest returns a digest of the shard with the specified ID.
+func (s *Store) ShardDigest(id uint64) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
+	sh := s.Shard(id)
+	if sh == nil {
+		return nil, ErrShardNotFound
+	}
+
+	return sh.Digest()
+}
+
 // CreateShard creates a shard with the given id and retention policy on a database.
 func (s *Store) CreateShard(database, retentionPolicy string, shardID uint64, enabled bool) error {
 	s.mu.Lock()