diff --git a/batch.go b/batch.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..754490b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/batch.go
@@ -0,0 +1,177 @@
+package format
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"errors"
+	"runtime"
+)
+
+// ParallelBatchCommits is the number of batch commits that can be in-flight before blocking.
+// TODO(ipfs/go-ipfs#4299): Experiment with multiple datastores, storage
+// devices, and CPUs to find the right value/formula.
+var ParallelBatchCommits = runtime.NumCPU() * 2
+
+// ErrNotCommited is returned when closing a batch that hasn't been successfully
+// committed.
+var ErrNotCommited = errors.New("error: batch not commited")
+
+// ErrClosed is returned when operating on a batch that has already been closed.
+var ErrClosed = errors.New("error: batch closed")
+
+// NewBatch returns a node buffer (Batch) that buffers nodes internally and
+// commits them to the underlying DAGService in batches. Use this if you intend
+// to add or remove a lot of nodes all at once.
+//
+// If the passed context is canceled, any in-progress commits are aborted.
+func NewBatch(ctx context.Context, ds DAGService) *Batch {
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(ctx)
+	return &Batch{
+		ds:            ds,
+		ctx:           ctx,
+		cancel:        cancel,
+		commitResults: make(chan error, ParallelBatchCommits),
+		MaxSize:       8 << 20,
+
+		// By default, only batch up to 128 nodes at a time.
+		// The current implementation of flatfs opens this many file
+		// descriptors at the same time for the optimized batch write.
+		MaxNodes: 128,
+	}
+}
+
+// Batch is a buffer for batching adds to a dag.
+type Batch struct {
+	ds DAGService
+
+	ctx    context.Context
+	cancel func()
+
+	activeCommits int
+	err           error
+	commitResults chan error
+
+	nodes []Node
+	size  int
+
+	MaxSize  int
+	MaxNodes int
+}
+
+func (t *Batch) processResults() {
+	for t.activeCommits > 0 {
+		select {
+		case err := <-t.commitResults:
+			t.activeCommits--
+			if err != nil {
+				t.setError(err)
+				return
+			}
+		default:
+			return
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func (t *Batch) asyncCommit() {
+	numBlocks := len(t.nodes)
+	if numBlocks == 0 {
+		return
+	}
+	if t.activeCommits >= ParallelBatchCommits {
+		select {
+		case err := <-t.commitResults:
+			t.activeCommits--
+
+			if err != nil {
+				t.setError(err)
+				return
+			}
+		case <-t.ctx.Done():
+			t.setError(t.ctx.Err())
+			return
+		}
+	}
+	go func(ctx context.Context, b []Node, result chan error, ds DAGService) {
+		select {
+		case result <- ds.AddMany(ctx, b):
+		case <-ctx.Done():
+		}
+	}(t.ctx, t.nodes, t.commitResults, t.ds)
+
+	t.activeCommits++
+	t.nodes = make([]Node, 0, numBlocks)
+	t.size = 0
+
+	return
+}
+
+// Add adds a node to the batch and commits the batch if necessary.
+func (t *Batch) Add(nd Node) error {
+	if t.err != nil {
+		return t.err
+	}
+	// Not strictly necessary but allows us to catch errors early.
+	t.processResults()
+
+	if t.err != nil {
+		return t.err
+	}
+
+	t.nodes = append(t.nodes, nd)
+	t.size += len(nd.RawData())
+
+	if t.size > t.MaxSize || len(t.nodes) > t.MaxNodes {
+		t.asyncCommit()
+	}
+	return t.err
+}
+
+// Commit commits batched nodes.
+func (t *Batch) Commit() error {
+	if t.err != nil {
+		return t.err
+	}
+
+	t.asyncCommit()
+
+loop:
+	for t.activeCommits > 0 {
+		select {
+		case err := <-t.commitResults:
+			t.activeCommits--
+			if err != nil {
+				t.setError(err)
+				break loop
+			}
+		case <-t.ctx.Done():
+			t.setError(t.ctx.Err())
+			break loop
+		}
+	}
+
+	return t.err
+}
+
+func (t *Batch) setError(err error) {
+	t.err = err
+
+	t.cancel()
+
+	// Drain as much as we can without blocking.
+loop:
+	for {
+		select {
+		case <-t.commitResults:
+		default:
+			break loop
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Be nice and cleanup. These can take a *lot* of memory.
+	t.commitResults = nil
+	t.ds = nil
+	t.ctx = nil
+	t.nodes = nil
+	t.size = 0
+	t.activeCommits = 0
+}
diff --git a/batch_test.go b/batch_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..71972cb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/batch_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+package format
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"sync"
+	"testing"
+
+	cid "github.com/ipfs/go-cid"
+)
+
+// Test dag
+type testDag struct {
+	mu    sync.Mutex
+	nodes map[string]Node
+}
+
+func newTestDag() *testDag {
+	return &testDag{nodes: make(map[string]Node)}
+}
+
+func (d *testDag) Get(ctx context.Context, cid *cid.Cid) (Node, error) {
+	d.mu.Lock()
+	defer d.mu.Unlock()
+	if n, ok := d.nodes[cid.KeyString()]; ok {
+		return n, nil
+	}
+	return nil, ErrNotFound
+}
+
+func (d *testDag) GetMany(ctx context.Context, cids []*cid.Cid) <-chan *NodeOption {
+	d.mu.Lock()
+	defer d.mu.Unlock()
+	out := make(chan *NodeOption, len(cids))
+	for _, c := range cids {
+		if n, ok := d.nodes[c.KeyString()]; ok {
+			out <- &NodeOption{Node: n}
+		} else {
+			out <- &NodeOption{Err: ErrNotFound}
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+func (d *testDag) Add(ctx context.Context, node Node) error {
+	d.mu.Lock()
+	defer d.mu.Unlock()
+	d.nodes[node.Cid().KeyString()] = node
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (d *testDag) AddMany(ctx context.Context, nodes []Node) error {
+	d.mu.Lock()
+	defer d.mu.Unlock()
+	for _, n := range nodes {
+		d.nodes[n.Cid().KeyString()] = n
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (d *testDag) Remove(ctx context.Context, c *cid.Cid) error {
+	d.mu.Lock()
+	defer d.mu.Unlock()
+	delete(d.nodes, c.KeyString())
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (d *testDag) RemoveMany(ctx context.Context, cids []*cid.Cid) error {
+	d.mu.Lock()
+	defer d.mu.Unlock()
+	for _, c := range cids {
+		delete(d.nodes, c.KeyString())
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+var _ DAGService = new(testDag)
+
+func TestBatch(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	defer cancel()
+
+	d := newTestDag()
+	b := NewBatch(ctx, d)
+	for i := 0; i < 1000; i++ {
+		// It would be great if we could use *many* different nodes here
+		// but we can't add any dependencies and I don't feel like adding
+		// any more testing code.
+		if err := b.Add(new(EmptyNode)); err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+	}
+	if err := b.Commit(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	n, err := d.Get(ctx, new(EmptyNode).Cid())
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	switch n.(type) {
+	case *EmptyNode:
+	default:
+		t.Fatal("expected the node to exist in the dag")
+	}
+
+	if len(d.nodes) != 1 {
+		t.Fatal("should have one node")
+	}
+}
diff --git a/daghelpers.go b/daghelpers.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fd72e49
--- /dev/null
+++ b/daghelpers.go
@@ -0,0 +1,99 @@
+package format
+
+import (
+	"context"
+
+	cid "github.com/ipfs/go-cid"
+)
+
+// GetLinks returns the CIDs of the children of the given node. Prefer this
+// method over looking up the node itself and calling `Links()` on it as this
+// method may be able to use a link cache.
+func GetLinks(ctx context.Context, ng NodeGetter, c *cid.Cid) ([]*Link, error) {
+	if c.Type() == cid.Raw {
+		return nil, nil
+	}
+	if gl, ok := ng.(LinkGetter); ok {
+		return gl.GetLinks(ctx, c)
+	}
+	node, err := ng.Get(ctx, c)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return node.Links(), nil
+}
+
+// GetDAG will fill out all of the links of the given Node.
+// It returns an array of NodePromise with the linked nodes all in the proper
+// order.
+func GetDAG(ctx context.Context, ds NodeGetter, root Node) []*NodePromise {
+	var cids []*cid.Cid
+	for _, lnk := range root.Links() {
+		cids = append(cids, lnk.Cid)
+	}
+
+	return GetNodes(ctx, ds, cids)
+}
+
+// GetNodes returns an array of 'FutureNode' promises, with each corresponding
+// to the key with the same index as the passed in keys
+func GetNodes(ctx context.Context, ds NodeGetter, keys []*cid.Cid) []*NodePromise {
+
+	// Early out if no work to do
+	if len(keys) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	promises := make([]*NodePromise, len(keys))
+	for i := range keys {
+		promises[i] = NewNodePromise(ctx)
+	}
+
+	dedupedKeys := dedupeKeys(keys)
+	go func() {
+		ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(ctx)
+		defer cancel()
+
+		nodechan := ds.GetMany(ctx, dedupedKeys)
+
+		for count := 0; count < len(keys); {
+			select {
+			case opt, ok := <-nodechan:
+				if !ok {
+					for _, p := range promises {
+						p.Fail(ErrNotFound)
+					}
+					return
+				}
+
+				if opt.Err != nil {
+					for _, p := range promises {
+						p.Fail(opt.Err)
+					}
+					return
+				}
+
+				nd := opt.Node
+				c := nd.Cid()
+				for i, lnk_c := range keys {
+					if c.Equals(lnk_c) {
+						count++
+						promises[i].Send(nd)
+					}
+				}
+			case <-ctx.Done():
+				return
+			}
+		}
+	}()
+	return promises
+}
+
+// Remove duplicates from a list of keys
+func dedupeKeys(cids []*cid.Cid) []*cid.Cid {
+	set := cid.NewSet()
+	for _, c := range cids {
+		set.Add(c)
+	}
+	return set.Keys()
+}
diff --git a/format.go b/format.go
index 1e2f1f0..699c8c1 100644
--- a/format.go
+++ b/format.go
@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@ type Resolver interface {
 	Tree(path string, depth int) []string
 }
 
+// Node is the base interface all IPLD nodes must implement.
+//
+// Nodes are **Immutable** and all methods defined on the interface are
+// **Thread Safe**.
 type Node interface {
 	blocks.Block
 	Resolver
@@ -40,10 +44,6 @@ type Node interface {
 	Size() (uint64, error)
 }
 
-type NodeGetter interface {
-	Get(context.Context, *cid.Cid) (Node, error)
-}
-
 // Link represents an IPFS Merkle DAG Link between Nodes.
 type Link struct {
 	// utf string name. should be unique per object
diff --git a/merkledag.go b/merkledag.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..058fb8f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/merkledag.go
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+package format
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+
+	cid "github.com/ipfs/go-cid"
+)
+
+var ErrNotFound = fmt.Errorf("merkledag: not found")
+
+// Either a node or an error.
+type NodeOption struct {
+	Node Node
+	Err  error
+}
+
+// The basic Node resolution service.
+type NodeGetter interface {
+	// Get retrieves nodes by CID. Depending on the NodeGetter
+	// implementation, this may involve fetching the Node from a remote
+	// machine; consider setting a deadline in the context.
+	Get(context.Context, *cid.Cid) (Node, error)
+
+	// GetMany returns a channel of NodeOptions given a set of CIDs.
+	GetMany(context.Context, []*cid.Cid) <-chan *NodeOption
+}
+
+// NodeGetters can optionally implement this interface to make finding linked
+// objects faster.
+type LinkGetter interface {
+	NodeGetter
+
+	// TODO(ipfs/go-ipld-format#9): This should return []*cid.Cid
+
+	// GetLinks returns the children of the node refered to by the given
+	// CID.
+	GetLinks(ctx context.Context, nd *cid.Cid) ([]*Link, error)
+}
+
+// DAGService is an IPFS Merkle DAG service.
+type DAGService interface {
+	NodeGetter
+
+	// Add adds a node to this DAG.
+	Add(context.Context, Node) error
+
+	// Remove removes a node from this DAG.
+	//
+	// Remove returns no error if the requested node is not present in this DAG.
+	Remove(context.Context, *cid.Cid) error
+
+	// AddMany adds many nodes to this DAG.
+	//
+	// Consider using NewBatch instead of calling this directly if you need
+	// to add an unbounded number of nodes to avoid buffering too much.
+	AddMany(context.Context, []Node) error
+
+	// RemoveMany removes many nodes from this DAG.
+	//
+	// It returns success even if the nodes were not present in the DAG.
+	RemoveMany(context.Context, []*cid.Cid) error
+}
diff --git a/promise.go b/promise.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..02743b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/promise.go
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+package format
+
+import (
+	"context"
+)
+
+// NodePromise provides a promise like interface for a dag Node
+// the first call to Get will block until the Node is received
+// from its internal channels, subsequent calls will return the
+// cached node.
+//
+// Thread Safety: This is multiple-consumer/single-producer safe.
+func NewNodePromise(ctx context.Context) *NodePromise {
+	return &NodePromise{
+		done: make(chan struct{}),
+		ctx:  ctx,
+	}
+}
+
+type NodePromise struct {
+	value Node
+	err   error
+	done  chan struct{}
+
+	ctx context.Context
+}
+
+// Call this function to fail a promise.
+//
+// Once a promise has been failed or fulfilled, further attempts to fail it will
+// be silently dropped.
+func (np *NodePromise) Fail(err error) {
+	if np.err != nil || np.value != nil {
+		// Already filled.
+		return
+	}
+	np.err = err
+	close(np.done)
+}
+
+// Fulfill this promise.
+//
+// Once a promise has been fulfilled or failed, calling this function will
+// panic.
+func (np *NodePromise) Send(nd Node) {
+	// if promise has a value, don't fail it
+	if np.err != nil || np.value != nil {
+		panic("already filled")
+	}
+	np.value = nd
+	close(np.done)
+}
+
+// Get the value of this promise.
+//
+// This function is safe to call concurrently from any number of goroutines.
+func (np *NodePromise) Get(ctx context.Context) (Node, error) {
+	select {
+	case <-np.done:
+		return np.value, np.err
+	case <-np.ctx.Done():
+		return nil, np.ctx.Err()
+	case <-ctx.Done():
+		return nil, ctx.Err()
+	}
+}