diff --git a/Makefile-tests.am b/Makefile-tests.am
index 6bae65cf..5d39ee5e 100644
--- a/Makefile-tests.am
+++ b/Makefile-tests.am
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ test_programs = \
 	$(NULL)
 _installed_or_uninstalled_test_scripts = \
 	tests/test-basic.sh \
+	tests/test-basic-bare-split-xattrs.sh \
 	tests/test-basic-user.sh \
 	tests/test-basic-user-only.sh \
 	tests/test-basic-root.sh \
@@ -201,6 +202,7 @@ dist_installed_test_data = tests/archive-test.sh \
 	tests/ostree-path-traverse.tar.gz \
 	tests/pre-signed-pull-data.tar.gz \
 	tests/libtest-core.sh \
+	tests/fixtures/bare-split-xattrs/basic.tar.xz \
 	$(NULL)
 
 EXTRA_DIST += tests/libtest.sh
diff --git a/docs/formats.md b/docs/formats.md
index 0943aafa..c3723279 100644
--- a/docs/formats.md
+++ b/docs/formats.md
@@ -63,18 +63,32 @@ Other disadvantages of `archive`:
  - One doesn't know the total size (compressed or uncompressed) of content
    before downloading everything
 
-## Aside: the bare and bare-user formats
+## Aside: bare formats
 
-The most common operation is to pull from an `archive` repository
-into a `bare` or `bare-user` formatted repository.  These latter two
-are not compressed on disk.  In other words, pulling to them is
-similar to unpacking (but not installing) an RPM/deb package.
+The most common operation is to pull from a remote `archive` repository
+into a local one.  This latter is not compressed on disk.  In other
+words, pulling to a local repository is similar to unpacking (but not
+installing) the content of an RPM/deb package.
+
+The `bare` repository format is the simplest one. In this mode regular files
+are directly stored to disk, and all metadata (e.g. uid/gid and xattrs) is
+reflected to the filesystem.
+It allows further direct access to content and metadata, but it may require
+elevated privileges when writing objects to the repository.
 
 The `bare-user` format is a bit special in that the uid/gid and xattrs
 from the content are ignored.  This is primarily useful if you want to
 have the same OSTree-managed content that can be run on a host system
 or an unprivileged container.
 
+Similarly, the `bare-split-xattrs` format is a special mode where xattrs
+are stored as separate repository objects, and not directly reflected to
+the filesystem.
+This is primarily useful when transporting xattrs through lossy environments
+(e.g. tar streams and containerized environments). It also allows carrying
+security-sensitive xattrs (e.g. SELinux labels) out-of-band without involving
+OS filesystem logic.
+
 ## Static deltas
 
 OSTree itself was originally focused on a continuous delivery model, where
diff --git a/docs/repo.md b/docs/repo.md
index 69f26172..580281ca 100644
--- a/docs/repo.md
+++ b/docs/repo.md
@@ -81,15 +81,37 @@ warnings such as GNU Tar emitting "implausibly old time stamp" with 0; however,
 until we have a mechanism to transition cleanly to 1, for compatibilty OSTree
 is reverted to use zero again.
 
+### Xattrs objects
+
+In some repository modes (e.g. `bare-split-xattrs`), xattrs are stored on the
+side of the content objects they refer to. This is done via two dedicated
+object types, `file-xattrs` and `file-xattrs-link`.
+
+`file-xattrs` store xattrs data, encoded as GVariant. Each object is keyed by
+the checksum of the xattrs content, allowing for multiple references.
+
+`file-xattrs-link` are hardlinks which are associated to file objects.
+Each object is keyed by the same checksum of the corresponding file
+object. The target of the hardlink is an existing `file-xattrs` object.
+In case of reaching the limit of too many links, this object could be
+a plain file too.
+
 # Repository types and locations
 
-Also unlike git, an OSTree repository can be in one of four separate
-modes: `bare`, `bare-user`, `bare-user-only`, and `archive`.  A bare repository is
-one where content files are just stored as regular files; it's
-designed to be the source of a "hardlink farm", where each operating
-system checkout is merely links into it.  If you want to store files
+Also unlike git, an OSTree repository can be in one of five separate
+modes: `bare`, `bare-split-xattrs, ``bare-user`, `bare-user-only`, and
+`archive`.
+
+A `bare` repository is one where content files are just stored as regular
+files; it's designed to be the source of a "hardlink farm", where each
+operating system checkout is merely links into it.  If you want to store files
 owned by e.g. root in this mode, you must run OSTree as root.
 
+The `bare-split-xattrs` mode is similar to the above one, but it does store
+xattrs as separate objects.  This is meant to avoid conflicts with
+kernel-enforced constraints (e.g. on SELinux labels) and with other softwares
+that may perform ephemeral changes to xattrs (e.g. container runtimes).
+
 The `bare-user` mode is a later addition that is like `bare` in that
 files are unpacked, but it can (and should generally) be created as
 non-root.  In this mode, extended metadata such as owner uid, gid, and
diff --git a/src/libostree/ostree-core-private.h b/src/libostree/ostree-core-private.h
index 34f86a6c..2bd2f984 100644
--- a/src/libostree/ostree-core-private.h
+++ b/src/libostree/ostree-core-private.h
@@ -197,7 +197,8 @@ _ostree_repo_mode_is_bare (OstreeRepoMode mode)
   return
     mode == OSTREE_REPO_MODE_BARE ||
     mode == OSTREE_REPO_MODE_BARE_USER ||
-    mode == OSTREE_REPO_MODE_BARE_USER_ONLY;
+    mode == OSTREE_REPO_MODE_BARE_USER_ONLY ||
+    mode == OSTREE_REPO_MODE_BARE_SPLIT_XATTRS;
 }
 
 #ifndef OSTREE_DISABLE_GPGME
diff --git a/src/libostree/ostree-core.c b/src/libostree/ostree-core.c
index 0671ed35..f0d0e698 100644
--- a/src/libostree/ostree-core.c
+++ b/src/libostree/ostree-core.c
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ G_STATIC_ASSERT(OSTREE_REPO_MODE_ARCHIVE_Z2 == 1);
 G_STATIC_ASSERT(OSTREE_REPO_MODE_ARCHIVE == OSTREE_REPO_MODE_ARCHIVE_Z2);
 G_STATIC_ASSERT(OSTREE_REPO_MODE_BARE_USER == 2);
 G_STATIC_ASSERT(OSTREE_REPO_MODE_BARE_USER_ONLY == 3);
+G_STATIC_ASSERT(OSTREE_REPO_MODE_BARE_SPLIT_XATTRS == 4);
 
 static GBytes *variant_to_lenprefixed_buffer (GVariant *variant);
 
@@ -1228,6 +1229,10 @@ ostree_object_type_to_string (OstreeObjectType objtype)
       return "commitmeta";
     case OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_PAYLOAD_LINK:
       return "payload-link";
+    case OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_FILE_XATTRS:
+      return "file-xattrs";
+    case OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_FILE_XATTRS_LINK:
+      return "file-xattrs-link";
     default:
       g_assert_not_reached ();
       return NULL;
@@ -1257,6 +1262,10 @@ ostree_object_type_from_string (const char *str)
     return OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_COMMIT_META;
   else if (!strcmp (str, "payload-link"))
     return OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_PAYLOAD_LINK;
+  else if (!strcmp (str, "file-xattrs"))
+    return OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_FILE_XATTRS;
+  else if (!strcmp (str, "file-xattrs-link"))
+    return OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_FILE_XATTRS_LINK;
   g_assert_not_reached ();
   return 0;
 }
@@ -2141,6 +2150,8 @@ _ostree_validate_structureof_metadata (OstreeObjectType objtype,
       /* TODO */
       break;
     case OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_FILE:
+    case OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_FILE_XATTRS:
+    case OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_FILE_XATTRS_LINK:
       g_assert_not_reached ();
       break;
     }
diff --git a/src/libostree/ostree-core.h b/src/libostree/ostree-core.h
index 48a75f92..9a14192d 100644
--- a/src/libostree/ostree-core.h
+++ b/src/libostree/ostree-core.h
@@ -67,6 +67,8 @@ G_BEGIN_DECLS
  * @OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_TOMBSTONE_COMMIT: Toplevel object, refers to a deleted commit
  * @OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_COMMIT_META: Detached metadata for a commit
  * @OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_PAYLOAD_LINK: Symlink to a .file given its checksum on the payload only.
+ * @OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_FILE_XATTRS: Detached xattrs content, for 'bare-split-xattrs' mode.
+ * @OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_FILE_XATTRS_LINK: Hardlink to a .file-xattrs given the checksum of its .file object.
  *
  * Enumeration for core object types; %OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_FILE is for
  * content, the other types are metadata.
@@ -78,7 +80,9 @@ typedef enum {
   OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_COMMIT = 4,              /* .commit */
   OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_TOMBSTONE_COMMIT = 5,    /* .commit-tombstone */
   OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_COMMIT_META = 6,         /* .commitmeta */
-  OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_PAYLOAD_LINK = 7,         /* .payload-link */
+  OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_PAYLOAD_LINK = 7,        /* .payload-link */
+  OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_FILE_XATTRS = 8,         /* .file-xattrs */
+  OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_FILE_XATTRS_LINK = 9,    /* .file-xattrs-link */
 } OstreeObjectType;
 
 /**
@@ -94,7 +98,7 @@ typedef enum {
  *
  * Last valid object type; use this to validate ranges.
  */
-#define OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_LAST OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_PAYLOAD_LINK
+#define OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_LAST OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_FILE_XATTRS_LINK
 
 /**
  * OSTREE_DIRMETA_GVARIANT_FORMAT:
@@ -189,6 +193,7 @@ typedef enum {
  * @OSTREE_REPO_MODE_ARCHIVE_Z2: Legacy alias for `OSTREE_REPO_MODE_ARCHIVE`
  * @OSTREE_REPO_MODE_BARE_USER: Files are stored as themselves, except ownership; can be written by user. Hardlinks work only in user checkouts.
  * @OSTREE_REPO_MODE_BARE_USER_ONLY: Same as BARE_USER, but all metadata is not stored, so it can only be used for user checkouts. Does not need xattrs.
+ * @OSTREE_REPO_MODE_BARE_SPLIT_XATTRS: Same as BARE_USER, but xattrs are stored separately from file content, with dedicated object types.
  *
  * See the documentation of #OstreeRepo for more information about the
  * possible modes.
@@ -199,6 +204,7 @@ typedef enum {
   OSTREE_REPO_MODE_ARCHIVE_Z2 = OSTREE_REPO_MODE_ARCHIVE,
   OSTREE_REPO_MODE_BARE_USER,
   OSTREE_REPO_MODE_BARE_USER_ONLY,
+  OSTREE_REPO_MODE_BARE_SPLIT_XATTRS,
 } OstreeRepoMode;
 
 /**
diff --git a/src/libostree/ostree-repo-commit.c b/src/libostree/ostree-repo-commit.c
index 21ce288f..5b16be5b 100644
--- a/src/libostree/ostree-repo-commit.c
+++ b/src/libostree/ostree-repo-commit.c
@@ -920,6 +920,9 @@ write_content_object (OstreeRepo         *self,
     return FALSE;
 
   OstreeRepoMode repo_mode = ostree_repo_get_mode (self);
+  if (repo_mode == OSTREE_REPO_MODE_BARE_SPLIT_XATTRS &&
+      g_getenv ("OSTREE_EXP_WRITE_BARE_SPLIT_XATTRS") == NULL)
+    return glnx_throw (error, "Not allowed due to repo mode");
 
   GInputStream *file_input; /* Unowned alias */
   g_autoptr(GInputStream) file_input_owned = NULL; /* We need a temporary for bare-user symlinks */
diff --git a/src/libostree/ostree-repo.c b/src/libostree/ostree-repo.c
index 6c541029..a27591b3 100644
--- a/src/libostree/ostree-repo.c
+++ b/src/libostree/ostree-repo.c
@@ -2704,6 +2704,9 @@ ostree_repo_mode_to_string (OstreeRepoMode   mode,
       /* Legacy alias */
       ret_mode ="archive-z2";
       break;
+    case OSTREE_REPO_MODE_BARE_SPLIT_XATTRS:
+      ret_mode = "bare-split-xattrs";
+      break;
     default:
       return glnx_throw (error, "Invalid mode '%d'", mode);
     }
@@ -2734,6 +2737,8 @@ ostree_repo_mode_from_string (const char      *mode,
   else if (strcmp (mode, "archive-z2") == 0 ||
            strcmp (mode, "archive") == 0)
     ret_mode = OSTREE_REPO_MODE_ARCHIVE;
+  else if (strcmp (mode, "bare-split-xattrs") == 0)
+    ret_mode = OSTREE_REPO_MODE_BARE_SPLIT_XATTRS;
   else
     return glnx_throw (error, "Invalid mode '%s' in repository configuration", mode);
 
@@ -4171,6 +4176,32 @@ repo_load_file_archive (OstreeRepo *self,
     }
 }
 
+static GVariant *
+_ostree_repo_read_xattrs_file_link (OstreeRepo   *self,
+                                    const char   *checksum,
+                                    GCancellable *cancellable,
+                                    GError      **error)
+{
+  g_assert (self != NULL);
+  g_assert (checksum != NULL);
+
+  char xattr_path[_OSTREE_LOOSE_PATH_MAX];
+  _ostree_loose_path (xattr_path, checksum, OSTREE_OBJECT_TYPE_FILE_XATTRS_LINK, self->mode);
+
+  g_autoptr(GVariant) xattrs = NULL;
+  glnx_autofd int fd = -1;
+  if (!glnx_openat_rdonly (self->objects_dir_fd, xattr_path, FALSE, &fd, error))
+    return FALSE;
+
+  g_assert (fd >= 0);
+  if (!ot_variant_read_fd (fd, 0, G_VARIANT_TYPE ("a(ayay)"), TRUE,
+                           &xattrs, error))
+    return glnx_prefix_error_null (error, "Deserializing xattrs content");
+
+  g_assert (xattrs != NULL);
+  return g_steal_pointer (&xattrs);
+}
+
 gboolean
 _ostree_repo_load_file_bare (OstreeRepo         *self,
                              const char         *checksum,
@@ -4305,6 +4336,15 @@ _ostree_repo_load_file_bare (OstreeRepo         *self,
             return FALSE;
         }
     }
+  else if (self->mode == OSTREE_REPO_MODE_BARE_SPLIT_XATTRS)
+    {
+      if (out_xattrs)
+        {
+          ret_xattrs = _ostree_repo_read_xattrs_file_link(self, checksum, cancellable, error);
+          if (ret_xattrs == NULL)
+            return FALSE;
+        }
+    }
   else
     {
       g_assert_not_reached ();
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/bare-split-xattrs/basic.tar.xz b/tests/fixtures/bare-split-xattrs/basic.tar.xz
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cec6717e
Binary files /dev/null and b/tests/fixtures/bare-split-xattrs/basic.tar.xz differ
diff --git a/tests/test-basic-bare-split-xattrs.sh b/tests/test-basic-bare-split-xattrs.sh
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..ac8ebffd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test-basic-bare-split-xattrs.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: LGPL-2.0+
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+. $(dirname $0)/libtest.sh
+
+mode="bare-split-xattrs"
+OSTREE="${CMD_PREFIX} ostree --repo=${test_tmpdir}/repo"
+
+SUDO="sudo --non-interactive"
+PRIVILEGED="false"
+if [ $(id -u) -eq 0 ]; then
+  PRIVILEGED="true"
+  SUDO=""
+elif $(${SUDO} -v); then
+  PRIVILEGED="true"
+fi
+
+cd ${test_tmpdir}
+${OSTREE} init --mode "${mode}"
+${OSTREE} config get core.mode > mode.txt
+assert_file_has_content mode.txt "${mode}"
+tap_ok "repo init"
+rm -rf -- repo mode.txt
+
+cd ${test_tmpdir}
+${OSTREE} init --mode "${mode}"
+${OSTREE} fsck --all
+tap_ok "repo fsck"
+rm -rf -- repo
+
+cd ${test_tmpdir}
+mkdir -p "${test_tmpdir}/files"
+touch files/foo
+${OSTREE} init --mode "${mode}"
+if ${OSTREE} commit --orphan -m "not implemented" files; then
+    assert_not_reached "commit to bare-split-xattrs should have failed"
+fi
+${OSTREE} fsck --all
+tap_ok "commit not implemented"
+rm -rf -- repo files
+
+cd ${test_tmpdir}
+mkdir -p "${test_tmpdir}/files"
+touch files/foo
+${OSTREE} init --mode "${mode}"
+OSTREE_EXP_WRITE_BARE_SPLIT_XATTRS=true ${OSTREE} commit --orphan -m "experimental" files
+if ${OSTREE} fsck --all; then
+    assert_not_reached "fsck should have failed"
+fi
+tap_ok "commit exp override"
+rm -rf -- repo files
+
+if [ "${PRIVILEGED}" = "true" ]; then
+    COMMIT="d614c428015227259031b0f19b934dade908942fd71c49047e0daa70e7800a5d"
+    cd ${test_tmpdir}
+    ${SUDO} tar --same-permissions --same-owner -xaf ${test_srcdir}/fixtures/bare-split-xattrs/basic.tar.xz
+    ${SUDO} ${OSTREE} fsck --all
+    ${OSTREE} log ${COMMIT} > out.txt
+    assert_file_has_content_literal out.txt "fixtures: bare-split-xattrs repo"
+    ${OSTREE} ls ${COMMIT} -X /foo > out.txt
+    assert_file_has_content_literal out.txt "{ @a(ayay) [] } /foo"
+    ${OSTREE} ls ${COMMIT} -X /bar > out.txt
+    assert_file_has_content_literal out.txt "{ [(b'user.mykey', [byte 0x6d, 0x79, 0x76, 0x61, 0x6c, 0x75, 0x65])] } /bar"
+    ${OSTREE} ls ${COMMIT} /foolink > out.txt
+    assert_file_has_content_literal out.txt "/foolink -> foo"
+    tap_ok "reading simple fixture"
+    ${SUDO} rm -rf -- repo log.txt
+else
+    tap_ok "reading simple fixture # skip Unable to sudo"
+fi
+
+tap_end