diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 29a8bb5..37d8edc 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -3,5 +3,10 @@ name = "vault"
 version = "0.0.0"
 edition = "2021"
 
+[features]
+tokio = ["dep:tokio"]
+
 [dependencies]
 rusqlite = "0.28.0"
+thiserror = "1.0.37"
+tokio = { version = "1.23.0", features = ["sync"], optional = true }
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index 8f47352..86c09be 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -1,10 +1,9 @@
+#[cfg(feature = "tokio")]
+pub mod tokio;
+
 use rusqlite::Connection;
 
-pub trait DbExecute {
-    fn run(self, conn: &mut Connection) -> rusqlite::Result<()>;
-}
-
-pub trait DbQuery {
+pub trait Action {
     type Result;
     fn run(self, conn: &mut Connection) -> rusqlite::Result<Self::Result>;
 }
diff --git a/src/tokio.rs b/src/tokio.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9920757
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/tokio.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,150 @@
+use std::{any::Any, result, thread};
+
+use rusqlite::{Connection, Transaction};
+use tokio::sync::{mpsc, oneshot};
+
+use crate::Action;
+
+/// Wrapper trait around [`Action`] that turns `Box<Self>` into a `Self` and the
+/// action's return type into `Box<dyn Any + Send>`.
+///
+/// This way, the trait that users of this crate interact with is kept simpler.
+trait ActionWrapper {
+    fn run(self: Box<Self>, conn: &mut Connection) -> rusqlite::Result<Box<dyn Any + Send>>;
+}
+
+impl<T: Action> ActionWrapper for T
+where
+    T::Result: Send + 'static,
+{
+    fn run(self: Box<Self>, conn: &mut Connection) -> rusqlite::Result<Box<dyn Any + Send>> {
+        let result = (*self).run(conn)?;
+        Ok(Box::new(result))
+    }
+}
+
+/// Command to be sent via the mpsc channel to the vault thread.
+enum Command {
+    Action(
+        Box<dyn ActionWrapper + Send>,
+        oneshot::Sender<rusqlite::Result<Box<dyn Any + Send>>>,
+    ),
+    Stop(oneshot::Sender<()>),
+}
+
+/// Error that can occur during execution of an [`Action`].
+#[derive(Debug, thiserror::Error)]
+pub enum Error {
+    /// The vault thread has stopped.
+    #[error("vault thread has stopped")]
+    Stopped,
+
+    /// A [`rusqlite::Error`] occurred while running the action.
+    #[error("{0}")]
+    Rusqlite(#[from] rusqlite::Error),
+}
+
+pub type Result<R> = result::Result<R, Error>;
+
+/// A single database migration.
+///
+/// It receives a [`Transaction`] to perform database operations in, and its
+/// index in the migration array. The latter might be useful for logging.
+///
+/// The transaction spans all migrations currently being performed. If any
+/// single migration fails, all migrations are rolled back and the database is
+/// unchanged.
+///
+/// The migration does not need to update the `user_version` or commit the
+/// transaction.
+pub type Migration = fn(&mut Transaction, usize) -> rusqlite::Result<()>;
+
+fn migrate(conn: &mut Connection, migrations: &[Migration]) -> rusqlite::Result<()> {
+    let mut tx = conn.transaction()?;
+
+    let user_version: usize =
+        tx.query_row("SELECT * FROM pragma_user_version", [], |r| r.get(0))?;
+
+    let total = migrations.len();
+    assert!(user_version <= total, "malformed database schema");
+    for (i, migration) in migrations.iter().enumerate().skip(user_version) {
+        migration(&mut tx, i)?;
+    }
+
+    tx.pragma_update(None, "user_version", total)?;
+    tx.commit()
+}
+
+fn run(mut conn: Connection, mut rx: mpsc::UnboundedReceiver<Command>) {
+    while let Some(command) = rx.blocking_recv() {
+        match command {
+            Command::Action(action, tx) => {
+                let result = action.run(&mut conn);
+                let _ = tx.send(result);
+            }
+            Command::Stop(tx) => {
+                drop(conn);
+                drop(tx);
+                break;
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+#[derive(Clone)]
+pub struct TokioVault {
+    tx: mpsc::UnboundedSender<Command>,
+}
+
+impl TokioVault {
+    /// Launch a new thread to run database queries on, and return a
+    /// [`TokioVault`] for communication with that thread.
+    ///
+    /// It is recommended to set a few pragmas before calling this function, for
+    /// example:
+    /// - `journal_mode` to `"wal"`
+    /// - `foreign_keys` to `true`
+    /// - `trusted_schema` to `false`
+    pub fn launch(
+        mut conn: Connection,
+        migrations: &[Migration],
+        prepare: impl FnOnce(&mut Connection) -> rusqlite::Result<()>,
+    ) -> rusqlite::Result<Self> {
+        migrate(&mut conn, migrations)?;
+        prepare(&mut conn)?;
+
+        let (tx, rx) = mpsc::unbounded_channel();
+        thread::spawn(move || run(conn, rx));
+        Ok(Self { tx })
+    }
+
+    /// Execute an [`Action`] and return the result.
+    pub async fn execute<A>(&self, action: A) -> Result<A::Result>
+    where
+        A: Action + Send + 'static,
+        A::Result: Send,
+    {
+        let (tx, rx) = oneshot::channel();
+        self.tx
+            .send(Command::Action(Box::new(action), tx))
+            .map_err(|_| Error::Stopped)?;
+
+        let result = rx.await.map_err(|_| Error::Stopped)??;
+
+        // The ActionWrapper runs Action::run, which returns Action::Result. It
+        // then wraps this into Any, which we're now trying to downcast again to
+        // Action::Result. This should always work.
+        let result = result.downcast().unwrap();
+
+        Ok(*result)
+    }
+
+    /// Stop the vault thread.
+    ///
+    /// Returns when the vault has been stopped successfully.
+    pub async fn stop(&self) {
+        let (tx, rx) = oneshot::channel();
+        let _ = self.tx.send(Command::Stop(tx));
+        let _ = rx.await;
+    }
+}