diff --git a/tests/v2/test_message_store.nim b/tests/v2/test_message_store.nim
index 66dcf6ba0..40a7022c8 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_message_store.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_message_store.nim
@@ -192,3 +192,367 @@ suite "Message Store":
         # the window size changes when changing `const maxStoreOverflow = 1.3 in waku_message_store
         numMessages == 120 
 
+
+suite "Message Store: Retrieve Pages":
+  setup:
+    let 
+      database = SqliteDatabase.init("", inMemory = true)[]
+      store = WakuMessageStore.init(database)[]
+      contentTopic = ContentTopic("/waku/2/default-content/proto")
+      pubsubTopic =  "/waku/2/default-waku/proto"
+
+      t1 = getNanosecondTime(epochTime())-800
+      t2 = getNanosecondTime(epochTime())-700
+      t3 = getNanosecondTime(epochTime())-600
+      t4 = getNanosecondTime(epochTime())-500
+      t5 = getNanosecondTime(epochTime())-400
+      t6 = getNanosecondTime(epochTime())-300
+      t7 = getNanosecondTime(epochTime())-200
+      t8 = getNanosecondTime(epochTime())-100
+      t9 = getNanosecondTime(epochTime())
+
+    var msgs = @[
+      WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 1], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(0), timestamp: t1),
+      WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 2, 2, 3, 4], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(1), timestamp: t2),
+      WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 3], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(2), timestamp: t3),
+      WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 4], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(2), timestamp: t4),
+      WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 5, 3, 5, 6], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(3), timestamp: t5),
+      WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 6], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(3), timestamp: t6),
+      WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 7], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(3), timestamp: t7),
+      WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 8, 4, 6, 2, 1, 5, 6, 13], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(3), timestamp: t8),
+      WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 9], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(3), timestamp: t9),
+    ]
+
+    var indexes: seq[Index] = @[]
+    for msg in msgs:
+      var index = computeIndex(msg)
+      let output = store.put(index, msg, pubsubTopic)
+      check output.isOk
+      indexes.add(index)
+
+  teardown:
+    store.close()
+
+  test "get forward page":
+    let maxPageSize = 3'u64
+    let pagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: maxPageSize,
+                             cursor: indexes[1],
+                             direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+    let (outMessages, outPagingInfo, outError) = store.getPage(pagingInfo).get()
+
+    let expectedOutPagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: 3,
+                             cursor: indexes[4],
+                             direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+
+    check:
+      outError == HistoryResponseError.NONE
+      outMessages.len == 3
+      outPagingInfo == expectedOutPagingInfo
+
+    for (k, m) in outMessages.pairs():
+      check: msgs[k+2] == m # offset of two because we used the second message (indexes[1]) as cursor; the cursor is excluded in the returned page
+
+  test "get backward page":
+    let maxPageSize = 3'u64
+    let pagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: maxPageSize,
+                             cursor: indexes[4],
+                             direction: PagingDirection.BACKWARD)
+    let (outMessages, outPagingInfo, outError) = store.getPage(pagingInfo).get()
+
+    let expectedOutPagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: 3,
+                             cursor: indexes[1],
+                             direction: PagingDirection.BACKWARD)
+
+    check:
+      outError == HistoryResponseError.NONE
+      outMessages.len == 3
+      outPagingInfo == expectedOutPagingInfo
+
+    for (k, m) in outMessages.pairs():
+      check: msgs[^(k+6)] == m
+
+
+  test "get forward page (default index)":
+    let maxPageSize = 3'u64
+    let pagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: maxPageSize,
+                             # we don't set an index here to test the default index
+                             direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+    let (outMessages, outPagingInfo, outError) = store.getPage(pagingInfo).get()
+
+    let expectedOutPagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: 3,
+                             cursor: indexes[2],
+                             direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+
+    check:
+      outError == HistoryResponseError.NONE
+      outMessages.len == 3
+      outPagingInfo == expectedOutPagingInfo
+
+    for (k, m) in outMessages.pairs():
+      check: msgs[k] == m
+
+
+  test "get backward page (default index)":
+    let maxPageSize = 3'u64
+    let pagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: maxPageSize,
+                             # we don't set an index here to test the default index
+                             direction: PagingDirection.BACKWARD)
+    let (outMessages, outPagingInfo, outError) = store.getPage(pagingInfo).get()
+
+    let expectedOutPagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: 3,
+                             cursor: indexes[6],
+                             direction: PagingDirection.BACKWARD)
+
+    check:
+      outError == HistoryResponseError.NONE
+      outMessages.len == 3
+      outPagingInfo == expectedOutPagingInfo
+
+    for (k, m) in outMessages.pairs():
+      check: msgs[^(k+1)] == m
+
+
+  test "get large forward page":
+    let maxPageSize = 12'u64
+    let pagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: maxPageSize,
+                             # we don't set an index here; start at the beginning
+                             direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+    let (outMessages, outPagingInfo, outError) = store.getPage(pagingInfo).get()
+
+    let expectedOutPagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: 9, # there are only 10 msgs in total in the DB
+                             cursor: indexes[8],
+                             direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+
+    check:
+      outError == HistoryResponseError.NONE
+      outMessages.len == 9
+      outPagingInfo == expectedOutPagingInfo
+
+    for (k, m) in outMessages.pairs():
+      check: msgs[k] == m
+
+
+  test "get large backward page":
+    let maxPageSize = 12'u64
+    let pagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: maxPageSize,
+                             # we don't set an index here to test the default index
+                             direction: PagingDirection.BACKWARD)
+    let (outMessages, outPagingInfo, outError) = store.getPage(pagingInfo).get()
+
+    let expectedOutPagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: 9,
+                             cursor: indexes[0],
+                             direction: PagingDirection.BACKWARD)
+
+    check:
+      outError == HistoryResponseError.NONE
+      outMessages.len == 9
+      outPagingInfo == expectedOutPagingInfo
+
+    for (k, m) in outMessages.pairs():
+      check: msgs[^(k+1)] == m
+
+
+  test "get filtered page, maxPageSize == number of matching messages":
+    proc predicate (indMsg: IndexedWakuMessage): bool {.gcsafe, closure.} =
+      # filter on timestamp
+      if indMsg.msg.timestamp < t4 or indMsg.msg.timestamp > t6:
+        return false
+
+      return true
+
+    let maxPageSize = 3'u64
+    let pagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: maxPageSize,
+                             cursor: indexes[1],
+                             direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+    let (outMessages, outPagingInfo, outError) = store.getPage(predicate, pagingInfo).get()
+
+    let expectedOutPagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: 3,
+                             cursor: indexes[5],
+                             direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+
+    check:
+      outError == HistoryResponseError.NONE
+      outMessages.len == 3
+      outPagingInfo == expectedOutPagingInfo
+
+    for (k, m) in outMessages.pairs():
+      check: msgs[k+3] == m # offset of three because second message is the index, and the third message is not in the select time window
+
+  test "get filtered page, maxPageSize > number of matching messages":
+    proc predicate (indMsg: IndexedWakuMessage): bool {.gcsafe, closure.} =
+      # filter on timestamp
+      if indMsg.msg.timestamp < t4 or indMsg.msg.timestamp > t5:
+        return false
+      return true
+
+    let maxPageSize = 3'u64
+    let pagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: maxPageSize,
+                             cursor: indexes[1],
+                             direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+    let (outMessages, outPagingInfo, outError) = store.getPage(predicate, pagingInfo).get()
+
+    let expectedOutPagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: 2,
+                             cursor: indexes[8], # index is advanced by one because one message was not accepted by the filter
+                             direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+
+    check:
+      outError == HistoryResponseError.NONE
+      outMessages.len == 2 # only two messages are in the time window going through the filter
+      outPagingInfo == expectedOutPagingInfo
+
+    for (k, m) in outMessages.pairs():
+      check: msgs[k+3] == m # offset of three because second message is the index, and the third message is not in the select time window
+
+
+  test "get page with index that is not in the DB":
+    let maxPageSize = 3'u64
+
+    let nonStoredMsg = WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 13], contentTopic: "hello", version: uint32(3), timestamp: getNanosecondTime(epochTime()))
+    var nonStoredIndex = computeIndex(nonStoredMsg)
+
+    let pagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: maxPageSize,
+                             cursor: nonStoredIndex,
+                             direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+    let (outMessages, outPagingInfo, outError) = store.getPage(pagingInfo).get()
+
+    let expectedOutPagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: 0, # no message expected
+                             cursor: Index(),
+                             direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+    check:
+      outError == HistoryResponseError.INVALID_CURSOR
+      outMessages.len == 0 # only two messages are in the time window going through the filter
+      outPagingInfo == expectedOutPagingInfo
+
+  test "ask for last index, forward":
+    let maxPageSize = 3'u64
+
+    let pagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: maxPageSize,
+                             cursor: indexes[8],
+                             direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+    let (outMessages, outPagingInfo, outError) = store.getPage(pagingInfo).get()
+
+    let expectedOutPagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: 0, # no message expected, because we already have the last index
+                             cursor: Index(), # empty index, because we went beyond the last index
+                             direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+
+    check:
+      outError == HistoryResponseError.INVALID_CURSOR # TODO: clarify: should this index be valid?
+      outMessages.len == 0 # no message expected, because we already have the last index
+      outPagingInfo == expectedOutPagingInfo
+
+  test "ask for first index, backward":
+    let maxPageSize = 3'u64
+
+    let pagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: maxPageSize,
+                             cursor: indexes[0],
+                             direction: PagingDirection.BACKWARD)
+    let (outMessages, outPagingInfo, outError) = store.getPage(pagingInfo).get()
+
+    let expectedOutPagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: 0, # no message expected, because we already have the first index (and go trough backwards)
+                             cursor: Index(), # empty index, because we went beyond the first index (backwards)
+                             direction: PagingDirection.BACKWARD)
+
+    check:
+      outError == HistoryResponseError.INVALID_CURSOR # TODO: clarify: should this index be valid?
+      outMessages.len == 0 # no message expected, because we already have the first index
+      outPagingInfo == expectedOutPagingInfo
+
+
+
+  test "valid index but no predicate matches":
+    proc predicate (indMsg: IndexedWakuMessage): bool {.gcsafe, closure.} =
+      return false
+
+    let maxPageSize = 3'u64
+    let pagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: maxPageSize,
+                             cursor: indexes[1],
+                             direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+    let (outMessages, outPagingInfo, outError) = store.getPage(predicate, pagingInfo).get()
+
+    let expectedOutPagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: 0,
+                             cursor: indexes[8], # last index; DB was searched until the end (no message matched the predicate)
+                             direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+
+    check:
+      outError == HistoryResponseError.NONE
+      outMessages.len == 0 # predicate is false for each message
+      outPagingInfo == expectedOutPagingInfo
+
+  test "sparse filter (-> merging several DB pages into one reply page)":
+    proc predicate (indMsg: IndexedWakuMessage): bool {.gcsafe, closure.} =
+      if indMsg.msg.payload[0] mod 4 == 0:
+        return true
+
+    let maxPageSize = 2'u64
+    let pagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: maxPageSize,
+                             # we don't set an index here, starting from the beginning. This also covers the inital special case of the retrieval loop.
+                             direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+    let (outMessages, outPagingInfo, outError) = store.getPage(predicate, pagingInfo).get()
+
+    let expectedOutPagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: 2,
+                             cursor: indexes[7],
+                             direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+
+    check:
+      outError == HistoryResponseError.NONE
+      outMessages.len == 2
+      outPagingInfo == expectedOutPagingInfo
+      outMessages[0] == msgs[3]
+      outMessages[1] == msgs[7]
+
+test "Message Store: Retention Time": # TODO: better retention time test coverage
+  let 
+    database = SqliteDatabase.init("", inMemory = true)[]
+    store = WakuMessageStore.init(database, isSqliteOnly=true, retentionTime=100)[]
+    contentTopic = ContentTopic("/waku/2/default-content/proto")
+    pubsubTopic =  "/waku/2/default-waku/proto"
+
+    t1 = getNanosecondTime(epochTime())-300_000_000_000
+    t2 = getNanosecondTime(epochTime())-200_000_000_000
+    t3 = getNanosecondTime(epochTime())-100_000_000_000
+    t4 = getNanosecondTime(epochTime())-50_000_000_000
+    t5 = getNanosecondTime(epochTime())-40_000_000_000
+    t6 = getNanosecondTime(epochTime())-3_000_000_000
+    t7 = getNanosecondTime(epochTime())-2_000_000_000
+    t8 = getNanosecondTime(epochTime())-1_000_000_000
+    t9 = getNanosecondTime(epochTime())
+
+  var msgs = @[
+    WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 1], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(0), timestamp: t1),
+    WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 2, 2, 3, 4], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(1), timestamp: t2),
+    WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 3], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(2), timestamp: t3),
+    WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 4], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(2), timestamp: t4),
+    WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 5, 3, 5, 6], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(3), timestamp: t5),
+    WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 6], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(3), timestamp: t6),
+    WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 7], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(3), timestamp: t7),
+    WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 8, 4, 6, 2, 1, 5, 6, 13], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(3), timestamp: t8),
+    WakuMessage(payload: @[byte 9], contentTopic: contentTopic, version: uint32(3), timestamp: t9),
+  ]
+
+  var indexes: seq[Index] = @[]
+  for msg in msgs:
+    var index = computeIndex(msg, receivedTime = msg.timestamp)
+    let output = store.put(index, msg, pubsubTopic)
+    check output.isOk
+    indexes.add(index)
+
+  # let maxPageSize = 9'u64
+  # let pagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: maxPageSize,
+  #                          direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+  # let (outMessages, outPagingInfo, outError) = store.getPage(pagingInfo).get()
+
+  # let expectedOutPagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: 7,
+  #                          cursor: indexes[8],
+  #                          direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD)
+
+  # check:
+  #   outError == HistoryResponseError.NONE
+  #   outMessages.len == 7
+  #   outPagingInfo == expectedOutPagingInfo
+
+  # for (k, m) in outMessages.pairs():
+  #   check: msgs[k+2] == m # offset of two because the frist two messages got deleted
+
+  # store.close()
+
+   
diff --git a/tests/v2/test_waku_store.nim b/tests/v2/test_waku_store.nim
index 12c515690..d94bf5a41 100644
--- a/tests/v2/test_waku_store.nim
+++ b/tests/v2/test_waku_store.nim
@@ -33,7 +33,9 @@ procSuite "Waku Store":
     await listenSwitch.start()
 
     let
-      proto = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch), crypto.newRng())
+      database = SqliteDatabase.init("", inMemory = true)[]
+      store = WakuMessageStore.init(database)[]
+      proto = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch), crypto.newRng(), store)
       rpc = HistoryQuery(contentFilters: @[HistoryContentFilter(contentTopic: topic)])
 
     proto.setPeer(listenSwitch.peerInfo.toRemotePeerInfo())
@@ -78,7 +80,9 @@ procSuite "Waku Store":
     await listenSwitch.start()
 
     let
-      proto = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch), crypto.newRng())
+      database = SqliteDatabase.init("", inMemory = true)[]
+      store = WakuMessageStore.init(database)[]
+      proto = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch), crypto.newRng(), store)
       rpc = HistoryQuery(contentFilters: @[HistoryContentFilter(contentTopic: topic1), HistoryContentFilter(contentTopic: topic3)])
 
     proto.setPeer(listenSwitch.peerInfo.toRemotePeerInfo())
@@ -125,7 +129,9 @@ procSuite "Waku Store":
     await listenSwitch.start()
 
     let
-      proto = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch), crypto.newRng())
+      database = SqliteDatabase.init("", inMemory = true)[]
+      store = WakuMessageStore.init(database)[]
+      proto = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch), crypto.newRng(), store)
       pubsubtopic1 = "queried topic"
       pubsubtopic2 = "non queried topic"
       # this query targets: pubsubtopic1 AND (contentTopic1 OR contentTopic3)    
@@ -173,7 +179,9 @@ procSuite "Waku Store":
     await listenSwitch.start()
 
     let
-      proto = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch), crypto.newRng())
+      database = SqliteDatabase.init("", inMemory = true)[]
+      store = WakuMessageStore.init(database)[]
+      proto = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch), crypto.newRng(), store)
       pubsubtopic1 = "queried topic"
       pubsubtopic2 = "non queried topic"
       # this query targets: pubsubtopic1  
@@ -219,7 +227,9 @@ procSuite "Waku Store":
     await listenSwitch.start()
 
     let
-      proto = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch), crypto.newRng())
+      database = SqliteDatabase.init("", inMemory = true)[]
+      store = WakuMessageStore.init(database)[]
+      proto = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch), crypto.newRng(), store)
       pubsubtopic = "queried topic"
       # this query targets: pubsubtopic 
       rpc = HistoryQuery(pubsubTopic: pubsubtopic)
@@ -343,7 +353,9 @@ procSuite "Waku Store":
     await listenSwitch.start()
 
     let
-      proto = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch), crypto.newRng())
+      database = SqliteDatabase.init("", inMemory = true)[]
+      store = WakuMessageStore.init(database)[]
+      proto = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch), crypto.newRng(), store)
       rpc = HistoryQuery(contentFilters: @[HistoryContentFilter(contentTopic: defaultContentTopic)], pagingInfo: PagingInfo(pageSize: 2, direction: PagingDirection.FORWARD) )
       
     proto.setPeer(listenSwitch.peerInfo.toRemotePeerInfo())
@@ -395,7 +407,10 @@ procSuite "Waku Store":
     var listenSwitch = newStandardSwitch(some(key))
     await listenSwitch.start()
 
-    let proto = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch), crypto.newRng())
+    let
+      database = SqliteDatabase.init("", inMemory = true)[]
+      store = WakuMessageStore.init(database)[]
+      proto = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch), crypto.newRng(), store)
 
     proto.setPeer(listenSwitch.peerInfo.toRemotePeerInfo())
 
@@ -446,7 +461,10 @@ procSuite "Waku Store":
     var listenSwitch = newStandardSwitch(some(key))
     await listenSwitch.start()
 
-    let proto = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch), crypto.newRng())
+    let
+      database = SqliteDatabase.init("", inMemory = true)[]
+      store = WakuMessageStore.init(database)[]
+      proto = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch), crypto.newRng(), store)
 
     proto.setPeer(listenSwitch.peerInfo.toRemotePeerInfo())
 
@@ -606,7 +624,10 @@ procSuite "Waku Store":
     var listenSwitch = newStandardSwitch(some(key))
     await listenSwitch.start()
 
-    let proto = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch), crypto.newRng())
+    let
+      database = SqliteDatabase.init("", inMemory = true)[]
+      store = WakuMessageStore.init(database)[]
+      proto = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch), crypto.newRng(), store)
 
     proto.setPeer(listenSwitch.peerInfo.toRemotePeerInfo())
 
@@ -626,7 +647,10 @@ procSuite "Waku Store":
     var listenSwitch2 = newStandardSwitch(some(key2))
     await listenSwitch2.start()
 
-    let proto2 = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch2), crypto.newRng())
+    let
+      database2 = SqliteDatabase.init("", inMemory = true)[]
+      store2 = WakuMessageStore.init(database2)[]
+      proto2 = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch2), crypto.newRng(), store2)
 
     proto2.setPeer(listenSwitch2.peerInfo.toRemotePeerInfo())
 
@@ -689,13 +713,17 @@ procSuite "Waku Store":
       # starts a new node
       var dialSwitch3 = newStandardSwitch()
       await dialSwitch3.start()
-    
-      let proto3 = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch2), crypto.newRng())
+
+      let
+        database3 = SqliteDatabase.init("", inMemory = true)[]
+        store3 = WakuMessageStore.init(database3)[]
+        proto3 = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch3), crypto.newRng(), store3)
+
       proto3.setPeer(listenSwitch.peerInfo.toRemotePeerInfo())
 
       let successResult = await proto3.resume()
       check:
-        successResult.isOk 
+        successResult.isOk
         successResult.value == 10
         proto3.messages.len == 10
 
@@ -758,7 +786,11 @@ procSuite "Waku Store":
       # starts a new node
       var dialSwitch3 = newStandardSwitch()
       await dialSwitch3.start()
-      let proto3 = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch3), crypto.newRng())
+
+      let
+        database3 = SqliteDatabase.init("", inMemory = true)[]
+        store3 = WakuMessageStore.init(database3)[]
+        proto3 = WakuStore.init(PeerManager.new(dialSwitch3), crypto.newRng(), store3)
 
       let successResult = await proto3.resume(some(@[offListenSwitch.peerInfo.toRemotePeerInfo(),
                                                      listenSwitch.peerInfo.toRemotePeerInfo(),
@@ -796,7 +828,7 @@ procSuite "Waku Store":
 
     check:
       store.messages.len == capacity # Store is at capacity
-    
+
     # Test that capacity holds
     await store.handleMessage(pubsubTopic, WakuMessage(payload: @[byte (capacity + 1)], contentTopic: contentTopic, timestamp: Timestamp(capacity + 1)))
 
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/config.nim b/waku/v2/node/config.nim
index ce2758a95..3814f0c6c 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/config.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/config.nim
@@ -160,6 +160,16 @@ type
       defaultValue: 50000
       name: "store-capacity" }: int
     
+    sqliteStore* {.
+      desc: "Enable sqlite-only store: true|false",
+      defaultValue: false
+      name: "sqlite-store" }: bool
+
+    sqliteRetentionTime* {.
+      desc: "time the sqlite-only store keeps messages (in seconds)",
+      defaultValue: 30.days.seconds
+      name: "sqlite-retention-time" }: int64 # TODO: Duration
+
     ## Filter config
 
     filter* {.
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_store.nim b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_store.nim
index a0fe359ea..0e650c003 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_store.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/message_store.nim
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import
   std/options,
   stew/results,
   ../../../protocol/waku_message,
+  ../../../protocol/waku_store/waku_store_types,
   ../../../utils/time,
   ../../../utils/pagination
 
@@ -21,4 +22,6 @@ type
 # MessageStore interface
 method put*(db: MessageStore, cursor: Index, message: WakuMessage, pubsubTopic: string): MessageStoreResult[void] {.base.} = discard
 method getAll*(db: MessageStore, onData: DataProc): MessageStoreResult[bool] {.base.} = discard
+method getPage*(db: MessageStore, pred: QueryFilterMatcher, pagingInfo: PagingInfo): MessageStoreResult[(seq[WakuMessage], PagingInfo, HistoryResponseError)] {.base.} = discard
+method getPage*(db: MessageStore, pagingInfo: PagingInfo): MessageStoreResult[(seq[WakuMessage], PagingInfo, HistoryResponseError)] {.base.} = discard
 
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/waku_message_store.nim b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/waku_message_store.nim
index 072c781c3..91bc57cea 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/storage/message/waku_message_store.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/storage/message/waku_message_store.nim
@@ -1,13 +1,15 @@
 {.push raises: [Defect].}
 
 import 
-  std/[options, tables],
+  std/[options, tables, times],
   sqlite3_abi,
   stew/[byteutils, results],
   chronicles,
+  chronos,
   ./message_store,
   ../sqlite,
   ../../../protocol/waku_message,
+  ../../../protocol/waku_store/waku_store,
   ../../../utils/pagination,
   ../../../utils/time
 
@@ -37,6 +39,9 @@ type
     storeCapacity: int # represents both the number of messages that are persisted in the sqlite DB (excl. the overflow window explained above), and the number of messages that get loaded via `getAll`.
     storeMaxLoad: int  # = storeCapacity * MaxStoreOverflow
     deleteWindow: int  # = (storeCapacity * MaxStoreOverflow - storeCapacity)/2; half of the overflow window, the amount of messages deleted when overflow occurs
+    isSqliteOnly: bool
+    retentionTime: chronos.Duration
+    oldestReceiverTimestamp: int64
     insertStmt: SqliteStmt[(seq[byte], Timestamp, seq[byte], seq[byte], seq[byte], int64, Timestamp), void]
  
 proc messageCount(db: SqliteDatabase): MessageStoreResult[int64] =
@@ -49,6 +54,36 @@ proc messageCount(db: SqliteDatabase): MessageStoreResult[int64] =
     return err("failed to count number of messages in DB")
   ok(numMessages)
 
+
+proc getOldestDbReceiverTimestamp(db: SqliteDatabase): MessageStoreResult[int64] =
+  var oldestReceiverTimestamp: int64
+  proc handler(s: ptr sqlite3_stmt) =
+    oldestReceiverTimestamp = column_timestamp(s, 0)
+  let query = "SELECT MIN(receiverTimestamp) FROM " & TABLE_TITLE;
+  let queryRes = db.query(query, handler)
+  if queryRes.isErr:
+    return err("failed to get the oldest receiver timestamp from the DB")
+  ok(oldestReceiverTimestamp)
+
+proc deleteOldestTime(db: WakuMessageStore): MessageStoreResult[void] =
+  # delete if there are messages in the DB that exceed the retention time by 10% and more (batch delete for efficiency)
+  let retentionTimestamp = getNanosecondTime(getTime().toUnixFloat()) - db.retentionTime.nanoseconds
+  let thresholdTimestamp = retentionTimestamp - db.retentionTime.nanoseconds div 10
+  if thresholdTimestamp <= db.oldestReceiverTimestamp or db.oldestReceiverTimestamp == 0: return ok()
+
+  var deleteQuery = "DELETE FROM " & TABLE_TITLE & " " &
+                          "WHERE receiverTimestamp < " & $retentionTimestamp
+
+  let res = db.database.query(deleteQuery, proc(s: ptr sqlite3_stmt) = discard)
+  if res.isErr:
+    return err(res.error)
+
+  info "Messages exceeding retention time deleted from DB. ", retentionTime=db.retentionTime
+
+  db.oldestReceiverTimestamp = db.database.getOldestDbReceiverTimestamp().expect("DB query works")
+
+  ok()
+
 proc deleteOldest(db: WakuMessageStore): MessageStoreResult[void] =
   var deleteQuery = "DELETE FROM " & TABLE_TITLE & " " &
                           "WHERE id NOT IN " &
@@ -72,8 +107,8 @@ proc deleteOldest(db: WakuMessageStore): MessageStoreResult[void] =
 
   ok()
 
-proc init*(T: type WakuMessageStore, db: SqliteDatabase, storeCapacity: int = 50000): MessageStoreResult[T] =
-  
+proc init*(T: type WakuMessageStore, db: SqliteDatabase, storeCapacity: int = 50000, isSqliteOnly = false, retentionTime = chronos.days(30).seconds): MessageStoreResult[T] =
+  let retentionTime = seconds(retentionTime) # workaround until config.nim updated to parse a Duration
   ## Table Creation
   let
     createStmt = db.prepareStmt("""
@@ -119,18 +154,28 @@ proc init*(T: type WakuMessageStore, db: SqliteDatabase, storeCapacity: int = 50
   let
     storeMaxLoad = int(float(storeCapacity) * MaxStoreOverflow)
     deleteWindow = int(float(storeMaxLoad - storeCapacity) / 2)
-  
+
+
   let wms = WakuMessageStore(database: db,
                       numMessages: int(numMessages),
                       storeCapacity: storeCapacity,
                       storeMaxLoad: storeMaxLoad,
                       deleteWindow: deleteWindow,
+                      isSqliteOnly: isSqliteOnly,
+                      retentionTime: retentionTime,
+                      oldestReceiverTimestamp: db.getOldestDbReceiverTimestamp().expect("DB query for oldest receiver timestamp works."),
                       insertStmt: insertStmt)
 
-  # If the loaded db is already over max load, delete the oldest messages before returning the WakuMessageStore object
-  if wms.numMessages >= wms.storeMaxLoad:
+  # if the in-memory store is used and if the loaded db is already over max load, delete the oldest messages before returning the WakuMessageStore object
+  if not isSqliteOnly and wms.numMessages >= wms.storeMaxLoad:
     let res = wms.deleteOldest()
-    if res.isErr: return err("deleting oldest messages failed")
+    if res.isErr: return err("deleting oldest messages failed: " & res.error())
+
+  # if using the sqlite-only store, delete messages exceeding the retention time
+  if isSqliteOnly:
+    debug "oldest message info", receiverTime=wms.oldestReceiverTimestamp
+    let res = wms.deleteOldestTime()
+    if res.isErr: return err("deleting oldest messages (time) failed: " & res.error())
 
   ok(wms)
 
@@ -151,10 +196,20 @@ method put*(db: WakuMessageStore, cursor: Index, message: WakuMessage, pubsubTop
     return err("failed")
 
   db.numMessages += 1
-  if db.numMessages >= db.storeMaxLoad:
+  # if the in-memory store is used and if the loaded db is already over max load, delete the oldest messages
+  if not db.isSqliteOnly and db.numMessages >= db.storeMaxLoad:
     let res = db.deleteOldest()
     if res.isErr: return err("deleting oldest failed")
 
+  if db.isSqliteOnly:
+    # TODO: move to a timer job
+    # For this experimental version of the new store, it is OK to delete here, because it only actually triggers the deletion if there is a batch of messages older than the threshold.
+    # This only adds a few simple compare operations, if deletion is not necessary.
+    # Still, the put that triggers the deletion might return with a significant delay.
+    if db.oldestReceiverTimestamp == 0: db.oldestReceiverTimestamp = db.database.getOldestDbReceiverTimestamp().expect("DB query for oldest receiver timestamp works.")
+    let res = db.deleteOldestTime()
+    if res.isErr: return err("deleting oldest failed")
+
   ok()
 
 method getAll*(db: WakuMessageStore, onData: message_store.DataProc): MessageStoreResult[bool] =
@@ -211,6 +266,157 @@ method getAll*(db: WakuMessageStore, onData: message_store.DataProc): MessageSto
 
   ok gotMessages
 
+proc adjustDbPageSize(dbPageSize: uint64, matchCount: uint64, returnPageSize: uint64): uint64 {.inline.} =
+  var ret = if matchCount < 2: dbPageSize * returnPageSize
+    else: dbPageSize * (returnPageSize div matchCount)
+  trace "dbPageSize adjusted to: ",  ret
+  ret
+
+
+method getPage*(db: WakuMessageStore,
+              pred: QueryFilterMatcher,
+              pagingInfo: PagingInfo):
+             MessageStoreResult[(seq[WakuMessage], PagingInfo, HistoryResponseError)] =
+  ## Get a single page of history matching the predicate and
+  ## adhering to the pagingInfo parameters
+  
+  trace "getting page from SQLite DB", pagingInfo=pagingInfo
+
+  let
+    responsePageSize = if pagingInfo.pageSize == 0 or pagingInfo.pageSize > MaxPageSize: MaxPageSize # Used default MaxPageSize for invalid pagingInfos
+                  else: pagingInfo.pageSize
+
+  var dbPageSize = responsePageSize  # we retrieve larger pages from the DB for queries with (sparse) filters (TODO: improve adaptive dbPageSize increase)
+
+  var cursor = pagingInfo.cursor
+
+  var messages: seq[WakuMessage]
+  var
+    lastIndex: Index
+    numRecordsVisitedPage: uint64 = 0  # number of DB records visited during retrieving the last page from the DB
+    numRecordsVisitedTotal: uint64 = 0 # number of DB records visited in total
+    numRecordsMatchingPred: uint64 = 0 # number of records that matched the predicate on the last DB page; we use this as to gauge the sparseness of rows matching the filter.
+
+  proc msg(s: ptr sqlite3_stmt) = # this is the actual onData proc that is passed to the query proc (the message store adds one indirection)
+    if uint64(messages.len) >= responsePageSize: return
+    let
+      receiverTimestamp = column_timestamp(s, 0)
+
+      topic = cast[ptr UncheckedArray[byte]](sqlite3_column_blob(s, 1))
+      topicLength = sqlite3_column_bytes(s,1)
+      contentTopic = ContentTopic(string.fromBytes(@(toOpenArray(topic, 0, topicLength-1))))
+
+      p = cast[ptr UncheckedArray[byte]](sqlite3_column_blob(s, 2))
+      length = sqlite3_column_bytes(s, 2)
+      payload = @(toOpenArray(p, 0, length-1))
+
+      pubsubTopicPointer = cast[ptr UncheckedArray[byte]](sqlite3_column_blob(s, 3))
+      pubsubTopicLength = sqlite3_column_bytes(s,3)
+      pubsubTopic = string.fromBytes(@(toOpenArray(pubsubTopicPointer, 0, pubsubTopicLength-1)))
+
+      version = sqlite3_column_int64(s, 4)
+
+      senderTimestamp = column_timestamp(s, 5)
+      retMsg = WakuMessage(contentTopic: contentTopic, payload: payload, version: uint32(version), timestamp: Timestamp(senderTimestamp))
+      # TODO: we should consolidate WakuMessage, Index, and IndexedWakuMessage; reason: avoid unnecessary copying and recalculation
+      index = retMsg.computeIndex(receiverTimestamp, pubsubTopic) # TODO: retrieve digest from DB
+      indexedWakuMsg = IndexedWakuMessage(msg: retMsg, index: index, pubsubTopic: pubsubTopic) # TODO: constructing indexedWakuMsg requires unnecessary copying
+
+    lastIndex = index
+    numRecordsVisitedPage += 1
+    try:
+      if pred(indexedWakuMsg): #TODO throws unknown exception
+        numRecordsMatchingPred += 1
+        messages.add(retMsg)
+    except:
+      # TODO properly handle this exception
+      quit 1
+
+  # TODO: deduplicate / condense the following 4 DB query strings
+  # If no index has been set in pagingInfo, start with the first message (or the last in case of backwards direction)
+  if cursor == Index(): ## TODO: pagingInfo.cursor should be an Option. We shouldn't rely on empty initialisation to determine if set or not!
+    let noCursorQuery =
+      if pagingInfo.direction == PagingDirection.FORWARD:
+        "SELECT receiverTimestamp, contentTopic, payload, pubsubTopic, version, senderTimestamp " &
+        "FROM " & TABLE_TITLE & " " &
+        "ORDER BY senderTimestamp, id, pubsubTopic, receiverTimestamp " &
+        "LIMIT " & $dbPageSize & ";"
+      else:
+        "SELECT receiverTimestamp, contentTopic, payload, pubsubTopic, version, senderTimestamp " &
+        "FROM " & TABLE_TITLE & " " &
+        "ORDER BY senderTimestamp DESC, id DESC, pubsubTopic DESC, receiverTimestamp DESC " &
+        "LIMIT " & $dbPageSize & ";"
+
+    let res = db.database.query(noCursorQuery, msg)
+    if res.isErr:
+      return err("failed to execute SQLite query: noCursorQuery")
+    numRecordsVisitedTotal = numRecordsVisitedPage
+    numRecordsVisitedPage = 0
+    dbPageSize = adjustDbPageSize(dbPageSize, numRecordsMatchingPred, responsePageSize)
+    numRecordsMatchingPred = 0
+    cursor = lastIndex
+
+  let preparedPageQuery = if pagingInfo.direction == PagingDirection.FORWARD:
+      db.database.prepareStmt(
+        "SELECT receiverTimestamp, contentTopic, payload, pubsubTopic, version, senderTimestamp " &
+        "FROM " & TABLE_TITLE & " " &
+        "WHERE (senderTimestamp, id, pubsubTopic) > (?, ?, ?) " &
+        "ORDER BY senderTimestamp, id, pubsubTopic, receiverTimestamp " &
+        "LIMIT ?;",
+        (Timestamp, seq[byte], seq[byte], int64), # TODO: uint64 not supported yet
+        (Timestamp, seq[byte], seq[byte], seq[byte], int64, Timestamp),
+      ).expect("this is a valid statement")
+    else:
+      db.database.prepareStmt(
+        "SELECT receiverTimestamp, contentTopic, payload, pubsubTopic, version, senderTimestamp " &
+        "FROM " & TABLE_TITLE & " " &
+        "WHERE (senderTimestamp, id, pubsubTopic) < (?, ?, ?) " &
+        "ORDER BY senderTimestamp DESC, id DESC, pubsubTopic DESC, receiverTimestamp DESC " &
+        "LIMIT ?;",
+        (Timestamp, seq[byte], seq[byte], int64),
+        (Timestamp, seq[byte], seq[byte], seq[byte], int64, Timestamp),
+      ).expect("this is a valid statement")
+
+
+  # TODO: DoS attack mitigation against: sending a lot of queries with sparse (or non-matching) filters making the store node run through the whole DB. Even worse with pageSize = 1.
+  while uint64(messages.len) < responsePageSize:
+    let res = preparedPageQuery.exec((cursor.senderTime, @(cursor.digest.data), cursor.pubsubTopic.toBytes(), dbPageSize.int64), msg) # TODO support uint64, pages large enough to cause an overflow are not expected...
+    if res.isErr:
+      return err("failed to execute SQLite prepared statement: preparedPageQuery")
+    numRecordsVisitedTotal += numRecordsVisitedPage
+    if numRecordsVisitedPage == 0: break # we are at the end of the DB (find more efficient/integrated solution to track that event)
+    numRecordsVisitedPage = 0
+    cursor = lastIndex
+    dbPageSize = adjustDbPageSize(dbPageSize, numRecordsMatchingPred, responsePageSize)
+    numRecordsMatchingPred = 0
+
+  let outPagingInfo = PagingInfo(pageSize: messages.len.uint,
+                             cursor: lastIndex,
+                             direction: pagingInfo.direction)
+
+  let historyResponseError = if numRecordsVisitedTotal == 0: HistoryResponseError.INVALID_CURSOR # Index is not in DB (also if queried Index points to last entry)
+    else: HistoryResponseError.NONE
+
+  preparedPageQuery.dispose()
+
+  return ok((messages, outPagingInfo, historyResponseError)) # TODO: historyResponseError is not a "real error": treat as a real error
+
+
+
+
+method getPage*(db: WakuMessageStore,
+              pagingInfo: PagingInfo):
+             MessageStoreResult[(seq[WakuMessage], PagingInfo, HistoryResponseError)] =
+  ## Get a single page of history without filtering.
+  ## Adhere to the pagingInfo parameters
+  
+  proc predicate(i: IndexedWakuMessage): bool = true # no filtering
+
+  return getPage(db, predicate, pagingInfo)
+
+
+
+
 proc close*(db: WakuMessageStore) = 
   ## Closes the database.
   db.insertStmt.dispose()
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/storage/sqlite.nim b/waku/v2/node/storage/sqlite.nim
index 48d924aec..acc7d63a1 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/storage/sqlite.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/storage/sqlite.nim
@@ -172,8 +172,53 @@ proc exec*[P](s: SqliteStmt[P, void], params: P): DatabaseResult[void] =
 
   res
 
+template readResult(s: RawStmtPtr, column: cint, T: type): auto =
+  when T is Option:
+    if sqlite3_column_type(s, column) == SQLITE_NULL:
+      none(typeof(default(T).get()))
+    else:
+      some(readSimpleResult(s, column, typeof(default(T).get())))
+  else:
+    readSimpleResult(s, column, T)
+
+template readResult(s: RawStmtPtr, T: type): auto =
+  when T is tuple:
+    var res: T
+    var i = cint 0
+    for field in fields(res):
+      field = readResult(s, i, typeof(field))
+      inc i
+    res
+  else:
+    readResult(s, 0.cint, T)
+
 type 
-  DataProc* = proc(s: ptr sqlite3_stmt) {.closure.}
+  DataProc* = proc(s: ptr sqlite3_stmt) {.closure.} # the nim-eth definition is different; one more indirection
+
+proc exec*[Params, Res](s: SqliteStmt[Params, Res],
+                        params: Params,
+                        onData: DataProc): DatabaseResult[bool] =
+  let s = RawStmtPtr s
+  bindParams(s, params)
+
+  try:
+    var gotResults = false
+    while true:
+      let v = sqlite3_step(s)
+      case v
+      of SQLITE_ROW:
+        onData(s)
+        gotResults = true
+      of SQLITE_DONE:
+        break
+      else:
+        return err($sqlite3_errstr(v))
+    return ok gotResults
+  finally:
+    # release implicit transaction
+    discard sqlite3_reset(s) # same return information as step
+    discard sqlite3_clear_bindings(s) # no errors possible
+
 
 proc query*(db: SqliteDatabase, query: string, onData: DataProc): DatabaseResult[bool] =
   var s = prepare(db.env, query): discard
@@ -295,4 +340,4 @@ proc migrate*(db: SqliteDatabase, path: string, targetVersion: int64 = migration
       return err("failed to set the new user_version")
 
     debug "user_version is set to", targetVersion=targetVersion
-    ok(true)
\ No newline at end of file
+    ok(true)
diff --git a/waku/v2/node/wakunode2.nim b/waku/v2/node/wakunode2.nim
index 3dc6539d3..a26dfc57d 100644
--- a/waku/v2/node/wakunode2.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/node/wakunode2.nim
@@ -483,15 +483,15 @@ proc mountSwap*(node: WakuNode, swapConfig: SwapConfig = SwapConfig.init()) {.ra
   # NYI - Do we need this?
   #node.subscriptions.subscribe(WakuSwapCodec, node.wakuSwap.subscription())
 
-proc mountStore*(node: WakuNode, store: MessageStore = nil, persistMessages: bool = false, capacity = DefaultStoreCapacity) {.raises: [Defect, LPError].} =
+proc mountStore*(node: WakuNode, store: MessageStore = nil, persistMessages: bool = false, capacity = DefaultStoreCapacity, isSqliteOnly = false) {.raises: [Defect, LPError].} =
   info "mounting store"
 
   if node.wakuSwap.isNil:
     debug "mounting store without swap"
-    node.wakuStore = WakuStore.init(node.peerManager, node.rng, store, persistMessages=persistMessages, capacity=capacity)
+    node.wakuStore = WakuStore.init(node.peerManager, node.rng, store, persistMessages=persistMessages, capacity=capacity, isSqliteOnly=isSqliteOnly)
   else:
     debug "mounting store with swap"
-    node.wakuStore = WakuStore.init(node.peerManager, node.rng, store, node.wakuSwap, persistMessages=persistMessages, capacity=capacity)
+    node.wakuStore = WakuStore.init(node.peerManager, node.rng, store, node.wakuSwap, persistMessages=persistMessages, capacity=capacity, isSqliteOnly=isSqliteOnly)
 
   node.switch.mount(node.wakuStore, protocolMatcher(WakuStoreCodec))
     
@@ -1034,7 +1034,7 @@ when isMainModule:
       
       if conf.persistMessages:
         # Historical message persistence enable. Set up Message table in storage
-        let res = WakuMessageStore.init(sqliteDatabase, conf.storeCapacity)
+        let res = WakuMessageStore.init(sqliteDatabase, conf.storeCapacity, conf.sqliteStore, conf.sqliteRetentionTime)
 
         if res.isErr:
           warn "failed to init WakuMessageStore", err = res.error
@@ -1237,7 +1237,7 @@ when isMainModule:
 
     # Store setup
     if (conf.storenode != "") or (conf.store):
-      mountStore(node, mStorage, conf.persistMessages, conf.storeCapacity)
+      mountStore(node, mStorage, conf.persistMessages, conf.storeCapacity, conf.sqliteStore)
 
       if conf.storenode != "":
         setStorePeer(node, conf.storenode)
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/waku_store.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/waku_store.nim
index 6fab7d409..bedab39d1 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/waku_store.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/waku_store.nim
@@ -34,7 +34,8 @@ export
   bearssl,
   minprotobuf,
   peer_manager,
-  waku_store_types
+  waku_store_types,
+  message_store
 
 declarePublicGauge waku_store_messages, "number of historical messages", ["type"]
 declarePublicGauge waku_store_peers, "number of store peers"
@@ -56,6 +57,18 @@ const
 # TODO Move serialization function to separate file, too noisy
 # TODO Move pagination to separate file, self-contained logic
 
+type
+  WakuStore* = ref object of LPProtocol
+    peerManager*: PeerManager
+    rng*: ref BrHmacDrbgContext
+    messages*: StoreQueueRef # in-memory message store
+    store*: MessageStore  # sqlite DB handle
+    wakuSwap*: WakuSwap
+    persistMessages*: bool
+    #TODO: WakuMessageStore currenly also holds isSqliteOnly; put it in single place.
+    isSqliteOnly: bool # if true, don't use in memory-store and answer history queries from the sqlite DB
+
+
 proc computeIndex*(msg: WakuMessage,
                    receivedTime = getNanosecondTime(getTime().toUnixFloat()),
                    pubsubTopic = DefaultTopic): Index =
@@ -316,7 +329,10 @@ proc findMessages(w: WakuStore, query: HistoryQuery): HistoryResponse {.gcsafe.}
 
   let
     # Read a page of history matching the query
-    (wakuMsgList, updatedPagingInfo, error) = w.messages.getPage(matchesQuery, query.pagingInfo)
+    (wakuMsgList, updatedPagingInfo, error) =
+      if w.isSqliteOnly:  w.store.getPage(matchesQuery, query.pagingInfo).expect("should return a valid result set") # TODO: error handling
+      else: w.messages.getPage(matchesQuery, query.pagingInfo)
+
     # Build response
     historyRes = HistoryResponse(messages: wakuMsgList, pagingInfo: updatedPagingInfo, error: error)
   
@@ -363,6 +379,10 @@ proc init*(ws: WakuStore, capacity = DefaultStoreCapacity) =
   if ws.store.isNil:
     return
 
+  if ws.isSqliteOnly:
+    info "SQLite-only store initialized. Messages are *not* loaded into memory."
+    return
+
   proc onData(receiverTime: Timestamp, msg: WakuMessage, pubsubTopic:  string) =
     # TODO index should not be recalculated
     discard ws.messages.add(IndexedWakuMessage(msg: msg, index: msg.computeIndex(receiverTime, pubsubTopic), pubsubTopic: pubsubTopic))
@@ -382,9 +402,9 @@ proc init*(ws: WakuStore, capacity = DefaultStoreCapacity) =
 
 proc init*(T: type WakuStore, peerManager: PeerManager, rng: ref BrHmacDrbgContext,
            store: MessageStore = nil, wakuSwap: WakuSwap = nil, persistMessages = true,
-           capacity = DefaultStoreCapacity): T =
+           capacity = DefaultStoreCapacity, isSqliteOnly = false): T =
   debug "init"
-  var output = WakuStore(rng: rng, peerManager: peerManager, store: store, wakuSwap: wakuSwap, persistMessages: persistMessages)
+  var output = WakuStore(rng: rng, peerManager: peerManager, store: store, wakuSwap: wakuSwap, persistMessages: persistMessages, isSqliteOnly: isSqliteOnly)
   output.init(capacity)
   return output
 
@@ -398,18 +418,21 @@ proc handleMessage*(w: WakuStore, topic: string, msg: WakuMessage) {.async.} =
     # Store is mounted but new messages should not be stored
     return
 
-  # Handle WakuMessage according to store protocol
-  trace "handle message in WakuStore", topic=topic, msg=msg
-
   let index = msg.computeIndex(pubsubTopic = topic)
-  let addRes = w.messages.add(IndexedWakuMessage(msg: msg, index: index, pubsubTopic: topic))
+
+  # add message to in-memory store
+  if not w.isSqliteOnly:
+    # Handle WakuMessage according to store protocol
+    trace "handle message in WakuStore", topic=topic, msg=msg
+
+    let addRes = w.messages.add(IndexedWakuMessage(msg: msg, index: index, pubsubTopic: topic))
   
-  if addRes.isErr:
-    trace "Attempt to add message to store failed", msg=msg, index=index, err=addRes.error()
-    waku_store_errors.inc(labelValues = [$(addRes.error())])
-    return # Do not attempt to store in persistent DB
+    if addRes.isErr:
+      trace "Attempt to add message to store failed", msg=msg, index=index, err=addRes.error()
+      waku_store_errors.inc(labelValues = [$(addRes.error())])
+      return # Do not attempt to store in persistent DB
   
-  waku_store_messages.set(w.messages.len.int64, labelValues = ["stored"])
+    waku_store_messages.set(w.messages.len.int64, labelValues = ["stored"])
   
   if w.store.isNil:
     return
diff --git a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/waku_store_types.nim b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/waku_store_types.nim
index 6f4bea68d..f90bb27a5 100644
--- a/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/waku_store_types.nim
+++ b/waku/v2/protocol/waku_store/waku_store_types.nim
@@ -11,7 +11,6 @@ import
   libp2p/protocols/protocol,
   stew/[results, sorted_set],
   # internal imports
-  ../../node/storage/message/message_store,
   ../../utils/pagination,
   ../../utils/time,
   ../../node/peer_manager/peer_manager,
@@ -24,7 +23,6 @@ export
   results,
   peer_manager,
   waku_swap_types,
-  message_store,
   waku_message,
   pagination
 
@@ -67,6 +65,11 @@ type
     cursor*: Index
     direction*: PagingDirection
 
+  HistoryResponseError* {.pure.} = enum
+    ## HistoryResponseError contains error message to inform  the querying node about the state of its request
+    NONE = uint32(0)
+    INVALID_CURSOR = uint32(1)
+
   HistoryQuery* = object
     contentFilters*: seq[HistoryContentFilter]
     pubsubTopic*: string
@@ -74,11 +77,6 @@ type
     startTime*: Timestamp # used for time-window query
     endTime*: Timestamp # used for time-window query
 
-  HistoryResponseError* {.pure.} = enum
-    ## HistoryResponseError contains error message to inform  the querying node about the state of its request
-    NONE = uint32(0)
-    INVALID_CURSOR = uint32(1)
-
   HistoryResponse* = object
     messages*: seq[WakuMessage]
     pagingInfo*: PagingInfo # used for pagination
@@ -109,13 +107,6 @@ type
 
   StoreQueueResult*[T] = Result[T, cstring]
   
-  WakuStore* = ref object of LPProtocol
-    peerManager*: PeerManager
-    rng*: ref BrHmacDrbgContext
-    messages*: StoreQueueRef # in-memory message store
-    store*: MessageStore  # sqlite DB handle
-    wakuSwap*: WakuSwap
-    persistMessages*: bool
 
 ######################
 # StoreQueue helpers #
@@ -423,9 +414,9 @@ proc getPage*(storeQueue: StoreQueueRef,
                   else: pagingInfo.pageSize
   
   case pagingInfo.direction
-    of FORWARD:
+    of PagingDirection.FORWARD:
       return storeQueue.fwdPage(pred, maxPageSize, cursorOpt)
-    of BACKWARD:
+    of PagingDirection.BACKWARD:
       return storeQueue.bwdPage(pred, maxPageSize, cursorOpt)
 
 proc getPage*(storeQueue: StoreQueueRef,