diff --git a/examples/expiring-tags.rs b/examples/expiring-tags.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3088ae1b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/expiring-tags.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,185 @@
+//! This example shows how to create tags that expire after a certain time.
+//!
+//! We use a prefix so we can distinguish between expiring and normal tags, and
+//! then encode the expiry date in the tag name after the prefix, in a format
+//! that sorts in the same order as the expiry date.
+//!
+//! The example creates a number of blobs and protects them directly or indirectly
+//! with expiring tags. Watch as the expired tags are deleted and the blobs
+//! are removed from the store.
+use std::{
+    ops::Deref,
+    time::{Duration, SystemTime},
+};
+
+use chrono::Utc;
+use futures_lite::StreamExt;
+use iroh_blobs::{
+    api::{blobs::AddBytesOptions, Store, Tag},
+    hashseq::HashSeq,
+    store::fs::options::{BatchOptions, GcConfig, InlineOptions, Options, PathOptions},
+    BlobFormat, Hash,
+};
+use tokio::signal::ctrl_c;
+
+/// Using an iroh rpc client, create a tag that is marked to expire at `expiry` for all the given hashes.
+///
+/// The tag name will be `prefix`- followed by the expiry date in iso8601 format (e.g. `expiry-2025-01-01T12:00:00Z`).
+async fn create_expiring_tag(
+    store: &Store,
+    hashes: &[Hash],
+    prefix: &str,
+    expiry: SystemTime,
+) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    let expiry = chrono::DateTime::<chrono::Utc>::from(expiry);
+    let expiry = expiry.to_rfc3339_opts(chrono::SecondsFormat::Secs, true);
+    let tagname = format!("{prefix}-{expiry}");
+    if hashes.is_empty() {
+        return Ok(());
+    } else if hashes.len() == 1 {
+        let hash = hashes[0];
+        store.tags().set(&tagname, hash).await?;
+    } else {
+        let hs = hashes.iter().copied().collect::<HashSeq>();
+        store
+            .add_bytes_with_opts(AddBytesOptions {
+                data: hs.into(),
+                format: BlobFormat::HashSeq,
+            })
+            .with_named_tag(&tagname)
+            .await?;
+    };
+    println!("Created tag {tagname}");
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+async fn delete_expired_tags(blobs: &Store, prefix: &str, bulk: bool) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    let prefix = format!("{prefix}-");
+    let now = chrono::Utc::now();
+    let end = format!(
+        "{}-{}",
+        prefix,
+        now.to_rfc3339_opts(chrono::SecondsFormat::Secs, true)
+    );
+    if bulk {
+        // delete all tags with the prefix and an expiry date before now
+        //
+        // this should be very efficient, since it is just a single database operation
+        blobs
+            .tags()
+            .delete_range(Tag::from(prefix.clone())..Tag::from(end))
+            .await?;
+    } else {
+        // find tags to delete one by one and then delete them
+        //
+        // this allows us to print the tags before deleting them
+        let mut tags = blobs.tags().list().await?;
+        let mut to_delete = Vec::new();
+        while let Some(tag) = tags.next().await {
+            let tag = tag?.name;
+            if let Some(rest) = tag.0.strip_prefix(prefix.as_bytes()) {
+                let Ok(expiry) = std::str::from_utf8(rest) else {
+                    tracing::warn!("Tag {} does have non utf8 expiry", tag);
+                    continue;
+                };
+                let Ok(expiry) = chrono::DateTime::parse_from_rfc3339(expiry) else {
+                    tracing::warn!("Tag {} does have invalid expiry date", tag);
+                    continue;
+                };
+                let expiry = expiry.with_timezone(&Utc);
+                if expiry < now {
+                    to_delete.push(tag);
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        for tag in to_delete {
+            println!("Deleting expired tag {tag}\n");
+            blobs.tags().delete(tag).await?;
+        }
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+async fn print_store_info(store: &Store) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    let now = chrono::Utc::now();
+    let mut tags = store.tags().list().await?;
+    println!(
+        "Current time: {}",
+        now.to_rfc3339_opts(chrono::SecondsFormat::Secs, true)
+    );
+    println!("Tags:");
+    while let Some(tag) = tags.next().await {
+        let tag = tag?;
+        println!("  {tag:?}");
+    }
+    let mut blobs = store.list().stream().await?;
+    println!("Blobs:");
+    while let Some(item) = blobs.next().await {
+        println!("  {}", item?);
+    }
+    println!();
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+async fn info_task(store: Store) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(1)).await;
+    loop {
+        print_store_info(&store).await?;
+        tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(5)).await;
+    }
+}
+
+async fn delete_expired_tags_task(store: Store, prefix: &str) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    loop {
+        delete_expired_tags(&store, prefix, false).await?;
+        tokio::time::sleep(Duration::from_secs(5)).await;
+    }
+}
+
+#[tokio::main]
+async fn main() -> anyhow::Result<()> {
+    tracing_subscriber::fmt::init();
+    let path = std::env::current_dir()?.join("blobs");
+    let options = Options {
+        path: PathOptions::new(&path),
+        gc: Some(GcConfig {
+            interval: Duration::from_secs(10),
+        }),
+        inline: InlineOptions::default(),
+        batch: BatchOptions::default(),
+    };
+    let store =
+        iroh_blobs::store::fs::FsStore::load_with_opts(path.join("blobs.db"), options).await?;
+
+    // setup: add some data and tag it
+    {
+        // add several blobs and tag them with an expiry date 10 seconds in the future
+        let batch = store.batch().await?;
+        let a = batch.add_bytes("blob 1".as_bytes()).await?;
+        let b = batch.add_bytes("blob 2".as_bytes()).await?;
+
+        let expires_at = SystemTime::now()
+            .checked_add(Duration::from_secs(10))
+            .unwrap();
+        create_expiring_tag(&store, &[*a.hash(), *b.hash()], "expiring", expires_at).await?;
+
+        // add a single blob and tag it with an expiry date 60 seconds in the future
+        let c = batch.add_bytes("blob 3".as_bytes()).await?;
+        let expires_at = SystemTime::now()
+            .checked_add(Duration::from_secs(60))
+            .unwrap();
+        create_expiring_tag(&store, &[*c.hash()], "expiring", expires_at).await?;
+        // batch goes out of scope, so data is only protected by the tags we created
+    }
+
+    // delete expired tags every 5 seconds
+    let delete_task = tokio::spawn(delete_expired_tags_task(store.deref().clone(), "expiring"));
+    // print all tags and blobs every 5 seconds
+    let info_task = tokio::spawn(info_task(store.deref().clone()));
+
+    ctrl_c().await?;
+    delete_task.abort();
+    info_task.abort();
+    store.shutdown().await?;
+    Ok(())
+}
diff --git a/src/store/fs/options.rs b/src/store/fs/options.rs
index 6e123b75..8b2f89ad 100644
--- a/src/store/fs/options.rs
+++ b/src/store/fs/options.rs
@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@ use std::{
     time::Duration,
 };
 
-use super::{gc::GcConfig, meta::raw_outboard_size, temp_name};
+pub use super::gc::GcConfig;
+use super::{meta::raw_outboard_size, temp_name};
 use crate::Hash;
 
 /// Options for directories used by the file store.