diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 0a06fd14bf..8cd20fe5bc 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -2662,10 +2662,14 @@ dependencies = [
  "derive_more",
  "ed25519-dalek",
  "flume",
+ "futures-buffered",
+ "futures-lite 2.3.0",
  "futures-util",
  "hex",
  "iroh-base",
  "iroh-blake3",
+ "iroh-blobs",
+ "iroh-gossip",
  "iroh-metrics",
  "iroh-net",
  "iroh-test",
diff --git a/iroh-docs/Cargo.toml b/iroh-docs/Cargo.toml
index d1e39d56df..005d2e1ea3 100644
--- a/iroh-docs/Cargo.toml
+++ b/iroh-docs/Cargo.toml
@@ -17,35 +17,35 @@ workspace = true
 [dependencies]
 anyhow = "1"
 blake3 = { package = "iroh-blake3", version = "1.4.5"}
+bytes = { version = "1.4", features = ["serde"] }
 derive_more = { version = "1.0.0-beta.6", features = ["debug", "deref", "display", "from", "try_into", "into", "as_ref"] }
 ed25519-dalek = { version = "2.0.0", features = ["serde", "rand_core"] }
 flume = "0.11"
+futures-buffered = "0.2.4"
+futures-lite = "2.3.0"
+futures-util = { version = "0.3.25", optional = true }
+hex = "0.4"
 iroh-base = { version = "0.17.0", path = "../iroh-base" }
+iroh-blobs = { version = "0.17.0", path = "../iroh-blobs", optional = true, features = ["downloader"] }
+iroh-gossip = { version = "0.17.0", path = "../iroh-gossip", optional = true }
 iroh-metrics = { version = "0.17.0", path = "../iroh-metrics", optional = true }
+iroh-net = { version = "0.17.0", optional = true, path = "../iroh-net" }
+lru = "0.12"
 num_enum = "0.7"
 postcard = { version = "1", default-features = false, features = ["alloc", "use-std", "experimental-derive"] }
 rand = "0.8.5"
 rand_core = "0.6.4"
+redb = { version = "2.0.0" }
+redb_v1  = { package = "redb", version = "1.5.1" }
+self_cell = "1.0.3"
 serde = { version = "1.0.164", features = ["derive"] }
 strum = { version = "0.25", features = ["derive"] }
-bytes = { version = "1.4", features = ["serde"] }
-hex = "0.4"
+tempfile = { version = "3.4" }
 thiserror = "1"
-tracing = "0.1"
 tokio = { version = "1", features = ["sync"] }
-
-# fs-store
-redb = { version = "2.0.0" }
-redb_v1  = { package = "redb", version = "1.5.1" }
-tempfile = { version = "3.4" }
-
-# net
-iroh-net = { version = "0.17.0", optional = true, path = "../iroh-net" }
-tokio-util = { version = "0.7", optional = true, features = ["codec", "io-util", "io"] }
 tokio-stream = { version = "0.1", optional = true, features = ["sync"]}
-futures-util = { version = "0.3.25", optional = true }
-lru = "0.12"
-self_cell = "1.0.3"
+tokio-util = { version = "0.7", optional = true, features = ["codec", "io-util", "io"] }
+tracing = "0.1"
 
 [dev-dependencies]
 iroh-test = { path = "../iroh-test" }
@@ -56,9 +56,10 @@ tempfile = "3.4"
 test-strategy = "0.3.1"
 
 [features]
-default = ["net", "metrics"]
+default = ["net", "metrics", "engine"]
 net = ["dep:iroh-net", "tokio/io-util", "dep:tokio-stream", "dep:tokio-util", "dep:futures-util"]
 metrics = ["dep:iroh-metrics"]
+engine = ["net", "dep:iroh-gossip", "dep:iroh-blobs"]
 
 [package.metadata.docs.rs]
 all-features = true
diff --git a/iroh/src/docs_engine.rs b/iroh-docs/src/engine.rs
similarity index 84%
rename from iroh/src/docs_engine.rs
rename to iroh-docs/src/engine.rs
index b64870fda3..b5345b0bea 100644
--- a/iroh/src/docs_engine.rs
+++ b/iroh-docs/src/engine.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
-//! Handlers and actors to for live syncing [`iroh_docs`] replicas.
+//! Handlers and actors to for live syncing replicas.
 //!
-//! [`iroh_docs::Replica`] is also called documents here.
+//! [`crate::Replica`] is also called documents here.
 
 use std::path::PathBuf;
 use std::{
@@ -13,8 +13,6 @@ use anyhow::{bail, Context, Result};
 use futures_lite::{Stream, StreamExt};
 use iroh_blobs::downloader::Downloader;
 use iroh_blobs::{store::EntryStatus, Hash};
-use iroh_docs::{actor::SyncHandle, ContentStatus, ContentStatusCallback, Entry, NamespaceId};
-use iroh_docs::{Author, AuthorId};
 use iroh_gossip::net::Gossip;
 use iroh_net::util::SharedAbortingJoinHandle;
 use iroh_net::{key::PublicKey, Endpoint, NodeAddr};
@@ -22,17 +20,19 @@ use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use tokio::sync::{mpsc, oneshot};
 use tracing::{error, error_span, Instrument};
 
-mod gossip;
-mod live;
-pub mod rpc;
-mod state;
+use crate::{actor::SyncHandle, ContentStatus, ContentStatusCallback, Entry, NamespaceId};
+use crate::{Author, AuthorId};
 
-use gossip::GossipActor;
-use live::{LiveActor, ToLiveActor};
+use self::gossip::GossipActor;
+use self::live::{LiveActor, ToLiveActor};
 
 pub use self::live::SyncEvent;
 pub use self::state::{Origin, SyncReason};
 
+mod gossip;
+mod live;
+mod state;
+
 /// Capacity of the channel for the [`ToLiveActor`] messages.
 const ACTOR_CHANNEL_CAP: usize = 64;
 /// Capacity for the channels for [`Engine::subscribe`].
@@ -40,30 +40,30 @@ const SUBSCRIBE_CHANNEL_CAP: usize = 256;
 
 /// The sync engine coordinates actors that manage open documents, set-reconciliation syncs with
 /// peers and a gossip swarm for each syncing document.
-///
-/// The RPC methods dealing with documents and sync operate on the `Engine`, with method
-/// implementations in [rpc].
 #[derive(derive_more::Debug, Clone)]
 pub struct Engine {
-    pub(crate) endpoint: Endpoint,
-    pub(crate) sync: SyncHandle,
+    /// [`Endpoint`] used by the engine.
+    pub endpoint: Endpoint,
+    /// Handle to the actor thread.
+    pub sync: SyncHandle,
+    /// The persistent default author for this engine.
+    pub default_author: Arc<DefaultAuthor>,
     to_live_actor: mpsc::Sender<ToLiveActor>,
     #[allow(dead_code)]
     actor_handle: SharedAbortingJoinHandle<()>,
     #[debug("ContentStatusCallback")]
     content_status_cb: ContentStatusCallback,
-    default_author: Arc<DefaultAuthor>,
 }
 
 impl Engine {
     /// Start the sync engine.
     ///
     /// This will spawn two tokio tasks for the live sync coordination and gossip actors, and a
-    /// thread for the [`iroh_docs::actor::SyncHandle`].
-    pub(crate) async fn spawn<B: iroh_blobs::store::Store>(
+    /// thread for the [`crate::actor::SyncHandle`].
+    pub async fn spawn<B: iroh_blobs::store::Store>(
         endpoint: Endpoint,
         gossip: Gossip,
-        replica_store: iroh_docs::store::Store,
+        replica_store: crate::store::Store,
         bao_store: B,
         downloader: Downloader,
         default_author_storage: DefaultAuthorStorage,
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ impl Engine {
     ///
     /// If `peers` is non-empty, it will both do an initial set-reconciliation sync with each peer,
     /// and join an iroh-gossip swarm with these peers to receive and broadcast document updates.
-    async fn start_sync(&self, namespace: NamespaceId, peers: Vec<NodeAddr>) -> Result<()> {
+    pub async fn start_sync(&self, namespace: NamespaceId, peers: Vec<NodeAddr>) -> Result<()> {
         let (reply, reply_rx) = oneshot::channel();
         self.to_live_actor
             .send(ToLiveActor::StartSync {
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ impl Engine {
     ///
     /// If `kill_subscribers` is true, all existing event subscribers will be dropped. This means
     /// they will receive `None` and no further events in case of rejoining the document.
-    async fn leave(&self, namespace: NamespaceId, kill_subscribers: bool) -> Result<()> {
+    pub async fn leave(&self, namespace: NamespaceId, kill_subscribers: bool) -> Result<()> {
         let (reply, reply_rx) = oneshot::channel();
         self.to_live_actor
             .send(ToLiveActor::Leave {
@@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ impl Engine {
     }
 
     /// Subscribe to replica and sync progress events.
-    async fn subscribe(
+    pub async fn subscribe(
         &self,
         namespace: NamespaceId,
     ) -> Result<impl Stream<Item = Result<LiveEvent>> + Unpin + 'static> {
@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ impl Engine {
     }
 
     /// Handle an incoming iroh-docs connection.
-    pub(super) async fn handle_connection(
+    pub async fn handle_connection(
         &self,
         conn: iroh_net::endpoint::Connecting,
     ) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
@@ -205,13 +205,15 @@ impl Engine {
         Ok(())
     }
 
-    pub(crate) async fn start_shutdown(&self) -> Result<()> {
+    /// Shutdown the engine.
+    pub async fn shutdown(&self) -> Result<()> {
         self.to_live_actor.send(ToLiveActor::Shutdown).await?;
         Ok(())
     }
 }
 
-pub(crate) fn entry_to_content_status(entry: io::Result<EntryStatus>) -> ContentStatus {
+/// Converts an [`EntryStatus`] into a ['ContentStatus'].
+pub fn entry_to_content_status(entry: io::Result<EntryStatus>) -> ContentStatus {
     match entry {
         Ok(EntryStatus::Complete) => ContentStatus::Complete,
         Ok(EntryStatus::Partial) => ContentStatus::Incomplete,
@@ -277,14 +279,14 @@ impl From<live::Event> for LiveEvent {
 
 impl LiveEvent {
     fn from_replica_event(
-        ev: iroh_docs::Event,
+        ev: crate::Event,
         content_status_cb: &ContentStatusCallback,
     ) -> Result<Self> {
         Ok(match ev {
-            iroh_docs::Event::LocalInsert { entry, .. } => Self::InsertLocal {
+            crate::Event::LocalInsert { entry, .. } => Self::InsertLocal {
                 entry: entry.into(),
             },
-            iroh_docs::Event::RemoteInsert { entry, from, .. } => Self::InsertRemote {
+            crate::Event::RemoteInsert { entry, from, .. } => Self::InsertRemote {
                 content_status: content_status_cb(entry.content_hash()),
                 entry: entry.into(),
                 from: PublicKey::from_bytes(&from)?,
@@ -302,11 +304,19 @@ impl LiveEvent {
 /// path (as base32 encoded string of the author's public key).
 #[derive(Debug)]
 pub enum DefaultAuthorStorage {
+    /// Memory storage.
     Mem,
+    /// File based persistent storage.
     Persistent(PathBuf),
 }
 
 impl DefaultAuthorStorage {
+    /// Load the default author from the storage.
+    ///
+    /// Will create and save a new author if the storage is empty.
+    ///
+    /// Returns an error if the author can't be parsed or if the uathor does not exist in the docs
+    /// store.
     pub async fn load(&self, docs_store: &SyncHandle) -> anyhow::Result<AuthorId> {
         match self {
             Self::Mem => {
@@ -343,6 +353,8 @@ impl DefaultAuthorStorage {
             }
         }
     }
+
+    /// Save a new default author.
     pub async fn persist(&self, author_id: AuthorId) -> anyhow::Result<()> {
         match self {
             Self::Mem => {
@@ -363,24 +375,32 @@ impl DefaultAuthorStorage {
     }
 }
 
+/// Peristent default author for a docs engine.
 #[derive(Debug)]
-struct DefaultAuthor {
+pub struct DefaultAuthor {
     value: RwLock<AuthorId>,
     storage: DefaultAuthorStorage,
 }
 
 impl DefaultAuthor {
-    async fn load(storage: DefaultAuthorStorage, docs_store: &SyncHandle) -> Result<Self> {
+    /// Load the default author from storage.
+    ///
+    /// If the storage is empty creates a new author and perists it.
+    pub async fn load(storage: DefaultAuthorStorage, docs_store: &SyncHandle) -> Result<Self> {
         let value = storage.load(docs_store).await?;
         Ok(Self {
             value: RwLock::new(value),
             storage,
         })
     }
-    fn get(&self) -> AuthorId {
+
+    /// Get the current default author.
+    pub fn get(&self) -> AuthorId {
         *self.value.read().unwrap()
     }
-    async fn set(&self, author_id: AuthorId, docs_store: &SyncHandle) -> Result<()> {
+
+    /// Set the default author.
+    pub async fn set(&self, author_id: AuthorId, docs_store: &SyncHandle) -> Result<()> {
         if docs_store.export_author(author_id).await?.is_none() {
             bail!("The author does not exist");
         }
diff --git a/iroh/src/docs_engine/gossip.rs b/iroh-docs/src/engine/gossip.rs
similarity index 99%
rename from iroh/src/docs_engine/gossip.rs
rename to iroh-docs/src/engine/gossip.rs
index 373bd20ec6..17077ac802 100644
--- a/iroh/src/docs_engine/gossip.rs
+++ b/iroh-docs/src/engine/gossip.rs
@@ -3,7 +3,6 @@ use std::collections::HashSet;
 use anyhow::{Context, Result};
 use futures_lite::StreamExt;
 use futures_util::FutureExt;
-use iroh_docs::{actor::SyncHandle, ContentStatus, NamespaceId};
 use iroh_gossip::net::{Event, Gossip};
 use iroh_net::key::PublicKey;
 use tokio::{
@@ -16,6 +15,8 @@ use tokio_stream::{
 };
 use tracing::{debug, error, trace, warn};
 
+use crate::{actor::SyncHandle, ContentStatus, NamespaceId};
+
 use super::live::{Op, ToLiveActor};
 
 #[derive(strum::Display, Debug)]
diff --git a/iroh/src/docs_engine/live.rs b/iroh-docs/src/engine/live.rs
similarity index 99%
rename from iroh/src/docs_engine/live.rs
rename to iroh-docs/src/engine/live.rs
index 8dd3d5843a..5c7608722b 100644
--- a/iroh/src/docs_engine/live.rs
+++ b/iroh-docs/src/engine/live.rs
@@ -9,14 +9,6 @@ use iroh_blobs::downloader::{DownloadError, DownloadRequest, Downloader};
 use iroh_blobs::get::Stats;
 use iroh_blobs::HashAndFormat;
 use iroh_blobs::{store::EntryStatus, Hash};
-use iroh_docs::{
-    actor::{OpenOpts, SyncHandle},
-    net::{
-        connect_and_sync, handle_connection, AbortReason, AcceptError, AcceptOutcome, ConnectError,
-        SyncFinished,
-    },
-    AuthorHeads, ContentStatus, NamespaceId, SignedEntry,
-};
 use iroh_gossip::{net::Gossip, proto::TopicId};
 use iroh_net::NodeId;
 use iroh_net::{key::PublicKey, Endpoint, NodeAddr};
@@ -27,6 +19,15 @@ use tokio::{
 };
 use tracing::{debug, error, error_span, info, instrument, trace, warn, Instrument, Span};
 
+use crate::{
+    actor::{OpenOpts, SyncHandle},
+    net::{
+        connect_and_sync, handle_connection, AbortReason, AcceptError, AcceptOutcome, ConnectError,
+        SyncFinished,
+    },
+    AuthorHeads, ContentStatus, NamespaceId, SignedEntry,
+};
+
 use super::gossip::{GossipActor, ToGossipActor};
 use super::state::{NamespaceStates, Origin, SyncReason};
 
@@ -145,8 +146,8 @@ pub struct LiveActor<B: iroh_blobs::store::Store> {
     gossip: Gossip,
     bao_store: B,
     downloader: Downloader,
-    replica_events_tx: flume::Sender<iroh_docs::Event>,
-    replica_events_rx: flume::Receiver<iroh_docs::Event>,
+    replica_events_tx: flume::Sender<crate::Event>,
+    replica_events_rx: flume::Receiver<crate::Event>,
 
     /// Send messages to self.
     /// Note: Must not be used in methods called from `Self::run` directly to prevent deadlocks.
@@ -684,9 +685,9 @@ impl<B: iroh_blobs::store::Store> LiveActor<B> {
         }
     }
 
-    async fn on_replica_event(&mut self, event: iroh_docs::Event) -> Result<()> {
+    async fn on_replica_event(&mut self, event: crate::Event) -> Result<()> {
         match event {
-            iroh_docs::Event::LocalInsert { namespace, entry } => {
+            crate::Event::LocalInsert { namespace, entry } => {
                 debug!(namespace=%namespace.fmt_short(), "replica event: LocalInsert");
                 let topic = TopicId::from_bytes(*namespace.as_bytes());
                 // A new entry was inserted locally. Broadcast a gossip message.
@@ -696,7 +697,7 @@ impl<B: iroh_blobs::store::Store> LiveActor<B> {
                     self.gossip.broadcast(topic, message).await?;
                 }
             }
-            iroh_docs::Event::RemoteInsert {
+            crate::Event::RemoteInsert {
                 namespace,
                 entry,
                 from,
diff --git a/iroh/src/docs_engine/state.rs b/iroh-docs/src/engine/state.rs
similarity index 99%
rename from iroh/src/docs_engine/state.rs
rename to iroh-docs/src/engine/state.rs
index 91e28a721e..c9d4a1d0e0 100644
--- a/iroh/src/docs_engine/state.rs
+++ b/iroh-docs/src/engine/state.rs
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
-use anyhow::Result;
-use iroh_docs::{
+use crate::{
     net::{AbortReason, AcceptOutcome, SyncFinished},
     NamespaceId,
 };
+use anyhow::Result;
 use iroh_net::NodeId;
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use std::collections::BTreeMap;
diff --git a/iroh-docs/src/lib.rs b/iroh-docs/src/lib.rs
index 7bee08d712..b1347fe7be 100644
--- a/iroh-docs/src/lib.rs
+++ b/iroh-docs/src/lib.rs
@@ -40,6 +40,9 @@ pub mod net;
 #[cfg(feature = "net")]
 mod ticket;
 
+#[cfg(feature = "engine")]
+pub mod engine;
+
 pub mod actor;
 pub mod store;
 pub mod sync;
diff --git a/iroh/src/client/docs.rs b/iroh/src/client/docs.rs
index c335d082e2..2a35233eba 100644
--- a/iroh/src/client/docs.rs
+++ b/iroh/src/client/docs.rs
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ use crate::rpc_protocol::{
 };
 
 #[doc(inline)]
-pub use crate::docs_engine::{Origin, SyncEvent, SyncReason};
+pub use iroh_docs::engine::{Origin, SyncEvent, SyncReason};
 
 use super::{blobs, flatten};
 
@@ -588,13 +588,13 @@ pub enum LiveEvent {
     PendingContentReady,
 }
 
-impl From<crate::docs_engine::LiveEvent> for LiveEvent {
-    fn from(event: crate::docs_engine::LiveEvent) -> LiveEvent {
+impl From<crate::docs::engine::LiveEvent> for LiveEvent {
+    fn from(event: crate::docs::engine::LiveEvent) -> LiveEvent {
         match event {
-            crate::docs_engine::LiveEvent::InsertLocal { entry } => Self::InsertLocal {
+            crate::docs::engine::LiveEvent::InsertLocal { entry } => Self::InsertLocal {
                 entry: entry.into(),
             },
-            crate::docs_engine::LiveEvent::InsertRemote {
+            crate::docs::engine::LiveEvent::InsertRemote {
                 from,
                 entry,
                 content_status,
@@ -603,11 +603,11 @@ impl From<crate::docs_engine::LiveEvent> for LiveEvent {
                 content_status,
                 entry: entry.into(),
             },
-            crate::docs_engine::LiveEvent::ContentReady { hash } => Self::ContentReady { hash },
-            crate::docs_engine::LiveEvent::NeighborUp(node) => Self::NeighborUp(node),
-            crate::docs_engine::LiveEvent::NeighborDown(node) => Self::NeighborDown(node),
-            crate::docs_engine::LiveEvent::SyncFinished(details) => Self::SyncFinished(details),
-            crate::docs_engine::LiveEvent::PendingContentReady => Self::PendingContentReady,
+            crate::docs::engine::LiveEvent::ContentReady { hash } => Self::ContentReady { hash },
+            crate::docs::engine::LiveEvent::NeighborUp(node) => Self::NeighborUp(node),
+            crate::docs::engine::LiveEvent::NeighborDown(node) => Self::NeighborDown(node),
+            crate::docs::engine::LiveEvent::SyncFinished(details) => Self::SyncFinished(details),
+            crate::docs::engine::LiveEvent::PendingContentReady => Self::PendingContentReady,
         }
     }
 }
diff --git a/iroh/src/lib.rs b/iroh/src/lib.rs
index 275c23459e..335b962582 100644
--- a/iroh/src/lib.rs
+++ b/iroh/src/lib.rs
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ pub mod client;
 pub mod node;
 pub mod util;
 
-mod docs_engine;
 mod rpc_protocol;
 
 /// Expose metrics module
diff --git a/iroh/src/node.rs b/iroh/src/node.rs
index 058363276f..7e0c6c2975 100644
--- a/iroh/src/node.rs
+++ b/iroh/src/node.rs
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ use futures_lite::StreamExt;
 use iroh_base::key::PublicKey;
 use iroh_blobs::downloader::Downloader;
 use iroh_blobs::store::Store as BaoStore;
+use iroh_docs::engine::Engine;
 use iroh_net::util::AbortingJoinHandle;
 use iroh_net::{endpoint::LocalEndpointsStream, key::SecretKey, Endpoint};
 use quic_rpc::transport::flume::FlumeConnection;
@@ -23,7 +24,6 @@ use tokio_util::task::LocalPoolHandle;
 use tracing::debug;
 
 use crate::client::RpcService;
-use crate::docs_engine::Engine;
 
 mod builder;
 mod rpc;
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ struct NodeInner<D> {
     gc_task: Option<AbortingJoinHandle<()>>,
     #[debug("rt")]
     rt: LocalPoolHandle,
-    pub(crate) sync: Engine,
+    pub(crate) sync: DocsEngine,
     downloader: Downloader,
 }
 
@@ -193,6 +193,17 @@ impl<D> NodeInner<D> {
     }
 }
 
+/// Wrapper around [`Engine`] so that we can implement our RPC methods directly.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone)]
+pub(crate) struct DocsEngine(Engine);
+
+impl std::ops::Deref for DocsEngine {
+    type Target = Engine;
+    fn deref(&self) -> &Self::Target {
+        &self.0
+    }
+}
+
 #[cfg(test)]
 mod tests {
     use std::time::Duration;
diff --git a/iroh/src/node/builder.rs b/iroh/src/node/builder.rs
index 7c9875f3c1..db935479f2 100644
--- a/iroh/src/node/builder.rs
+++ b/iroh/src/node/builder.rs
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ use iroh_blobs::{
     protocol::Closed,
     store::{GcMarkEvent, GcSweepEvent, Map, Store as BaoStore},
 };
+use iroh_docs::engine::{DefaultAuthorStorage, Engine};
 use iroh_docs::net::DOCS_ALPN;
 use iroh_gossip::net::{Gossip, GOSSIP_ALPN};
 use iroh_net::{
@@ -32,13 +33,11 @@ use tracing::{debug, error, error_span, info, trace, warn, Instrument};
 
 use crate::{
     client::RPC_ALPN,
-    docs_engine::{DefaultAuthorStorage, Engine},
-    node::NodeInner,
     rpc_protocol::RpcService,
     util::{fs::load_secret_key, path::IrohPaths},
 };
 
-use super::{rpc, rpc_status::RpcStatus, Node};
+use super::{rpc, rpc_status::RpcStatus, DocsEngine, Node, NodeInner};
 
 pub const PROTOCOLS: [&[u8]; 3] = [iroh_blobs::protocol::ALPN, GOSSIP_ALPN, DOCS_ALPN];
 
@@ -466,6 +465,7 @@ where
         )
         .await?;
         let sync_db = sync.sync.clone();
+        let sync = DocsEngine(sync);
 
         let gc_task = if let GcPolicy::Interval(gc_period) = self.gc_policy {
             tracing::info!("Starting GC task with interval {:?}", gc_period);
@@ -575,7 +575,7 @@ where
                     // clean shutdown of the blobs db to close the write transaction
                     handler.inner.db.shutdown().await;
 
-                    if let Err(err) = handler.inner.sync.start_shutdown().await {
+                    if let Err(err) = handler.inner.sync.shutdown().await {
                         warn!("sync shutdown error: {:?}", err);
                     }
                     break
@@ -737,7 +737,7 @@ async fn handle_connection<D: BaoStore>(
     alpn: String,
     node: Arc<NodeInner<D>>,
     gossip: Gossip,
-    sync: Engine,
+    sync: DocsEngine,
 ) -> Result<()> {
     match alpn.as_bytes() {
         GOSSIP_ALPN => gossip.handle_connection(connecting.await?).await?,
diff --git a/iroh/src/node/rpc.rs b/iroh/src/node/rpc.rs
index ba03e10486..fc500b7566 100644
--- a/iroh/src/node/rpc.rs
+++ b/iroh/src/node/rpc.rs
@@ -54,6 +54,8 @@ use crate::rpc_protocol::{
 
 use super::NodeInner;
 
+mod docs;
+
 const HEALTH_POLL_WAIT: Duration = Duration::from_secs(1);
 /// Chunk size for getting blobs over RPC
 const RPC_BLOB_GET_CHUNK_SIZE: usize = 1024 * 64;
diff --git a/iroh/src/docs_engine/rpc.rs b/iroh/src/node/rpc/docs.rs
similarity index 88%
rename from iroh/src/docs_engine/rpc.rs
rename to iroh/src/node/rpc/docs.rs
index 76f2afd761..a0433a803e 100644
--- a/iroh/src/docs_engine/rpc.rs
+++ b/iroh/src/node/rpc/docs.rs
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-//! This module contains an impl block on [`Engine`] with handlers for RPC requests
+//! This module contains an impl block on [`DocsEngine`] with handlers for RPC requests
 
 use anyhow::anyhow;
 use futures_lite::Stream;
@@ -7,33 +7,28 @@ use iroh_docs::{Author, DocTicket, NamespaceSecret};
 use tokio_stream::StreamExt;
 
 use crate::client::docs::ShareMode;
+use crate::node::DocsEngine;
 use crate::rpc_protocol::{
-    AuthorDeleteRequest, AuthorDeleteResponse, AuthorExportRequest, AuthorExportResponse,
-    AuthorGetDefaultRequest, AuthorGetDefaultResponse, AuthorImportRequest, AuthorImportResponse,
-    AuthorSetDefaultRequest, AuthorSetDefaultResponse, DocGetSyncPeersRequest,
-    DocGetSyncPeersResponse,
-};
-use crate::{
-    docs_engine::Engine,
-    rpc_protocol::{
-        AuthorCreateRequest, AuthorCreateResponse, AuthorListRequest, AuthorListResponse,
-        DocCloseRequest, DocCloseResponse, DocCreateRequest, DocCreateResponse, DocDelRequest,
-        DocDelResponse, DocDropRequest, DocDropResponse, DocGetDownloadPolicyRequest,
-        DocGetDownloadPolicyResponse, DocGetExactRequest, DocGetExactResponse, DocGetManyRequest,
-        DocGetManyResponse, DocImportRequest, DocImportResponse, DocLeaveRequest, DocLeaveResponse,
-        DocListRequest, DocListResponse, DocOpenRequest, DocOpenResponse,
-        DocSetDownloadPolicyRequest, DocSetDownloadPolicyResponse, DocSetHashRequest,
-        DocSetHashResponse, DocSetRequest, DocSetResponse, DocShareRequest, DocShareResponse,
-        DocStartSyncRequest, DocStartSyncResponse, DocStatusRequest, DocStatusResponse,
-        DocSubscribeRequest, DocSubscribeResponse, RpcResult,
-    },
+    AuthorCreateRequest, AuthorCreateResponse, AuthorDeleteRequest, AuthorDeleteResponse,
+    AuthorExportRequest, AuthorExportResponse, AuthorGetDefaultRequest, AuthorGetDefaultResponse,
+    AuthorImportRequest, AuthorImportResponse, AuthorListRequest, AuthorListResponse,
+    AuthorSetDefaultRequest, AuthorSetDefaultResponse, DocCloseRequest, DocCloseResponse,
+    DocCreateRequest, DocCreateResponse, DocDelRequest, DocDelResponse, DocDropRequest,
+    DocDropResponse, DocGetDownloadPolicyRequest, DocGetDownloadPolicyResponse, DocGetExactRequest,
+    DocGetExactResponse, DocGetManyRequest, DocGetManyResponse, DocGetSyncPeersRequest,
+    DocGetSyncPeersResponse, DocImportRequest, DocImportResponse, DocLeaveRequest,
+    DocLeaveResponse, DocListRequest, DocListResponse, DocOpenRequest, DocOpenResponse,
+    DocSetDownloadPolicyRequest, DocSetDownloadPolicyResponse, DocSetHashRequest,
+    DocSetHashResponse, DocSetRequest, DocSetResponse, DocShareRequest, DocShareResponse,
+    DocStartSyncRequest, DocStartSyncResponse, DocStatusRequest, DocStatusResponse,
+    DocSubscribeRequest, DocSubscribeResponse, RpcResult,
 };
 
 /// Capacity for the flume channels to forward sync store iterators to async RPC streams.
 const ITER_CHANNEL_CAP: usize = 64;
 
 #[allow(missing_docs)]
-impl Engine {
+impl DocsEngine {
     pub async fn author_create(
         &self,
         _req: AuthorCreateRequest,
diff --git a/iroh/src/rpc_protocol.rs b/iroh/src/rpc_protocol.rs
index 7bfb5d60b3..ccfbc45671 100644
--- a/iroh/src/rpc_protocol.rs
+++ b/iroh/src/rpc_protocol.rs
@@ -41,15 +41,13 @@ use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 pub use iroh_base::rpc::{RpcError, RpcResult};
 use iroh_blobs::store::{ExportFormat, ExportMode};
 pub use iroh_blobs::{provider::AddProgress, store::ValidateProgress};
+use iroh_docs::engine::LiveEvent;
 
-use crate::{
-    client::{
-        blobs::{BlobInfo, CollectionInfo, DownloadMode, IncompleteBlobInfo, WrapOption},
-        docs::{ImportProgress, ShareMode},
-        tags::TagInfo,
-        NodeStatus,
-    },
-    docs_engine::LiveEvent,
+use crate::client::{
+    blobs::{BlobInfo, CollectionInfo, DownloadMode, IncompleteBlobInfo, WrapOption},
+    docs::{ImportProgress, ShareMode},
+    tags::TagInfo,
+    NodeStatus,
 };
 pub use iroh_blobs::util::SetTagOption;