diff --git a/cid/cid.c b/cid/cid.c
index ca543b0..c506100 100644
--- a/cid/cid.c
+++ b/cid/cid.c
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 #include "ipfs/cid/cid.h"
 #include "libp2p/crypto/encoding/base58.h"
 #include "ipfs/multibase/multibase.h"
+#include "mh/hashes.h"
 #include "mh/multihash.h"
 #include "varint.h"
 
@@ -103,15 +104,19 @@ int ipfs_cid_new(int version, unsigned char* hash, size_t hash_length, const cha
 	struct Cid* cid = *ptrToCid;
 	if (cid == NULL)
 		return 0;
-	cid->hash = malloc(sizeof(unsigned char) * hash_length);
-	if (cid->hash == NULL) {
-		free(cid);
-		return 0;
+	if (hash == NULL) {
+		cid->hash = NULL;
+	} else {
+		cid->hash = malloc(sizeof(unsigned char) * hash_length);
+		if (cid->hash == NULL) {
+			free(cid);
+			return 0;
+		}
+		memcpy(cid->hash, hash, hash_length);
 	}
 	// assign values
 	cid->version = version;
 	cid->codec = codec;
-	memcpy(cid->hash, hash, hash_length);
 	cid->hash_length = hash_length;
 
 	return 1;
@@ -131,13 +136,13 @@ int ipfs_cid_free(struct Cid* cid) {
 }
 
 /***
- * Fill a Cid struct based on a base 58 encoded string
+ * Fill a Cid struct based on a base 58 encoded multihash
  * @param incoming the string
  * @param incoming_size the size of the string
  * @cid the Cid struct to fill
  * @return true(1) on success
  */
-int ipfs_cid_decode_from_string(const unsigned char* incoming, size_t incoming_length, struct Cid** cid) {
+int ipfs_cid_decode_hash_from_base58(const unsigned char* incoming, size_t incoming_length, struct Cid** cid) {
 	int retVal = 0;
 
 	if (incoming_length < 2)
@@ -152,7 +157,7 @@ int ipfs_cid_decode_from_string(const unsigned char* incoming, size_t incoming_l
 		if (retVal == 0)
 			return 0;
 		// now we have the hash, build the object
-		return ipfs_cid_new(0, hash, hash_length, CID_PROTOBUF, cid);
+		return ipfs_cid_new(0, &hash[2], hash_length - 2, CID_PROTOBUF, cid);
 	}
 
 	// TODO: finish this
@@ -174,15 +179,43 @@ int ipfs_cid_decode_from_string(const unsigned char* incoming, size_t incoming_l
 	return 0;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Turn a cid into a base 58
+ * @param cid the cid to work with
+ * @param buffer where to put the results
+ * @param max_buffer_length the maximum space reserved for the results
+ * @returns true(1) on success
+ */
+int ipfs_cid_hash_to_base58(struct Cid* cid, unsigned char* buffer, size_t max_buffer_length) {
+
+	int multihash_len = cid->hash_length + 2;
+	unsigned char multihash[multihash_len];
+	if (mh_new(multihash, MH_H_SHA2_256, cid->hash, cid->hash_length) < 0) {
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	// base58
+	size_t b58_size = libp2p_crypto_encoding_base58_encode_size(multihash_len);
+
+	if (b58_size > max_buffer_length) // buffer too small
+		return 0;
+
+	if( libp2p_crypto_encoding_base58_encode(multihash, multihash_len, &buffer, &max_buffer_length) == 0) {
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	return 1;
+}
+
 /***
  * Turn a multibase decoded string of bytes into a Cid struct
  * @param incoming the multibase decoded array
  * @param incoming_size the size of the array
  * @param cid the Cid structure to fill
  */
-int ipfs_cid_cast(unsigned char* incoming, size_t incoming_size, struct Cid* cid) {
-	// this is a multihash
+int ipfs_cid_cast(const unsigned char* incoming, size_t incoming_size, struct Cid* cid) {
 	if (incoming_size == 34 && incoming[0] == 18 && incoming[1] == 32) {
+		// this is a multihash
 		cid->hash_length = mh_multihash_length(incoming, incoming_size);
 		cid->codec = CID_PROTOBUF;
 		cid->version = 0;
@@ -208,7 +241,7 @@ int ipfs_cid_cast(unsigned char* incoming, size_t incoming_size, struct Cid* cid
 	pos += num_bytes;
 	// now what is left
 	cid->hash_length = incoming_size - pos;
-	cid->hash = &incoming[pos];
+	cid->hash = (unsigned char*)(&incoming[pos]);
 
 	return 1;
 }
diff --git a/importer/Makefile b/importer/Makefile
index a35a331..158f9d6 100644
--- a/importer/Makefile
+++ b/importer/Makefile
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ endif
 
 LFLAGS = 
 DEPS = 
-OBJS = importer.o
+OBJS = importer.o exporter.o
 
 %.o: %.c $(DEPS)
 	$(CC) -c -o $@ $< $(CFLAGS)
diff --git a/importer/exporter.c b/importer/exporter.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1c38226
--- /dev/null
+++ b/importer/exporter.c
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+#include <stdio.h>
+#include <string.h>
+
+#include "ipfs/cid/cid.h"
+#include "ipfs/merkledag/merkledag.h"
+#include "ipfs/node/node.h"
+#include "ipfs/repo/fsrepo/fs_repo.h"
+/**
+ * pull objects from ipfs
+ */
+
+/**
+ * get a file by its hash, and write the data to a file
+ * @param hash the base58 multihash of the cid
+ * @param file_name the file name to write to
+ * @returns true(1) on success
+ */
+int ipfs_exporter_to_file(const unsigned char* hash, const char* file_name, const struct FSRepo* fs_repo) {
+	// convert hash to cid
+	struct Cid* cid = NULL;
+	if ( ipfs_cid_decode_hash_from_base58(hash, strlen((char*)hash), &cid) == 0) {
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	// find block
+	struct Node* read_node = NULL;
+	if (ipfs_merkledag_get(cid, &read_node, fs_repo) == 0) {
+		ipfs_cid_free(cid);
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	// process blocks
+	FILE* file = fopen(file_name, "wb");
+	if (file == NULL) {
+		ipfs_node_free(read_node);
+		return 0;
+	}
+	size_t bytes_written = fwrite(read_node->data, 1, read_node->data_size, file);
+	if (bytes_written != read_node->data_size) {
+		fclose(file);
+		ipfs_node_free(read_node);
+		return 0;
+	}
+	struct NodeLink* link = read_node->head_link;
+	struct Node* link_node = NULL;
+	while (link != NULL) {
+		if ( ipfs_merkledag_get(link->cid, &link_node, fs_repo) == 0) {
+			fclose(file);
+			ipfs_node_free(read_node);
+			return 0;
+		}
+		bytes_written = fwrite(link_node->data, 1, link_node->data_size, file);
+		ipfs_node_free(link_node);
+		if (bytes_written != link_node->data_size) {
+			fclose(file);
+			ipfs_node_free(read_node);
+			return 0;
+		}
+		link = link->next;
+	}
+
+	fclose(file);
+
+	if (read_node != NULL)
+		ipfs_node_free(read_node);
+
+	return 1;
+}
diff --git a/importer/importer.c b/importer/importer.c
index 70d4ac0..f4b32c6 100644
--- a/importer/importer.c
+++ b/importer/importer.c
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ size_t ipfs_import_chunk(FILE* file, struct Node* node, struct FSRepo* fs_repo)
 		ipfs_merkledag_add(new_node, fs_repo);
 		// put link in parent node
 		struct NodeLink* new_link = NULL;
-		ipfs_node_link_new("", new_node->cached->hash, &new_link);
+		ipfs_node_link_new("", new_node->cached->hash, new_node->cached->hash_length, &new_link);
 		ipfs_node_add_link(node, new_link);
 		ipfs_node_free(new_node);
 	}
diff --git a/include/ipfs/cid/cid.h b/include/ipfs/cid/cid.h
index 1ce766b..c3c80a7 100644
--- a/include/ipfs/cid/cid.h
+++ b/include/ipfs/cid/cid.h
@@ -76,7 +76,16 @@ int ipfs_cid_free(struct Cid* cid);
  * @cid the Cid struct to fill
  * @return true(1) on success
  */
-int ipfs_cid_decode_from_string(const unsigned char* incoming, size_t incoming_length, struct Cid** cid);
+int ipfs_cid_decode_hash_from_base58(const unsigned char* incoming, size_t incoming_length, struct Cid** cid);
+
+/**
+ * Turn a cid into a base 58 of a multihash of the cid hash
+ * @param cid the cid to work with
+ * @param buffer where to put the results
+ * @param max_buffer_length the maximum space reserved for the results
+ * @returns true(1) on success
+ */
+int ipfs_cid_hash_to_base58(struct Cid* cid, unsigned char* buffer, size_t max_buffer_length);
 
 /***
  * Turn a multibase decoded string of bytes into a Cid struct
@@ -84,6 +93,6 @@ int ipfs_cid_decode_from_string(const unsigned char* incoming, size_t incoming_l
  * @param incoming_size the size of the array
  * @param cid the Cid structure to fill
  */
-int ipfs_cid_cast(unsigned char* incoming, size_t incoming_size, struct Cid* cid);
+int ipfs_cid_cast(const unsigned char* incoming, size_t incoming_size, struct Cid* cid);
 
 #endif
diff --git a/include/ipfs/importer/exporter.h b/include/ipfs/importer/exporter.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..58aad67
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/ipfs/importer/exporter.h
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+#pragma once
+
+/**
+ * get a file by its hash, and write the data to a file
+ * @param hash the base58 multihash of the cid
+ * @param file_name the file name to write to
+ * @returns true(1) on success
+ */
+int ipfs_exporter_to_file(const unsigned char* hash, const char* file_name, const struct FSRepo* fs_repo);
diff --git a/include/ipfs/node/node.h b/include/ipfs/node/node.h
index eac357c..5973970 100644
--- a/include/ipfs/node/node.h
+++ b/include/ipfs/node/node.h
@@ -42,10 +42,11 @@ struct Node
 /* Create_Link
  * @Param name: The name of the link (char *)
  * @Param ahash: An Qmhash
+ * @param hash_size the size of the hash
  * @param node_link a pointer to the new struct NodeLink
  * @returns true(1) on success
  */
-int ipfs_node_link_new(char * name, unsigned char * ahash, struct NodeLink** node_link);
+int ipfs_node_link_new(char * name, unsigned char * ahash, size_t hash_size, struct NodeLink** node_link);
 
 /* ipfs_node_link_free
  * @param L: Free the link you have allocated.
diff --git a/merkledag/merkledag.c b/merkledag/merkledag.c
index 17e048e..9a02776 100644
--- a/merkledag/merkledag.c
+++ b/merkledag/merkledag.c
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ int ipfs_merkledag_get(const struct Cid* cid, struct Node** node, const struct F
 
 	// now convert the block into a node
 	ipfs_node_protobuf_decode(block->data, block->data_length, node);
-	// doesn't decode do this?
+	// doesn't decode do this? No
 	ipfs_node_set_cached(*node, cid);
 
 	// free resources
diff --git a/node/node.c b/node/node.c
index f2a3eac..18aea32 100644
--- a/node/node.c
+++ b/node/node.c
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ enum WireType ipfs_node_link_message_fields[] = { WIRETYPE_LENGTH_DELIMITED, WIR
  * @Param size: Size of the link (size_t)
  * @Param ahash: An Qmhash
  */
-int ipfs_node_link_new(char * name, unsigned char * ahash, struct NodeLink** node_link)
+int ipfs_node_link_new(char * name, unsigned char * ahash, size_t hash_size, struct NodeLink** node_link)
 {
 	*node_link = malloc(sizeof(struct NodeLink));
 	if (*node_link == NULL)
@@ -37,8 +37,7 @@ int ipfs_node_link_new(char * name, unsigned char * ahash, struct NodeLink** nod
 	strcpy((*node_link)->name, name);
 	(*node_link)->next = NULL;
 	int ver = 0;
-	size_t lenhash = strlen((char*)ahash);
-	if (ipfs_cid_new(ver, ahash, lenhash, CID_PROTOBUF, &(*node_link)->cid) == 0) {
+	if (ipfs_cid_new(ver, ahash, hash_size, CID_PROTOBUF, &(*node_link)->cid) == 0) {
 		free(*node_link);
 		return 0;
 	}
diff --git a/repo/fsrepo/lmdb_datastore.c b/repo/fsrepo/lmdb_datastore.c
index db508af..6af119e 100644
--- a/repo/fsrepo/lmdb_datastore.c
+++ b/repo/fsrepo/lmdb_datastore.c
@@ -47,16 +47,18 @@ int repo_fsrepo_lmdb_get(const char* key, size_t key_size, unsigned char* data,
 	db_key.mv_size = key_size;
 	db_key.mv_data = (char*)key;
 
+	//printf("Looking for data that has a key size of %lu that starts with %02x and ends with %02x\n", db_key.mv_size, ((char*)db_key.mv_data)[0], ((char*)db_key.mv_data)[db_key.mv_size - 1]);
+
 	retVal = mdb_get(mdb_txn, mdb_dbi, &db_key, &db_value);
 	if (retVal != 0) {
-		mdb_dbi_close(mdb_env, mdb_dbi);
+		//mdb_dbi_close(mdb_env, mdb_dbi);
 		mdb_txn_commit(mdb_txn);
 		return 0;
 	}
 
 	// now copy the data
 	if (db_value.mv_size > max_data_size) {
-		mdb_dbi_close(mdb_env, mdb_dbi);
+		//mdb_dbi_close(mdb_env, mdb_dbi);
 		mdb_txn_commit(mdb_txn);
 		return 0;
 	}
@@ -66,7 +68,7 @@ int repo_fsrepo_lmdb_get(const char* key, size_t key_size, unsigned char* data,
 	(*data_size) = db_value.mv_size;
 
 	// clean up
-	mdb_dbi_close(mdb_env, mdb_dbi);
+	//mdb_dbi_close(mdb_env, mdb_dbi);
 	mdb_txn_commit(mdb_txn);
 
 	return 1;
@@ -104,6 +106,9 @@ int repo_fsrepo_lmdb_put(unsigned const char* key, size_t key_size, unsigned cha
 	db_key.mv_size = key_size;
 	db_key.mv_data = (char*)key;
 
+	// JMJ debugging
+	//printf("Saving key of %lu bytes that starts with %02x and ends with %02x\n", db_key.mv_size, ((char*)db_key.mv_data)[0], ((char*)db_key.mv_data)[db_key.mv_size-1]);
+
 	// write
 	db_value.mv_size = data_size;
 	db_value.mv_data = data;
@@ -118,7 +123,7 @@ int repo_fsrepo_lmdb_put(unsigned const char* key, size_t key_size, unsigned cha
 	}
 
 	// cleanup
-	mdb_dbi_close(mdb_env, mdb_dbi);
+	//mdb_dbi_close(mdb_env, mdb_dbi);
 	mdb_txn_commit(mdb_txn);
 	return retVal;
 }
diff --git a/test/Makefile b/test/Makefile
index 45ce766..dc32871 100644
--- a/test/Makefile
+++ b/test/Makefile
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ OBJS = testit.o test_helper.o \
 	../datastore/ds_helper.o \
 	../flatfs/flatfs.o \
 	../importer/importer.o \
+	../importer/exporter.o \
 	../merkledag/merkledag.o \
 	../multibase/multibase.o \
 	../node/node.o \
diff --git a/test/merkledag/test_merkledag.h b/test/merkledag/test_merkledag.h
index 9532602..1c12885 100644
--- a/test/merkledag/test_merkledag.h
+++ b/test/merkledag/test_merkledag.h
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ int test_merkledag_add_node_with_links() {
 	}
 
 	// make link
-	retVal = ipfs_node_link_new("", (unsigned char*)"abc123", &link);
+	retVal = ipfs_node_link_new("", (unsigned char*)"abc123", 6, &link);
 	if (retVal == 0) {
 		printf("Unable to make new link\n");
 		ipfs_repo_fsrepo_free(fs_repo);
diff --git a/test/node/test_importer.h b/test/node/test_importer.h
index b19d542..43bda93 100644
--- a/test/node/test_importer.h
+++ b/test/node/test_importer.h
@@ -1,7 +1,11 @@
 #include <stdio.h>
 
 #include "ipfs/importer/importer.h"
+#include "ipfs/importer/exporter.h"
 #include "ipfs/merkledag/merkledag.h"
+#include "mh/hashes.h"
+#include "mh/multihash.h"
+#include "libp2p/crypto/encoding/base58.h"
 
 /***
  * Helper to create a test file in the OS
@@ -46,6 +50,25 @@ int test_import_large_file() {
 		return 0;
 	}
 
+	// cid should be the same each time
+	unsigned char cid_test[10] = { 0xec ,0x79 ,0x18 ,0x4c, 0xe8, 0xb0, 0x66, 0x39, 0xaa, 0xed };
+
+	/*
+	for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
+		printf(" %02x ", write_node->cached->hash[i]);
+	}
+	printf("\n");
+	*/
+
+
+	for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
+		if (write_node->cached->hash[i] != cid_test[i]) {
+			printf("Hashes should be the same each time, and do not match at position %d, should be %02x but is %02x\n", i, cid_test[i], write_node->cached->hash[i]);
+			ipfs_repo_fsrepo_free(fs_repo);
+			return 0;
+		}
+	}
+
 	// make sure all went okay
 	struct Node* read_node;
 	if (ipfs_merkledag_get(write_node->cached, &read_node, fs_repo) == 0) {
@@ -54,6 +77,17 @@ int test_import_large_file() {
 		return 0;
 	}
 
+	// the second block should be there
+	struct Node* read_node2;
+	if (ipfs_merkledag_get(read_node->head_link->cid, &read_node2, fs_repo) == 0) {
+		printf("Unable to find the linked node.\n");
+		ipfs_repo_fsrepo_free(fs_repo);
+		ipfs_node_free(write_node);
+		return 0;
+	}
+
+	ipfs_node_free(read_node2);
+
 	// compare data
 	if (write_node->data_size != read_node->data_size) {
 		printf("Data size of nodes are not equal. Should be %lu but are %lu\n", write_node->data_size, read_node->data_size);
@@ -73,9 +107,31 @@ int test_import_large_file() {
 		}
 	}
 
+	// convert cid to multihash
+	size_t base58_size = 55;
+	unsigned char base58[base58_size];
+	if ( ipfs_cid_hash_to_base58(read_node->cached, base58, base58_size) == 0) {
+		printf("Unable to convert cid to multihash\n");
+		ipfs_repo_fsrepo_free(fs_repo);
+		ipfs_node_free(write_node);
+		ipfs_node_free(read_node);
+		return 0;
+	}
+
 	// attempt to write file
+	if (ipfs_exporter_to_file(base58, "/tmp/test_import_large_file.rsl", fs_repo) == 0) {
+		printf("Unable to write file.\n");
+		ipfs_repo_fsrepo_free(fs_repo);
+		ipfs_node_free(write_node);
+		ipfs_node_free(read_node);
+		return 0;
+	}
 
 	// compare original with new
+	size_t new_file_size = os_utils_file_size("/tmp/test_import_large_file.rsl");
+	if (new_file_size != bytes_size) {
+		printf("File sizes are different. Should be %lu but the new one is %lu\n", bytes_size, new_file_size);
+	}
 
 	ipfs_repo_fsrepo_free(fs_repo);
 	ipfs_node_free(write_node);
@@ -107,6 +163,23 @@ int test_import_small_file() {
 		return 0;
 	}
 
+	// cid should be the same each time
+	unsigned char cid_test[10] = { 0x47,0x51,0x40,0x0a, 0xdf, 0x62, 0xf9, 0xcc, 0x8d, 0xbb };
+
+	/**
+	for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
+		printf("%02x\n", write_node->cached->hash[i]);
+	}
+	*/
+
+	for(int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
+		if (write_node->cached->hash[i] != cid_test[i]) {
+			printf("Hashes do not match at position %d, should be %02x but is %02x\n", i, cid_test[i], write_node->cached->hash[i]);
+			ipfs_repo_fsrepo_free(fs_repo);
+			return 0;
+		}
+	}
+
 	// make sure all went okay
 	struct Node* read_node;
 	if (ipfs_merkledag_get(write_node->cached, &read_node, fs_repo) == 0) {
diff --git a/test/node/test_node.h b/test/node/test_node.h
index 17366be..155e72a 100644
--- a/test/node/test_node.h
+++ b/test/node/test_node.h
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ int test_node() {
 	char * name = "Alex";
 	unsigned char * ahash = (unsigned char*)"QmYwAPJzv5CZsnA625s3Xf2nemtYgPpHdWEz79ojWnPbdG";
 	struct NodeLink * mylink;
-	int retVal = ipfs_node_link_new(name,ahash, &mylink);
+	int retVal = ipfs_node_link_new(name,ahash, strlen((char*)ahash), &mylink);
 	if (retVal == 0)
 		return 0;
 
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ int test_node() {
 	char * name2 = "Simo";
 	unsigned char * ahash2 = (unsigned char*)"QmYwAPJzv5CZsnA625s3Xf2nemtYgPpHdWEz79ojWnSimo";
 	struct NodeLink * mylink2;
-	retVal = ipfs_node_link_new(name2, ahash2, &mylink2);
+	retVal = ipfs_node_link_new(name2, ahash2, strlen((char*)ahash2), &mylink2);
 
 	//Nodes
 	struct Node * Mynode;
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ int test_node_link_encode_decode() {
 	int retVal = 0;
 
 	// make a NodeLink
-	if (ipfs_node_link_new("My Name", (unsigned char*)"QmMyHash", &control) == 0)
+	if (ipfs_node_link_new("My Name", (unsigned char*)"QmMyHash", 8, &control) == 0)
 		goto l_exit;
 
 	// encode it
@@ -107,14 +107,14 @@ int test_node_encode_decode() {
 		goto ed_exit;
 
 	// first link
-	if (ipfs_node_link_new((char*)"Link1", (unsigned char*)"QmLink1", &link1) == 0)
+	if (ipfs_node_link_new((char*)"Link1", (unsigned char*)"QmLink1", 7, &link1) == 0)
 		goto ed_exit;
 
 	if ( ipfs_node_add_link(control, link1) == 0)
 		goto ed_exit;
 
 	// second link
-	if (ipfs_node_link_new((char*)"Link2", (unsigned char*)"QmLink2", &link2) == 0)
+	if (ipfs_node_link_new((char*)"Link2", (unsigned char*)"QmLink2", 7, &link2) == 0)
 		goto ed_exit;
 	if ( ipfs_node_add_link(control, link2) == 0)
 		goto ed_exit;