diff --git a/docs/api.md b/docs/api.md
index 4b9c766..bac8cf2 100644
--- a/docs/api.md
+++ b/docs/api.md
@@ -16,6 +16,10 @@ omitted.
 
 ::: sdata.sclass.dataframe
 
+## sdata.sclass.blob
+
+::: sdata.sclass.blob
+
 ## sdata.imagemeta
 
 ::: sdata.imagemeta
diff --git a/docs/index.md b/docs/index.md
index d14d1ac..6c5310a 100644
--- a/docs/index.md
+++ b/docs/index.md
@@ -41,6 +41,8 @@ print(data.metadata.df[["value", "unit", "dtype", "ontology"]])
 
 - **[Tabular data (DataFrame)](usage/dataframe.md)** — the self-describing table
   container: column metadata, Parquet/CSV/Arrow/Feather I/O, table-schema validation.
+- **[Image metadata](usage/image-metadata.md)** — embed sdata metadata natively into
+  PNG/JPEG/JP2/GIF/WebP with one API (pure Python, no Pillow needed to read/write it).
 - **[Machine-readable metadata](usage/metadata-jsonld.md)** — JSON-LD / RDF, units
   (QUDT/UCUM), ontology classes (BFO), provenance, schema validation and signing.
 - **[API reference](api.md)** — the full Python API.
diff --git a/docs/usage/image-metadata.md b/docs/usage/image-metadata.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e288fc7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/usage/image-metadata.md
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+# Images: embedding sdata metadata
+
+[`sdata.sclass.image.Image`][sdata.sclass.image.Image] is a
+[`Blob`][sdata.sclass.blob.Blob] over image content. sdata can write its metadata
+**natively into the image file** — and read it back — across **five containers with
+one API**: PNG, JPEG, JPEG 2000 (`jp2`), GIF and WebP.
+
+The embedding layer [`sdata.imagemeta`][sdata.imagemeta] is **pure Python**
+(standard library only): it needs no third-party tool (no `exiftool`) and — crucially
+— **no Pillow** to read or write the metadata. Pillow is only used to *decode* pixels
+(`img.pil` / `img.to_numpy`) or to *transcode* between formats on `save`.
+
+| Format | Native carrier of the sdata payload        | Marker          |
+| ------ | ------------------------------------------ | --------------- |
+| PNG    | `iTXt` chunk before `IEND`                 | keyword `sdata` |
+| JPEG   | `APP1` segment right after SOI             | `sdata\0` prefix|
+| JP2    | `uuid` box (ISO BMFF) before `jp2c`        | fixed sdata UUID|
+| GIF    | comment extension after the header         | `sdata\0` prefix|
+| WebP   | dedicated RIFF chunk `sdAT`                | FourCC `sdAT`   |
+
+```bash
+pip install pillow      # optional: only needed to decode/transcode pixels
+```
+
+## Round-trip through `Image`
+
+The same three calls work for every supported format — the container is chosen from
+the file suffix on `save`:
+
+```python
+import io
+import PIL.Image
+from sdata.sclass.image import Image
+
+# some image bytes (here a freshly encoded JPEG)
+buf = io.BytesIO()
+PIL.Image.new("RGB", (640, 480), (30, 60, 90)).save(buf, "JPEG")
+
+img = Image.from_bytes("specimen.jpg", buf.getvalue())
+img.metadata.add("operator", "ada", description="who acquired the image")
+img.metadata.add("exposure", 1.5, unit="s", dtype="float")
+
+img.save("specimen.jpg")                 # sdata metadata embedded in the APP1 segment
+
+reloaded = Image.from_file("specimen.jpg")
+reloaded.metadata.get("operator").value  # 'ada'
+reloaded.metadata.get("exposure").value  # 1.5
+```
+
+`save` is lossless when the stored bytes already use the target container: the
+metadata is embedded **without re-encoding** the pixels (and without Pillow). Only a
+*format change* (e.g. a PNG saved as `.webp`) transcodes via Pillow:
+
+```python
+png = Image.from_bytes("a.png", png_bytes)
+png.metadata.add("note", "converted")
+png.save("a.webp")                       # transcodes to WebP, then embeds the metadata
+```
+
+Reading the embedded metadata never needs Pillow:
+
+```python
+md = Image.from_file("specimen.jpg").embedded_metadata()  # a Metadata, or None
+```
+
+## Inherited `Blob` capabilities
+
+Because `Image` is a `Blob`, every image is also a content-addressable asset
+(see [RFC 0003](../rfc/0003-blob-as-data-foundation.md)):
+
+```python
+img.size           # content size in bytes
+img.sha256         # SHA-256 of the content
+img.update_checksum()   # store the checksum in metadata
+img.verify()       # check the content against the stored checksum
+img.write("s3://bucket/specimen.jpg")    # fsspec target (needs sdata[blob])
+```
+
+!!! note "Checksum vs. embedded metadata"
+    Embedding metadata **changes the file bytes** (and therefore its hash). If you
+    need a stable content hash, compute it **before** embedding, or hash the decoded
+    pixels — analogous to the data-vs-metadata hash split for `DataFrame`
+    ([RFC 0004](../rfc/0004-dataframe-and-blob.md)).
+
+## Low-level API (`sdata.imagemeta`)
+
+To embed an arbitrary text payload directly into image bytes — independent of
+`Image` and of Pillow — use the façade:
+
+```python
+from sdata import imagemeta
+
+imagemeta.detect_format(data)        # 'png' | 'jpeg' | 'jp2' | 'gif' | 'webp' | None
+out = imagemeta.embed(data, '{"k": 1}')   # format auto-detected; replace semantics
+imagemeta.extract(out)               # '{"k": 1}'  (None if absent/unknown format)
+imagemeta.supported_formats()        # ('png', 'jpeg', 'jp2', 'gif', 'webp')
+```
+
+* **Replace semantics:** embedding again **replaces** the previous sdata payload
+  rather than appending a second one (idempotent).
+* **Lenient reads:** `extract` returns `None` for an unknown format or an image
+  without an sdata payload; `embed` raises
+  [`UnsupportedImageFormatError`][sdata.imagemeta.UnsupportedImageFormatError] for an
+  unsupported format and
+  [`PayloadTooLargeError`][sdata.imagemeta.PayloadTooLargeError] when a JPEG payload
+  exceeds the single-`APP1` limit (~64 KiB).
+* **Extensible registry:** further containers (e.g. TIFF) plug in as two small
+  functions plus one registry entry.
+
+## When to use a sidecar instead
+
+For containers without a native handler, or when metadata must stay external (e.g.
+read-only originals), the JSON-LD **sidecar** remains the complement — see
+[Machine-readable metadata](metadata-jsonld.md). Both approaches share the same
+metadata model; embedding and a sidecar are not mutually exclusive.
+
+The design and the per-format details are specified in
+[RFC 0005 — Native image metadata](../rfc/0005-native-image-metadata.md).
diff --git a/mkdocs.yml b/mkdocs.yml
index 0c82ba7..fd46930 100644
--- a/mkdocs.yml
+++ b/mkdocs.yml
@@ -63,6 +63,7 @@ nav:
   - Home: index.md
   - Usage:
       - Tabular data (DataFrame): usage/dataframe.md
+      - Image metadata: usage/image-metadata.md
       - Machine-readable metadata: usage/metadata-jsonld.md
   - API reference: api.md
   - RFCs: