diff --git a/cmd/lotus-shed/main.go b/cmd/lotus-shed/main.go
index 19072dd71..736d874e3 100644
--- a/cmd/lotus-shed/main.go
+++ b/cmd/lotus-shed/main.go
@@ -83,6 +83,7 @@ func main() {
 		invariantsCmd,
 		gasTraceCmd,
 		replayOfflineCmd,
+		msgindexCmd,
 	}
 
 	app := &cli.App{
diff --git a/cmd/lotus-shed/msgindex.go b/cmd/lotus-shed/msgindex.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c3f288422
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/lotus-shed/msgindex.go
@@ -0,0 +1,205 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"database/sql"
+	"fmt"
+	"path"
+
+	_ "github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3"
+	"github.com/urfave/cli/v2"
+	"golang.org/x/xerrors"
+
+	"github.com/filecoin-project/go-state-types/abi"
+	lcli "github.com/filecoin-project/lotus/cli"
+	"github.com/ipfs/go-cid"
+)
+
+var msgindexCmd = &cli.Command{
+	Name:  "msgindex",
+	Usage: "Tools for managing the message index",
+	Subcommands: []*cli.Command{
+		msgindexBackfillCmd,
+		msgindexPruneCmd,
+	},
+}
+
+var msgindexBackfillCmd = &cli.Command{
+	Name:  "backfill",
+	Usage: "Backfill the message index for a number of epochs starting from a specified height",
+	Flags: []cli.Flag{
+		&cli.IntFlag{
+			Name:  "from",
+			Value: 0,
+			Usage: "height to start the backfill; uses the current head if omitted",
+		},
+		&cli.IntFlag{
+			Name:  "epochs",
+			Value: 1800,
+			Usage: "number of epochs to backfill; defaults to 1800 (2 finalities)",
+		},
+		&cli.StringFlag{
+			Name:  "repo",
+			Value: "~/.lotus",
+			Usage: "path to the repo",
+		},
+	},
+	Action: func(cctx *cli.Context) error {
+		api, closer, err := lcli.GetFullNodeAPI(cctx)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		defer closer()
+		ctx := lcli.ReqContext(cctx)
+
+		curTs, err := api.ChainHead(ctx)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		startHeight := int64(cctx.Int("from"))
+		if startHeight == 0 {
+			startHeight = int64(curTs.Height()) - 1
+		}
+		epochs := cctx.Int("epochs")
+
+		dbPath := path.Join(cctx.String("repo"), "sqlite", "msgindex.db")
+		db, err := sql.Open("sqlite3", dbPath)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		defer func() {
+			err := db.Close()
+			if err != nil {
+				fmt.Printf("ERROR: closing db: %s", err)
+			}
+		}()
+
+		tx, err := db.Begin()
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		insertStmt, err := tx.Prepare("INSERT INTO messages VALUES (?, ?, ?)")
+		insertMsg := func(cid, tsCid cid.Cid, epoch abi.ChainEpoch) error {
+			key := cid.String()
+			tskey := tsCid.String()
+			if _, err := insertStmt.Exec(key, tskey, int64(epoch)); err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+
+			return nil
+		}
+		rollback := func() {
+			if err := tx.Rollback(); err != nil {
+				fmt.Printf("ERROR: rollback: %s", err)
+			}
+		}
+
+		for i := 0; i < epochs; i++ {
+			epoch := abi.ChainEpoch(startHeight - int64(i))
+
+			ts, err := api.ChainGetTipSetByHeight(ctx, epoch, curTs.Key())
+			if err != nil {
+				rollback()
+				return err
+			}
+
+			tsCid, err := ts.Key().Cid()
+			if err != nil {
+				rollback()
+				return err
+			}
+
+			msgs, err := api.ChainGetMessagesInTipset(ctx, ts.Key())
+			if err != nil {
+				rollback()
+				return err
+			}
+
+			for _, msg := range msgs {
+				if err := insertMsg(msg.Cid, tsCid, epoch); err != nil {
+					rollback()
+					return err
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		if err := tx.Commit(); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		return nil
+	},
+}
+
+var msgindexPruneCmd = &cli.Command{
+	Name:  "prune",
+	Usage: "Prune the message index for messages included before a given epoch",
+	Flags: []cli.Flag{
+		&cli.IntFlag{
+			Name:  "from",
+			Usage: "height to start the prune; if negative it indicates epochs from current head",
+		},
+		&cli.StringFlag{
+			Name:  "repo",
+			Value: "~/.lotus",
+			Usage: "path to the repo",
+		},
+	},
+	Action: func(cctx *cli.Context) error {
+		api, closer, err := lcli.GetFullNodeAPI(cctx)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		defer closer()
+		ctx := lcli.ReqContext(cctx)
+
+		startHeight := int64(cctx.Int("from"))
+		if startHeight < 0 {
+			curTs, err := api.ChainHead(ctx)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+
+			startHeight += int64(curTs.Height())
+
+			if startHeight < 0 {
+				return xerrors.Errorf("bogus start height %d", startHeight)
+			}
+		}
+
+		dbPath := path.Join(cctx.String("repo"), "sqlite", "msgindex.db")
+		db, err := sql.Open("sqlite3", dbPath)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		defer func() {
+			err := db.Close()
+			if err != nil {
+				fmt.Printf("ERROR: closing db: %s", err)
+			}
+		}()
+
+		tx, err := db.Begin()
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		if _, err := tx.Exec("DELETE FROM messages WHERE epoch < ?", int64(startHeight)); err != nil {
+			if err := tx.Rollback(); err != nil {
+				fmt.Printf("ERROR: rollback: %s", err)
+			}
+			return err
+		}
+
+		if err := tx.Commit(); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		return nil
+	},
+}