diff --git a/core/source.go b/core/source.go
index dd4fcc5..d7521f7 100644
--- a/core/source.go
+++ b/core/source.go
@@ -238,6 +238,18 @@ func GetAllItemsForSource(db *DB, source string) ([]Item, error) {
 	`, source)
 }
 
+func GetState(db *DB, source string) ([]byte, error) {
+	row := db.QueryRow("select state from sources where name = ?", source)
+	var state []byte
+	err := row.Scan(&state)
+	return state, err
+}
+
+func SetState(db *DB, source string, state []byte) error {
+	_, err := db.Exec("update sources set state = ? where name = ?", state, source)
+	return err
+}
+
 // Given the results of a fetch, add new items, update existing items, and delete expired items.
 //
 // Returns the number of new and deleted items on success.
diff --git a/core/source_test.go b/core/source_test.go
index 3799d90..3aae051 100644
--- a/core/source_test.go
+++ b/core/source_test.go
@@ -291,3 +291,30 @@ func TestOnCreateAction(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Fatal("unexpected changes to id, active, or created fields")
 	}
 }
+
+func TestSourceState(t *testing.T) {
+	db := EphemeralDb(t)
+	if err := AddSource(db, "s"); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	state, err := GetState(db, "s")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if len(state) != 0 {
+		t.Fatal("expected no state on a fresh source")
+	}
+
+	if err = SetState(db, "s", []byte("hello, world")); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	state, err = GetState(db, "s")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if string(state) != "hello, world" {
+		t.Fatalf("expected hello, world, got %s", state)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/core/sql/0001_initial_schema.sql b/core/sql/0001_initial_schema.sql
index 6b53563..7c3fd67 100644
--- a/core/sql/0001_initial_schema.sql
+++ b/core/sql/0001_initial_schema.sql
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 create table sources(
     name text not null,
+    state blob,
     primary key (name)
 ) strict;
 create table actions(