diff --git a/tsdb/headlabels/headlabels.go b/tsdb/headlabels/headlabels.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cd8d4af217
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tsdb/headlabels/headlabels.go
@@ -0,0 +1,470 @@
+// Package headlabels provides a disk-backed storage solution for Prometheus series labels
+// from the head block. It aims to reduce memory usage by storing labels on disk and
+// referencing them with a lightweight 64-bit pointer.
+package headlabels
+
+import (
+	"encoding/binary"
+	"errors"
+	"fmt"
+	"hash/crc32"
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"sync"
+
+	"github.com/prometheus/prometheus/model/labels"
+	// You would typically use a proven, thread-safe LRU cache implementation.
+	// For this example, we'll use a placeholder. A popular choice is:
+	// lru "github.com/hashicorp/golang-lru/v2"
+)
+
+const (
+	// DefaultNumShards is the default number of files to shard label data across.
+	DefaultNumShards = 16
+	// The directory name within the TSDB data directory.
+	dirName = "head_labels"
+	// Suffix for temporary files during truncation.
+	tmpSuffix = ".tmp"
+	// Bit shift for packing the shard ID into the reference.
+	shardIDShift = 56
+	// Mask to extract the offset from the reference.
+	offsetMask = (1 << shardIDShift) - 1
+)
+
+var (
+	// ErrNotFound is returned when a label set is not found for a given reference.
+	ErrNotFound = errors.New("labels not found")
+	// crc32Table is pre-calculated for performance.
+	crc32Table = crc32.MakeTable(crc32.Castagnoli)
+)
+
+// --- LRU Cache Placeholder ---
+// In a real implementation, you would replace this with a proper LRU cache library.
+type LRUCache interface {
+	Add(key, value interface{})
+	Get(key interface{}) (value interface{}, ok bool)
+}
+
+// A simple, non-performant map to act as a placeholder for the LRU cache.
+type simpleMapCache struct {
+	mu sync.Mutex
+	m  map[uint64]labels.Labels
+}
+
+func newSimpleMapCache(size int) LRUCache {
+	return &simpleMapCache{m: make(map[uint64]labels.Labels)}
+}
+func (c *simpleMapCache) Add(key, value interface{}) {
+	c.mu.Lock()
+	defer c.mu.Unlock()
+	c.m[key.(uint64)] = value.(labels.Labels)
+}
+func (c *simpleMapCache) Get(key interface{}) (interface{}, bool) {
+	c.mu.Lock()
+	defer c.mu.Unlock()
+	val, ok := c.m[key.(uint64)]
+	return val, ok
+}
+
+// --- Main Structs ---
+
+// DiskLabels is the main manager for the sharded on-disk label storage.
+type DiskLabels struct {
+	dir    string
+	mu     sync.RWMutex // Protects the shards slice during truncation.
+	shards []*shard
+	cache  LRUCache
+}
+
+// shard represents a single file for storing label sets.
+type shard struct {
+	mu   sync.Mutex // Protects file handle and writes.
+	f    *os.File
+	path string
+}
+
+// NewDiskLabels creates a new manager for on-disk head labels.
+// It creates the directory and shard files if they don't exist.
+func NewDiskLabels(dataDir string, numShards, cacheSize int) (*DiskLabels, error) {
+	dir := filepath.Join(dataDir, dirName)
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(dir, 0777); err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("create head_labels directory %s: %w", dir, err)
+	}
+
+	shards := make([]*shard, numShards)
+	for i := 0; i < numShards; i++ {
+		path := filepath.Join(dir, fmt.Sprintf("%02d", i))
+		f, err := os.OpenFile(path, os.O_WRONLY|os.O_APPEND|os.O_CREATE, 0666)
+		if err != nil {
+			// Close any already opened files before failing.
+			for j := 0; j < i; j++ {
+				shards[j].f.Close()
+			}
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("open shard file %s: %w", path, err)
+		}
+		shards[i] = &shard{f: f, path: path}
+	}
+
+	// In a real implementation:
+	// cache, err := lru.New(cacheSize)
+	// if err != nil { ... }
+	cache := newSimpleMapCache(cacheSize)
+
+	return &DiskLabels{
+		dir:    dir,
+		shards: shards,
+		cache:  cache,
+	}, nil
+}
+
+// Close closes all open file handles for the shards.
+func (dl *DiskLabels) Close() error {
+	dl.mu.RLock()
+	defer dl.mu.RUnlock()
+	var firstErr error
+	for _, s := range dl.shards {
+		if err := s.f.Close(); err != nil && firstErr == nil {
+			firstErr = err
+		}
+	}
+	return firstErr
+}
+
+// --- Write Path ---
+
+// WriteLabels encodes a label set and appends it to the appropriate shard file.
+// It returns a packed 64-bit reference containing the shard ID and file offset.
+func (dl *DiskLabels) WriteLabels(seriesRef, shardHash uint64, lset labels.Labels) (uint64, error) {
+	dl.mu.RLock()
+	defer dl.mu.RUnlock()
+
+	shardID := shardHash % uint64(len(dl.shards))
+	s := dl.shards[shardID]
+
+	s.mu.Lock()
+	defer s.mu.Unlock()
+
+	// Get current file offset before writing.
+	offset, err := s.f.Seek(0, io.SeekEnd)
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("seek to end of shard %d: %w", shardID, err)
+	}
+
+	// Encode the label set into a temporary buffer.
+	buf := make([]byte, 0, 256)
+	buf, err = encodeLabels(seriesRef, lset, buf)
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("encode labels: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Write the encoded data to the shard file.
+	if _, err := s.f.Write(buf); err != nil {
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("write to shard %d: %w", shardID, err)
+	}
+
+	// Pack shard and offset into a single reference.
+	ref := packRef(shardID, uint64(offset))
+
+	// Add to cache to avoid a read-after-write disk hit.
+	dl.cache.Add(seriesRef, lset)
+
+	return ref, nil
+}
+
+// --- Read Path ---
+
+// ReadLabels retrieves a label set using its packed reference.
+// It checks the LRU cache first before falling back to disk.
+func (dl *DiskLabels) ReadLabels(seriesRef, ref uint64) (labels.Labels, error) {
+	// 1. Check cache first.
+	if lset, ok := dl.cache.Get(seriesRef); ok {
+		return lset.(labels.Labels), nil
+	}
+
+	dl.mu.RLock()
+	defer dl.mu.RUnlock()
+
+	// 2. Unpack reference and find the correct shard.
+	shardID, offset := unpackRef(ref)
+	if shardID >= uint64(len(dl.shards)) {
+		return labels.Labels{}, fmt.Errorf("invalid shard ID %d from reference", shardID)
+	}
+	s := dl.shards[shardID]
+
+	// 3. Read from disk. This requires a new file handle for reading.
+	// We don't use the write handle to avoid seeks and concurrency issues.
+	f, err := os.Open(s.path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return labels.Labels{}, fmt.Errorf("open shard %d for reading: %w", shardID, err)
+	}
+	defer f.Close()
+
+	// We read the entire record into a buffer.
+	// First, read the length prefix to know the record size.
+	lenBuf := make([]byte, binary.MaxVarintLen32)
+	if _, err := f.ReadAt(lenBuf, int64(offset)); err != nil {
+		return labels.Labels{}, fmt.Errorf("read record length from shard %d at offset %d: %w", shardID, offset, err)
+	}
+	recordLen, n := binary.Uvarint(lenBuf)
+	if n <= 0 {
+		return labels.Labels{}, fmt.Errorf("invalid record length at shard %d offset %d", shardID, offset)
+	}
+
+	// Now read the full record.
+	recordBuf := make([]byte, recordLen)
+	if _, err := f.ReadAt(recordBuf, int64(offset)+int64(n)); err != nil {
+		return labels.Labels{}, fmt.Errorf("read record data from shard %d: %w", shardID, offset, err)
+	}
+
+	// 4. Decode the record.
+	decodedRef, lset, err := decodeLabels(recordBuf)
+	if err != nil {
+		return labels.Labels{}, fmt.Errorf("decode labels from shard %d: %w", shardID, err)
+	}
+	if decodedRef != seriesRef {
+		return labels.Labels{}, fmt.Errorf("series ref mismatch: expected %d, got %d", seriesRef, decodedRef)
+	}
+
+	// 5. Add to cache.
+	dl.cache.Add(seriesRef, lset)
+
+	return lset, nil
+}
+
+// --- Truncation ---
+
+// Truncate garbage collects the shard files after a head compaction.
+// It iterates through all records, rewriting only the ones for which `isSeriesActive` returns true.
+// It returns a map of old references to new references, which the caller MUST use to update
+// the `memSeries` structs in the head.
+func (dl *DiskLabels) Truncate(isSeriesActive func(seriesRef uint64) bool) (map[uint64]uint64, error) {
+	dl.mu.Lock() // Exclusive lock to replace the shards.
+	defer dl.mu.Unlock()
+
+	refUpdates := make(map[uint64]uint64)
+	newShards := make([]*shard, len(dl.shards))
+	oldShards := dl.shards
+	dl.shards = nil // Prevent access to old shards during truncation.
+
+	// Process each shard one by one.
+	for i, oldS := range oldShards {
+		// Create a new temporary shard file.
+		tmpPath := oldS.path + tmpSuffix
+		tmpFile, err := os.OpenFile(tmpPath, os.O_WRONLY|os.O_APPEND|os.O_CREATE, 0666)
+		if err != nil {
+			// Abort and cleanup.
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("create tmp shard file %s: %w", tmpPath, err)
+		}
+
+		// Open the old shard for reading.
+		readF, err := os.Open(oldS.path)
+		if err != nil {
+			tmpFile.Close()
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("open old shard file for truncation %s: %w", oldS.path, err)
+		}
+
+		var currentOffset int64 = 0
+		for {
+			// Read and decode each record from the old shard.
+			lenBuf := make([]byte, binary.MaxVarintLen32)
+			n, err := readF.Read(lenBuf)
+			if err == io.EOF {
+				break // End of file.
+			}
+			if err != nil {
+				readF.Close()
+				tmpFile.Close()
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("truncate: read record length from shard %d: %w", i, err)
+			}
+
+			recordLen, lenN := binary.Uvarint(lenBuf[:n])
+			if lenN <= 0 {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("truncate: invalid record length in shard %d", i)
+			}
+
+			oldRef := packRef(uint64(i), uint64(currentOffset))
+			currentOffset += int64(lenN)
+
+			recordBuf := make([]byte, recordLen)
+			if _, err := io.ReadFull(readF, recordBuf); err != nil {
+				return nil, fmt.Errorf("truncate: read record data from shard %d: %w", i, err)
+			}
+			currentOffset += int64(recordLen)
+
+			// Decode just enough to get the series ref.
+			decodedRef, _, err := decodeLabels(recordBuf)
+			if err != nil {
+				// Log this error but continue.
+				fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "WARN: skipping undecodable record in shard %d: %v\n", i, err)
+				continue
+			}
+
+			// If the series is still active, rewrite it to the new shard file.
+			if isSeriesActive(decodedRef) {
+				newOffset, err := tmpFile.Seek(0, io.SeekEnd)
+				if err != nil {
+					return nil, fmt.Errorf("truncate: seek tmp shard %d: %w", i, err)
+				}
+
+				// Re-write the original record (len prefix + data).
+				if _, err := tmpFile.Write(lenBuf[:lenN]); err != nil {
+					return nil, err
+				}
+				if _, err := tmpFile.Write(recordBuf); err != nil {
+					return nil, err
+				}
+
+				newRef := packRef(uint64(i), uint64(newOffset))
+				refUpdates[oldRef] = newRef
+			}
+		}
+		readF.Close()
+
+		// Store the new shard file handle.
+		newShards[i] = &shard{f: tmpFile, path: oldS.path}
+	}
+
+	// Atomically replace old files with new ones.
+	for i, _ := range oldShards {
+		newS := newShards[i]
+		if err := newS.f.Close(); err != nil { // Close before renaming.
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		if err := os.Rename(newS.path+tmpSuffix, newS.path); err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		// Re-open the new file for appending.
+		f, err := os.OpenFile(newS.path, os.O_WRONLY|os.O_APPEND, 0666)
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, err
+		}
+		newS.f = f
+	}
+
+	// Close old file handles and replace the shard slice.
+	for _, s := range oldShards {
+		s.f.Close()
+	}
+	dl.shards = newShards
+
+	return refUpdates, nil
+}
+
+// --- Encoding/Decoding Helpers ---
+
+// packRef combines a shard ID and an offset into a single uint64.
+func packRef(shardID, offset uint64) uint64 {
+	return (shardID << shardIDShift) | (offset & offsetMask)
+}
+
+// unpackRef extracts the shard ID and offset from a uint64 reference.
+func unpackRef(ref uint64) (shardID, offset uint64) {
+	shardID = ref >> shardIDShift
+	offset = ref & offsetMask
+	return
+}
+
+// encodeLabels converts a series ref and label set into the on-disk byte format.
+// Format: [series_ref uvarint64 | num_labels uvarint32 | l_1_name_len uvarint32 | l_1_name | ... | crc32 uint32]
+// The final returned buffer does NOT include the initial record length prefix.
+func encodeLabels(seriesRef uint64, lset labels.Labels, buf []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	startLen := len(buf)
+
+	buf = binary.AppendUvarint(buf, seriesRef)
+	buf = binary.AppendUvarint(buf, uint64(lset.Len()))
+
+	// TODO: just put the string of the lset
+	lset.Range(func(l labels.Label) {
+		buf = binary.AppendUvarint(buf, uint64(len(l.Name)))
+		buf = append(buf, l.Name...)
+		buf = binary.AppendUvarint(buf, uint64(len(l.Value)))
+		buf = append(buf, l.Value...)
+	})
+
+	// Calculate CRC over the data we just wrote.
+	chksum := crc32.Checksum(buf[startLen:], crc32Table)
+	buf = binary.BigEndian.AppendUint32(buf, chksum)
+
+	// Prepend the total length of the record (excluding the length prefix itself).
+	recordLen := len(buf) - startLen
+	lenBuf := make([]byte, binary.MaxVarintLen32)
+	n := binary.PutUvarint(lenBuf, uint64(recordLen))
+
+	finalBuf := make([]byte, n+recordLen)
+	copy(finalBuf, lenBuf[:n])
+	copy(finalBuf[n:], buf[startLen:])
+
+	return finalBuf, nil
+}
+
+// decodeLabels converts bytes from disk back into a series ref and label set.
+// It assumes `b` is the record data *without* the initial length prefix.
+func decodeLabels(b []byte) (uint64, labels.Labels, error) {
+	if len(b) < 4 {
+		return 0, labels.Labels{}, io.ErrUnexpectedEOF
+	}
+
+	// Validate checksum first.
+	expectedCRC := binary.BigEndian.Uint32(b[len(b)-4:])
+	actualCRC := crc32.Checksum(b[:len(b)-4], crc32Table)
+	if expectedCRC != actualCRC {
+		return 0, labels.Labels{}, errors.New("checksum mismatch")
+	}
+
+	d := &decoder{b: b[:len(b)-4]} // Exclude CRC from decoder buffer.
+
+	seriesRef := d.uvarint()
+	numLabels := int(d.uvarint())
+	if d.err != nil {
+		return 0, labels.Labels{}, d.err
+	}
+
+	// TODO: update this after updating the TODO for encodeLabels
+	//lset := make(labels.Labels, numLabels)
+	//for i := 0; i < numLabels; i++ {
+	//	lset[i].Name = d.string()
+	//	lset[i].Value = d.string()
+	//	if d.err != nil {
+	//		return 0, labels.Labels{}, d.err
+	//	}
+	//}
+
+	return seriesRef, lset, nil
+}
+
+// decoder helps safely read from a byte slice.
+type decoder struct {
+	b   []byte
+	err error
+}
+
+func (d *decoder) uvarint() uint64 {
+	if d.err != nil {
+		return 0
+	}
+	v, n := binary.Uvarint(d.b)
+	if n <= 0 {
+		d.err = io.ErrUnexpectedEOF
+		return 0
+	}
+	d.b = d.b[n:]
+	return v
+}
+
+func (d *decoder) string() string {
+	if d.err != nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	l := int(d.uvarint())
+	if d.err != nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	if len(d.b) < l {
+		d.err = io.ErrUnexpectedEOF
+		return ""
+	}
+	s := string(d.b[:l])
+	d.b = d.b[l:]
+	return s
+}