diff --git a/readme.md b/readme.md
index 5b94346..3f7aa28 100644
--- a/readme.md
+++ b/readme.md
@@ -17,8 +17,21 @@ Add the mailer service to the classpath by adding the following maven dependency
 
 ### Attachments
 
-If you want to use attachments, you will have to create a bean implementing this interface: [AttachmentDataSource.java](src%2Fmain%2Fjava%2Fit%2Faboutbits%2Fspringboot%2Femailservice%2Flib%2FAttachmentDataSource.java)  
-This step is optional.
+If you want to use attachments, you will have to define a bean implementing this interface: [AttachmentDataSource.java](src%2Fmain%2Fjava%2Fit%2Faboutbits%2Fspringboot%2Femailservice%2Flib%2FAttachmentDataSource.java)  
+This step is optional. Where the payloads are stored is a decision of the application: you can provide your own
+implementation (e.g. S3), or register the ready-made `JdbcAttachmentDataSource` shipped with the library, which stores
+payloads in the lib-owned table `email_service_attachment_payloads`:
+
+```java
+
+@Bean
+public AttachmentDataSource attachmentDataSource(JdbcTemplate jdbcTemplate) {
+    return new JdbcAttachmentDataSource(jdbcTemplate);
+}
+```
+
+By default, `JdbcAttachmentDataSource` creates its table on startup. If you prefer to manage the table yourself
+(e.g. via Liquibase), disable the built-in migration using the constructor-flag and create the table in your own migrations.
 
 #### Inline (CID) attachments
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/EmailServiceConfiguration.java b/src/main/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/EmailServiceConfiguration.java
index 0c4bc36..f72adbf 100644
--- a/src/main/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/EmailServiceConfiguration.java
+++ b/src/main/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/EmailServiceConfiguration.java
@@ -15,9 +15,9 @@
 import it.aboutbits.springboot.emailservice.lib.application.UnavailableAttachmentDataSource;
 import it.aboutbits.springboot.emailservice.lib.jpa.EmailRepository;
 import org.jspecify.annotations.NullMarked;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.ObjectProvider;
 import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Value;
 import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.AutoConfigurationPackage;
-import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.condition.ConditionalOnMissingBean;
 import org.springframework.boot.autoconfigure.condition.ConditionalOnProperty;
 import org.springframework.context.annotation.Bean;
 import org.springframework.jdbc.core.JdbcTemplate;
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ public QueryEmail queryEmail(EmailRepository emailRepository, EmailMapper emailM
     public ManageEmail manageEmail(
             EmailRepository emailRepository,
             JavaMailSender javaMailSender,
-            AttachmentDataSource attachmentDataSource,
+            ObjectProvider<AttachmentDataSource> attachmentDataSource,
             EmailMapper emailMapper,
             @Value("${aboutbits.emailservice.scheduling.max-attempts:3}") int maxAttempts,
             @Value("${aboutbits.emailservice.scheduling.interval:30000}") long schedulerIntervalMillis,
@@ -64,7 +64,7 @@ public ManageEmail manageEmail(
         return new ManageEmail(
                 emailRepository,
                 javaMailSender,
-                attachmentDataSource,
+                attachmentDataSource.getIfAvailable(UnavailableAttachmentDataSource::new),
                 emailMapper,
                 maxAttempts,
                 Duration.ofMillis(schedulerIntervalMillis),
@@ -93,10 +93,4 @@ public CleanupAttachmentFiles cleanupAttachments(
     ) {
         return new CleanupAttachmentFiles(queryEmail, manageEmail, callbacks, stuckCleanupRecoveryThreshold);
     }
-
-    @Bean
-    @ConditionalOnMissingBean(AttachmentDataSource.class)
-    public AttachmentDataSource attachmentDataSource() {
-        return new UnavailableAttachmentDataSource();
-    }
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/lib/AttachmentDataSource.java b/src/main/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/lib/AttachmentDataSource.java
index 813e1e4..720c8fe 100644
--- a/src/main/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/lib/AttachmentDataSource.java
+++ b/src/main/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/lib/AttachmentDataSource.java
@@ -9,6 +9,13 @@
 public interface AttachmentDataSource {
     InputStream getAttachmentPayload(long fileReference) throws AttachmentException;
 
+    /**
+     * Stores the payload and returns the reference used to read it back later.
+     * The implementation takes ownership of the stream and must close it.
+     *
+     * @param payload the attachment payload, closed by the implementation
+     * @return the reference to pass to {@link #getAttachmentPayload(long)}
+     */
     long storeAttachmentPayload(InputStream payload) throws AttachmentException;
 
     void releaseAttachment(long fileReference) throws AttachmentException;
diff --git a/src/main/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/lib/application/JdbcAttachmentDataSource.java b/src/main/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/lib/application/JdbcAttachmentDataSource.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e161fdb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/main/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/lib/application/JdbcAttachmentDataSource.java
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+package it.aboutbits.springboot.emailservice.lib.application;
+
+import it.aboutbits.springboot.emailservice.lib.AttachmentDataSource;
+import it.aboutbits.springboot.emailservice.lib.exception.AttachmentException;
+import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;
+import org.jspecify.annotations.NullMarked;
+import org.springframework.dao.DataAccessException;
+import org.springframework.dao.EmptyResultDataAccessException;
+import org.springframework.jdbc.core.JdbcTemplate;
+
+import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.io.InputStream;
+
+@Slf4j
+@NullMarked
+public class JdbcAttachmentDataSource implements AttachmentDataSource {
+    private final JdbcTemplate jdbcTemplate;
+
+    public JdbcAttachmentDataSource(JdbcTemplate jdbcTemplate) {
+        this(jdbcTemplate, true);
+    }
+
+    public JdbcAttachmentDataSource(JdbcTemplate jdbcTemplate, boolean runMigrations) {
+        this.jdbcTemplate = jdbcTemplate;
+        if (runMigrations) {
+            migrate();
+        }
+    }
+
+    private void migrate() {
+        log.info("EmailService: running attachment payload DB migrations...");
+
+        jdbcTemplate.execute(
+                //@formatter:off
+                """
+
+                 create table if not exists email_service_attachment_payloads
+                 (
+                     id bigint generated by default as identity
+                               primary key,
+                     payload bytea not null,
+                     created_at timestamp with time zone default now() not null
+                 );
+                """
+                //@formatter:on
+        );
+
+        log.info("EmailService: attachment payload migrations done!");
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public InputStream getAttachmentPayload(long fileReference) throws AttachmentException {
+        try {
+            var payload = jdbcTemplate.queryForObject(
+                    "select payload from email_service_attachment_payloads where id = ?",
+                    byte[].class,
+                    fileReference
+            );
+            if (payload == null) {
+                throw new AttachmentException("attachment payload not found: " + fileReference);
+            }
+            return new ByteArrayInputStream(payload);
+        } catch (EmptyResultDataAccessException e) {
+            throw new AttachmentException("attachment payload not found: " + fileReference, e);
+        } catch (DataAccessException e) {
+            throw new AttachmentException("failed to load attachment payload: " + fileReference, e);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public long storeAttachmentPayload(InputStream payload) throws AttachmentException {
+        final byte[] bytes;
+        try (payload) {
+            bytes = payload.readAllBytes();
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            throw new AttachmentException("failed to read attachment payload", e);
+        }
+
+        try {
+            var id = jdbcTemplate.queryForObject(
+                    "insert into email_service_attachment_payloads (payload) values (?) returning id",
+                    Long.class,
+                    (Object) bytes
+            );
+            if (id == null) {
+                throw new AttachmentException("failed to store attachment payload");
+            }
+            return id;
+        } catch (DataAccessException e) {
+            throw new AttachmentException("failed to store attachment payload", e);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Override
+    public void releaseAttachment(long fileReference) throws AttachmentException {
+        try {
+            jdbcTemplate.update(
+                    "delete from email_service_attachment_payloads where id = ?",
+                    fileReference
+            );
+        } catch (DataAccessException e) {
+            throw new AttachmentException("failed to release attachment payload: " + fileReference, e);
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/main/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/lib/application/UnavailableAttachmentDataSource.java b/src/main/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/lib/application/UnavailableAttachmentDataSource.java
index f2ba789..5120223 100644
--- a/src/main/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/lib/application/UnavailableAttachmentDataSource.java
+++ b/src/main/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/lib/application/UnavailableAttachmentDataSource.java
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 import it.aboutbits.springboot.emailservice.lib.exception.AttachmentException;
 import org.jspecify.annotations.NullMarked;
 
+import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.InputStream;
 
 @NullMarked
@@ -15,7 +16,11 @@ public InputStream getAttachmentPayload(long fileReference) throws AttachmentExc
 
     @Override
     public long storeAttachmentPayload(InputStream payload) throws AttachmentException {
-        throw new AttachmentException("attachments not available");
+        try (payload) {
+            throw new AttachmentException("attachments not available");
+        } catch (IOException e) {
+            throw new AttachmentException("attachments not available", e);
+        }
     }
 
     @Override
diff --git a/src/test/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/EmailServiceConfigurationTest.java b/src/test/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/EmailServiceConfigurationTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bb50571
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/EmailServiceConfigurationTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+package it.aboutbits.springboot.emailservice;
+
+import it.aboutbits.springboot.emailservice.lib.AttachmentDataSource;
+import it.aboutbits.springboot.emailservice.lib.EmailState;
+import it.aboutbits.springboot.emailservice.lib.application.EmailParameter;
+import it.aboutbits.springboot.emailservice.lib.application.ManageEmail;
+import it.aboutbits.springboot.emailservice.lib.exception.AttachmentException;
+import it.aboutbits.springboot.emailservice.lib.exception.EmailException;
+import it.aboutbits.springboot.emailservice.support.database.WithPostgres;
+import org.jspecify.annotations.NullMarked;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
+import org.springframework.boot.test.context.SpringBootTest;
+import org.springframework.context.ApplicationContext;
+
+import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream;
+import java.time.OffsetDateTime;
+
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThatExceptionOfType;
+
+@SpringBootTest
+@WithPostgres
+@NullMarked
+class EmailServiceConfigurationTest {
+    @Autowired
+    ApplicationContext applicationContext;
+
+    @Autowired
+    ManageEmail manageEmail;
+
+    @Test
+    void givenNoAttachmentDataSourceBean_context_shouldStart() {
+        assertThat(applicationContext.getBeanNamesForType(AttachmentDataSource.class)).isEmpty();
+        assertThat(manageEmail).isNotNull();
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void givenNoAttachmentDataSourceBean_scheduleWithoutAttachment_shouldSucceed() throws EmailException {
+        var result = manageEmail.schedule(getValidParameterWithoutAttachment());
+
+        assertThat(result.id()).isPositive();
+        assertThat(result.state()).isEqualTo(EmailState.PENDING);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void givenNoAttachmentDataSourceBean_scheduleWithAttachment_shouldFail() {
+        var parameter = getValidParameterWithAttachment();
+
+        assertThatExceptionOfType(EmailException.class).isThrownBy(
+                () -> manageEmail.schedule(parameter)
+        ).withCauseInstanceOf(AttachmentException.class);
+    }
+
+    private static EmailParameter getValidParameterWithoutAttachment() {
+        return EmailParameter.builder()
+                .scheduledAt(OffsetDateTime.now())
+                .email(EmailParameter.Email.builder()
+                               .subject("Example email subject")
+                               .textBody("Email body")
+                               .htmlBody("<h1>Html email body</h1>")
+                               .recipient("person1@example.com")
+                               .fromAddress("somebody@aboutbits.it")
+                               .fromName("somebody")
+                               .build()
+                ).build();
+    }
+
+    private static EmailParameter getValidParameterWithAttachment() {
+        return EmailParameter.builder()
+                .scheduledAt(OffsetDateTime.now())
+                .email(EmailParameter.Email.builder()
+                               .subject("Example email subject")
+                               .textBody("Email body")
+                               .htmlBody("<h1>Html email body</h1>")
+                               .recipient("person1@example.com")
+                               .attachment(
+                                       EmailParameter.Email.Attachment.builder()
+                                               .contentType("image/png")
+                                               .fileName("x.png")
+                                               .payload(new ByteArrayInputStream(new byte[0]))
+                                               .build()
+                               )
+                               .fromAddress("somebody@aboutbits.it")
+                               .fromName("somebody")
+                               .build()
+                ).build();
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/test/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/lib/application/JdbcAttachmentDataSourceTest.java b/src/test/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/lib/application/JdbcAttachmentDataSourceTest.java
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2b59a2c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/java/it/aboutbits/springboot/emailservice/lib/application/JdbcAttachmentDataSourceTest.java
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+package it.aboutbits.springboot.emailservice.lib.application;
+
+import it.aboutbits.springboot.emailservice.lib.exception.AttachmentException;
+import it.aboutbits.springboot.emailservice.support.database.WithPostgres;
+import org.jspecify.annotations.NullMarked;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.BeforeEach;
+import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
+import org.springframework.boot.test.context.SpringBootTest;
+import org.springframework.jdbc.core.JdbcTemplate;
+
+import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream;
+
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThatCode;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThatExceptionOfType;
+
+@SpringBootTest
+@WithPostgres
+@NullMarked
+class JdbcAttachmentDataSourceTest {
+    @Autowired
+    JdbcTemplate jdbcTemplate;
+
+    JdbcAttachmentDataSource attachmentDataSource;
+
+    @BeforeEach
+    void setup() {
+        attachmentDataSource = new JdbcAttachmentDataSource(jdbcTemplate);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void givenPayload_store_shouldBeReadableAgain() throws Exception {
+        var payload = new byte[]{1, 2, 3, 4, 5};
+
+        var fileReference = attachmentDataSource.storeAttachmentPayload(new ByteArrayInputStream(payload));
+
+        try (var stored = attachmentDataSource.getAttachmentPayload(fileReference)) {
+            assertThat(stored.readAllBytes()).isEqualTo(payload);
+        }
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void givenPayload_store_shouldClosePayloadStream() throws Exception {
+        var payload = new TrackingInputStream(new byte[]{1, 2, 3});
+
+        attachmentDataSource.storeAttachmentPayload(payload);
+
+        assertThat(payload.closed).isTrue();
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void givenMultiplePayloads_store_shouldReturnDistinctReferences() throws Exception {
+        var first = attachmentDataSource.storeAttachmentPayload(new ByteArrayInputStream(new byte[]{1}));
+        var second = attachmentDataSource.storeAttachmentPayload(new ByteArrayInputStream(new byte[]{2}));
+
+        assertThat(first).isNotEqualTo(second);
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void givenUnknownReference_get_shouldFail() {
+        assertThatExceptionOfType(AttachmentException.class).isThrownBy(
+                () -> attachmentDataSource.getAttachmentPayload(1L)
+        );
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void givenStoredPayload_release_shouldRemoveIt() throws Exception {
+        var fileReference = attachmentDataSource.storeAttachmentPayload(new ByteArrayInputStream(new byte[]{1, 2, 3}));
+
+        attachmentDataSource.releaseAttachment(fileReference);
+
+        assertThatExceptionOfType(AttachmentException.class).isThrownBy(
+                () -> attachmentDataSource.getAttachmentPayload(fileReference)
+        );
+    }
+
+    @Test
+    void givenUnknownReference_release_shouldBeIdempotent() {
+        assertThatCode(
+                () -> attachmentDataSource.releaseAttachment(1L)
+        ).doesNotThrowAnyException();
+    }
+
+    private static final class TrackingInputStream extends ByteArrayInputStream {
+        private boolean closed = false;
+
+        private TrackingInputStream(byte[] buf) {
+            super(buf);
+        }
+
+        @Override
+        public void close() {
+            closed = true;
+        }
+    }
+}