diff --git a/runtime/vdex_file.h b/runtime/vdex_file.h
new file mode 100644
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/runtime/vdex_file.h
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2016 The Android Open Source Project
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+#ifndef ART_RUNTIME_VDEX_FILE_H_
+#define ART_RUNTIME_VDEX_FILE_H_
+
+#include <stdint.h>
+#include <string>
+
+#include "base/macros.h"
+#include "base/unix_file/fd_file.h"
+#include "mem_map.h"
+#include "os.h"
+
+namespace art {
+
+// VDEX files contain extracted DEX files. The VdexFile class maps the file to
+// memory and provides tools for accessing its individual sections.
+//
+// File format:
+//   VdexFile::Header    fixed-length header
+//
+//   DEX[0]              array of the input DEX files
+//   DEX[1]              the bytecode may have been quickened
+//   ...
+//   DEX[D]
+//
+
+class VdexFile {
+ public:
+  struct Header {
+   public:
+    Header();
+
+    bool IsMagicValid() const;
+    bool IsVersionValid() const;
+
+   private:
+    static constexpr uint8_t kVdexMagic[] = { 'v', 'd', 'e', 'x' };
+    static constexpr uint8_t kVdexVersion[] = { '0', '0', '0', '\0' };
+
+    uint8_t magic_[4];
+    uint8_t version_[4];
+  };
+
+  static VdexFile* Open(const std::string& vdex_filename,
+                        bool writable,
+                        bool low_4gb,
+                        std::string* error_msg);
+
+  const uint8_t* Begin() const { return mmap_->Begin(); }
+  const uint8_t* End() const { return mmap_->End(); }
+  size_t Size() const { return mmap_->Size(); }
+
+ private:
+  VdexFile(File* file, MemMap* mmap) : file_(file), mmap_(mmap) {}
+
+  std::unique_ptr<File> file_;
+  std::unique_ptr<MemMap> mmap_;
+
+  DISALLOW_COPY_AND_ASSIGN(VdexFile);
+};
+
+}  // namespace art
+
+#endif  // ART_RUNTIME_VDEX_FILE_H_