diff --git a/db.go b/db.go
index 518f1db..50838b7 100644
--- a/db.go
+++ b/db.go
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"io"
 	"io/fs"
 	"os"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -142,7 +143,7 @@ func NewPersistentDB(path string, compress bool) (*DB, error) {
 					Name     string
 					Metadata map[string]string
 				}{}
-				err := read(fPath, &pc, "")
+				err := readFromFile(fPath, &pc, "")
 				if err != nil {
 					return nil, fmt.Errorf("couldn't read collection metadata: %w", err)
 				}
@@ -151,7 +152,7 @@ func NewPersistentDB(path string, compress bool) (*DB, error) {
 			} else if strings.HasSuffix(collectionDirEntry.Name(), ext) {
 				// Read document
 				d := &Document{}
-				err := read(fPath, d, "")
+				err := readFromFile(fPath, d, "")
 				if err != nil {
 					return nil, fmt.Errorf("couldn't read document: %w", err)
 				}
@@ -185,7 +186,21 @@ func NewPersistentDB(path string, compress bool) (*DB, error) {
 //
 // - filePath: Mandatory, must not be empty
 // - encryptionKey: Optional, must be 32 bytes long if provided
+//
+// Deprecated: Use [DB.ImportFromFile] instead.
 func (db *DB) Import(filePath string, encryptionKey string) error {
+	return db.ImportFromFile(filePath, encryptionKey)
+}
+
+// ImportFromFile imports the DB from a file at the given path. The file must be
+// encoded as gob and can optionally be compressed with flate (as gzip) and encrypted
+// with AES-GCM.
+// This works for both the in-memory and persistent DBs.
+// Existing collections are overwritten.
+//
+// - filePath: Mandatory, must not be empty
+// - encryptionKey: Optional, must be 32 bytes long if provided
+func (db *DB) ImportFromFile(filePath string, encryptionKey string) error {
 	if filePath == "" {
 		return fmt.Errorf("file path is empty")
 	}
@@ -223,7 +238,7 @@ func (db *DB) Import(filePath string, encryptionKey string) error {
 	db.collectionsLock.Lock()
 	defer db.collectionsLock.Unlock()
 
-	err = read(filePath, &persistenceDB, encryptionKey)
+	err = readFromFile(filePath, &persistenceDB, encryptionKey)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("couldn't read file: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -245,6 +260,61 @@ func (db *DB) Import(filePath string, encryptionKey string) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// ImportFromReader imports the DB from a reader. The stream must be encoded as
+// gob and can optionally be compressed with flate (as gzip) and encrypted with
+// AES-GCM.
+// This works for both the in-memory and persistent DBs.
+// Existing collections are overwritten.
+// If the writer has to be closed, it's the caller's responsibility.
+//
+// - reader: An implementation of [io.ReadSeeker]
+// - encryptionKey: Optional, must be 32 bytes long if provided
+func (db *DB) ImportFromReader(reader io.ReadSeeker, encryptionKey string) error {
+	if encryptionKey != "" {
+		// AES 256 requires a 32 byte key
+		if len(encryptionKey) != 32 {
+			return errors.New("encryption key must be 32 bytes long")
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Create persistence structs with exported fields so that they can be decoded
+	// from gob.
+	type persistenceCollection struct {
+		Name      string
+		Metadata  map[string]string
+		Documents map[string]*Document
+	}
+	persistenceDB := struct {
+		Collections map[string]*persistenceCollection
+	}{
+		Collections: make(map[string]*persistenceCollection, len(db.collections)),
+	}
+
+	db.collectionsLock.Lock()
+	defer db.collectionsLock.Unlock()
+
+	err := readFromReader(reader, &persistenceDB, encryptionKey)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("couldn't read stream: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	for _, pc := range persistenceDB.Collections {
+		c := &Collection{
+			Name: pc.Name,
+
+			metadata:  pc.Metadata,
+			documents: pc.Documents,
+		}
+		if db.persistDirectory != "" {
+			c.persistDirectory = filepath.Join(db.persistDirectory, hash2hex(pc.Name))
+			c.compress = db.compress
+		}
+		db.collections[c.Name] = c
+	}
+
+	return nil
+}
+
 // Export exports the DB to a file at the given path. The file is encoded as gob,
 // optionally compressed with flate (as gzip) and optionally encrypted with AES-GCM.
 // This works for both the in-memory and persistent DBs.
diff --git a/db_test.go b/db_test.go
index fc0d230..227b2da 100644
--- a/db_test.go
+++ b/db_test.go
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ func TestDB_ImportExport(t *testing.T) {
 			new := NewDB()
 
 			// Import
-			err = new.Import(tc.filePath, tc.encryptionKey)
+			err = new.ImportFromFile(tc.filePath, tc.encryptionKey)
 			if err != nil {
 				t.Fatal("expected no error, got", err)
 			}
diff --git a/persistence.go b/persistence.go
index 5748afd..b65a125 100644
--- a/persistence.go
+++ b/persistence.go
@@ -132,11 +132,11 @@ func persist(filePath string, obj any, compress bool, encryptionKey string) erro
 	return nil
 }
 
-// read reads an object from a file at the given path. The object is deserialized
+// readFromFile reads an object from a file at the given path. The object is deserialized
 // from gob. `obj` must be a pointer to an instantiated object. The file may
 // optionally be compressed as gzip and/or encrypted with AES-GCM. The encryption
 // key must be 32 bytes long.
-func read(filePath string, obj any, encryptionKey string) error {
+func readFromFile(filePath string, obj any, encryptionKey string) error {
 	if filePath == "" {
 		return fmt.Errorf("file path is empty")
 	}
@@ -147,18 +147,43 @@ func read(filePath string, obj any, encryptionKey string) error {
 		}
 	}
 
+	r, err := os.Open(filePath)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("couldn't open file: %w", err)
+	}
+	defer r.Close()
+
+	return readFromReader(r, obj, encryptionKey)
+}
+
+// readFromReader reads an object from a Reader. The object is deserialized from gob.
+// `obj` must be a pointer to an instantiated object. The stream may optionally
+// be compressed as gzip and/or encrypted with AES-GCM. The encryption key must
+// be 32 bytes long.
+// If the reader has to be closed, it's the caller's responsibility.
+func readFromReader(r io.ReadSeeker, obj any, encryptionKey string) error {
+	// AES 256 requires a 32 byte key
+	if encryptionKey != "" {
+		if len(encryptionKey) != 32 {
+			return errors.New("encryption key must be 32 bytes long")
+		}
+	}
+
 	// We want to:
-	// Read file -> decrypt with AES-GCM -> decompress with flate -> decode as gob
+	// Read from reader -> decrypt with AES-GCM -> decompress with flate -> decode
+	// as gob.
 	// To reduce memory usage we chain the readers instead of buffering, so we start
 	// from the end. For the decryption there's no reader though.
 
-	var r io.Reader
+	// For the chainedReader we don't declare it as ReadSeeker so we can reassign
+	// the gzip reader to it.
+	var chainedReader io.Reader
 
 	// Decrypt if an encryption key is provided
 	if encryptionKey != "" {
-		encrypted, err := os.ReadFile(filePath)
+		encrypted, err := io.ReadAll(r)
 		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("couldn't read file: %w", err)
+			return fmt.Errorf("couldn't read from reader: %w", err)
 		}
 		block, err := aes.NewCipher([]byte(encryptionKey))
 		if err != nil {
@@ -178,28 +203,24 @@ func read(filePath string, obj any, encryptionKey string) error {
 			return fmt.Errorf("couldn't decrypt data: %w", err)
 		}
 
-		r = bytes.NewReader(data)
+		chainedReader = bytes.NewReader(data)
 	} else {
-		var err error
-		r, err = os.Open(filePath)
-		if err != nil {
-			return fmt.Errorf("couldn't open file: %w", err)
-		}
+		chainedReader = r
 	}
 
-	// Determine if the file is compressed
+	// Determine if the stream is compressed
 	magicNumber := make([]byte, 2)
-	_, err := r.Read(magicNumber)
+	_, err := chainedReader.Read(magicNumber)
 	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("couldn't read magic number to determine whether the file is compressed: %w", err)
+		return fmt.Errorf("couldn't read magic number to determine whether the stream is compressed: %w", err)
 	}
 	var compressed bool
 	if magicNumber[0] == 0x1f && magicNumber[1] == 0x8b {
 		compressed = true
 	}
 
-	// Reset reader. Both file and bytes.Reader support seeking.
-	if s, ok := r.(io.Seeker); !ok {
+	// Reset reader. Both the reader from the param and bytes.Reader support seeking.
+	if s, ok := chainedReader.(io.Seeker); !ok {
 		return fmt.Errorf("reader doesn't support seeking")
 	} else {
 		_, err := s.Seek(0, 0)
@@ -209,15 +230,15 @@ func read(filePath string, obj any, encryptionKey string) error {
 	}
 
 	if compressed {
-		gzr, err := gzip.NewReader(r)
+		gzr, err := gzip.NewReader(chainedReader)
 		if err != nil {
 			return fmt.Errorf("couldn't create gzip reader: %w", err)
 		}
 		defer gzr.Close()
-		r = gzr
+		chainedReader = gzr
 	}
 
-	dec := gob.NewDecoder(r)
+	dec := gob.NewDecoder(chainedReader)
 	err = dec.Decode(obj)
 	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("couldn't decode object: %w", err)
diff --git a/persistence_test.go b/persistence_test.go
index 09676f9..64f4c68 100644
--- a/persistence_test.go
+++ b/persistence_test.go
@@ -123,7 +123,7 @@ func TestPersistenceRead(t *testing.T) {
 
 		// Read the file.
 		var res s
-		err = read(tempFilePath, &res, "")
+		err = readFromFile(tempFilePath, &res, "")
 		if err != nil {
 			t.Fatal("expected nil, got", err)
 		}
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ func TestPersistenceRead(t *testing.T) {
 
 		// Read the file.
 		var res s
-		err = read(tempFilePath, &res, "")
+		err = readFromFile(tempFilePath, &res, "")
 		if err != nil {
 			t.Fatal("expected nil, got", err)
 		}
@@ -220,7 +220,7 @@ func TestPersistenceEncryption(t *testing.T) {
 
 			// Read the file.
 			var res s
-			err = read(tc.filePath, &res, encryptionKey)
+			err = readFromFile(tc.filePath, &res, encryptionKey)
 			if err != nil {
 				t.Fatal("expected nil, got", err)
 			}