diff --git a/.github/workflows/python-test.yml b/.github/workflows/python-test.yml
index dc5a385..606f51c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/python-test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/python-test.yml
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ on:
   pull_request:
     paths:
       - python/**
-      - rust/lance-context/**
+      - crates/**
       - .github/workflows/python-test.yml
 
 concurrency:
diff --git a/.github/workflows/rust-test.yml b/.github/workflows/rust-test.yml
index 6d6b85a..87d70d8 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/rust-test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/rust-test.yml
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ on:
       - main
   pull_request:
     paths:
-      - rust/**
+      - crates/**
       - .github/workflows/rust-test.yml
       - Cargo.toml
       - Cargo.lock
@@ -51,8 +51,8 @@ jobs:
           sudo apt update
           sudo apt install -y protobuf-compiler
       - name: Build tests
-        run: cargo test --manifest-path rust/lance-context/Cargo.toml --no-run
+        run: cargo test -p lance-context-core --no-run
       - name: Run unit tests
-        run: cargo test --manifest-path rust/lance-context/Cargo.toml --lib
+        run: cargo test -p lance-context-core --lib
       - name: Run doc tests
-        run: cargo test --manifest-path rust/lance-context/Cargo.toml --doc
+        run: cargo test -p lance-context-core --doc
diff --git a/.github/workflows/style.yml b/.github/workflows/style.yml
index 0f20754..8918a76 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/style.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/style.yml
@@ -5,10 +5,10 @@ on:
       - main
   pull_request:
     paths:
-      - rust/**
+      - crates/**
+      - Cargo.toml
+      - Cargo.lock
       - .github/workflows/style.yml
-      - rust/lance-context/Cargo.toml
-      - rust/lance-context/Cargo.lock
 
 concurrency:
   group: ${{ github.workflow }}-${{ github.event.pull_request.number || github.ref }}
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ jobs:
         with:
           components: rustfmt
       - name: Check formatting
-        run: cargo fmt --manifest-path rust/lance-context/Cargo.toml -- --check
+        run: cargo fmt --all -- --check
 
   clippy:
     runs-on: ubuntu-24.04
@@ -37,13 +37,13 @@ jobs:
       - uses: actions/checkout@v4
       - uses: Swatinem/rust-cache@v2
         with:
-          workspaces: rust/lance-context
+          workspaces: .
       - name: Install dependencies
         run: |
           sudo apt update
           sudo apt install -y protobuf-compiler
       - name: Clippy
-        run: cargo clippy --manifest-path rust/lance-context/Cargo.toml --all-targets -- -D warnings
+        run: cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets -- -D warnings
 
   typos:
     name: Spell Check
diff --git a/rust/lance-context/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
similarity index 98%
rename from rust/lance-context/Cargo.lock
rename to Cargo.lock
index ace5cb2..8690936 100644
--- a/rust/lance-context/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -3121,6 +3121,15 @@ dependencies = [
  "serde_core",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "indoc"
+version = "2.0.7"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "79cf5c93f93228cf8efb3ba362535fb11199ac548a09ce117c9b1adc3030d706"
+dependencies = [
+ "rustversion",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "inout"
 version = "0.1.4"
@@ -3383,6 +3392,13 @@ dependencies = [
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-context"
 version = "0.1.0"
+dependencies = [
+ "lance-context-core",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "lance-context-core"
+version = "0.1.0"
 dependencies = [
  "arrow-array",
  "arrow-ipc",
@@ -3398,6 +3414,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "tokio",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "lance-context-python"
+version = "0.1.0"
+dependencies = [
+ "chrono",
+ "lance-context",
+ "pyo3",
+ "tokio",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "lance-core"
 version = "1.0.1"
@@ -4141,6 +4167,15 @@ dependencies = [
  "libc",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "memoffset"
+version = "0.9.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "488016bfae457b036d996092f6cb448677611ce4449e970ceaf42695203f218a"
+dependencies = [
+ "autocfg",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "mime"
 version = "0.3.17"
@@ -4431,7 +4466,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
  "serde_urlencoded",
- "thiserror 2.0.17",
+ "thiserror 2.0.18",
  "tokio",
  "tracing",
  "url",
@@ -4923,6 +4958,68 @@ dependencies = [
  "cc",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "pyo3"
+version = "0.25.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "8970a78afe0628a3e3430376fc5fd76b6b45c4d43360ffd6cdd40bdde72b682a"
+dependencies = [
+ "indoc",
+ "libc",
+ "memoffset",
+ "once_cell",
+ "portable-atomic",
+ "pyo3-build-config",
+ "pyo3-ffi",
+ "pyo3-macros",
+ "unindent",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "pyo3-build-config"
+version = "0.25.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "458eb0c55e7ece017adeba38f2248ff3ac615e53660d7c71a238d7d2a01c7598"
+dependencies = [
+ "once_cell",
+ "target-lexicon",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "pyo3-ffi"
+version = "0.25.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "7114fe5457c61b276ab77c5055f206295b812608083644a5c5b2640c3102565c"
+dependencies = [
+ "libc",
+ "pyo3-build-config",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "pyo3-macros"
+version = "0.25.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "a8725c0a622b374d6cb051d11a0983786448f7785336139c3c94f5aa6bef7e50"
+dependencies = [
+ "proc-macro2",
+ "pyo3-macros-backend",
+ "quote",
+ "syn 2.0.114",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "pyo3-macros-backend"
+version = "0.25.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "4109984c22491085343c05b0dbc54ddc405c3cf7b4374fc533f5c3313a572ccc"
+dependencies = [
+ "heck",
+ "proc-macro2",
+ "pyo3-build-config",
+ "quote",
+ "syn 2.0.114",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "quick-xml"
 version = "0.37.5"
@@ -4957,7 +5054,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "rustc-hash",
  "rustls 0.23.36",
  "socket2 0.6.1",
- "thiserror 2.0.17",
+ "thiserror 2.0.18",
  "tokio",
  "tracing",
  "web-time",
@@ -4978,7 +5075,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "rustls 0.23.36",
  "rustls-pki-types",
  "slab",
- "thiserror 2.0.17",
+ "thiserror 2.0.18",
  "tinyvec",
  "tracing",
  "web-time",
@@ -5189,7 +5286,7 @@ checksum = "a4e608c6638b9c18977b00b475ac1f28d14e84b27d8d42f70e0bf1e3dec127ac"
 dependencies = [
  "getrandom 0.2.17",
  "libredox",
- "thiserror 2.0.17",
+ "thiserror 2.0.18",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -5842,7 +5939,7 @@ checksum = "297f631f50729c8c99b84667867963997ec0b50f32b2a7dbcab828ef0541e8bb"
 dependencies = [
  "num-bigint",
  "num-traits",
- "thiserror 2.0.17",
+ "thiserror 2.0.18",
  "time",
 ]
 
@@ -6129,7 +6226,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "tantivy-stacker",
  "tantivy-tokenizer-api",
  "tempfile",
- "thiserror 2.0.17",
+ "thiserror 2.0.18",
  "time",
  "uuid",
  "winapi",
@@ -6235,6 +6332,12 @@ version = "1.0.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "55937e1799185b12863d447f42597ed69d9928686b8d88a1df17376a097d8369"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "target-lexicon"
+version = "0.13.4"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "b1dd07eb858a2067e2f3c7155d54e929265c264e6f37efe3ee7a8d1b5a1dd0ba"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "tempfile"
 version = "3.24.0"
@@ -6259,11 +6362,11 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "thiserror"
-version = "2.0.17"
+version = "2.0.18"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "f63587ca0f12b72a0600bcba1d40081f830876000bb46dd2337a3051618f4fc8"
+checksum = "4288b5bcbc7920c07a1149a35cf9590a2aa808e0bc1eafaade0b80947865fbc4"
 dependencies = [
- "thiserror-impl 2.0.17",
+ "thiserror-impl 2.0.18",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -6279,9 +6382,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "thiserror-impl"
-version = "2.0.17"
+version = "2.0.18"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "3ff15c8ecd7de3849db632e14d18d2571fa09dfc5ed93479bc4485c7a517c913"
+checksum = "ebc4ee7f67670e9b64d05fa4253e753e016c6c95ff35b89b7941d6b856dec1d5"
 dependencies = [
  "proc-macro2",
  "quote",
@@ -6640,6 +6743,12 @@ version = "0.2.2"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "b4ac048d71ede7ee76d585517add45da530660ef4390e49b098733c6e897f254"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "unindent"
+version = "0.2.4"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "7264e107f553ccae879d21fbea1d6724ac785e8c3bfc762137959b5802826ef3"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "untrusted"
 version = "0.9.0"
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6c5fe2e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+[workspace]
+members = [
+    "crates/lance-context-core",
+    "crates/lance-context",
+    "python",
+]
+resolver = "2"
+
+[workspace.package]
+edition = "2021"
+license = "Apache-2.0"
+
+[workspace.metadata]
+# reserved for future use
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index bad65f8..7de4f2e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -23,9 +23,10 @@ Key motivations inspired by the broader Lance roadmap<sup>[1](https://github.com
 ## Project layout
 
 ```
-rust/lance-context     # Core Rust crate (ContextStore, schema, serialization)
-python/                # Python bindings, wheel build, and pytest suite
-python/tests/          # High-level integration tests
+crates/lance-context-core  # Pure Rust context engine (no Python deps)
+crates/lance-context       # Re-export crate consumed by downstream clients/bindings
+python/                    # PyO3 bindings, wheel build, and pytest suite
+python/tests/              # High-level integration tests
 ```
 
 ## Getting started
@@ -99,7 +100,7 @@ println!("Current version {}", store.version());
 ## Testing
 
 - `make test` – Python pytest suite (including persistence integration tests).
-- `cargo test --manifest-path rust/lance-context/Cargo.toml` – Rust unit tests.
+- `cargo test --manifest-path crates/lance-context-core/Cargo.toml` – Rust unit tests.
 - `python/.venv/bin/ruff check python/` and `python/.venv/bin/pyright` – linting/type checks.
 
 ## Roadmap
@@ -121,7 +122,7 @@ Contributions are welcome—feel free to comment on the issues above or open you
    make venv      # creates python/.venv using uv
    make install   # installs the package in editable mode with test extras
    make test      # runs pytest (python/tests/)
-   cargo test --manifest-path rust/lance-context/Cargo.toml
+   cargo test --manifest-path crates/lance-context-core/Cargo.toml
    ```
 4. Run linting/type checks: `python/.venv/bin/ruff check python/`, `python/.venv/bin/pyright`, and `~/.cargo/bin/cargo fmt -- --check`.
 5. Open a Pull Request with a clear summary of the change.
diff --git a/rust/lance-context/Cargo.toml b/crates/lance-context-core/Cargo.toml
similarity index 93%
rename from rust/lance-context/Cargo.toml
rename to crates/lance-context-core/Cargo.toml
index 67a5752..0ec3e05 100644
--- a/rust/lance-context/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/lance-context-core/Cargo.toml
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 [package]
-name = "lance-context"
+name = "lance-context-core"
 version = "0.1.0"
 edition = "2021"
 license = "Apache-2.0"
 authors = ["Lance Devs <dev@lancedb.com>"]
 repository = "https://github.com/lancedb/lance-context"
-readme = "README.md"
+readme = "../../README.md"
 description = "Multimodal, versioned context storage for agentic workflows"
 keywords = ["context", "multimodal", "lance", "agents", "storage"]
 categories = ["database", "data-structures", "science"]
diff --git a/crates/lance-context-core/README.md b/crates/lance-context-core/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2cf1f1a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/lance-context-core/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+# lance-context-core
+
+Pure Rust engine for the lance-context project. This crate is free of Python
+dependencies and is re-exported by the `lance-context` wrapper crate.
diff --git a/rust/lance-context/src/context.rs b/crates/lance-context-core/src/context.rs
similarity index 100%
rename from rust/lance-context/src/context.rs
rename to crates/lance-context-core/src/context.rs
diff --git a/rust/lance-context/src/lib.rs b/crates/lance-context-core/src/lib.rs
similarity index 100%
rename from rust/lance-context/src/lib.rs
rename to crates/lance-context-core/src/lib.rs
diff --git a/rust/lance-context/src/record.rs b/crates/lance-context-core/src/record.rs
similarity index 100%
rename from rust/lance-context/src/record.rs
rename to crates/lance-context-core/src/record.rs
diff --git a/rust/lance-context/src/serde.rs b/crates/lance-context-core/src/serde.rs
similarity index 100%
rename from rust/lance-context/src/serde.rs
rename to crates/lance-context-core/src/serde.rs
diff --git a/rust/lance-context/src/store.rs b/crates/lance-context-core/src/store.rs
similarity index 100%
rename from rust/lance-context/src/store.rs
rename to crates/lance-context-core/src/store.rs
diff --git a/crates/lance-context/Cargo.toml b/crates/lance-context/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5f29746
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/lance-context/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+[package]
+name = "lance-context"
+version = "0.1.0"
+edition = "2021"
+license = "Apache-2.0"
+authors = ["Lance Devs <dev@lancedb.com>"]
+repository = "https://github.com/lancedb/lance-context"
+description = "Public re-export crate for lance-context bindings"
+readme = "../../README.md"
+
+[dependencies]
+lance-context-core = { path = "../lance-context-core" }
diff --git a/crates/lance-context/src/lib.rs b/crates/lance-context/src/lib.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1264030
--- /dev/null
+++ b/crates/lance-context/src/lib.rs
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+pub use lance_context_core::*;
diff --git a/python/Cargo.toml b/python/Cargo.toml
index a785741..642b242 100644
--- a/python/Cargo.toml
+++ b/python/Cargo.toml
@@ -11,6 +11,6 @@ crate-type = ["cdylib"]
 
 [dependencies]
 chrono = { version = "0.4", default-features = false, features = ["clock"] }
-lance-context = { path = "../rust/lance-context" }
+lance-context = { path = "../crates/lance-context" }
 pyo3 = { version = "0.25", features = ["extension-module", "abi3-py39", "py-clone"] }
 tokio = { version = "1", features = ["rt-multi-thread"] }
diff --git a/python/src/lib.rs b/python/src/lib.rs
index befdd70..d4e37b9 100644
--- a/python/src/lib.rs
+++ b/python/src/lib.rs
@@ -184,7 +184,7 @@ fn search_hit_to_py(py: Python<'_>, hit: SearchResult) -> PyResult<PyObject> {
             state_dict.set_item("custom", metadata.custom)?;
             state_dict.into_pyobject(py)?.unbind().into()
         }
-        None => py.None().into_pyobject(py)?.unbind().into(),
+        None => py.None().into_pyobject(py)?.unbind(),
     };
     dict.set_item("state_metadata", state_obj)?;
     dict.set_item("content_type", content_type)?;
diff --git a/rust/lance-context/README.md b/rust/lance-context/README.md
deleted file mode 100644
index 1e417a3..0000000
--- a/rust/lance-context/README.md
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,4 +0,0 @@
-# lance-context (rust)
-
-Core Rust crate for the lance-context project.
-