diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index f4f6dacbb0be091f6b3689f9fa6fbfec3a1a89ab..47b23c6470a83dca8f74e649c816b47a4a69bfed 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -202,6 +202,8 @@ uptime-*.json
 /src/lib/libtor-osinfo-testing.a
 /src/lib/libtor-process.a
 /src/lib/libtor-process-testing.a
+/src/lib/libtor-pubsub.a
+/src/lib/libtor-pubsub-testing.a
 /src/lib/libtor-sandbox.a
 /src/lib/libtor-sandbox-testing.a
 /src/lib/libtor-string.a
diff --git a/Makefile.am b/Makefile.am
index 36d9725f38ecd2a5f679a3c083dc624ba3096333..44cfe17877fd7009f023f4d745b1819a5578e051 100644
--- a/Makefile.am
+++ b/Makefile.am
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ TOR_UTIL_LIBS = \
         src/lib/libtor-geoip.a \
 	src/lib/libtor-process.a \
         src/lib/libtor-buf.a \
+	src/lib/libtor-pubsub.a \
 	src/lib/libtor-dispatch.a \
 	src/lib/libtor-time.a \
 	src/lib/libtor-fs.a \
@@ -73,6 +74,7 @@ TOR_UTIL_TESTING_LIBS = \
         src/lib/libtor-geoip-testing.a \
 	src/lib/libtor-process-testing.a \
         src/lib/libtor-buf-testing.a \
+	src/lib/libtor-pubsub-testing.a \
 	src/lib/libtor-dispatch-testing.a \
 	src/lib/libtor-time-testing.a \
 	src/lib/libtor-fs-testing.a \
diff --git a/src/include.am b/src/include.am
index c6c351c8063cfc1930a6e067f258e21079ac0f4f..77c126ba45804267eab584775047afec70fb2d8f 100644
--- a/src/include.am
+++ b/src/include.am
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ include src/lib/malloc/include.am
 include src/lib/net/include.am
 include src/lib/osinfo/include.am
 include src/lib/process/include.am
+include src/lib/pubsub/include.am
 include src/lib/sandbox/include.am
 include src/lib/string/include.am
 include src/lib/subsys/include.am
diff --git a/src/lib/pubsub/include.am b/src/lib/pubsub/include.am
index 9856c94a5ddae4d3d82b1c9c9588a3af2d44f4d2..0ab2fd7b33741f00002a3f97d4498a68a188cfbe 100644
--- a/src/lib/pubsub/include.am
+++ b/src/lib/pubsub/include.am
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ endif
 
 src_lib_libtor_pubsub_a_SOURCES =			\
 	src/lib/pubsub/pubsub_build.c			\
+	src/lib/pubsub/pubsub_check.c			\
 	src/lib/pubsub/pubsub_publish.c
 
 src_lib_libtor_pubsub_testing_a_SOURCES = \
diff --git a/src/lib/pubsub/pubsub_build.c b/src/lib/pubsub/pubsub_build.c
index 72f2eacea812c079e67ea72c3d1098ed38a36730..7e4ab5ba8fa91a452a889f0b275fccaad11152f6 100644
--- a/src/lib/pubsub/pubsub_build.c
+++ b/src/lib/pubsub/pubsub_build.c
@@ -268,10 +268,8 @@ pubsub_builder_finalize(pubsub_builder_t *builder)
   if (builder->n_errors)
     goto err;
 
-  /* Coming in the next commit.
   if (pubsub_builder_check(builder) < 0)
     goto err;
-  */
 
   dispatcher = dispatch_new(builder->cfg);
 
diff --git a/src/lib/pubsub/pubsub_check.c b/src/lib/pubsub/pubsub_check.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..1b3853d8bb53780dd4972cb65ceccea11d8460b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/pubsub/pubsub_check.c
@@ -0,0 +1,368 @@
+/* Copyright (c) 2001, Matej Pfajfar.
+ * Copyright (c) 2001-2004, Roger Dingledine.
+ * Copyright (c) 2004-2006, Roger Dingledine, Nick Mathewson.
+ * Copyright (c) 2007-2018, The Tor Project, Inc. */
+/* See LICENSE for licensing information */
+
+/**
+ * @file pubsub_check.c
+ * @brief Enforce various requirements on a pubsub_builder.
+ **/
+
+#define PUBSUB_PRIVATE
+
+#include "lib/dispatch/dispatch_naming.h"
+#include "lib/dispatch/msgtypes.h"
+#include "lib/pubsub/pubsub_flags.h"
+#include "lib/pubsub/pubsub_builder_st.h"
+#include "lib/pubsub/pubsub_build.h"
+
+#include "lib/container/bitarray.h"
+#include "lib/container/smartlist.h"
+#include "lib/log/util_bug.h"
+#include "lib/malloc/malloc.h"
+#include "lib/string/compat_string.h"
+
+#include <string.h>
+
+static void pubsub_adjmap_add(pubsub_adjmap_t *map,
+                                const pubsub_cfg_t *item);
+
+/**
+ * Helper: contruct and return a new pubsub_adjacency_map from <b>cfg</b>.
+ * Return NULL on error.
+ **/
+static pubsub_adjmap_t *
+pubsub_build_adjacency_map(const pubsub_items_t *cfg)
+{
+  pubsub_adjmap_t *map = tor_malloc_zero(sizeof(*map));
+  const size_t n_subsystems = get_num_subsys_ids();
+  const size_t n_msgs = get_num_message_ids();
+
+  map->n_subsystems = n_subsystems;
+  map->n_msgs = n_msgs;
+
+  map->pub_by_subsys = tor_calloc(n_subsystems, sizeof(smartlist_t*));
+  map->sub_by_subsys = tor_calloc(n_subsystems, sizeof(smartlist_t*));
+  map->pub_by_msg = tor_calloc(n_msgs, sizeof(smartlist_t*));
+  map->sub_by_msg = tor_calloc(n_msgs, sizeof(smartlist_t*));
+
+  SMARTLIST_FOREACH_BEGIN(cfg->items, const pubsub_cfg_t *, item) {
+    pubsub_adjmap_add(map, item);
+  } SMARTLIST_FOREACH_END(item);
+
+  return map;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Helper: add a single pubsub_cfg_t to an adjacency map.
+ **/
+static void
+pubsub_adjmap_add(pubsub_adjmap_t *map,
+                  const pubsub_cfg_t *item)
+{
+  smartlist_t **by_subsys;
+  smartlist_t **by_msg;
+
+  tor_assert(item->subsys < map->n_subsystems);
+  tor_assert(item->msg < map->n_msgs);
+
+  if (item->is_publish) {
+    by_subsys = &map->pub_by_subsys[item->subsys];
+    by_msg = &map->pub_by_msg[item->msg];
+  } else {
+    by_subsys = &map->sub_by_subsys[item->subsys];
+    by_msg = &map->sub_by_msg[item->msg];
+  }
+
+  if (! *by_subsys)
+    *by_subsys = smartlist_new();
+  if (! *by_msg)
+    *by_msg = smartlist_new();
+  smartlist_add(*by_subsys, (void*) item);
+  smartlist_add(*by_msg, (void *) item);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Release all storage held by m and set m to NULL.
+ **/
+#define pubsub_adjmap_free(m) \
+  FREE_AND_NULL(pubsub_adjmap_t, pubsub_adjmap_free_, m)
+
+/**
+ * Free every element of an <b>n</b>-element array of smartlists, then
+ * free the array itself.
+ **/
+static void
+pubsub_adjmap_free_helper(smartlist_t **lsts, size_t n)
+{
+  if (!lsts)
+    return;
+
+  for (unsigned i = 0; i < n; ++i) {
+    smartlist_free(lsts[i]);
+  }
+  tor_free(lsts);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Release all storage held by <b>map</b>.
+ **/
+static void
+pubsub_adjmap_free_(pubsub_adjmap_t *map)
+{
+  if (!map)
+    return;
+  pubsub_adjmap_free_helper(map->pub_by_subsys, map->n_subsystems);
+  pubsub_adjmap_free_helper(map->sub_by_subsys, map->n_subsystems);
+  pubsub_adjmap_free_helper(map->pub_by_msg, map->n_msgs);
+  pubsub_adjmap_free_helper(map->sub_by_msg, map->n_msgs);
+  tor_free(map);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Helper: return the length of <b>sl</b>, or 0 if sl is NULL.
+ **/
+static int
+smartlist_len_opt(const smartlist_t *sl)
+{
+  if (sl)
+    return smartlist_len(sl);
+  else
+    return 0;
+}
+
+/** Return a pointer to a statically allocated string encoding the
+ * dispatcher flags in <b>flags</b>. */
+static const char *
+format_flags(unsigned flags)
+{
+  static char buf[32];
+  buf[0] = 0;
+  if (flags & DISP_FLAG_EXCL) {
+    strlcat(buf, " EXCL", sizeof(buf));
+  }
+  if (flags & DISP_FLAG_STUB) {
+    strlcat(buf, " STUB", sizeof(buf));
+  }
+  return buf[0] ? buf+1 : buf;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Log a message containing a description of <b>cfg</b> at severity, prefixed
+ * by the string <b>prefix</b>.
+ */
+static void
+pubsub_cfg_dump(const pubsub_cfg_t *cfg, int severity, const char *prefix)
+{
+  if (!prefix)
+    prefix = 0;
+
+  tor_log(severity, LD_MESG,
+          "%s%s %s: %s{%s} on %s (%s) <%u %u %u %u %x> [%s:%d]",
+          prefix,
+          get_subsys_id_name(cfg->subsys),
+          cfg->is_publish ? "PUB" : "SUB",
+          get_message_id_name(cfg->msg),
+          get_msg_type_id_name(cfg->type),
+          get_channel_id_name(cfg->channel),
+          format_flags(cfg->flags),
+          cfg->subsys, cfg->msg, cfg->type, cfg->channel, cfg->flags,
+          cfg->added_by_file, cfg->added_by_line);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Check whether there are any errors or inconsistencies for the message
+ * described by <b>msg</b> in <b>map</b>.  If there are problems, log about
+ * them, and return -1.  Otherwise return 0.
+ **/
+static int
+lint_message(const pubsub_adjmap_t *map, message_id_t msg)
+{
+  /* NOTE: Some of the checks in this function are maybe over-zealous, and we
+   * might not want to have them forever.  I've marked them with [?] below.
+   */
+  if (BUG(msg >= map->n_msgs))
+    return 0; // LCOV_EXCL_LINE
+
+  const smartlist_t *pub = map->pub_by_msg[msg];
+  const smartlist_t *sub = map->sub_by_msg[msg];
+
+  const size_t n_pub = smartlist_len_opt(pub);
+  const size_t n_sub = smartlist_len_opt(sub);
+
+  if (n_pub == 0 && n_sub == 0) {
+    log_info(LD_MESG, "Nobody is publishing or subscribing to message %u "
+             "(%s).",
+             msg, get_message_id_name(msg));
+    return 0; // No publishers or subscribers: nothing to do.
+  }
+
+  /* We'll set this to false if there are any problems. */
+  bool ok = true;
+
+  /* First make sure that if there are publishers, there are subscribers. */
+  if (n_pub == 0) {
+    log_warn(LD_MESG|LD_BUG,
+             "Message %u (%s) has subscribers, but no publishers.",
+            msg, get_message_id_name(msg));
+    ok = false;
+  } else if (n_sub == 0) {
+    log_warn(LD_MESG|LD_BUG,
+             "Message %u (%s) has publishers, but no subscribers.",
+            msg, get_message_id_name(msg));
+    ok = false;
+  }
+
+  /* The 'all' list has the publishers and the subscribers. */
+  smartlist_t *all = smartlist_new();
+  if (pub)
+    smartlist_add_all(all, pub);
+  if (sub)
+    smartlist_add_all(all, sub);
+  const pubsub_cfg_t *item0 = smartlist_get(all, 0);
+
+  /* Indicates which subsystems we've found publishing/subscribing here. */
+  bitarray_t *published_by = bitarray_init_zero((unsigned)map->n_subsystems);
+  bitarray_t *subscribed_by = bitarray_init_zero((unsigned)map->n_subsystems);
+  bool pub_excl = false, sub_excl = false, chan_same = true, type_same = true;
+
+  /* Make sure that the messages all have the same channel and type;
+   * check whether the DISP_FLAG_EXCL flag is used;
+   * and if any subsystem is publishing or subscribing to it twice [??].
+   */
+  SMARTLIST_FOREACH_BEGIN(all, const pubsub_cfg_t *, cfg) {
+    if (cfg->channel != item0->channel) {
+      chan_same = false;
+    }
+    if (cfg->type != item0->type) {
+      type_same = false;
+    }
+    if (cfg->flags & DISP_FLAG_EXCL) {
+      if (cfg->is_publish)
+        pub_excl = true;
+      else
+        sub_excl = true;
+    }
+    if (cfg->is_publish) {
+      if (bitarray_is_set(published_by, cfg->subsys)) {
+        log_warn(LD_MESG|LD_BUG,
+                 "Message %u (%s) is configured to be published by subsystem "
+                 "%u (%s) more than once.",
+                 msg, get_message_id_name(msg),
+                 cfg->subsys, get_subsys_id_name(cfg->subsys));
+        ok = false;
+      }
+      bitarray_set(published_by, cfg->subsys);
+    } else {
+      if (bitarray_is_set(subscribed_by, cfg->subsys)) {
+        log_warn(LD_MESG|LD_BUG,
+                 "Message %u (%s) is configured to be subscribed by subsystem "
+                 "%u (%s) more than once.",
+                 msg, get_message_id_name(msg),
+                 cfg->subsys, get_subsys_id_name(cfg->subsys));
+        ok = false;
+      }
+      bitarray_set(subscribed_by, cfg->subsys);
+    }
+  } SMARTLIST_FOREACH_END(cfg);
+
+  /* Check whether any subsystem is publishing and subscribing the same
+   * message. [??]
+   */
+  for (unsigned i = 0; i < map->n_subsystems; ++i) {
+    if (bitarray_is_set(published_by, i) &&
+        bitarray_is_set(subscribed_by, i)) {
+      log_warn(LD_MESG|LD_BUG,
+               "Message %u (%s) is published and subscribed by the same "
+               "subsystem %u (%s)",
+               msg, get_message_id_name(msg),
+               i, get_subsys_id_name(i));
+      ok = false;
+    }
+  }
+
+  if (! chan_same) {
+    log_warn(LD_MESG|LD_BUG,
+             "Message %u (%s) is associated with multiple inconsistent "
+             "channels.",
+            msg, get_message_id_name(msg));
+    ok = false;
+  }
+  if (! type_same) {
+    log_warn(LD_MESG|LD_BUG,
+             "Message %u (%s) is associated with multiple inconsistent "
+             "message types.",
+            msg, get_message_id_name(msg));
+    ok = false;
+  }
+
+  /* Enforce exclusive-ness for publishers and subscribers that have asked for
+   * it.
+   */
+  if (pub_excl && smartlist_len(pub) > 1) {
+    log_warn(LD_MESG|LD_BUG,
+             "Message %u (%s) has multiple publishers, but at least one is "
+             "marked as exclusive.",
+            msg, get_message_id_name(msg));
+    ok = false;
+  }
+  if (sub_excl && smartlist_len(sub) > 1) {
+    log_warn(LD_MESG|LD_BUG,
+             "Message %u (%s) has multiple subscribers, but at least one is "
+             "marked as exclusive.",
+            msg, get_message_id_name(msg));
+    ok = false;
+  }
+
+  if (!ok) {
+    /* There was a problem -- let's log all the publishers and subscribers on
+     * this message */
+    SMARTLIST_FOREACH(all, pubsub_cfg_t *, cfg,
+                      pubsub_cfg_dump(cfg, LOG_WARN, "   "));
+  }
+
+  smartlist_free(all);
+  bitarray_free(published_by);
+  bitarray_free(subscribed_by);
+
+  return ok ? 0 : -1;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Check all the messages in <b>map</b> for consistency.  Return 0 on success,
+ * -1 on problems.
+ **/
+static int
+pubsub_adjmap_check(const pubsub_adjmap_t *map)
+{
+  bool all_ok = true;
+  for (unsigned i = 0; i < map->n_msgs; ++i) {
+    if (lint_message(map, i) < 0) {
+      all_ok = false;
+    }
+  }
+  return all_ok ? 0 : -1;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Check builder for consistency and various constraints. Return 0 on success,
+ * -1 on failure.
+ **/
+int
+pubsub_builder_check(pubsub_builder_t *builder)
+{
+  pubsub_adjmap_t *map = pubsub_build_adjacency_map(builder->items);
+  int rv = -1;
+
+  if (!map)
+    goto err; // should be impossible
+
+  if (pubsub_adjmap_check(map) < 0)
+    goto err;
+
+  rv = 0;
+ err:
+  pubsub_adjmap_free(map);
+  return rv;
+}