diff --git a/app/modules/pipe.c b/app/modules/pipe.c
index 77788352..c46770af 100644
--- a/app/modules/pipe.c
+++ b/app/modules/pipe.c
@@ -435,12 +435,19 @@ static int pipe_reader(lua_State *L) {
   return 1;
 }
 
+// return number of records
+static int pipe_nrec (lua_State *L) {
+  lua_pushinteger(L, lua_objlen(L, 1) - 1);
+  return 1;
+}
+
 LROT_BEGIN(pipe_funcs, NULL, 0)
   LROT_FUNCENTRY( __len, pipe__len )
   LROT_FUNCENTRY( __tostring, pipe__tostring )
   LROT_FUNCENTRY( read, pipe_read )
   LROT_FUNCENTRY( reader, pipe_reader )
   LROT_FUNCENTRY( unread, pipe_unread )
+  LROT_FUNCENTRY( nrec, pipe_nrec )
 LROT_END(pipe_funcs, NULL, 0)
 
 /* Using a index func is needed because the write method is at pipe[1] */
diff --git a/docs/modules/pipe.md b/docs/modules/pipe.md
index 1be4fa4f..0b717d54 100644
--- a/docs/modules/pipe.md
+++ b/docs/modules/pipe.md
@@ -129,3 +129,11 @@ Write a string to a pipe object.
 #### Returns
 Nothing
 
+
+## pobj:nrec()
+
+Return the number of internal records in the pipe.  Each record ranges from 1
+to 256 bytes in length, with full chunks being the most common case.  As
+extracting from a pipe only to `unread` if too few bytes are available, it may
+be useful to have a quickly estimated upper bound on the length of the string
+that would be returned.
diff --git a/lua_examples/pipeutils.lua b/lua_examples/pipeutils.lua
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9caf9ab0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lua_examples/pipeutils.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+-- A collection of pipe-based utility functions
+
+-- A convenience wrapper for chunking data arriving in bursts into more sizable
+-- blocks; `o` will be called once per chunk.  The `flush` method can be used to
+-- drain the internal buffer.  `flush` MUST be called at the end of the stream,
+-- **even if the stream is a multiple of the chunk size** due to internal
+-- buffering.  Flushing results in smaller chunk(s) being output, of course.
+local function chunker(o, csize, prio)
+  assert (type(o) == "function" and type(csize) == "number" and 1 <= csize)
+  local p = pipe.create(function(p)
+              -- wait until it looks very likely that read is going to succeed
+              -- and we won't have to unread.  This may hold slightly more than
+              -- a chunk in the underlying pipe object.
+              if 256 * (p:nrec() - 1) <= csize then return nil end
+
+              local d = p:read(csize)
+              if #d < csize
+               then p:unread(d) return false
+               else o(d)        return true
+              end
+            end, prio or node.task.LOW_PRIORITY)
+
+  return {
+    flush = function() for d in p:reader(csize) do o(d) end end,
+    write = function(d) p:write(d) end
+  }
+end
+
+-- Stream and decode lines of complete base64 blocks, calling `o(data)` with
+-- decoded chunks or calling `e(badinput, errorstr)` on error; the error
+-- callback must ensure that this conduit is never written to again.
+local function debase64(o, e, prio)
+  assert (type(o) == "function" and type(e) == "function")
+  local p = pipe.create(function(p)
+              local s = p:read("\n+")
+              if s:sub(-1) == "\n" then -- guard against incomplete line
+                s = s:match("^%s*(%S*)%s*$")
+                if #s ~= 0 then -- guard against empty line
+                  local ok, d = pcall(encoder.fromBase64, s)
+                  if ok then o(d) else e(s, d); return false end
+                end
+                return true
+              else
+                p:unread(s)
+                return false
+              end
+            end, prio or node.task.LOW_PRIORITY)
+  return { write = function(d) p:write(d) end }
+end
+
+return {
+  chunker = chunker,
+  debase64 = debase64,
+}
diff --git a/tools/luacheck_config.lua b/tools/luacheck_config.lua
index 947270d0..653b6dd5 100644
--- a/tools/luacheck_config.lua
+++ b/tools/luacheck_config.lua
@@ -487,6 +487,11 @@ stds.nodemcu_libs = {
         new = empty
       }
     },
+    pipe = {
+      fields = {
+        create = empty
+      }
+    },
     pwm = {
       fields = {
         close = empty,