diff --git a/mdio/dataset_factory.h b/mdio/dataset_factory.h
index cfa99eb..745cffb 100644
--- a/mdio/dataset_factory.h
+++ b/mdio/dataset_factory.h
@@ -323,6 +323,71 @@ inline absl::Status apply_v3_codecs(nlohmann::json& input /*NOLINT*/,
   return absl::OkStatus();
 }
 
+/**
+ * @brief Wraps a V3 codec pipeline in a sharding_indexed codec when the spec
+ * requests sharding via metadata.chunkGrid.configuration.shardShape.
+ *
+ * Decouples the storage object size (the shard = the array-level chunk) from
+ * the read/decompress granularity (the inner chunk). The inner chunk is
+ * whatever transform_chunks already wrote (from chunkShape); the array chunk
+ * grid is rewritten to the shard shape, and the existing inner codecs are
+ * nested inside the sharding codec. A no-op when shardShape is absent.
+ * @param input A MDIO Variable spec
+ * @param variable A Variable stub (will be modified)
+ * @return OkStatus, or InvalidArgumentError if shardShape is malformed or is
+ * not a positive integer multiple of chunkShape on every axis.
+ */
+inline absl::Status apply_v3_sharding(const nlohmann::json& input,
+                                      nlohmann::json& variable /*NOLINT*/) {
+  if (!input.contains("metadata") ||
+      !input["metadata"].contains("chunkGrid")) {
+    return absl::OkStatus();
+  }
+  const auto& grid = input["metadata"]["chunkGrid"];
+  if (!grid.contains("configuration") ||
+      !grid["configuration"].contains("shardShape")) {
+    return absl::OkStatus();
+  }
+
+  const nlohmann::json shard_shape = grid["configuration"]["shardShape"];
+  const nlohmann::json inner_chunk =
+      variable["metadata"]["chunk_grid"]["configuration"]["chunk_shape"];
+
+  if (!shard_shape.is_array() || !inner_chunk.is_array() ||
+      shard_shape.size() != inner_chunk.size()) {
+    return absl::InvalidArgumentError(
+        "shardShape must be an array matching the rank of chunkShape");
+  }
+  for (size_t i = 0; i < shard_shape.size(); ++i) {
+    const auto s = shard_shape[i].get<int64_t>();
+    const auto c = inner_chunk[i].get<int64_t>();
+    if (c <= 0 || s <= 0 || s % c != 0) {
+      return absl::InvalidArgumentError(
+          "shardShape must be a positive integer multiple of chunkShape on "
+          "every axis");
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Nest the existing inner codec pipeline inside a sharding_indexed codec.
+  const nlohmann::json inner_codecs = variable["metadata"]["codecs"];
+  nlohmann::json sharding = {
+      {"name", "sharding_indexed"},
+      {"configuration",
+       {{"chunk_shape", inner_chunk},
+        {"codecs", inner_codecs},
+        {"index_codecs",
+         nlohmann::json::array(
+             {{{"name", "bytes"}, {"configuration", {{"endian", "little"}}}},
+              {{"name", "crc32c"}}})},
+        {"index_location", "end"}}}};
+
+  variable["metadata"]["codecs"] = nlohmann::json::array({sharding});
+  // The array-level chunk (the storage object) is now the shard.
+  variable["metadata"]["chunk_grid"]["configuration"]["chunk_shape"] =
+      shard_shape;
+  return absl::OkStatus();
+}
+
 /**
  * @brief Applies the Blosc compressor to a V2 compressor object.
  *
@@ -650,6 +715,9 @@ inline tensorstore::Result<nlohmann::json> from_json_to_spec(
   MDIO_RETURN_IF_ERROR(transform_compressor(json, variableStub, version));
   transform_shape(json, variableStub, dimensionMap);
   transform_chunks(json, variableStub, layout);
+  if (layout.uses_codec_pipeline) {
+    MDIO_RETURN_IF_ERROR(apply_v3_sharding(json, variableStub));
+  }
 
   // Fill values depend only on the data type, so they must be set for every
   // Variable (including dimension coordinates that omit a "metadata" block) to
diff --git a/mdio/dataset_schema.h b/mdio/dataset_schema.h
index e57f456..418836a 100644
--- a/mdio/dataset_schema.h
+++ b/mdio/dataset_schema.h
@@ -610,6 +610,14 @@ would prematurely terminate a bare R"( )" literal. Keep the JSON delimiter.
                },
                "title": "Chunkshape",
                "type": "array"
+            },
+            "shardShape": {
+               "description": "Optional Zarr v3 shard (storage object) shape. When present, chunkShape becomes the inner read chunk and shardShape the storage object, packed via the sharding_indexed codec. Must be an integer multiple of chunkShape on every axis.",
+               "items": {
+                  "type": "integer"
+               },
+               "title": "Shardshape",
+               "type": "array"
             }
          },
          "required": [