diff --git a/src/backend/access/transam/xlogreader.c b/src/backend/access/transam/xlogreader.c
index 018fdf3d34..b67da2ee92 100644
--- a/src/backend/access/transam/xlogreader.c
+++ b/src/backend/access/transam/xlogreader.c
@@ -118,6 +118,11 @@ XLogReaderAllocate(XLogPageReadCB pagereadfunc, void *private_data)
 		return NULL;
 	}
 
+#ifndef FRONTEND
+	/* Will be loaded on first read */
+	state->timelineHistory = NIL;
+#endif
+
 	return state;
 }
 
@@ -137,6 +142,10 @@ XLogReaderFree(XLogReaderState *state)
 	pfree(state->errormsg_buf);
 	if (state->readRecordBuf)
 		pfree(state->readRecordBuf);
+#ifndef FRONTEND
+	if (state->timelineHistory)
+		list_free_deep(state->timelineHistory);
+#endif
 	pfree(state->readBuf);
 	pfree(state);
 }
diff --git a/src/backend/access/transam/xlogutils.c b/src/backend/access/transam/xlogutils.c
index 2635d80dc0..f6ca2b95e5 100644
--- a/src/backend/access/transam/xlogutils.c
+++ b/src/backend/access/transam/xlogutils.c
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@
 
 #include <unistd.h>
 
+#include "access/timeline.h"
 #include "access/xlog.h"
 #include "access/xlog_internal.h"
 #include "access/xlogutils.h"
@@ -659,6 +660,7 @@ XLogRead(char *buf, TimeLineID tli, XLogRecPtr startptr, Size count)
 	/* state maintained across calls */
 	static int	sendFile = -1;
 	static XLogSegNo sendSegNo = 0;
+	static TimeLineID sendTLI = 0;
 	static uint32 sendOff = 0;
 
 	p = buf;
@@ -674,7 +676,8 @@ XLogRead(char *buf, TimeLineID tli, XLogRecPtr startptr, Size count)
 		startoff = recptr % XLogSegSize;
 
 		/* Do we need to switch to a different xlog segment? */
-		if (sendFile < 0 || !XLByteInSeg(recptr, sendSegNo))
+		if (sendFile < 0 || !XLByteInSeg(recptr, sendSegNo) ||
+			sendTLI != tli)
 		{
 			char		path[MAXPGPATH];
 
@@ -701,6 +704,7 @@ XLogRead(char *buf, TimeLineID tli, XLogRecPtr startptr, Size count)
 									path)));
 			}
 			sendOff = 0;
+			sendTLI = tli;
 		}
 
 		/* Need to seek in the file? */
@@ -748,6 +752,147 @@ XLogRead(char *buf, TimeLineID tli, XLogRecPtr startptr, Size count)
 	}
 }
 
+/*
+ * Determine XLogReaderState->currTLI and ->currTLIValidUntil;
+ * XLogReaderState->EndRecPtr, ->currRecPtr and ThisTimeLineID affect the
+ * decision.  This may later be used to determine which xlog segment file to
+ * open, etc.
+ *
+ * We switch to an xlog segment from the new timeline eagerly when on a
+ * historical timeline, as soon as we reach the start of the xlog segment
+ * containing the timeline switch.  The server copied the segment to the new
+ * timeline so all the data up to the switch point is the same, but there's no
+ * guarantee the old segment will still exist. It may have been deleted or
+ * renamed with a .partial suffix so we can't necessarily keep reading from
+ * the old TLI even though tliSwitchPoint says it's OK.
+ *
+ * Because of this, callers MAY NOT assume that currTLI is the timeline that
+ * will be in a page's xlp_tli; the page may begin on an older timeline or we
+ * might be reading from historical timeline data on a segment that's been
+ * copied to a new timeline.
+ */
+static void
+XLogReadDetermineTimeline(XLogReaderState *state)
+{
+	/* Read the history on first time through */
+	if (state->timelineHistory == NIL)
+		state->timelineHistory = readTimeLineHistory(ThisTimeLineID);
+
+	/*
+	 * Are we reading the record immediately following the one we read last
+	 * time?  If not, then don't use the cached timeline info.
+	 */
+	if (state->currRecPtr != state->EndRecPtr)
+	{
+		state->currTLI = 0;
+		state->currTLIValidUntil = InvalidXLogRecPtr;
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * Are we reading a timeline that used to be the latest one, but became
+	 * historical?	This can happen in a replica that gets promoted, and in a
+	 * cascading replica whose upstream gets promoted.  In either case,
+	 * re-read the timeline history data.  We cannot read past the timeline
+	 * switch point, because either the records in the old timeline might be
+	 * invalid, or worse, they may valid but *different* from the ones we
+	 * should be reading.
+	 */
+	if (state->currTLIValidUntil == InvalidXLogRecPtr &&
+		state->currTLI != ThisTimeLineID &&
+		state->currTLI != 0)
+	{
+		/* re-read timeline history */
+		list_free_deep(state->timelineHistory);
+		state->timelineHistory = readTimeLineHistory(ThisTimeLineID);
+
+		elog(DEBUG2, "timeline %u became historical during decoding",
+			 state->currTLI);
+
+		/* then invalidate the cached timeline info */
+		state->currTLI = 0;
+		state->currTLIValidUntil = InvalidXLogRecPtr;
+	}
+
+	/*
+	 * Are we reading a record immediately following a timeline switch?  If
+	 * so, we must follow the switch too.
+	 */
+	if (state->currRecPtr == state->EndRecPtr &&
+		state->currTLI != 0 &&
+		state->currTLIValidUntil != InvalidXLogRecPtr &&
+		state->currRecPtr >= state->currTLIValidUntil)
+	{
+		elog(DEBUG2,
+			 "requested record %X/%X is on segment containing end of timeline %u valid until %X/%X, switching to next timeline",
+			 (uint32) (state->currRecPtr >> 32),
+			 (uint32) state->currRecPtr,
+			 state->currTLI,
+			 (uint32) (state->currTLIValidUntil >> 32),
+			 (uint32) (state->currTLIValidUntil));
+
+		/* invalidate TLI info so we look up the next TLI */
+		state->currTLI = 0;
+		state->currTLIValidUntil = InvalidXLogRecPtr;
+	}
+
+	if (state->currTLI == 0)
+	{
+		/*
+		 * Something changed; work out what timeline this record is on. We
+		 * might read it from the segment on this TLI or, if the segment is
+		 * also contained by newer timelines, the copy from a newer TLI.
+		 */
+		state->currTLI = tliOfPointInHistory(state->currRecPtr,
+											 state->timelineHistory);
+
+		/*
+		 * Look for the most recent timeline that's on the same xlog segment
+		 * as this record, since that's the only one we can assume is still
+		 * readable.
+		 */
+		while (state->currTLI != ThisTimeLineID &&
+			   state->currTLIValidUntil == InvalidXLogRecPtr)
+		{
+			XLogRecPtr	tliSwitch;
+			TimeLineID	nextTLI;
+
+			CHECK_FOR_INTERRUPTS();
+
+			tliSwitch = tliSwitchPoint(state->currTLI, state->timelineHistory,
+									   &nextTLI);
+
+			/* round ValidUntil down to start of seg containing the switch */
+			state->currTLIValidUntil =
+				((tliSwitch / XLogSegSize) * XLogSegSize);
+
+			if (state->currRecPtr >= state->currTLIValidUntil)
+			{
+				/*
+				 * The new currTLI ends on this WAL segment so check the next
+				 * TLI to see if it's the last one on the segment.
+				 *
+				 * If that's the current TLI we'll stop searching.
+				 */
+				state->currTLI = nextTLI;
+				state->currTLIValidUntil = InvalidXLogRecPtr;
+			}
+		}
+
+		/*
+		 * We're now either reading from the first xlog segment in the current
+		 * server's timeline or the most recent historical timeline that
+		 * exists on the target segment.
+		 */
+		elog(DEBUG2, "XLog read ptr %X/%X is on segment with TLI %u valid until %X/%X, server current TLI is %u",
+			 (uint32) (state->currRecPtr >> 32),
+			 (uint32) state->currRecPtr,
+			 state->currTLI,
+			 (uint32) (state->currTLIValidUntil >> 32),
+			 (uint32) (state->currTLIValidUntil),
+			 ThisTimeLineID);
+	}
+}
+
 /*
  * read_page callback for reading local xlog files
  *
@@ -761,48 +906,101 @@ XLogRead(char *buf, TimeLineID tli, XLogRecPtr startptr, Size count)
  */
 int
 read_local_xlog_page(XLogReaderState *state, XLogRecPtr targetPagePtr,
-	int reqLen, XLogRecPtr targetRecPtr, char *cur_page, TimeLineID *pageTLI)
+					 int reqLen, XLogRecPtr targetRecPtr, char *cur_page,
+					 TimeLineID *pageTLI)
 {
-	XLogRecPtr	flushptr,
+	XLogRecPtr	read_upto,
 				loc;
 	int			count;
 
 	loc = targetPagePtr + reqLen;
+
+	/* Make sure enough xlog is available... */
 	while (1)
 	{
 		/*
-		 * TODO: we're going to have to do something more intelligent about
-		 * timelines on standbys. Use readTimeLineHistory() and
-		 * tliOfPointInHistory() to get the proper LSN? For now we'll catch
-		 * that case earlier, but the code and TODO is left in here for when
-		 * that changes.
+		 * Check which timeline to get the record from.
+		 *
+		 * We have to do it each time through the loop because if we're in
+		 * recovery as a cascading standby, the current timeline might've
+		 * become historical.
 		 */
-		if (!RecoveryInProgress())
+		XLogReadDetermineTimeline(state);
+
+		if (state->currTLI == ThisTimeLineID)
 		{
-			*pageTLI = ThisTimeLineID;
-			flushptr = GetFlushRecPtr();
+			/*
+			 * We're reading from the current timeline so we might have to
+			 * wait for the desired record to be generated (or, for a standby,
+			 * received & replayed)
+			 */
+			if (!RecoveryInProgress())
+			{
+				*pageTLI = ThisTimeLineID;
+				read_upto = GetFlushRecPtr();
+			}
+			else
+				read_upto = GetXLogReplayRecPtr(pageTLI);
+
+			if (loc <= read_upto)
+				break;
+
+			CHECK_FOR_INTERRUPTS();
+			pg_usleep(1000L);
 		}
 		else
-			flushptr = GetXLogReplayRecPtr(pageTLI);
+		{
+			/*
+			 * We're on a historical timeline, so limit reading to the switch
+			 * point where we moved to the next timeline.
+			 *
+			 * We don't need to GetFlushRecPtr or GetXLogReplayRecPtr. We know
+			 * about the new timeline, so we must've received past the end of
+			 * it.
+			 */
+			read_upto = state->currTLIValidUntil;
 
-		if (loc <= flushptr)
+			/*
+			 * Setting pageTLI to our wanted record's TLI is slightly wrong;
+			 * the page might begin on an older timeline if it contains a
+			 * timeline switch, since its xlog segment will have been copied
+			 * from the prior timeline. This is pretty harmless though, as
+			 * nothing cares so long as the timeline doesn't go backwards.  We
+			 * should read the page header instead; FIXME someday.
+			 */
+			*pageTLI = state->currTLI;
+
+			/* No need to wait on a historical timeline */
 			break;
-
-		CHECK_FOR_INTERRUPTS();
-		pg_usleep(1000L);
+		}
 	}
 
-	/* more than one block available */
-	if (targetPagePtr + XLOG_BLCKSZ <= flushptr)
+	if (targetPagePtr + XLOG_BLCKSZ <= read_upto)
+	{
+		/*
+		 * more than one block available; read only that block, have caller
+		 * come back if they need more.
+		 */
 		count = XLOG_BLCKSZ;
-	/* not enough data there */
-	else if (targetPagePtr + reqLen > flushptr)
+	}
+	else if (targetPagePtr + reqLen > read_upto)
+	{
+		/* not enough data there */
 		return -1;
-	/* part of the page available */
+	}
 	else
-		count = flushptr - targetPagePtr;
+	{
+		/* enough bytes available to satisfy the request */
+		count = read_upto - targetPagePtr;
+	}
 
+	/*
+	 * Even though we just determined how much of the page can be validly read
+	 * as 'count', read the whole page anyway. It's guaranteed to be
+	 * zero-padded up to the page boundary if it's incomplete.
+	 */
 	XLogRead(cur_page, *pageTLI, targetPagePtr, XLOG_BLCKSZ);
 
+	/* number of valid bytes in the buffer */
 	return count;
 }
diff --git a/src/backend/replication/logical/logicalfuncs.c b/src/backend/replication/logical/logicalfuncs.c
index 3853ab4cf5..dd6cd62ccd 100644
--- a/src/backend/replication/logical/logicalfuncs.c
+++ b/src/backend/replication/logical/logicalfuncs.c
@@ -231,12 +231,6 @@ pg_logical_slot_get_changes_guts(FunctionCallInfo fcinfo, bool confirm, bool bin
 	rsinfo->setResult = p->tupstore;
 	rsinfo->setDesc = p->tupdesc;
 
-	/* compute the current end-of-wal */
-	if (!RecoveryInProgress())
-		end_of_wal = GetFlushRecPtr();
-	else
-		end_of_wal = GetXLogReplayRecPtr(NULL);
-
 	ReplicationSlotAcquire(NameStr(*name));
 
 	PG_TRY();
@@ -273,7 +267,8 @@ pg_logical_slot_get_changes_guts(FunctionCallInfo fcinfo, bool confirm, bool bin
 		 * slot's confirmed_flush. This means we might read xlog we don't
 		 * actually decode rows from, but the snapshot builder might need it
 		 * to get to a consistent point. The point we start returning data to
-		 * *users* at is the candidate restart lsn from the decoding context.
+		 * *users* at is the confirmed_flush lsn set up in the decoding
+		 * context.
 		 */
 		startptr = MyReplicationSlot->data.restart_lsn;
 
@@ -282,8 +277,14 @@ pg_logical_slot_get_changes_guts(FunctionCallInfo fcinfo, bool confirm, bool bin
 		/* invalidate non-timetravel entries */
 		InvalidateSystemCaches();
 
+		if (!RecoveryInProgress())
+			end_of_wal = GetFlushRecPtr();
+		else
+			end_of_wal = GetXLogReplayRecPtr(NULL);
+
+		/* Decode until we run out of records */
 		while ((startptr != InvalidXLogRecPtr && startptr < end_of_wal) ||
-			 (ctx->reader->EndRecPtr && ctx->reader->EndRecPtr < end_of_wal))
+			   (ctx->reader->EndRecPtr != InvalidXLogRecPtr && ctx->reader->EndRecPtr < end_of_wal))
 		{
 			XLogRecord *record;
 			char	   *errm = NULL;
diff --git a/src/include/access/xlogreader.h b/src/include/access/xlogreader.h
index deaa7f5128..300747dbf7 100644
--- a/src/include/access/xlogreader.h
+++ b/src/include/access/xlogreader.h
@@ -27,6 +27,10 @@
 
 #include "access/xlogrecord.h"
 
+#ifndef FRONTEND
+#include "nodes/pg_list.h"
+#endif
+
 typedef struct XLogReaderState XLogReaderState;
 
 /* Function type definition for the read_page callback */
@@ -160,11 +164,25 @@ struct XLogReaderState
 
 	/* beginning of the WAL record being read. */
 	XLogRecPtr	currRecPtr;
+	/* timeline to read it from, 0 if a lookup is required */
+	TimeLineID	currTLI;
+	/*
+	 * Safe point to read to in currTLI.  If currTLI is historical, then this
+	 * is set to the end of the last whole segment that contains that TLI;
+	 * if currTLI is ThisTimeLineID, this is InvalidXLogRecPtr.  This is *not*
+	 * the tliSwitchPoint.
+	 */
+	XLogRecPtr	currTLIValidUntil;
 
 	/* Buffer for current ReadRecord result (expandable) */
 	char	   *readRecordBuf;
 	uint32		readRecordBufSize;
 
+#ifndef FRONTEND
+	/* cached timeline history, only available in backend */
+	List	   *timelineHistory;
+#endif
+
 	/* Buffer to hold error message */
 	char	   *errormsg_buf;
 };
diff --git a/src/test/modules/Makefile b/src/test/modules/Makefile
index 6167ec1344..ebdcdc8c2a 100644
--- a/src/test/modules/Makefile
+++ b/src/test/modules/Makefile
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ SUBDIRS = \
 		  test_parser \
 		  test_rls_hooks \
 		  test_shm_mq \
+		  test_slot_timelines \
 		  worker_spi
 
 all: submake-errcodes
diff --git a/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/.gitignore b/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..543c50d1bb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+results/
+tmp_check/
+log/
diff --git a/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/Makefile b/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..21757c5bcb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+# src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/Makefile
+
+MODULES = test_slot_timelines
+PGFILEDESC = "test_slot_timelines - test utility for slot timeline following"
+
+EXTENSION = test_slot_timelines
+DATA = test_slot_timelines--1.0.sql
+
+EXTRA_INSTALL=contrib/test_decoding
+REGRESS=load_extension
+REGRESS_OPTS = --temp-config=$(top_srcdir)/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/test_slot_timelines.conf
+
+ifdef USE_PGXS
+PG_CONFIG = pg_config
+PGXS := $(shell $(PG_CONFIG) --pgxs)
+include $(PGXS)
+else
+subdir = src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines
+top_builddir = ../../../..
+include $(top_builddir)/src/Makefile.global
+include $(top_srcdir)/contrib/contrib-global.mk
+endif
diff --git a/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/README b/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/README
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..585f02f1e6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/README
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+A test module for logical decoding failover and timeline following.
+
+This module provides a minimal way to maintain logical slots on replicas
+that mirror the state on the master. It doesn't make decoding possible,
+just tracking slot state so that a decoding client that's using the master
+can follow a physical failover to the standby. The master doesn't know
+about the slots on the standby, they're synced by a client that connects
+to both.
+
+This is intentionally not part of the test_decoding module because that's meant
+to serve as example code, where this module exercises internal server features
+by unsafely exposing internal state to SQL. It's not the right way to do
+failover, it's just a simple way to test it from the perl TAP framework to
+prove the feature works.
+
+In a practical implementation of this approach a bgworker on the master would
+monitor slot positions and relay them to a bgworker on the standby that applies
+the position updates without exposing slot internals to SQL. That's too complex
+for this test framework though.
diff --git a/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/expected/load_extension.out b/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/expected/load_extension.out
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..14a414aa7e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/expected/load_extension.out
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+CREATE EXTENSION test_slot_timelines;
+SELECT test_slot_timelines_create_logical_slot('test_slot', 'test_decoding');
+ test_slot_timelines_create_logical_slot 
+-----------------------------------------
+ 
+(1 row)
+
+SELECT test_slot_timelines_advance_logical_slot('test_slot', txid_current(), txid_current(), pg_current_xlog_location(), pg_current_xlog_location());
+ test_slot_timelines_advance_logical_slot 
+------------------------------------------
+ 
+(1 row)
+
+SELECT pg_drop_replication_slot('test_slot');
+ pg_drop_replication_slot 
+--------------------------
+ 
+(1 row)
+
diff --git a/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/sql/load_extension.sql b/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/sql/load_extension.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..a71127d471
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/sql/load_extension.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+CREATE EXTENSION test_slot_timelines;
+
+SELECT test_slot_timelines_create_logical_slot('test_slot', 'test_decoding');
+
+SELECT test_slot_timelines_advance_logical_slot('test_slot', txid_current(), txid_current(), pg_current_xlog_location(), pg_current_xlog_location());
+
+SELECT pg_drop_replication_slot('test_slot');
diff --git a/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/test_slot_timelines--1.0.sql b/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/test_slot_timelines--1.0.sql
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..31d7f8ef1c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/test_slot_timelines--1.0.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+-- complain if script is sourced in psql, rather than via CREATE EXTENSION
+\echo Use "CREATE EXTENSION test_slot_timelines" to load this file. \quit
+
+CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION test_slot_timelines_create_logical_slot(slot_name text, plugin text)
+RETURNS void
+LANGUAGE c AS 'MODULE_PATHNAME';
+
+COMMENT ON FUNCTION test_slot_timelines_create_logical_slot(text, text)
+IS 'Create a logical slot at a particular lsn and xid. Do not use in production servers, it is not safe. The slot is created with an invalid xmin and lsn.';
+
+CREATE OR REPLACE FUNCTION test_slot_timelines_advance_logical_slot(slot_name text, new_xmin bigint, new_catalog_xmin bigint, new_restart_lsn pg_lsn, new_confirmed_lsn pg_lsn)
+RETURNS void
+LANGUAGE c AS 'MODULE_PATHNAME';
+
+COMMENT ON FUNCTION test_slot_timelines_advance_logical_slot(text, bigint, bigint, pg_lsn, pg_lsn)
+IS 'Advance a logical slot directly. Do not use this in production servers, it is not safe.';
diff --git a/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/test_slot_timelines.c b/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/test_slot_timelines.c
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..74dd1a041b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/test_slot_timelines.c
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+/*--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ *
+ * test_slot_timelines.c
+ *              Test harness code for slot timeline following
+ *
+ * Copyright (c) 2016, PostgreSQL Global Development Group
+ *
+ * IDENTIFICATION
+ *              src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/test_slot_timelines.c
+ *
+ * -------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ */
+#include "postgres.h"
+
+#include "access/transam.h"
+#include "fmgr.h"
+#include "miscadmin.h"
+#include "replication/slot.h"
+#include "utils/builtins.h"
+#include "utils/pg_lsn.h"
+
+PG_MODULE_MAGIC;
+
+PG_FUNCTION_INFO_V1(test_slot_timelines_create_logical_slot);
+PG_FUNCTION_INFO_V1(test_slot_timelines_advance_logical_slot);
+
+static void clear_slot_transient_state(void);
+
+/*
+ * Create a new logical slot, with invalid LSN and xid, directly. This does not
+ * use the snapshot builder or logical decoding machinery. It's only intended
+ * for creating a slot on a replica that mirrors the state of a slot on an
+ * upstream master.
+ *
+ * Note that this is test harness code. You shouldn't expose slot internals
+ * to SQL like this for any real world usage. See the README.
+ */
+Datum
+test_slot_timelines_create_logical_slot(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
+{
+	char	   *slotname = text_to_cstring(PG_GETARG_TEXT_P(0));
+	char	   *plugin = text_to_cstring(PG_GETARG_TEXT_P(1));
+
+	CheckSlotRequirements();
+
+	ReplicationSlotCreate(slotname, true, RS_PERSISTENT);
+
+	/* register the plugin name with the slot */
+	StrNCpy(NameStr(MyReplicationSlot->data.plugin), plugin, NAMEDATALEN);
+
+	/*
+	 * Initialize persistent state to placeholders to be set by
+	 * test_slot_timelines_advance_logical_slot .
+	 */
+	MyReplicationSlot->data.xmin = InvalidTransactionId;
+	MyReplicationSlot->data.catalog_xmin = InvalidTransactionId;
+	MyReplicationSlot->data.restart_lsn = InvalidXLogRecPtr;
+	MyReplicationSlot->data.confirmed_flush = InvalidXLogRecPtr;
+
+	clear_slot_transient_state();
+
+	ReplicationSlotRelease();
+
+	PG_RETURN_VOID();
+}
+
+/*
+ * Set the state of a slot.
+ *
+ * This doesn't maintain the non-persistent state at all,
+ * but since the slot isn't in use that's OK.
+ *
+ * There's intentionally no check to prevent slots going backwards
+ * because they can actually go backwards if the master crashes when
+ * it hasn't yet flushed slot state to disk then we copy the older
+ * slot state after recovery.
+ *
+ * There's no checking done for xmin or catalog xmin either, since
+ * we can't really do anything useful that accounts for xid wrap-around.
+ *
+ * Note that this is test harness code. You shouldn't expose slot internals
+ * to SQL like this for any real world usage. See the README.
+ */
+Datum
+test_slot_timelines_advance_logical_slot(PG_FUNCTION_ARGS)
+{
+	char	   *slotname = text_to_cstring(PG_GETARG_TEXT_P(0));
+	TransactionId new_xmin = (TransactionId) PG_GETARG_INT64(1);
+	TransactionId new_catalog_xmin = (TransactionId) PG_GETARG_INT64(2);
+	XLogRecPtr	restart_lsn = PG_GETARG_LSN(3);
+	XLogRecPtr	confirmed_lsn = PG_GETARG_LSN(4);
+
+	CheckSlotRequirements();
+
+	ReplicationSlotAcquire(slotname);
+
+	if (MyReplicationSlot->data.database != MyDatabaseId)
+		elog(ERROR, "Trying to update a slot on a different database");
+
+	MyReplicationSlot->data.xmin = new_xmin;
+	MyReplicationSlot->data.catalog_xmin = new_catalog_xmin;
+	MyReplicationSlot->data.restart_lsn = restart_lsn;
+	MyReplicationSlot->data.confirmed_flush = confirmed_lsn;
+
+	clear_slot_transient_state();
+
+	ReplicationSlotMarkDirty();
+	ReplicationSlotSave();
+	ReplicationSlotRelease();
+
+	ReplicationSlotsComputeRequiredXmin(false);
+	ReplicationSlotsComputeRequiredLSN();
+
+	PG_RETURN_VOID();
+}
+
+static void
+clear_slot_transient_state(void)
+{
+	Assert(MyReplicationSlot != NULL);
+
+	/*
+	 * Make sure the slot state is the same as if it were newly loaded from
+	 * disk on recovery.
+	 */
+	MyReplicationSlot->effective_xmin = MyReplicationSlot->data.xmin;
+	MyReplicationSlot->effective_catalog_xmin = MyReplicationSlot->data.catalog_xmin;
+
+	MyReplicationSlot->candidate_catalog_xmin = InvalidTransactionId;
+	MyReplicationSlot->candidate_xmin_lsn = InvalidXLogRecPtr;
+	MyReplicationSlot->candidate_restart_lsn = InvalidXLogRecPtr;
+	MyReplicationSlot->candidate_restart_valid = InvalidXLogRecPtr;
+}
diff --git a/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/test_slot_timelines.conf b/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/test_slot_timelines.conf
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..56b46d7e27
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/test_slot_timelines.conf
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+max_replication_slots=2
+wal_level=logical
diff --git a/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/test_slot_timelines.control b/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/test_slot_timelines.control
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..dcee1a7257
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines/test_slot_timelines.control
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+# test_slot_timelines extension
+comment = 'Test utility for slot timeline following and logical decoding'
+default_version = '1.0'
+module_pathname = '$libdir/test_slot_timelines'
+relocatable = true
diff --git a/src/test/recovery/Makefile b/src/test/recovery/Makefile
index 929071909a..78570dd156 100644
--- a/src/test/recovery/Makefile
+++ b/src/test/recovery/Makefile
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@
 #
 #-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+EXTRA_INSTALL=contrib/test_decoding src/test/modules/test_slot_timelines
+
 subdir = src/test/recovery
 top_builddir = ../../..
 include $(top_builddir)/src/Makefile.global
diff --git a/src/test/recovery/t/006_logical_decoding_timelines.pl b/src/test/recovery/t/006_logical_decoding_timelines.pl
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..bc20f405d7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/test/recovery/t/006_logical_decoding_timelines.pl
@@ -0,0 +1,304 @@
+# Demonstrate that logical can follow timeline switches.
+#
+# Logical replication slots can follow timeline switches but it's
+# normally not possible to have a logical slot on a replica where
+# promotion and a timeline switch can occur. The only ways
+# we can create that circumstance are:
+#
+# * By doing a filesystem-level copy of the DB, since pg_basebackup
+#   excludes pg_replslot but we can copy it directly; or
+#
+# * by creating a slot directly at the C level on the replica and
+#   advancing it as we go using the low level APIs. It can't be done
+#   from SQL since logical decoding isn't allowed on replicas.
+#
+# This module uses the first approach to show that timeline following
+# on a logical slot works.
+#
+use strict;
+use warnings;
+
+use PostgresNode;
+use TestLib;
+use Test::More tests => 20;
+use RecursiveCopy;
+use File::Copy;
+
+my ($stdout, $stderr, $ret);
+
+# Initialize master node
+my $node_master = get_new_node('master');
+$node_master->init(allows_streaming => 1, has_archiving => 1);
+$node_master->append_conf('postgresql.conf', "wal_level = 'logical'\n");
+$node_master->append_conf('postgresql.conf', "max_replication_slots = 2\n");
+$node_master->append_conf('postgresql.conf', "max_wal_senders = 2\n");
+$node_master->append_conf('postgresql.conf', "log_min_messages = 'debug2'\n");
+$node_master->dump_info;
+$node_master->start;
+
+diag "Testing logical timeline following with a filesystem-level copy";
+
+$node_master->safe_psql('postgres',
+"SELECT pg_create_logical_replication_slot('before_basebackup', 'test_decoding');"
+);
+$node_master->safe_psql('postgres', "CREATE TABLE decoding(blah text);");
+$node_master->safe_psql('postgres',
+	"INSERT INTO decoding(blah) VALUES ('beforebb');");
+$node_master->safe_psql('postgres', 'CHECKPOINT;');
+
+my $backup_name = 'b1';
+$node_master->backup_fs_hot($backup_name);
+
+my $node_replica = get_new_node('replica');
+$node_replica->init_from_backup(
+	$node_master, $backup_name,
+	has_streaming => 1,
+	has_restoring => 1);
+$node_replica->start;
+
+$node_master->safe_psql('postgres',
+"SELECT pg_create_logical_replication_slot('after_basebackup', 'test_decoding');"
+);
+$node_master->safe_psql('postgres',
+	"INSERT INTO decoding(blah) VALUES ('afterbb');");
+$node_master->safe_psql('postgres', 'CHECKPOINT;');
+
+# Verify that only the before base_backup slot is on the replica
+$stdout = $node_replica->safe_psql('postgres',
+	'SELECT slot_name FROM pg_replication_slots ORDER BY slot_name');
+is($stdout, 'before_basebackup',
+	'Expected to find only slot before_basebackup on replica');
+
+# Boom, crash
+$node_master->stop('immediate');
+
+$node_replica->promote;
+$node_replica->poll_query_until('postgres',
+	"SELECT NOT pg_is_in_recovery();");
+
+$node_replica->safe_psql('postgres',
+	"INSERT INTO decoding(blah) VALUES ('after failover');");
+
+# Shouldn't be able to read from slot created after base backup
+($ret, $stdout, $stderr) = $node_replica->psql('postgres',
+"SELECT data FROM pg_logical_slot_peek_changes('after_basebackup', NULL, NULL, 'include-xids', '0', 'skip-empty-xacts', '1');"
+);
+is($ret, 3, 'replaying from after_basebackup slot fails');
+like(
+	$stderr,
+	qr/replication slot "after_basebackup" does not exist/,
+	'after_basebackup slot missing');
+
+# Should be able to read from slot created before base backup
+($ret, $stdout, $stderr) = $node_replica->psql(
+	'postgres',
+"SELECT data FROM pg_logical_slot_peek_changes('before_basebackup', NULL, NULL, 'include-xids', '0', 'skip-empty-xacts', '1');",
+	timeout => 30);
+is($ret, 0, 'replay from slot before_basebackup succeeds');
+is( $stdout, q(BEGIN
+table public.decoding: INSERT: blah[text]:'beforebb'
+COMMIT
+BEGIN
+table public.decoding: INSERT: blah[text]:'afterbb'
+COMMIT
+BEGIN
+table public.decoding: INSERT: blah[text]:'after failover'
+COMMIT), 'decoded expected data from slot before_basebackup');
+is($stderr, '', 'replay from slot before_basebackup produces no stderr');
+
+# We don't need the standby anymore
+$node_replica->teardown_node();
+
+
+# OK, time to try the same thing again, but this time we'll be using slot
+# mirroring on the standby and a pg_basebackup of the master.
+
+diag "Testing logical timeline following with test_slot_timelines module";
+
+$node_master->start();
+
+# Clean up after the last test
+$node_master->safe_psql('postgres', 'DELETE FROM decoding;');
+is( $node_master->psql(
+		'postgres',
+'SELECT pg_drop_replication_slot(slot_name) FROM pg_replication_slots;'),
+	0,
+	'dropping slots succeeds via pg_drop_replication_slot');
+
+# Same as before, we'll make one slot before basebackup, one after. This time
+# the basebackup will be with pg_basebackup so it'll omit both slots, then
+# we'll use SQL functions provided by the test_slot_timelines test module to sync
+# them to the replica, do some work, sync them and fail over then test again.
+# This time we should have both the before- and after-basebackup slots working.
+
+is( $node_master->psql(
+		'postgres',
+"SELECT pg_create_logical_replication_slot('before_basebackup', 'test_decoding');"
+	),
+	0,
+	'creating slot before_basebackup succeeds');
+
+$node_master->safe_psql('postgres',
+	"INSERT INTO decoding(blah) VALUES ('beforebb');");
+
+$backup_name = 'b2';
+$node_master->backup($backup_name);
+
+is( $node_master->psql(
+		'postgres',
+"SELECT pg_create_logical_replication_slot('after_basebackup', 'test_decoding');"
+	),
+	0,
+	'creating slot after_basebackup succeeds');
+
+$node_master->safe_psql('postgres',
+	"INSERT INTO decoding(blah) VALUES ('afterbb');");
+
+$node_replica = get_new_node('replica2');
+$node_replica->init_from_backup(
+	$node_master, $backup_name,
+	has_streaming => 1,
+	has_restoring => 1);
+
+$node_replica->start;
+
+# Verify the slots are both absent on the replica
+$stdout = $node_replica->safe_psql('postgres',
+	'SELECT slot_name FROM pg_replication_slots ORDER BY slot_name');
+is($stdout, '', 'No slots exist on the replica');
+
+# Now do our magic to sync the slot states across. Normally
+# this would be being done continuously by a bgworker but
+# we're just doing it by hand for this test. This is exposing
+# postgres innards to SQL so it's unsafe except for testing.
+$node_master->safe_psql('postgres', 'CREATE EXTENSION test_slot_timelines;');
+my $slotinfo = $node_master->safe_psql('postgres',
+'SELECT slot_name, plugin, xmin, catalog_xmin, restart_lsn, confirmed_flush_lsn FROM pg_replication_slots ORDER BY slot_name'
+);
+diag "Copying slots to replica";
+open my $fh, '<', \$slotinfo or die $!;
+while (<$fh>)
+{
+	print $_;
+	chomp $_;
+	my ($slot_name, $plugin, $xmin, $catalog_xmin, $restart_lsn,
+		$confirmed_flush_lsn)
+	  = map {
+		if   ($_ ne '') { "'$_'" }
+		else            { 'NULL' }
+	  } split qr/\|/, $_;
+
+	print
+"# Copying slot $slot_name,$plugin,$xmin,$catalog_xmin,$restart_lsn,$confirmed_flush_lsn\n";
+	$node_replica->safe_psql('postgres',
+		"SELECT test_slot_timelines_create_logical_slot($slot_name, $plugin);"
+	);
+	$node_replica->safe_psql('postgres',
+"SELECT test_slot_timelines_advance_logical_slot($slot_name, $xmin, $catalog_xmin, $restart_lsn, $confirmed_flush_lsn);"
+	);
+}
+close $fh or die $!;
+
+# Now both slots are present on the replica and exactly match the master
+$stdout = $node_replica->safe_psql('postgres',
+	'SELECT slot_name FROM pg_replication_slots ORDER BY slot_name');
+is( $stdout,
+	"after_basebackup\nbefore_basebackup",
+	'both slots now exist on replica');
+
+$stdout = $node_replica->safe_psql(
+	'postgres',
+	qq{SELECT slot_name, plugin, xmin, catalog_xmin,
+			  restart_lsn, confirmed_flush_lsn
+		 FROM pg_replication_slots
+	 ORDER BY slot_name});
+is($stdout, $slotinfo,
+	"slot data read back from replica matches slot data on master");
+
+# We now have to copy some extra WAL to satisfy the requirements of the oldest
+# replication slot. pg_basebackup doesn't know to copy the extra WAL for slots
+# so we have to help out. We know the WAL is still retained on the master
+# because we haven't advanced the slots there.
+#
+# Figure out what the oldest segment we need is by looking at the restart_lsn
+# of the oldest slot.
+#
+# It only makes sense to do this once the slots are created on the replica,
+# otherwise it might just delete the segments again.
+
+my $oldest_needed_segment = $node_master->safe_psql(
+	'postgres',
+	qq{SELECT pg_xlogfile_name((
+      SELECT restart_lsn
+      FROM pg_replication_slots
+      ORDER BY restart_lsn ASC
+      LIMIT 1
+     ));}
+);
+
+diag "oldest needed xlog seg is $oldest_needed_segment ";
+
+# WAL segment names sort lexically so we can just grab everything > than this
+# segment.
+opendir(my $pg_xlog, $node_master->data_dir . "/pg_xlog") or die $!;
+while (my $seg = readdir $pg_xlog)
+{
+	next unless $seg >= $oldest_needed_segment && $seg =~ /^[0-9]{24}/;
+	diag "copying xlog seg $seg";
+	copy(
+		$node_master->data_dir . "/pg_xlog/" . $seg,
+		$node_replica->data_dir . "/pg_xlog/" . $seg
+	) or die "copy of xlog seg $seg failed: $!";
+}
+closedir $pg_xlog;
+
+# Boom, crash the master
+$node_master->stop('immediate');
+
+$node_replica->promote;
+$node_replica->poll_query_until('postgres',
+	"SELECT NOT pg_is_in_recovery();");
+
+$node_replica->safe_psql('postgres',
+	"INSERT INTO decoding(blah) VALUES ('after failover');");
+
+# This time we can read from both slots
+($ret, $stdout, $stderr) = $node_replica->psql(
+	'postgres',
+"SELECT data FROM pg_logical_slot_peek_changes('after_basebackup', NULL, NULL, 'include-xids', '0', 'skip-empty-xacts', '1');",
+	timeout => 30);
+is($ret, 0, 'replay from slot after_basebackup succeeds');
+is( $stdout, q(BEGIN
+table public.decoding: INSERT: blah[text]:'afterbb'
+COMMIT
+BEGIN
+table public.decoding: INSERT: blah[text]:'after failover'
+COMMIT), 'decoded expected data from slot after_basebackup');
+is($stderr, '', 'replay from slot after_basebackup produces no stderr');
+
+# Should be able to read from slot created before base backup
+#
+# This would fail with an error about missing WAL segments if we hadn't
+# copied extra WAL earlier.
+($ret, $stdout, $stderr) = $node_replica->psql(
+	'postgres',
+"SELECT data FROM pg_logical_slot_peek_changes('before_basebackup', NULL, NULL, 'include-xids', '0', 'skip-empty-xacts', '1');",
+	timeout => 30);
+is($ret, 0, 'replay from slot before_basebackup succeeds');
+is( $stdout, q(BEGIN
+table public.decoding: INSERT: blah[text]:'beforebb'
+COMMIT
+BEGIN
+table public.decoding: INSERT: blah[text]:'afterbb'
+COMMIT
+BEGIN
+table public.decoding: INSERT: blah[text]:'after failover'
+COMMIT), 'decoded expected data from slot before_basebackup');
+is($stderr, '', 'replay from slot before_basebackup produces no stderr');
+
+($ret, $stdout, $stderr) = $node_replica->psql('postgres',
+	'SELECT pg_drop_replication_slot(slot_name) FROM pg_replication_slots;');
+is($ret,    0,  'dropping slots succeeds via pg_drop_replication_slot');
+is($stderr, '', 'dropping slots produces no stderr output');
+
+1;