diff --git a/src/libstore/local-overlay-store.md b/src/libstore/local-overlay-store.md
index 0b8a1786b..a0b9c3adf 100644
--- a/src/libstore/local-overlay-store.md
+++ b/src/libstore/local-overlay-store.md
@@ -2,6 +2,53 @@ R"(
 
 **Store URL format**: `local-overlay`
 
-This store type is a variation of the [local store](#local-store) designed to leverage overlayfs.
+This store type is a variation of the [local store] designed to leverage Linux's [Overlay Filesystem](https://docs.kernel.org/filesystems/overlayfs.html) (OverlayFS for short).
+Just as OverlayFS combines a lower and upper filesystem by treating the upper one as a patch against the lower, the local overlay store combines a lower store with an upper almost [local store].
+("almost" because while the upper fileystems for OverlayFS is valid on its own, the upper almost-store is not a valid local store on its own because some references will dangle.)
+
+### Parts of a local overlay store
+
+The parts of a local overlay store are as follows:
+
+- Lower store:
+
+  This is any store implementation that includes a store directory as part of the native operating system filesystem.
+  For example, this could be a [local store], [local daemon store], or even another local overlay store.
+
+  Specified with the `lower-store` setting.
+
+  - Lower store directory.
+    This is the directory used/exposed by the lower store.
+
+    Specified with `lower-store.real` setting.
+
+  - Lower abstract read-only metadata source.
+    This is abstract, just some way to read the metadata of lower store [store objects](@docroot@/glossary.md#gloss-store-object).
+    For example it could be a SQLite database (for the [local store]), or a socket connection (for the [local daemon store]).
+
+- Upper almost-store:
+
+  This is a [local store] that by itself would appear corrupted.
+  But combined with everything else as part of an overlay local store, it is valid.
+
+  - Upper layer directory.
+    This contains additional [store objects]
+    (or, strictly speaking, their [file system objects](#gloss-file-system-object))
+    that the local overlay store will extend the lower store with.
+
+    Specified with `upper-layer` setting.
+
+  - Upper store directory
+    The lower store directory and upper layer directory are combined via OverlayFS to create this directory.
+    This contains all the store objects from each of the two directories.
+
+    Specified with the `real` setting.
+
+  - Upper SQLite database
+    This contains the metadata of all of the upper layer [store objects]: everything beyond their file system objects, and also duplicate copies of some lower layer ones.
+    The duplication is so the metadata for the [closure](@docroot@/glossary.md#gloss-closure) of upper layer [store objects] can entirely be found in the upper layer.
+    This allows us to use the same SQL Schema as the [local store]'s SQLite database, as foreign keys in that schema enforce closure metadata to be self-contained in this way.
+
+    Specified with the `state` setting, is always `${state}/db`.
 
 )"