diff --git a/humanbytes.go b/humanbytes.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8d8e7f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/humanbytes.go
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+package util
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"math"
+)
+
+const bytesPerUnit = 1024
+
+var byteUnits = []string{"KiB", "MiB", "GiB", "TiB", "PiB", "EiB"}
+
+// HumanBytes writes a byte count the way a person would read it, using powers
+// of 1024: "0 B", "1023 B", "1.0 KiB", "1.5 MiB", "16.0 EiB". Counts below 1024
+// are given as whole bytes, and anything larger gets one digit after the
+// decimal point.
+func HumanBytes(bytes uint64) string {
+	if bytes < bytesPerUnit {
+		return fmt.Sprintf("%d B", bytes)
+	}
+
+	value := float64(bytes)
+	unit := -1
+
+	for value >= bytesPerUnit && unit < len(byteUnits)-1 {
+		value /= bytesPerUnit
+		unit++
+	}
+
+	// Rounding happens after the unit has been chosen, so a count just short
+	// of the next threshold would otherwise come out as "1024.0 KiB" rather
+	// than "1.0 MiB".
+	if unit < len(byteUnits)-1 && math.Round(value*10)/10 >= bytesPerUnit {
+		value /= bytesPerUnit
+		unit++
+	}
+
+	return fmt.Sprintf("%.1f %s", value, byteUnits[unit])
+}
diff --git a/humanbytes_test.go b/humanbytes_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9d92d75
--- /dev/null
+++ b/humanbytes_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+package util
+
+import "testing"
+
+func TestHumanBytes(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		input    uint64
+		expected string
+	}{
+		{"zero", 0, "0 B"},
+		{"one byte", 1, "1 B"},
+		{"just below a kibibyte", 1023, "1023 B"},
+		{"exactly a kibibyte", 1024, "1.0 KiB"},
+		{"half a kibibyte more", 1536, "1.5 KiB"},
+		{"rounds up into the next unit", 1048575, "1.0 MiB"},
+		{"exactly a mebibyte", 1 << 20, "1.0 MiB"},
+		{"a gibibyte", 1 << 30, "1.0 GiB"},
+		{"a tebibyte", 1 << 40, "1.0 TiB"},
+		{"a pebibyte", 1 << 50, "1.0 PiB"},
+		{"an exbibyte", 1 << 60, "1.0 EiB"},
+		{"the largest count there is", ^uint64(0), "16.0 EiB"},
+	}
+
+	for _, test := range tests {
+		t.Run(test.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			got := HumanBytes(test.input)
+			if got != test.expected {
+				t.Errorf("expected %q got %q", test.expected, got)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}