diff --git a/inc/activities.php b/inc/activities.php
index c6177b2..783f661 100644
--- a/inc/activities.php
+++ b/inc/activities.php
@@ -12,7 +12,20 @@ function get_activity( $id ) {
         );
     }
     $activity = json_decode( $activity_json, true );
-    $activity['id'] = get_activity_url( $id );
+    return $activity;
+}
+
+function get_activity_by_activitypub_id( $activitypub_id ) {
+    global $wpdb;
+    $activity_json = $wpdb->get_var( $wpdb->prepare(
+        'SELECT activity FROM activitypub_activities WHERE id = %s', $activitypub_id
+    ) );
+    if ( is_null( $activity_json ) ) {
+        return new \WP_Error(
+            'not_found', __( 'Activity not found', 'activitypub' ), array( 'status' => 404 )
+        );
+    }
+    $activity = json_decode( $activity_json, true );
     return $activity;
 }
 
@@ -28,26 +41,37 @@ function strip_private_fields( $activity ) {
 
 function persist_activity( $activity ) {
     global $wpdb;
-    $wpdb->insert(
-        'activitypub_activities', array( 'activity' => wp_json_encode( $activity ) )
-    );
-    $activity["id"] = get_activity_url( $wpdb->insert_id );
+    if ( !array_key_exists( 'id', $activity ) ) {
+        return new \WP_Error(
+            'invalid_activity',
+            __( 'Activity must have an "id" field', 'activitypub' ),
+            array( 'status' => 400 )
+        );
+    }
+    $activitypub_id = $activity['id'];
+    $wpdb->insert( 'activitypub_activities', array(
+            'activitypub_id' => $activitypub_id,
+            'activity' => wp_json_encode( $activity )
+    ) );
     return $activity;
 }
 
-function get_activity_url( $id ) {
-    return get_rest_url( null, sprintf( '/activitypub/v1/activity/%d', $id ) );
-}
-
 function create_activities_table() {
     global $wpdb;
     $wpdb->query(
         "
         CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS activitypub_activities (
             id INT UNSIGNED AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
+            activitypub_id TEXT UNIQUE NOT NULL,
             activity TEXT NOT NULL
         );
         "
     );
+    $wpdb->query(
+        "
+        CREATE UNIQUE INDEX ACTIVITYPUB_ID_INDEX
+        ON activitypub_activities (activitypub_id);
+        "
+    );
 }
 ?>
diff --git a/inc/activities/create.php b/inc/activities/create.php
index daddf10..b9cf651 100644
--- a/inc/activities/create.php
+++ b/inc/activities/create.php
@@ -29,10 +29,10 @@ function handle_outbox( $actor, $activity ) {
         );
     }
     $object = $activity['object'];
-    $actor_id = $activity['actor'];
-    $object['attributedTo'] = $actor_id;
+    $attributed_actor = $activity['actor'];
+    $object['attributedTo'] = $attributed_actor;
     reconcile_receivers( $object, $activity );
-    scrub_object( $object );
+    $object = scrub_object( $object );
     $object = \objects\create_object( $object );
     if ( is_wp_error( $object ) ) {
         return $object;
@@ -68,8 +68,9 @@ function copy_field_value( $field, $from, &$to ) {
     }
 }
 
-function scrub_object( &$object ) {
+function scrub_object( $object ) {
     unset( $object['bcc'] );
     unset( $object['bto'] );
+    return $object;
 }
 ?>
diff --git a/inc/activities/update.php b/inc/activities/update.php
index d6ddbfc..2ebdd1d 100644
--- a/inc/activities/update.php
+++ b/inc/activities/update.php
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ function handle_outbox( $actor, $activity ) {
             array( 'status' => 400 )
         );
     }
-    $existing_object = \objects\get_object_from_url( $update_object['id'] );
+    $existing_object = \objects\get_object_by_actvitypub_id( $update_object['id'] );
     if ( is_wp_error( $existing_object ) ) {
         return $existing_object;
     }
diff --git a/inc/api.php b/inc/api.php
index 766526a..077c035 100644
--- a/inc/api.php
+++ b/inc/api.php
@@ -11,10 +11,15 @@ function get_actor( $request ) {
     return \actors\get_actor_by_slug( $actor );
 }
 
-function handle_outbox( $request ) {
-    $actor = $request['actor'];
+function post_to_outbox( $request ) {
+    $actor_slug = $request['actor'];
     $activity = json_decode( $request->get_body(), true );
-    return \outbox\handle_activity( $actor, $activity );
+    return \outbox\handle_activity( $actor_slug, $activity );
+}
+
+function get_outbox( $request ) {
+    $actor_slug = $request['actor'];
+    return \outbox\get_outbox( $actor_slug );
 }
 
 function get_object( $request ) {
@@ -30,7 +35,11 @@ function get_activity( $request ) {
 function register_routes() {
     register_rest_route( 'activitypub/v1', '/actor/(?P<actor>[a-zA-Z0-9-]+)/outbox', array(
         'methods' => 'POST',
-        'callback' => __NAMESPACE__ . '\handle_outbox',
+        'callback' => __NAMESPACE__ . '\post_to_outbox',
+    ) );
+    register_rest_route( 'activitypub/v1', '/actor/(?P<actor>[a-zA-Z0-9-]+/outbox', array(
+        'methods' => 'POST',
+        'callback' => __NAMESPACE__ . '\get_outbox',
     ) );
     register_rest_route( 'activitypub/v1', '/actor/(?P<actor>[a-zA-Z0-9-]+)', array(
         'methods' => 'GET',
diff --git a/inc/collections.php b/inc/collections.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..288b7a2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/inc/collections.php
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+<?php
+namespace collections;
+
+function make_ordered_collection( $objects ) {
+    $ordered_collection = array(
+        '@context' => 'https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams',
+        'type' => 'OrderedCollection',
+        'totalItems' => count( $objects ),
+        'orderedItems' => $objects
+    );
+}
+?>
diff --git a/inc/inbox.php b/inc/inbox.php
index ef1b53d..d1f76e7 100644
--- a/inc/inbox.php
+++ b/inc/inbox.php
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ function forward_activity( $activity ) {
 }
 
 function persist_activity( $activity ) {
+    global $wpdb;
 
 }
 
diff --git a/inc/objects.php b/inc/objects.php
index 70f6c52..597d034 100644
--- a/inc/objects.php
+++ b/inc/objects.php
@@ -6,15 +6,22 @@ namespace objects;
 
 function create_object( $object ) {
     global $wpdb;
-    $res = $wpdb->insert(
-        'activitypub_objects', array( 'object' => wp_json_encode( $object ) )
-    );
+    if ( !array_key_exists( 'id', $object ) ) {
+        return new \WP_Error(
+            'invalid_object',
+            __( 'Object must have an "id" field', 'activitypub' ),
+            array( 'status' => 400 )
+        );
+    }
+    $res = $wpdb->insert( 'activitypub_objects', array(
+        'activitypub_id' => $object['id'],
+        'object' => wp_json_encode( $object )
+    ) );
     if ( !$res ) {
         return new \WP_Error(
             'db_error', __( 'Failed to insert object row', 'activitypub' )
         );
     }
-    $object['id'] = get_object_url( $wpdb->insert_id );
     return $object;
 }
 
@@ -23,11 +30,10 @@ function update_object( $object ) {
     if ( !array_key_exists( 'id', $object ) ) {
         return new \WP_Error(
             'invalid_object',
-            __( 'Object must have an "id" parameter', 'activitypub' ),
+            __( 'Object must have an "id" field', 'activitypub' ),
             array( 'status' => 400 )
         );
     }
-    $id = get_id_from_url( $object['id'] );
     $object_json = wp_json_encode( $object );
     $res = $wpdb->update(
         'activitypub_object',
@@ -52,9 +58,20 @@ function get_object( $id ) {
             'not_found', __( 'Object not found', 'activitypub' ), array( 'status' => 404 )
         );
     }
-    $object = json_decode( $object_json, true );
-    $object['id'] = get_object_url( $id );
-    return $object;
+    return json_decode( $object_json, true );
+}
+
+function get_object_by_activitypub_id( $activitypub_id ) {
+    global $wpdb;
+    $object_json = $wpdb->get_var( $wpdb->prepare(
+        'SELECT object FROM activitypub_objects WHERE activitypub_id = %s', $activitypub_id
+    ) );
+    if ( is_null( $object_json ) ) {
+        return new \WP_Error(
+            'not_found', __( 'Object not found', 'activitypub' ), array( 'status' => 404 )
+        );
+    }
+    return json_decode( $object_json, true );
 }
 
 function delete_object( $object ) {
@@ -62,51 +79,34 @@ function delete_object( $object ) {
     if ( !array_key_exists( 'id', $object ) ) {
         return new \WP_Error(
             'invalid_object',
-            __( 'Object must have an "id" parameter', 'activitypub' ),
+            __( 'Object must have an "id" field', 'activitypub' ),
             array( 'status' => 400 )
         );
     }
-    $id = get_id_from_url( $object['id'] );
-    $res = $wpdb->delete( 'activitypub_objects', array( 'id' => $id ), '%d' );
+    $activitypub_id = $object['id'];
+    $res = $wpdb->delete( 'activitypub_objects', array( 'activitypub_id' => $id ), '%s' );
     if ( !$res ) {
         return new \WP_Error( 'db_error', __( 'Error deleting object', 'activitypub' ) );
     }
     return $res;
 }
 
-function get_id_from_url( $url ) {
-    global $wpdb;
-    $matches = array();
-    $found = preg_match(
-        get_rest_url( null, '/activitypub/v1/object/(.+)' ), $url, $matches );
-    if ( $found === 0 || count( $matches ) != 2 ) {
-        return new \WP_Error(
-            'invalid_url',
-            sprintf( '%s %s', $url, __( 'is not a valid object url', 'activitypub' ) ),
-            array( 'status' => 400 )
-        );
-    }
-    $id = $matches[1];
-    return $id;
-}
-
-function get_object_from_url( $url ) {
-    return get_object( get_id_from_url( $url ) );
-}
-
-function get_object_url( $id ) {
-    return get_rest_url( null, sprintf( '/activitypub/v1/object/%d', $id ) );
-}
-
 function create_object_table() {
     global $wpdb;
     $wpdb->query(
         "
         CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS activitypub_objects (
             id INT UNSIGNED AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
+            activitypub_id TEXT UNIQUE NOT NULL,
             object TEXT NOT NULL
         );
         "
     );
+    $wpdb->query(
+        "
+        CREATE UNIQUE INDEX ACTIVITYPUB_ID_INDEX
+        ON activitypub_objects (activitypub_id);
+        "
+    );
 }
 ?>
diff --git a/inc/outbox.php b/inc/outbox.php
index cba1f92..d3e0e2d 100644
--- a/inc/outbox.php
+++ b/inc/outbox.php
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ When an Activity is received (i.e. POSTed) to an Actor's outbox, the server must
 namespace outbox;
 
 require_once plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) . '/activities.php';
+require_once plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) . '/actors.php';
 require_once plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) . '/deliver.php';
 require_once plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) . '/activities/create.php';
 require_once plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) . '/activities/update.php';
@@ -21,7 +22,7 @@ require_once plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) . '/activities/like.php';
 require_once plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) . '/activities/follow.php';
 require_once plugin_dir_path( __FILE__ ) . '/activities/block.php';
 
-function handle_activity( $actor, $activity ) {
+function handle_activity( $actor_slug, $activity ) {
     // TODO handle authentication/authorization
     if ( !array_key_exists( 'type', $activity ) ) {
         return new \WP_Error(
@@ -32,16 +33,16 @@ function handle_activity( $actor, $activity ) {
     }
     switch ( $activity['type'] ) {
     case 'Create':
-        $activity = \activities\create\handle_outbox( $actor, $activity );
+        $activity = \activities\create\handle_outbox( $actor_slug, $activity );
         break;
     case 'Update':
-        $activity = \activities\update\handle_outbox( $actor, $activity );
+        $activity = \activities\update\handle_outbox( $actor_slug, $activity );
         break;
     case 'Delete':
-        $activity = \activities\delete\handle_outbox( $actor, $activity );
+        $activity = \activities\delete\handle_outbox( $actor_slug, $activity );
         break;
     case 'Follow':
-        $activity = \activities\follow\handle_outbox( $actor, $activity );
+        $activity = \activities\follow\handle_outbox( $actor_slug, $activity );
         break;
     case 'Add':
         return new \WP_Error(
@@ -58,10 +59,10 @@ function handle_activity( $actor, $activity ) {
         );
         break;
     case 'Like':
-        $activity = \activities\like\handle_outbox( $actor, $activity );
+        $activity = \activities\like\handle_outbox( $actor_slug, $activity );
         break;
     case 'Block':
-        $activity = \activities\block\handle_outbox( $actor, $activity );
+        $activity = \activities\block\handle_outbox( $actor_slug, $activity );
         break;
     case 'Undo':
         return new \WP_Error(
@@ -75,24 +76,37 @@ function handle_activity( $actor, $activity ) {
         if ( is_wp_error( $create_activity ) ) {
             return $create_activity;
         }
-        $activity = \activities\create\handle_outbox( $actor, $create_activity );
+        $activity = \activities\create\handle_outbox( $actor_slug, $create_activity );
         break;
     }
     if ( is_wp_error( $activity ) ) {
         return $activity;
     }
     $activity = deliver_activity( $activity );
-    return persist_activity( $actor, $activity );
+    return persist_activity( $actor_slug, $activity );
 }
 
-function get_outbox( $actor_id ) {
+function get_outbox( $actor_slug ) {
     global $wpdb;
-    $activities = $wpdb->get_results( $wpdb->prepare(
-            "
-            SELECT * FROM activitypub_outbox WHERE 
+    // TODO what sort of joins should these be?
+    $results = $wpdb->get_results( $wpdb->prepare(
             "
+            SELECT activitypub_activities.activity FROM activitypub_outbox 
+            JOIN activitypub_actors 
+                ON activitypub_actors.id = activitypub_outbox.actor_id
+            JOIN activitypub_activities
+                ON activitypub_activities.id = activitypub_outbox.activity_id
+            WHERE activitypub_outbox.actor_id = %d
+            ",
+            $actor_id
+    ) );
+    // TODO return PagedCollection if $activites is too big
+    return \collections\make_ordered_collection( array_map(
+        function ( $result) {
+            return json_decode( $result->activity, true);
+        },
+        $results
     ) );
-    // $wpdb->num_rows will hold the number of results, once this implements paging
 }
 
 function deliver_activity( $activity ) {
@@ -101,15 +115,15 @@ function deliver_activity( $activity ) {
     return $activity;
 }
 
-function persist_activity( $actor, $activity ) {
+function persist_activity( $actor_slug, $activity ) {
     global $wpdb;
     $activity = \activities\persist_activity( $activity );
     $activity_id = $wpdb->insert_id;
-    $wpdb->insert( 'activitypub_outbox',
-                   array(
-                       'actor' => $actor,
-                       'activity_id' => $activity_id,
-                   ) );
+    $actor_id = \actors\get_actor_id( $actor_slug );
+    $wpdb->insert( 'activitypub_outbox', array(
+        'actor_id' => $actor_id,
+        'activity_id' => $activity_id,
+    ) );
     $response = new \WP_REST_Response();
     $response->set_status( 201 );
     $response->header( 'Location', $activity['id'] );