diff --git a/.env.devcontainer b/.env.devcontainer
index 7bc29cc6500..dc8a8bd8d54 100644
--- a/.env.devcontainer
+++ b/.env.devcontainer
@@ -16,8 +16,8 @@ GDOCS_CLIENT_ID=''
 GDOCS_BASIC_ARTICLE_TEMPLATE_URL=''
 GDOCS_SHARED_DRIVE_ID=''
 
-IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_ENDPOINT=''
+R2_ENDPOINT=''
 IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_CDN_URL=''
 IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_BUCKET_PATH=''
-IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID=''
-IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=''
+R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID=''
+R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=''
diff --git a/.env.example-full b/.env.example-full
index 8407d05b69b..d0cb5063adf 100644
--- a/.env.example-full
+++ b/.env.example-full
@@ -22,11 +22,17 @@ GDOCS_BASIC_ARTICLE_TEMPLATE_URL=
 GDOCS_SHARED_DRIVE_ID=
 GDOCS_DONATE_FAQS_DOCUMENT_ID=  # optional
 
-IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_ENDPOINT=  # optional
+R2_ENDPOINT=  # optional
 IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_CDN_URL=
 IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_BUCKET_PATH=
-IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID=  # optional
-IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=  # optional
+R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID=  # optional
+R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=  # optional
+# These two GRAPHER_CONFIG_ settings are used to store grapher configs in an R2 bucket.
+# The cloudflare workers for thumbnail rendering etc use these settings to fetch the grapher configs.
+# This means that for most local dev it is not necessary to set these.
+GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET= # optional - for local dev set it to "owid-grapher-configs-staging"
+GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET_PATH= # optional - for local dev set it to "devs/YOURNAME"
+
 
 OPENAI_API_KEY=
 
diff --git a/.github/workflows/check-default-grapher-config.yml b/.github/workflows/check-default-grapher-config.yml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..c1c56fdae95
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/check-default-grapher-config.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+name: Check default grapher config
+on:
+    push:
+        branches:
+            - "**"
+            - "!master"
+        paths:
+            - "packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/**"
+
+jobs:
+    commit-default-config:
+        runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+        steps:
+            - name: Clone repository
+              uses: actions/checkout@v4
+              with:
+                  ref: ${{ github.head_ref }}
+
+            - uses: ./.github/actions/setup-node-yarn-deps
+            - uses: ./.github/actions/build-tsc
+
+            - uses: hustcer/setup-nu@v3
+              with:
+                  version: "0.80" # Don't use 0.80 here, as it was a float number and will be convert to 0.8, you can use v0.80/0.80.0 or '0.80'
+
+            # Turn all yaml files in the schema directory into json (should only be one)
+            - name: Convert yaml schema to json
+              run: |
+                  (ls packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/*.yaml
+                  | each {|yaml|
+                      open $yaml.name
+                      | to json
+                      | save -f ($yaml.name
+                          | path parse
+                          | upsert extension "json"
+                          | path join) })
+              shell: nu {0}
+
+            # Construct default config objects for all grapher schemas in the schema directory (should only be one)
+            - name: Generate default grapher config
+              run: |
+                  (ls packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/grapher-schema.*.json
+                  | each {|json|
+                      node itsJustJavascript/devTools/schema/generate-default-object-from-schema.js $json.name --save-ts packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/defaultGrapherConfig.ts })
+              shell: nu {0}
+
+            - name: Run prettier
+              run: yarn fixPrettierAll
+
+            - uses: stefanzweifel/git-auto-commit-action@v5
+              with:
+                  commit_message: "🤖 update default grapher config"
diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 388475e6261..526e12ee4b2 100755
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -43,3 +43,4 @@ dist/
 .nx/workspace-data
 .dev.vars
 **/tsup.config.bundled*.mjs
+cfstorage
diff --git a/adminSiteClient/ChartEditor.ts b/adminSiteClient/ChartEditor.ts
index d13047ff5e0..d79c9dee9fa 100644
--- a/adminSiteClient/ChartEditor.ts
+++ b/adminSiteClient/ChartEditor.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,10 @@ import {
     ChartRedirect,
     DimensionProperty,
     Json,
+    GrapherInterface,
+    diffGrapherConfigs,
+    isEqual,
+    omit,
 } from "@ourworldindata/utils"
 import { computed, observable, runInAction, when } from "mobx"
 import { BAKED_GRAPHER_URL } from "../settings/clientSettings.js"
@@ -97,6 +101,7 @@ export interface ChartEditorManager {
     admin: Admin
     grapher: Grapher
     database: EditorDatabase
+    parentGrapherConfig: GrapherInterface
     logs: Log[]
     references: References | undefined
     redirects: ChartRedirect[]
@@ -124,7 +129,7 @@ export class ChartEditor {
     @observable.ref errorMessage?: { title: string; content: string }
     @observable.ref previewMode: "mobile" | "desktop"
     @observable.ref showStaticPreview = false
-    @observable.ref savedGrapherJson: string = ""
+    @observable.ref savedPatchConfig: GrapherInterface = {}
 
     // This gets set when we save a new chart for the first time
     // so the page knows to update the url
@@ -137,13 +142,26 @@ export class ChartEditor {
                 ? "mobile"
                 : "desktop"
         when(
-            () => this.grapher.isReady,
-            () => (this.savedGrapherJson = JSON.stringify(this.grapher.object))
+            () => this.grapher.hasData && this.grapher.isReady,
+            () => (this.savedPatchConfig = this.patchConfig)
         )
     }
 
+    @computed get fullConfig(): GrapherInterface {
+        return this.grapher.object
+    }
+
+    @computed get patchConfig(): GrapherInterface {
+        const { parentGrapherConfig } = this.manager
+        if (!parentGrapherConfig) return this.fullConfig
+        return diffGrapherConfigs(this.fullConfig, parentGrapherConfig)
+    }
+
     @computed get isModified(): boolean {
-        return JSON.stringify(this.grapher.object) !== this.savedGrapherJson
+        return !isEqual(
+            omit(this.patchConfig, "version"),
+            omit(this.savedPatchConfig, "version")
+        )
     }
 
     @computed get grapher() {
@@ -238,12 +256,12 @@ export class ChartEditor {
             if (isNewGrapher) {
                 this.newChartId = json.chartId
                 this.grapher.id = json.chartId
-                this.savedGrapherJson = JSON.stringify(this.grapher.object)
+                this.savedPatchConfig = json.savedPatch
             } else {
                 runInAction(() => {
                     grapher.version += 1
                     this.logs.unshift(json.newLog)
-                    this.savedGrapherJson = JSON.stringify(currentGrapherObject)
+                    this.savedPatchConfig = json.savedPatch
                 })
             }
         } else onError?.()
diff --git a/adminSiteClient/ChartEditorPage.tsx b/adminSiteClient/ChartEditorPage.tsx
index e1d1a49fc82..b16eeac4229 100644
--- a/adminSiteClient/ChartEditorPage.tsx
+++ b/adminSiteClient/ChartEditorPage.tsx
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ import {
     ChartRedirect,
     DimensionProperty,
 } from "@ourworldindata/types"
-import { Grapher } from "@ourworldindata/grapher"
+import { defaultGrapherConfig, Grapher } from "@ourworldindata/grapher"
 import { Admin } from "./Admin.js"
 import {
     ChartEditor,
@@ -104,7 +104,7 @@ export class ChartEditorPage
     extends React.Component<{
         grapherId?: number
         newGrapherIndex?: number
-        grapherConfig?: any
+        grapherConfig?: GrapherInterface
     }>
     implements ChartEditorManager
 {
@@ -124,7 +124,9 @@ export class ChartEditorPage
 
     @observable simulateVisionDeficiency?: VisionDeficiency
 
-    fetchedGrapherConfig?: any
+    fetchedGrapherConfig?: GrapherInterface
+    // for now, every chart's parent config is the default layer
+    parentGrapherConfig = defaultGrapherConfig
 
     async fetchGrapher(): Promise<void> {
         const { grapherId } = this.props
diff --git a/adminSiteClient/EditorHistoryTab.tsx b/adminSiteClient/EditorHistoryTab.tsx
index 0fa832b4acf..4c0e8baf5f8 100644
--- a/adminSiteClient/EditorHistoryTab.tsx
+++ b/adminSiteClient/EditorHistoryTab.tsx
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ export class EditorHistoryTab extends React.Component<{ editor: ChartEditor }> {
     @action.bound copyYamlToClipboard() {
         // Use the Clipboard API to copy the config into the users clipboard
         const chartConfigObject = {
-            ...this.props.editor.grapher.object,
+            ...this.props.editor.patchConfig,
         }
         delete chartConfigObject.id
         delete chartConfigObject.dimensions
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ export class EditorHistoryTab extends React.Component<{ editor: ChartEditor }> {
         // Avoid modifying the original JSON object
         // Due to mobx memoizing computed values, the JSON can be mutated.
         const chartConfigObject = {
-            ...this.props.editor.grapher.object,
+            ...this.props.editor.patchConfig,
         }
         return (
             <div>
@@ -157,7 +157,12 @@ export class EditorHistoryTab extends React.Component<{ editor: ChartEditor }> {
                     <ul key={i} className="list-group">
                         <LogRenderer
                             log={log}
-                            previousLog={this.logs[i + 1]} // Needed for comparison, might be undefined
+                            // Needed for comparison, might be undefined
+                            previousLog={
+                                i + 1 < this.logs.length
+                                    ? this.logs[i + 1]
+                                    : undefined
+                            }
                             applyConfig={this.applyConfig}
                         ></LogRenderer>
                     </ul>
diff --git a/adminSiteClient/GrapherConfigGridEditor.tsx b/adminSiteClient/GrapherConfigGridEditor.tsx
index b26aa5edfde..06ebd7ab5c0 100644
--- a/adminSiteClient/GrapherConfigGridEditor.tsx
+++ b/adminSiteClient/GrapherConfigGridEditor.tsx
@@ -348,6 +348,7 @@ export class GrapherConfigGridEditor extends React.Component<GrapherConfigGridEd
             selectedRowContent.id
         )
 
+        // TODO(inheritance): use mergeGrapherConfigs instead
         const mergedConfig = merge(grapherConfig, finalConfigLayer)
         this.loadGrapherJson(mergedConfig)
     }
diff --git a/adminSiteServer/apiRouter.ts b/adminSiteServer/apiRouter.ts
index 06c7b072f93..773213bfb70 100644
--- a/adminSiteServer/apiRouter.ts
+++ b/adminSiteServer/apiRouter.ts
@@ -45,6 +45,8 @@ import {
     Json,
     checkIsGdocPostExcludingFragments,
     checkIsPlainObjectWithGuard,
+    mergeGrapherConfigs,
+    diffGrapherConfigs,
 } from "@ourworldindata/utils"
 import { applyPatch } from "../adminShared/patchHelper.js"
 import {
@@ -71,7 +73,7 @@ import {
     PostsTableName,
     DbRawPost,
     DbPlainChartSlugRedirect,
-    DbRawChart,
+    DbPlainChart,
     DbInsertChartRevision,
     serializeChartConfig,
     DbRawOrigin,
@@ -82,8 +84,12 @@ import {
     DbPlainDataset,
     DbInsertUser,
     FlatTagGraph,
+    DbRawChartConfig,
+    R2GrapherConfigDirectory,
 } from "@ourworldindata/types"
+import { uuidv7 } from "uuidv7"
 import {
+    defaultGrapherConfig,
     getVariableDataRoute,
     getVariableMetadataRoute,
 } from "@ourworldindata/grapher"
@@ -150,6 +156,13 @@ import { GdocDataInsight } from "../db/model/Gdoc/GdocDataInsight.js"
 import { GdocHomepage } from "../db/model/Gdoc/GdocHomepage.js"
 import { GdocAuthor } from "../db/model/Gdoc/GdocAuthor.js"
 import path from "path"
+import {
+    deleteGrapherConfigFromR2,
+    deleteGrapherConfigFromR2ByUUID,
+    saveGrapherConfigToR2,
+    saveGrapherConfigToR2ByUUID,
+    getMd5HashBase64,
+} from "./chartConfigR2Helpers.js"
 
 const apiRouter = new FunctionalRouter()
 
@@ -267,6 +280,143 @@ const expectChartById = async (
     throw new JsonError(`No chart found for id ${chartId}`, 404)
 }
 
+const saveNewChart = async (
+    knex: db.KnexReadWriteTransaction,
+    { config, user }: { config: GrapherInterface; user: DbPlainUser }
+): Promise<{ patchConfig: GrapherInterface; fullConfig: GrapherInterface }> => {
+    // if the schema version is missing, assume it's the latest
+    if (!config["$schema"]) {
+        config["$schema"] = defaultGrapherConfig["$schema"]
+    }
+
+    // compute patch and full configs
+    const parentConfig = defaultGrapherConfig
+    const patchConfig = diffGrapherConfigs(config, parentConfig)
+    const fullConfig = mergeGrapherConfigs(parentConfig, patchConfig)
+    const fullConfigStringified = JSON.stringify(fullConfig)
+
+    // compute a sha-1 hash of the full config
+    const fullConfigMd5 = await getMd5HashBase64(fullConfigStringified)
+
+    // insert patch & full configs into the chart_configs table
+    const chartConfigId = uuidv7()
+    await db.knexRaw(
+        knex,
+        `-- sql
+            INSERT INTO chart_configs (id, patch, full, fullMd5)
+            VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?)
+        `,
+        [
+            chartConfigId,
+            JSON.stringify(patchConfig),
+            fullConfigStringified,
+            fullConfigMd5,
+        ]
+    )
+
+    // add a new chart to the charts table
+    const result = await db.knexRawInsert(
+        knex,
+        `-- sql
+            INSERT INTO charts (configId, lastEditedAt, lastEditedByUserId)
+            VALUES (?, ?, ?)
+        `,
+        [chartConfigId, new Date(), user.id]
+    )
+
+    // The chart config itself has an id field that should store the id of the chart - update the chart now so this is true
+    const chartId = result.insertId
+    patchConfig.id = chartId
+    fullConfig.id = chartId
+    await db.knexRaw(
+        knex,
+        `-- sql
+            UPDATE chart_configs cc
+            JOIN charts c ON c.configId = cc.id
+            SET
+                cc.patch=JSON_SET(cc.patch, '$.id', ?),
+                cc.full=JSON_SET(cc.full, '$.id', ?)
+            WHERE c.id = ?
+        `,
+        [chartId, chartId, chartId]
+    )
+
+    await saveGrapherConfigToR2ByUUID(chartConfigId, fullConfigStringified)
+
+    return { patchConfig, fullConfig }
+}
+
+const updateExistingChart = async (
+    knex: db.KnexReadWriteTransaction,
+    {
+        config,
+        user,
+        chartId,
+    }: { config: GrapherInterface; user: DbPlainUser; chartId: number }
+): Promise<{ patchConfig: GrapherInterface; fullConfig: GrapherInterface }> => {
+    // make sure that the id of the incoming config matches the chart id
+    config.id = chartId
+
+    // if the schema version is missing, assume it's the latest
+    if (!config["$schema"]) {
+        config["$schema"] = defaultGrapherConfig["$schema"]
+    }
+
+    // compute patch and full configs
+    const parentConfig = defaultGrapherConfig
+    const patchConfig = diffGrapherConfigs(config, parentConfig)
+    const fullConfig = mergeGrapherConfigs(parentConfig, patchConfig)
+    const fullConfigStringified = JSON.stringify(fullConfig)
+
+    const fullConfigMd5 = await getMd5HashBase64(fullConfigStringified)
+
+    const chartConfigId = await db.knexRawFirst<Pick<DbPlainChart, "configId">>(
+        knex,
+        `SELECT configId FROM charts WHERE id = ?`,
+        [chartId]
+    )
+
+    if (!chartConfigId)
+        throw new JsonError(`No chart config found for id ${chartId}`, 404)
+
+    // update configs
+    await db.knexRaw(
+        knex,
+        `-- sql
+            UPDATE chart_configs
+            SET
+                patch=?,
+                full=?,
+                fullMd5=?
+            WHERE id = ?
+        `,
+        [
+            JSON.stringify(patchConfig),
+            fullConfigStringified,
+            fullConfigMd5,
+            chartConfigId.configId,
+        ]
+    )
+
+    // update charts row
+    await db.knexRaw(
+        knex,
+        `-- sql
+            UPDATE charts
+            SET lastEditedAt=?, lastEditedByUserId=?
+            WHERE id = ?
+        `,
+        [new Date(), user.id, chartId]
+    )
+
+    await saveGrapherConfigToR2ByUUID(
+        chartConfigId.configId,
+        fullConfigStringified
+    )
+
+    return { patchConfig, fullConfig }
+}
+
 const saveGrapher = async (
     knex: db.KnexReadWriteTransaction,
     user: DbPlainUser,
@@ -288,9 +438,17 @@ const saveGrapher = async (
     }
 
     async function isSlugUsedInOtherGrapher() {
-        const rows = await db.knexRaw<Pick<DbRawChart, "id">>(
+        const rows = await db.knexRaw<Pick<DbPlainChart, "id">>(
             knex,
-            `SELECT id FROM charts WHERE id != ? AND config->>"$.isPublished" = "true" AND JSON_EXTRACT(config, "$.slug") = ?`,
+            `-- sql
+                SELECT c.id
+                FROM charts c
+                JOIN chart_configs cc ON cc.id = c.configId
+                WHERE
+                    c.id != ?
+                    AND cc.full ->> "$.isPublished" = "true"
+                    AND cc.slug = ?
+            `,
             // -1 is a placeholder ID that will never exist; but we cannot use NULL because
             // in that case we would always get back an empty resultset
             [existingConfig ? existingConfig.id : -1, newConfig.slug]
@@ -326,6 +484,11 @@ const saveGrapher = async (
                 `INSERT INTO chart_slug_redirects (chart_id, slug) VALUES (?, ?)`,
                 [existingConfig.id, existingConfig.slug]
             )
+            // When we rename grapher configs, make sure to delete the old one (the new one will be saved below)
+            await deleteGrapherConfigFromR2(
+                R2GrapherConfigDirectory.publishedGrapherBySlug,
+                `${existingConfig.slug}.json`
+            )
         }
     }
 
@@ -339,32 +502,30 @@ const saveGrapher = async (
     else newConfig.version = 1
 
     // Execute the actual database update or creation
-    const now = new Date()
-    let chartId = existingConfig && existingConfig.id
-    const newJsonConfig = JSON.stringify(newConfig)
-    if (existingConfig)
-        await db.knexRaw(
-            knex,
-            `UPDATE charts SET config=?, updatedAt=?, lastEditedAt=?, lastEditedByUserId=? WHERE id = ?`,
-            [newJsonConfig, now, now, user.id, chartId]
-        )
-    else {
-        const result = await db.knexRawInsert(
-            knex,
-            `INSERT INTO charts (config, createdAt, updatedAt, lastEditedAt, lastEditedByUserId) VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?)`,
-            [newJsonConfig, now, now, now, user.id]
-        )
-        chartId = result.insertId
-        // The chart config itself has an id field that should store the id of the chart - update the chart now so this is true
-        newConfig.id = chartId
-        await db.knexRaw(knex, `UPDATE charts SET config=? WHERE id = ?`, [
-            JSON.stringify(newConfig),
+    let chartId: number
+    let patchConfig: GrapherInterface
+    let fullConfig: GrapherInterface
+    if (existingConfig) {
+        chartId = existingConfig.id!
+        const configs = await updateExistingChart(knex, {
+            config: newConfig,
+            user,
             chartId,
-        ])
+        })
+        patchConfig = configs.patchConfig
+        fullConfig = configs.fullConfig
+    } else {
+        const configs = await saveNewChart(knex, {
+            config: newConfig,
+            user,
+        })
+        chartId = newConfig.id!
+        patchConfig = configs.patchConfig
+        fullConfig = configs.fullConfig
     }
+    newConfig = patchConfig
 
     // Record this change in version history
-
     const chartRevisionLog = {
         chartId: chartId as number,
         userId: user.id,
@@ -407,6 +568,17 @@ const saveGrapher = async (
             newDimensions.map((d) => d.variableId)
         )
 
+    if (newConfig.isPublished) {
+        const configStringified = JSON.stringify(fullConfig)
+        const configMd5 = await getMd5HashBase64(configStringified)
+        await saveGrapherConfigToR2(
+            configStringified,
+            R2GrapherConfigDirectory.publishedGrapherBySlug,
+            `${newConfig.slug}.json`,
+            configMd5
+        )
+    }
+
     if (
         newConfig.isPublished &&
         (!existingConfig || !existingConfig.isPublished)
@@ -415,7 +587,7 @@ const saveGrapher = async (
         await db.knexRaw(
             knex,
             `UPDATE charts SET publishedAt=?, publishedByUserId=? WHERE id = ? `,
-            [now, user.id, chartId]
+            [new Date(), user.id, chartId]
         )
         await triggerStaticBuild(user, `Publishing chart ${newConfig.slug}`)
     } else if (
@@ -429,11 +601,18 @@ const saveGrapher = async (
             `DELETE FROM chart_slug_redirects WHERE chart_id = ?`,
             [existingConfig.id]
         )
+        await deleteGrapherConfigFromR2(
+            R2GrapherConfigDirectory.publishedGrapherBySlug,
+            `${existingConfig.slug}.json`
+        )
         await triggerStaticBuild(user, `Unpublishing chart ${newConfig.slug}`)
     } else if (newConfig.isPublished)
         await triggerStaticBuild(user, `Updating chart ${newConfig.slug}`)
 
-    return chartId
+    return {
+        chartId,
+        savedPatch: newConfig,
+    }
 }
 
 getRouteWithROTransaction(apiRouter, "/charts.json", async (req, res, trx) => {
@@ -441,11 +620,12 @@ getRouteWithROTransaction(apiRouter, "/charts.json", async (req, res, trx) => {
     const charts = await db.knexRaw<OldChartFieldList>(
         trx,
         `-- sql
-        SELECT ${oldChartFieldList} FROM charts
-        JOIN users lastEditedByUser ON lastEditedByUser.id = charts.lastEditedByUserId
-        LEFT JOIN users publishedByUser ON publishedByUser.id = charts.publishedByUserId
-        ORDER BY charts.lastEditedAt DESC LIMIT ?
-    `,
+            SELECT ${oldChartFieldList} FROM charts
+            JOIN chart_configs ON chart_configs.id = charts.configId
+            JOIN users lastEditedByUser ON lastEditedByUser.id = charts.lastEditedByUserId
+            LEFT JOIN users publishedByUser ON publishedByUser.id = charts.publishedByUserId
+            ORDER BY charts.lastEditedAt DESC LIMIT ?
+        `,
         [limit]
     )
 
@@ -461,36 +641,37 @@ getRouteWithROTransaction(apiRouter, "/charts.csv", async (req, res, trx) => {
     const charts = await db.knexRaw(
         trx,
         `-- sql
-        SELECT
-            charts.id,
-            charts.config->>"$.version" AS version,
-            CONCAT("${BAKED_BASE_URL}/grapher/", charts.config->>"$.slug") AS url,
-            CONCAT("${ADMIN_BASE_URL}", "/admin/charts/", charts.id, "/edit") AS editUrl,
-            charts.config->>"$.slug" AS slug,
-            charts.config->>"$.title" AS title,
-            charts.config->>"$.subtitle" AS subtitle,
-            charts.config->>"$.sourceDesc" AS sourceDesc,
-            charts.config->>"$.note" AS note,
-            charts.config->>"$.type" AS type,
-            charts.config->>"$.internalNotes" AS internalNotes,
-            charts.config->>"$.variantName" AS variantName,
-            charts.config->>"$.isPublished" AS isPublished,
-            charts.config->>"$.tab" AS tab,
-            JSON_EXTRACT(charts.config, "$.hasChartTab") = true AS hasChartTab,
-            JSON_EXTRACT(charts.config, "$.hasMapTab") = true AS hasMapTab,
-            charts.config->>"$.originUrl" AS originUrl,
-            charts.lastEditedAt,
-            charts.lastEditedByUserId,
-            lastEditedByUser.fullName AS lastEditedBy,
-            charts.publishedAt,
-            charts.publishedByUserId,
-            publishedByUser.fullName AS publishedBy
-        FROM charts
-        JOIN users lastEditedByUser ON lastEditedByUser.id = charts.lastEditedByUserId
-        LEFT JOIN users publishedByUser ON publishedByUser.id = charts.publishedByUserId
-        ORDER BY charts.lastEditedAt DESC
-        LIMIT ?
-    `,
+            SELECT
+                charts.id,
+                chart_configs.full->>"$.version" AS version,
+                CONCAT("${BAKED_BASE_URL}/grapher/", chart_configs.full->>"$.slug") AS url,
+                CONCAT("${ADMIN_BASE_URL}", "/admin/charts/", charts.id, "/edit") AS editUrl,
+                chart_configs.full->>"$.slug" AS slug,
+                chart_configs.full->>"$.title" AS title,
+                chart_configs.full->>"$.subtitle" AS subtitle,
+                chart_configs.full->>"$.sourceDesc" AS sourceDesc,
+                chart_configs.full->>"$.note" AS note,
+                chart_configs.full->>"$.type" AS type,
+                chart_configs.full->>"$.internalNotes" AS internalNotes,
+                chart_configs.full->>"$.variantName" AS variantName,
+                chart_configs.full->>"$.isPublished" AS isPublished,
+                chart_configs.full->>"$.tab" AS tab,
+                JSON_EXTRACT(chart_configs.full, "$.hasChartTab") = true AS hasChartTab,
+                JSON_EXTRACT(chart_configs.full, "$.hasMapTab") = true AS hasMapTab,
+                chart_configs.full->>"$.originUrl" AS originUrl,
+                charts.lastEditedAt,
+                charts.lastEditedByUserId,
+                lastEditedByUser.fullName AS lastEditedBy,
+                charts.publishedAt,
+                charts.publishedByUserId,
+                publishedByUser.fullName AS publishedBy
+            FROM charts
+            JOIN chart_configs ON chart_configs.id = charts.configId
+            JOIN users lastEditedByUser ON lastEditedByUser.id = charts.lastEditedByUserId
+            LEFT JOIN users publishedByUser ON publishedByUser.id = charts.publishedByUserId
+            ORDER BY charts.lastEditedAt DESC
+            LIMIT ?
+        `,
         [limit]
     )
     // note: retrieving references is VERY slow.
@@ -708,7 +889,7 @@ apiRouter.get(
 )
 
 postRouteWithRWTransaction(apiRouter, "/charts", async (req, res, trx) => {
-    const chartId = await saveGrapher(trx, res.locals.user, req.body)
+    const { chartId } = await saveGrapher(trx, res.locals.user, req.body)
 
     return { success: true, chartId: chartId }
 })
@@ -731,10 +912,20 @@ putRouteWithRWTransaction(
     async (req, res, trx) => {
         const existingConfig = await expectChartById(trx, req.params.chartId)
 
-        await saveGrapher(trx, res.locals.user, req.body, existingConfig)
+        const { chartId, savedPatch } = await saveGrapher(
+            trx,
+            res.locals.user,
+            req.body,
+            existingConfig
+        )
 
         const logs = await getLogsByChartId(trx, existingConfig.id as number)
-        return { success: true, chartId: existingConfig.id, newLog: logs[0] }
+        return {
+            success: true,
+            chartId,
+            savedPatch,
+            newLog: logs[0],
+        }
     }
 )
 
@@ -759,7 +950,20 @@ deleteRouteWithRWTransaction(
             `DELETE FROM chart_slug_redirects WHERE chart_id=?`,
             [chart.id]
         )
-        await db.knexRaw(trx, `DELETE FROM charts WHERE id=?`, [chart.id])
+
+        const row = await db.knexRawFirst<Pick<DbPlainChart, "configId">>(
+            trx,
+            `SELECT configId FROM charts WHERE id = ?`,
+            [chart.id]
+        )
+        if (!row)
+            throw new JsonError(`No chart config found for id ${chart.id}`, 404)
+        if (row) {
+            await db.knexRaw(trx, `DELETE FROM charts WHERE id=?`, [chart.id])
+            await db.knexRaw(trx, `DELETE FROM chart_configs WHERE id=?`, [
+                row.configId,
+            ])
+        }
 
         if (chart.isPublished)
             await triggerStaticBuild(
@@ -767,6 +971,13 @@ deleteRouteWithRWTransaction(
                 `Deleting chart ${chart.slug}`
             )
 
+        await deleteGrapherConfigFromR2ByUUID(row.configId)
+        if (chart.isPublished)
+            await deleteGrapherConfigFromR2(
+                R2GrapherConfigDirectory.publishedGrapherBySlug,
+                `${chart.slug}.json`
+            )
+
         return { success: true }
     }
 )
@@ -871,7 +1082,7 @@ getRouteWithROTransaction(
         trx
     ): Promise<BulkGrapherConfigResponse<BulkChartEditResponseRow>> => {
         const context: OperationContext = {
-            grapherConfigFieldName: "config",
+            grapherConfigFieldName: "chart_configs.full",
             whitelistedColumnNamesAndTypes:
                 chartBulkUpdateAllowedColumnNamesAndTypes,
         }
@@ -889,21 +1100,25 @@ getRouteWithROTransaction(
         const whereClause = filterSExpr?.toSql() ?? "true"
         const resultsWithStringGrapherConfigs = await db.knexRaw(
             trx,
-            `SELECT charts.id as id,
-            charts.config as config,
-            charts.createdAt as createdAt,
-            charts.updatedAt as updatedAt,
-            charts.lastEditedAt as lastEditedAt,
-            charts.publishedAt as publishedAt,
-            lastEditedByUser.fullName as lastEditedByUser,
-            publishedByUser.fullName as publishedByUser
-FROM charts
-LEFT JOIN users lastEditedByUser ON lastEditedByUser.id=charts.lastEditedByUserId
-LEFT JOIN users publishedByUser ON publishedByUser.id=charts.publishedByUserId
-WHERE ${whereClause}
-ORDER BY charts.id DESC
-LIMIT 50
-OFFSET ${offset.toString()}`
+            `-- sql
+                SELECT
+                    charts.id as id,
+                    chart_configs.full as config,
+                    charts.createdAt as createdAt,
+                    charts.updatedAt as updatedAt,
+                    charts.lastEditedAt as lastEditedAt,
+                    charts.publishedAt as publishedAt,
+                    lastEditedByUser.fullName as lastEditedByUser,
+                    publishedByUser.fullName as publishedByUser
+                FROM charts
+                LEFT JOIN chart_configs ON chart_configs.id = charts.configId
+                LEFT JOIN users lastEditedByUser ON lastEditedByUser.id=charts.lastEditedByUserId
+                LEFT JOIN users publishedByUser ON publishedByUser.id=charts.publishedByUserId
+                WHERE ${whereClause}
+                ORDER BY charts.id DESC
+                LIMIT 50
+                OFFSET ${offset.toString()}
+            `
         )
 
         const results = resultsWithStringGrapherConfigs.map((row: any) => ({
@@ -912,9 +1127,12 @@ OFFSET ${offset.toString()}`
         }))
         const resultCount = await db.knexRaw<{ count: number }>(
             trx,
-            `SELECT count(*) as count
-FROM charts
-WHERE ${whereClause}`
+            `-- sql
+                SELECT count(*) as count
+                FROM charts
+                JOIN chart_configs ON chart_configs.id = charts.configId
+                WHERE ${whereClause}
+            `
         )
         return { rows: results, numTotalRows: resultCount[0].count }
     }
@@ -928,10 +1146,17 @@ patchRouteWithRWTransaction(
         const chartIds = new Set(patchesList.map((patch) => patch.id))
 
         const configsAndIds = await db.knexRaw<
-            Pick<DbRawChart, "id" | "config">
-        >(trx, `SELECT id, config FROM charts where id IN (?)`, [
-            [...chartIds.values()],
-        ])
+            Pick<DbPlainChart, "id"> & { config: DbRawChartConfig["full"] }
+        >(
+            trx,
+            `-- sql
+                SELECT c.id, cc.full as config
+                FROM charts c
+                JOIN chart_configs cc ON cc.id = c.configId
+                WHERE c.id IN (?)
+            `,
+            [[...chartIds.values()]]
+        )
         const configMap = new Map<number, GrapherInterface>(
             configsAndIds.map((item: any) => [
                 item.id,
@@ -1099,13 +1324,14 @@ getRouteWithROTransaction(
         const charts = await db.knexRaw<OldChartFieldList>(
             trx,
             `-- sql
-            SELECT ${oldChartFieldList}
-            FROM charts
-            JOIN users lastEditedByUser ON lastEditedByUser.id = charts.lastEditedByUserId
-            LEFT JOIN users publishedByUser ON publishedByUser.id = charts.publishedByUserId
-            JOIN chart_dimensions cd ON cd.chartId = charts.id
-            WHERE cd.variableId = ?
-            GROUP BY charts.id
+                SELECT ${oldChartFieldList}
+                FROM charts
+                JOIN chart_configs ON chart_configs.id = charts.configId
+                JOIN users lastEditedByUser ON lastEditedByUser.id = charts.lastEditedByUserId
+                LEFT JOIN users publishedByUser ON publishedByUser.id = charts.publishedByUserId
+                JOIN chart_dimensions cd ON cd.chartId = charts.id
+                WHERE cd.variableId = ?
+                GROUP BY charts.id
             `,
             [variableId]
         )
@@ -1325,15 +1551,16 @@ getRouteWithROTransaction(
         const charts = await db.knexRaw<OldChartFieldList>(
             trx,
             `-- sql
-        SELECT ${oldChartFieldList}
-        FROM charts
-        JOIN chart_dimensions AS cd ON cd.chartId = charts.id
-        JOIN variables AS v ON cd.variableId = v.id
-        JOIN users lastEditedByUser ON lastEditedByUser.id = charts.lastEditedByUserId
-        LEFT JOIN users publishedByUser ON publishedByUser.id = charts.publishedByUserId
-        WHERE v.datasetId = ?
-        GROUP BY charts.id
-    `,
+                SELECT ${oldChartFieldList}
+                FROM charts
+                JOIN chart_configs ON chart_configs.id = charts.configId
+                JOIN chart_dimensions AS cd ON cd.chartId = charts.id
+                JOIN variables AS v ON cd.variableId = v.id
+                JOIN users lastEditedByUser ON lastEditedByUser.id = charts.lastEditedByUserId
+                LEFT JOIN users publishedByUser ON publishedByUser.id = charts.publishedByUserId
+                WHERE v.datasetId = ?
+                GROUP BY charts.id
+            `,
             [datasetId]
         )
 
@@ -1506,16 +1733,18 @@ postRouteWithRWTransaction(
         if (req.body.republish) {
             await db.knexRaw(
                 trx,
-                `
-            UPDATE charts
-            SET config = JSON_SET(config, "$.version", config->"$.version" + 1)
-            WHERE id IN (
-                SELECT DISTINCT chart_dimensions.chartId
-                FROM chart_dimensions
-                JOIN variables ON variables.id = chart_dimensions.variableId
-                WHERE variables.datasetId = ?
-            )
-            `,
+                `-- sql
+                    UPDATE chart_configs cc
+                    JOIN charts c ON c.configId = cc.id
+                    SET
+                        cc.patch = JSON_SET(cc.patch, "$.version", cc.patch->"$.version" + 1),
+                        cc.full = JSON_SET(cc.full, "$.version", cc.full->"$.version" + 1)
+                    WHERE c.id IN (
+                        SELECT DISTINCT chart_dimensions.chartId
+                        FROM chart_dimensions
+                        JOIN variables ON variables.id = chart_dimensions.variableId
+                        WHERE variables.datasetId = ?
+                    )`,
                 [datasetId]
             )
         }
@@ -1537,9 +1766,16 @@ getRouteWithROTransaction(
         redirects: await db.knexRaw(
             trx,
             `-- sql
-        SELECT r.id, r.slug, r.chart_id as chartId, JSON_UNQUOTE(JSON_EXTRACT(charts.config, "$.slug")) AS chartSlug
-        FROM chart_slug_redirects AS r JOIN charts ON charts.id = r.chart_id
-        ORDER BY r.id DESC`
+                SELECT
+                    r.id,
+                    r.slug,
+                    r.chart_id as chartId,
+                    chart_configs.slug AS chartSlug
+                FROM chart_slug_redirects AS r
+                JOIN charts ON charts.id = r.chart_id
+                JOIN chart_configs ON chart_configs.id = charts.configId
+                ORDER BY r.id DESC
+            `
         ),
     })
 )
@@ -1714,14 +1950,15 @@ getRouteWithROTransaction(
         const charts = await db.knexRaw<OldChartFieldList>(
             trx,
             `-- sql
-        SELECT ${oldChartFieldList} FROM charts
-        LEFT JOIN chart_tags ct ON ct.chartId=charts.id
-        JOIN users lastEditedByUser ON lastEditedByUser.id = charts.lastEditedByUserId
-        LEFT JOIN users publishedByUser ON publishedByUser.id = charts.publishedByUserId
-        WHERE ct.tagId ${tagId === UNCATEGORIZED_TAG_ID ? "IS NULL" : "= ?"}
-        GROUP BY charts.id
-        ORDER BY charts.updatedAt DESC
-    `,
+                SELECT ${oldChartFieldList} FROM charts
+                JOIN chart_configs ON chart_configs.id = charts.configId
+                LEFT JOIN chart_tags ct ON ct.chartId=charts.id
+                JOIN users lastEditedByUser ON lastEditedByUser.id = charts.lastEditedByUserId
+                LEFT JOIN users publishedByUser ON publishedByUser.id = charts.publishedByUserId
+                WHERE ct.tagId ${tagId === UNCATEGORIZED_TAG_ID ? "IS NULL" : "= ?"}
+                GROUP BY charts.id
+                ORDER BY charts.updatedAt DESC
+            `,
             uncategorized ? [] : [tagId]
         )
         tag.charts = charts
diff --git a/adminSiteServer/chartConfigR2Helpers.ts b/adminSiteServer/chartConfigR2Helpers.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e2122e24e22
--- /dev/null
+++ b/adminSiteServer/chartConfigR2Helpers.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+import {
+    GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET,
+    GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET_PATH,
+    R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID,
+    R2_ENDPOINT,
+    R2_REGION,
+    R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY,
+} from "../settings/serverSettings.js"
+import {
+    DeleteObjectCommand,
+    DeleteObjectCommandInput,
+    PutObjectCommand,
+    PutObjectCommandInput,
+    S3Client,
+} from "@aws-sdk/client-s3"
+import { Base64String, JsonError } from "@ourworldindata/utils"
+import { R2GrapherConfigDirectory } from "@ourworldindata/types"
+import { logErrorAndMaybeSendToBugsnag } from "../serverUtils/errorLog.js"
+import { createHash } from "crypto"
+
+export function getMd5HashBase64(data: string): Base64String {
+    // I would have liked to create a function in utils that can compute a varienty of hashes
+    // in both the browser, CF workers and node but unfortunately this isn't easily possible
+    // for md5 - so here we just special case for md5, node and base64 encoding for now.
+    return createHash("md5")
+        .update(data, "utf-8")
+        .digest("base64") as Base64String
+}
+
+let s3Client: S3Client | undefined = undefined
+
+export async function saveGrapherConfigToR2ByUUID(
+    id: string,
+    chartConfigStringified: string
+) {
+    const configMd5 = await getMd5HashBase64(chartConfigStringified)
+
+    await saveGrapherConfigToR2(
+        chartConfigStringified,
+        R2GrapherConfigDirectory.byUUID,
+        `${id}.json`,
+        configMd5
+    )
+}
+
+export async function deleteGrapherConfigFromR2ByUUID(id: string) {
+    await deleteGrapherConfigFromR2(
+        R2GrapherConfigDirectory.byUUID,
+        `${id}.json`
+    )
+}
+
+export async function saveGrapherConfigToR2(
+    config_stringified: string,
+    directory: R2GrapherConfigDirectory,
+    filename: string,
+    configMd5: Base64String
+) {
+    if (
+        GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET === undefined ||
+        GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET_PATH === undefined
+    ) {
+        console.info(
+            "R2 bucket not configured, not storing grapher config to R2"
+        )
+        return
+    }
+    try {
+        if (!s3Client) {
+            s3Client = new S3Client({
+                endpoint: R2_ENDPOINT,
+                forcePathStyle: false,
+                region: R2_REGION,
+                credentials: {
+                    accessKeyId: R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID,
+                    secretAccessKey: R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY,
+                },
+            })
+        }
+
+        if (!GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET || !GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET_PATH) {
+            throw new Error("R2 bucket not configured")
+        }
+
+        const bucket = GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET
+        const path = [GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET_PATH, directory, filename].join(
+            "/"
+        )
+
+        const MIMEType = "application/json"
+
+        const params: PutObjectCommandInput = {
+            Bucket: bucket,
+            Key: path,
+            Body: config_stringified,
+            ContentType: MIMEType,
+            ContentMD5: configMd5,
+        }
+
+        await s3Client.send(new PutObjectCommand(params))
+        console.log(
+            `Successfully uploaded object: ${params.Bucket}/${params.Key}`
+        )
+    } catch (err) {
+        await logErrorAndMaybeSendToBugsnag(err)
+        throw new JsonError(
+            `Failed to save the grapher config to R2. Inner error: ${err}`
+        )
+    }
+}
+
+export async function deleteGrapherConfigFromR2(
+    directory: R2GrapherConfigDirectory,
+    filename: string
+) {
+    if (
+        GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET === undefined ||
+        GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET_PATH === undefined
+    ) {
+        console.info(
+            "R2 bucket not configured, not deleting grapher config to R2"
+        )
+        return
+    }
+    try {
+        if (!s3Client) {
+            s3Client = new S3Client({
+                endpoint: R2_ENDPOINT,
+                forcePathStyle: false,
+                region: R2_REGION,
+                credentials: {
+                    accessKeyId: R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID,
+                    secretAccessKey: R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY,
+                },
+            })
+        }
+
+        if (!GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET || !GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET_PATH) {
+            throw new Error("R2 bucket not configured")
+        }
+
+        const bucket = GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET
+        const path = [GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET_PATH, directory, filename].join(
+            "/"
+        )
+
+        const params: DeleteObjectCommandInput = {
+            Bucket: bucket,
+            Key: path,
+        }
+
+        await s3Client.send(new DeleteObjectCommand(params))
+        console.log(
+            `Successfully deleted object: ${params.Bucket}/${params.Key}`
+        )
+    } catch (err) {
+        await logErrorAndMaybeSendToBugsnag(err)
+        throw new JsonError(
+            `Failed to delete the grapher config to R2 at ${directory}/${filename}. Inner error: ${err}`
+        )
+    }
+}
diff --git a/adminSiteServer/testPageRouter.tsx b/adminSiteServer/testPageRouter.tsx
index c9a3bd06c29..7db55fc9f88 100644
--- a/adminSiteServer/testPageRouter.tsx
+++ b/adminSiteServer/testPageRouter.tsx
@@ -24,13 +24,13 @@ import {
 import { grapherToSVG } from "../baker/GrapherImageBaker.js"
 import {
     ChartTypeName,
-    ChartsTableName,
     ColorSchemeName,
-    DbRawChart,
+    DbRawChartConfig,
+    DbPlainChart,
     EntitySelectionMode,
     GrapherTabOption,
     StackMode,
-    parseChartsRow,
+    parseChartConfig,
 } from "@ourworldindata/types"
 import { ExplorerAdminServer } from "../explorerAdminServer/ExplorerAdminServer.js"
 import { GIT_CMS_DIR } from "../gitCms/GitCmsConstants.js"
@@ -140,27 +140,28 @@ async function propsFromQueryParams(
 
     let query = knex
         .table("charts")
-        .whereRaw("publishedAt IS NOT NULL")
-        .orderBy("id", "DESC")
+        .join({ cc: "chart_configs" }, "charts.configId", "cc.id")
+        .whereRaw("charts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL")
+        .orderBy("charts.id", "DESC")
     console.error(query.toSQL())
 
     let tab = params.tab
 
     if (params.type) {
         if (params.type === ChartTypeName.WorldMap) {
-            query = query.andWhereRaw(`config->>"$.hasMapTab" = "true"`)
+            query = query.andWhereRaw(`cc.full->>"$.hasMapTab" = "true"`)
             tab = tab || GrapherTabOption.map
         } else {
             if (params.type === "LineChart") {
                 query = query.andWhereRaw(
                     `(
-                        config->"$.type" = "LineChart"
-                        OR config->"$.type" IS NULL
-                    ) AND COALESCE(config->>"$.hasChartTab", "true") = "true"`
+                        cc.full->"$.type" = "LineChart"
+                        OR cc.full->"$.type" IS NULL
+                    ) AND COALESCE(cc.full->>"$.hasChartTab", "true") = "true"`
                 )
             } else {
                 query = query.andWhereRaw(
-                    `config->"$.type" = :type AND COALESCE(config->>"$.hasChartTab", "true") = "true"`,
+                    `cc.full->"$.type" = :type AND COALESCE(cc.full->>"$.hasChartTab", "true") = "true"`,
                     { type: params.type }
                 )
             }
@@ -170,27 +171,27 @@ async function propsFromQueryParams(
 
     if (params.logLinear) {
         query = query.andWhereRaw(
-            `config->>'$.yAxis.canChangeScaleType' = "true" OR config->>'$.xAxis.canChangeScaleType'  = "true"`
+            `cc.full->>'$.yAxis.canChangeScaleType' = "true" OR cc.full->>'$.xAxis.canChangeScaleType'  = "true"`
         )
         tab = GrapherTabOption.chart
     }
 
     if (params.comparisonLines) {
         query = query.andWhereRaw(
-            `config->'$.comparisonLines[0].yEquals' != ''`
+            `cc.full->'$.comparisonLines[0].yEquals' != ''`
         )
         tab = GrapherTabOption.chart
     }
 
     if (params.stackMode) {
-        query = query.andWhereRaw(`config->'$.stackMode' = :stackMode`, {
+        query = query.andWhereRaw(`cc.full->'$.stackMode' = :stackMode`, {
             stackMode: params.stackMode,
         })
         tab = GrapherTabOption.chart
     }
 
     if (params.relativeToggle) {
-        query = query.andWhereRaw(`config->>'$.hideRelativeToggle' = "false"`)
+        query = query.andWhereRaw(`cc.full->>'$.hideRelativeToggle' = "false"`)
         tab = GrapherTabOption.chart
     }
 
@@ -199,7 +200,7 @@ async function propsFromQueryParams(
         // have a visible categorial legend, and can leave out some that have one.
         // But in practice it seems to work reasonably well.
         query = query.andWhereRaw(
-            `json_length(config->'$.map.colorScale.customCategoryColors') > 1`
+            `json_length(cc.full->'$.map.colorScale.customCategoryColors') > 1`
         )
         tab = GrapherTabOption.map
     }
@@ -225,13 +226,13 @@ async function propsFromQueryParams(
         const mode = params.addCountryMode
         if (mode === EntitySelectionMode.MultipleEntities) {
             query = query.andWhereRaw(
-                `config->'$.addCountryMode' IS NULL OR config->'$.addCountryMode' = :mode`,
+                `cc.full->'$.addCountryMode' IS NULL OR cc.full->'$.addCountryMode' = :mode`,
                 {
                     mode: EntitySelectionMode.MultipleEntities,
                 }
             )
         } else {
-            query = query.andWhereRaw(`config->'$.addCountryMode' = :mode`, {
+            query = query.andWhereRaw(`cc.full->'$.addCountryMode' = :mode`, {
                 mode,
             })
         }
@@ -242,10 +243,10 @@ async function propsFromQueryParams(
     }
 
     if (tab === GrapherTabOption.map) {
-        query = query.andWhereRaw(`config->>"$.hasMapTab" = "true"`)
+        query = query.andWhereRaw(`cc.full->>"$.hasMapTab" = "true"`)
     } else if (tab === GrapherTabOption.chart) {
         query = query.andWhereRaw(
-            `COALESCE(config->>"$.hasChartTab", "true") = "true"`
+            `COALESCE(cc.full->>"$.hasChartTab", "true") = "true"`
         )
     }
 
@@ -283,7 +284,7 @@ async function propsFromQueryParams(
 
     const chartsQuery = query
         .clone()
-        .select("id", "slug")
+        .select(knex.raw("charts.id, cc.slug"))
         .limit(perPage)
         .offset(perPage * (page - 1))
 
@@ -473,13 +474,26 @@ getPlainRouteWithROTransaction(
     "/embeds/:id",
     async (req, res, trx) => {
         const id = req.params.id
-        const chartRaw: DbRawChart = await trx
-            .table(ChartsTableName)
-            .where({ id: id })
-            .first()
-        const chartEnriched = parseChartsRow(chartRaw)
-        const viewProps = await getViewPropsFromQueryParams(req.query)
-        if (chartEnriched) {
+        const chartRaw = await db.knexRawFirst<
+            Pick<DbPlainChart, "id"> & { config: DbRawChartConfig["full"] }
+        >(
+            trx,
+            `--sql
+                select ca.id, cc.full as config
+                from charts ca
+                join chart_configs cc
+                on ca.configId = cc.id
+                where ca.id = ?
+            `,
+            [id]
+        )
+
+        if (chartRaw) {
+            const chartEnriched = {
+                ...chartRaw,
+                config: parseChartConfig(chartRaw.config),
+            }
+            const viewProps = await getViewPropsFromQueryParams(req.query)
             const charts = [
                 {
                     id: chartEnriched.id,
@@ -727,9 +741,15 @@ getPlainRouteWithROTransaction(
     testPageRouter,
     "/previews",
     async (req, res, trx) => {
-        const rows = await db.knexRaw(
+        const rows = await db.knexRaw<{ config: DbRawChartConfig["full"] }>(
             trx,
-            `SELECT config FROM charts LIMIT 200`
+            `--sql
+                SELECT cc.full as config
+                FROM charts ca
+                JOIN chart_configs cc
+                ON ca.configId = cc.id
+                LIMIT 200
+            `
         )
         const charts = rows.map((row: any) => JSON.parse(row.config))
 
@@ -741,9 +761,15 @@ getPlainRouteWithROTransaction(
     testPageRouter,
     "/embedVariants",
     async (req, res, trx) => {
-        const rows = await db.knexRaw(
+        const rows = await db.knexRaw<{ config: DbRawChartConfig["full"] }>(
             trx,
-            `SELECT config FROM charts WHERE id=64`
+            `--sql
+                SELECT cc.full as config
+                FROM charts ca
+                JOIN chart_configs cc
+                ON ca.configId = cc.id
+                WHERE ca.id=64
+            `
         )
         const charts = rows.map((row: any) => JSON.parse(row.config))
         const viewProps = getViewPropsFromQueryParams(req.query)
diff --git a/baker/GrapherBaker.tsx b/baker/GrapherBaker.tsx
index b4e78699c43..701b254dbd0 100644
--- a/baker/GrapherBaker.tsx
+++ b/baker/GrapherBaker.tsx
@@ -42,6 +42,8 @@ import {
     FaqDictionary,
     ImageMetadata,
     OwidGdocBaseInterface,
+    DbPlainChart,
+    DbRawChartConfig,
 } from "@ourworldindata/types"
 import ProgressBar from "progress"
 import {
@@ -154,6 +156,7 @@ export async function renderDataPageV2(
     // this is true for preview pages for datapages on the indicator level but false
     // if we are on Grapher pages. Once we have a good way in the grapher admin for how
     // to use indicator level defaults, we should reconsider how this works here.
+    // TODO(inheritance): use mergeGrapherConfigs instead
     const grapher = useIndicatorGrapherConfigs
         ? mergePartialGrapherConfigs(grapherConfigForVariable, pageGrapher)
         : pageGrapher ?? {}
@@ -467,16 +470,24 @@ export const bakeSingleGrapherChart = async (
 export const bakeAllChangedGrapherPagesVariablesPngSvgAndDeleteRemovedGraphers =
     // TODO: this transaction is only RW because somewhere inside it we fetch images
     async (bakedSiteDir: string, knex: db.KnexReadWriteTransaction) => {
-        const chartsToBake: { id: number; config: string; slug: string }[] =
-            await knexRaw(
-                knex,
-                `-- sql
-                SELECT
-                    id, config, config->>'$.slug' as slug
-                FROM charts WHERE JSON_EXTRACT(config, "$.isPublished")=true
-                ORDER BY JSON_EXTRACT(config, "$.slug") ASC
+        const chartsToBake = await knexRaw<
+            Pick<DbPlainChart, "id"> & {
+                config: DbRawChartConfig["full"]
+                slug: string
+            }
+        >(
+            knex,
+            `-- sql
+                    SELECT
+                        c.id,
+                        cc.full as config,
+                        cc.slug
+                    FROM charts c
+                    JOIN chart_configs cc ON c.configId = cc.id
+                    WHERE JSON_EXTRACT(cc.full, "$.isPublished")=true
+                    ORDER BY cc.slug ASC
                 `
-            )
+        )
 
         const newSlugs = chartsToBake.map((row) => row.slug)
         await fs.mkdirp(bakedSiteDir + "/grapher")
diff --git a/baker/GrapherBakingUtils.ts b/baker/GrapherBakingUtils.ts
index f44c67083c0..b7f80eee83c 100644
--- a/baker/GrapherBakingUtils.ts
+++ b/baker/GrapherBakingUtils.ts
@@ -82,7 +82,12 @@ export const bakeGrapherUrls = async (
 
         const rows = await db.knexRaw<{ version: number }>(
             knex,
-            `SELECT charts.config->>"$.version" AS version FROM charts WHERE charts.id=?`,
+            `-- sql
+                SELECT cc.full->>"$.version" AS version
+                FROM charts c
+                JOIN chart_configs cc ON c.configId = cc.id
+                WHERE c.id=?
+            `,
             [chartId]
         )
         if (!rows.length) {
diff --git a/baker/GrapherImageBaker.tsx b/baker/GrapherImageBaker.tsx
index 173ae4449df..4ecbea8d799 100644
--- a/baker/GrapherImageBaker.tsx
+++ b/baker/GrapherImageBaker.tsx
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 import {
     DbPlainChartSlugRedirect,
-    DbRawChart,
+    DbPlainChart,
     GrapherInterface,
+    DbRawChartConfig,
 } from "@ourworldindata/types"
 import { Grapher, GrapherProgrammaticInterface } from "@ourworldindata/grapher"
 import { MultipleOwidVariableDataDimensionsMap } from "@ourworldindata/utils"
@@ -79,9 +80,16 @@ export async function getPublishedGraphersBySlug(
     const graphersById: Map<number, GrapherInterface> = new Map()
 
     // Select all graphers that are published
-    const sql = `SELECT id, config FROM charts WHERE config->>"$.isPublished" = "true"`
-
-    const query = db.knexRaw<Pick<DbRawChart, "id" | "config">>(knex, sql)
+    const sql = `-- sql
+        SELECT c.id, cc.full as config
+        FROM charts c
+        JOIN chart_configs cc ON c.configId = cc.id
+        WHERE cc.full ->> "$.isPublished" = 'true'
+    `
+
+    const query = db.knexRaw<
+        Pick<DbPlainChart, "id"> & { config: DbRawChartConfig["full"] }
+    >(knex, sql)
     for (const row of await query) {
         const grapher = JSON.parse(row.config)
 
diff --git a/baker/SiteBaker.tsx b/baker/SiteBaker.tsx
index ed49183ad42..467f8f89fb6 100644
--- a/baker/SiteBaker.tsx
+++ b/baker/SiteBaker.tsx
@@ -720,19 +720,21 @@ export class SiteBaker {
                 knex,
                 `-- sql
                 SELECT
-                    config ->> '$.slug' as slug,
-                    config ->> '$.subtitle' as subtitle,
-                    config ->> '$.note' as note
+                    cc.slug,
+                    cc.full ->> '$.subtitle' as subtitle,
+                    cc.full ->> '$.note' as note
                 FROM
-                    charts
+                    charts c
+                JOIN
+                    chart_configs cc ON c.configId = cc.id
                 WHERE
-                    JSON_EXTRACT(config, "$.isPublished") = true
+                    JSON_EXTRACT(cc.full, "$.isPublished") = true
                 AND (
-                    JSON_EXTRACT(config, "$.subtitle") LIKE "%#dod:%"
-                    OR JSON_EXTRACT(config, "$.note") LIKE "%#dod:%"
+                    JSON_EXTRACT(cc.full, "$.subtitle") LIKE "%#dod:%"
+                    OR JSON_EXTRACT(cc.full, "$.note") LIKE "%#dod:%"
                 )
                 ORDER BY
-                    JSON_EXTRACT(config, "$.slug") ASC
+                    cc.slug ASC
             `
             )
 
diff --git a/baker/algolia/indexChartsToAlgolia.ts b/baker/algolia/indexChartsToAlgolia.ts
index 8ed80f03cb5..188c42d13fa 100644
--- a/baker/algolia/indexChartsToAlgolia.ts
+++ b/baker/algolia/indexChartsToAlgolia.ts
@@ -123,19 +123,20 @@ const getChartsRecords = async (
         `-- sql
         WITH indexable_charts_with_entity_names AS (
             SELECT c.id,
-                   config ->> "$.slug"                    AS slug,
-                   config ->> "$.title"                   AS title,
-                   config ->> "$.variantName"             AS variantName,
-                   config ->> "$.subtitle"                AS subtitle,
-                   JSON_LENGTH(config ->> "$.dimensions") AS numDimensions,
+                   cc.slug,
+                   cc.full ->> "$.title"                   AS title,
+                   cc.full ->> "$.variantName"             AS variantName,
+                   cc.full ->> "$.subtitle"                AS subtitle,
+                   JSON_LENGTH(cc.full ->> "$.dimensions") AS numDimensions,
                    c.publishedAt,
                    c.updatedAt,
                    JSON_ARRAYAGG(e.name)                  AS entityNames
             FROM charts c
+                     LEFT JOIN chart_configs cc ON c.configId = cc.id
                      LEFT JOIN charts_x_entities ce ON c.id = ce.chartId
                      LEFT JOIN entities e ON ce.entityId = e.id
-            WHERE config ->> "$.isPublished" = 'true'
-              AND isIndexable IS TRUE
+            WHERE cc.full ->> "$.isPublished" = 'true'
+                AND c.isIndexable IS TRUE
             GROUP BY c.id
         )
         SELECT c.id,
diff --git a/baker/countryProfiles.tsx b/baker/countryProfiles.tsx
index 74f996aa068..3c774d1aed1 100644
--- a/baker/countryProfiles.tsx
+++ b/baker/countryProfiles.tsx
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@ import {
     DbEnrichedVariable,
     VariablesTableName,
     parseVariablesRow,
+    DbRawChartConfig,
+    parseChartConfig,
 } from "@ourworldindata/types"
 import * as lodash from "lodash"
 import {
@@ -45,13 +47,20 @@ const countryIndicatorGraphers = async (
     trx: db.KnexReadonlyTransaction
 ): Promise<GrapherInterface[]> =>
     bakeCache(countryIndicatorGraphers, async () => {
-        const graphers = (
-            await trx
-                .table("charts")
-                .whereRaw(
-                    "publishedAt is not null and config->>'$.isPublished' = 'true' and isIndexable is true"
-                )
-        ).map((c: any) => JSON.parse(c.config)) as GrapherInterface[]
+        const configs = await db.knexRaw<{ config: DbRawChartConfig["full"] }>(
+            trx,
+            `-- sql
+                SELECT cc.full as config
+                FROM charts c
+                JOIN chart_configs cc ON cc.id = c.configId
+                WHERE
+                    c.publishedAt is not null
+                    AND cc.full->>'$.isPublished' = 'true'
+                    AND c.isIndexable is true
+            `
+        )
+
+        const graphers = configs.map((c: any) => parseChartConfig(c.config))
 
         return graphers.filter(checkShouldShowIndicator)
     })
diff --git a/baker/redirects.ts b/baker/redirects.ts
index 12fed31e444..1c45a9d7697 100644
--- a/baker/redirects.ts
+++ b/baker/redirects.ts
@@ -97,9 +97,11 @@ export const getGrapherRedirectsMap = async (
     }>(
         knex,
         `-- sql
-        SELECT chart_slug_redirects.slug as oldSlug, charts.config ->> "$.slug" as newSlug
-        FROM chart_slug_redirects INNER JOIN charts ON charts.id=chart_id
-    `
+            SELECT chart_slug_redirects.slug as oldSlug, chart_configs.slug as newSlug
+            FROM chart_slug_redirects
+            INNER JOIN charts ON charts.id=chart_id
+            INNER JOIN chart_configs ON chart_configs.id=charts.configId
+        `
     )) as Array<{ oldSlug: string; newSlug: string }>
 
     return new Map(
diff --git a/baker/siteRenderers.tsx b/baker/siteRenderers.tsx
index 547360a807d..3a4ec6635bf 100644
--- a/baker/siteRenderers.tsx
+++ b/baker/siteRenderers.tsx
@@ -46,7 +46,12 @@ import {
     OwidGdocDataInsightInterface,
 } from "@ourworldindata/utils"
 import { extractFormattingOptions } from "../serverUtils/wordpressUtils.js"
-import { FormattingOptions, GrapherInterface } from "@ourworldindata/types"
+import {
+    DbPlainChart,
+    DbRawChartConfig,
+    FormattingOptions,
+    GrapherInterface,
+} from "@ourworldindata/types"
 import { CountryProfileSpec } from "../site/countryProfileProjects.js"
 import { formatPost } from "./formatWordpressPost.js"
 import {
@@ -104,15 +109,16 @@ export const renderChartsPage = async (
         knex,
         `-- sql
         SELECT
-            id,
-            config->>"$.slug" AS slug,
-            config->>"$.title" AS title,
-            config->>"$.variantName" AS variantName
-        FROM charts
+            c.id,
+            cc.slug,
+            cc.full->>"$.title" AS title,
+            cc.full->>"$.variantName" AS variantName
+        FROM charts c
+        JOIN chart_configs cc ON c.configId=cc.id
         WHERE
-            isIndexable IS TRUE
-            AND publishedAt IS NOT NULL
-            AND config->>"$.isPublished" = "true"
+            c.isIndexable IS TRUE
+            AND c.publishedAt IS NOT NULL
+            AND cc.full->>"$.isPublished" = "true"
     `
     )
 
@@ -734,9 +740,16 @@ export const renderExplorerPage = async (
     type ChartRow = { id: number; config: string }
     let grapherConfigRows: ChartRow[] = []
     if (requiredGrapherIds.length)
-        grapherConfigRows = await knexRaw(
+        grapherConfigRows = await knexRaw<
+            Pick<DbPlainChart, "id"> & { config: DbRawChartConfig["full"] }
+        >(
             knex,
-            `SELECT id, config FROM charts WHERE id IN (?)`,
+            `-- sql
+                SELECT c.id, cc.full as config
+                FROM charts c
+                JOIN chart_configs cc ON c.configId=cc.id
+                WHERE c.id IN (?)
+            `,
             [requiredGrapherIds]
         )
 
@@ -788,6 +801,7 @@ export const renderExplorerPage = async (
                       config: row.grapherConfigETL as string,
                   })
                 : {}
+            // TODO(inheritance): use mergeGrapherConfigs instead
             return mergePartialGrapherConfigs(etlConfig, adminConfig)
         })
 
diff --git a/baker/sitemap.ts b/baker/sitemap.ts
index 8ddcd6e39c8..d41ac7688bd 100644
--- a/baker/sitemap.ts
+++ b/baker/sitemap.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import {
     dayjs,
     countries,
     queryParamsToStr,
-    ChartsTableName,
+    DbPlainChart,
 } from "@ourworldindata/utils"
 import * as db from "../db/db.js"
 import urljoin from "url-join"
@@ -82,13 +82,18 @@ export const makeSitemap = async (
         publishedDataInsights.length
     )
 
-    const charts = (await knex
-        .table(ChartsTableName)
-        .select(knex.raw(`updatedAt, config->>"$.slug" AS slug`))
-        .whereRaw('config->"$.isPublished" = true')) as {
-        updatedAt: Date
-        slug: string
-    }[]
+    const charts = await db.knexRaw<
+        Pick<DbPlainChart, "updatedAt"> & { slug: string }
+    >(
+        knex,
+        `-- sql
+            SELECT c.updatedAt, cc.slug
+            FROM charts c
+            JOIN chart_configs cc ON cc.id = c.configId
+            WHERE
+                cc.full->"$.isPublished" = true
+        `
+    )
 
     const explorers = await explorerAdminServer.getAllPublishedExplorers()
 
diff --git a/baker/updateChartEntities.ts b/baker/updateChartEntities.ts
index 412b80ec361..6589978f6d9 100644
--- a/baker/updateChartEntities.ts
+++ b/baker/updateChartEntities.ts
@@ -6,13 +6,13 @@
 
 import { Grapher } from "@ourworldindata/grapher"
 import {
-    ChartsTableName,
     ChartsXEntitiesTableName,
-    DbRawChart,
+    DbPlainChart,
     GrapherInterface,
     GrapherTabOption,
     MultipleOwidVariableDataDimensionsMap,
     OwidVariableDataMetadataDimensions,
+    DbRawChartConfig,
 } from "@ourworldindata/types"
 import * as db from "../db/db.js"
 import pMap from "p-map"
@@ -41,13 +41,15 @@ const preFetchCommonVariables = async (
     const commonVariables = (await db.knexRaw(
         trx,
         `-- sql
-        SELECT variableId, COUNT(variableId) AS useCount
-        FROM chart_dimensions cd
-        JOIN charts c ON cd.chartId = c.id
-        WHERE config ->> "$.isPublished" = "true"
-        GROUP BY variableId
-        ORDER BY COUNT(variableId) DESC
-        LIMIT ??`,
+            SELECT variableId, COUNT(variableId) AS useCount
+            FROM chart_dimensions cd
+            JOIN charts c ON cd.chartId = c.id
+            JOIN chart_configs cc ON c.configId = cc.id
+            WHERE cc.full ->> "$.isPublished" = "true"
+            GROUP BY variableId
+            ORDER BY COUNT(variableId) DESC
+            LIMIT ??
+        `,
         [VARIABLES_TO_PREFETCH]
     )) as { variableId: number; useCount: number }[]
 
@@ -123,13 +125,17 @@ const obtainAvailableEntitiesForAllGraphers = async (
 ) => {
     const entityNameToIdMap = await mapEntityNamesToEntityIds(trx)
 
-    const allPublishedGraphers = (await trx
-        .select("id", "config")
-        .from(ChartsTableName)
-        .whereRaw("config ->> '$.isPublished' = 'true'")) as Pick<
-        DbRawChart,
-        "id" | "config"
-    >[]
+    const allPublishedGraphers = await db.knexRaw<
+        Pick<DbPlainChart, "id"> & { config: DbRawChartConfig["full"] }
+    >(
+        trx,
+        `-- sql
+            SELECT c.id, cc.full as config
+            FROM charts c
+            JOIN chart_configs cc ON c.configId = cc.id
+            WHERE cc.full ->> "$.isPublished" = 'true'
+        `
+    )
 
     const availableEntitiesByChartId = new Map<number, number[]>()
     await pMap(
diff --git a/db/db.ts b/db/db.ts
index f08670e38a1..71726c286c4 100644
--- a/db/db.ts
+++ b/db/db.ts
@@ -304,10 +304,12 @@ export const getTotalNumberOfCharts = (
 ): Promise<number> => {
     return knexRawFirst<{ count: number }>(
         knex,
+        `-- sql
+            SELECT COUNT(*) AS count
+            FROM charts c
+            JOIN chart_configs cc ON c.configId = cc.id
+            WHERE cc.full ->> "$.isPublished" = "true"
         `
-        SELECT COUNT(*) AS count
-        FROM charts
-        WHERE config->"$.isPublished" = TRUE`
     ).then((res) => res?.count ?? 0)
 }
 
diff --git a/db/migration/1719842654592-AddChartConfigsTable.ts b/db/migration/1719842654592-AddChartConfigsTable.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b2e84bfe643
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migration/1719842654592-AddChartConfigsTable.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,143 @@
+import { MigrationInterface, QueryRunner } from "typeorm"
+import { uuidv7 } from "uuidv7"
+export class AddChartConfigsTable1719842654592 implements MigrationInterface {
+    private async createChartConfigsTable(
+        queryRunner: QueryRunner
+    ): Promise<void> {
+        await queryRunner.query(`-- sql
+            CREATE TABLE chart_configs (
+                id char(36) NOT NULL PRIMARY KEY,
+                patch json NOT NULL,
+                full json NOT NULL,
+                slug varchar(255) GENERATED ALWAYS AS (JSON_UNQUOTE(JSON_EXTRACT(full, '$.slug'))) STORED,
+                createdAt datetime NOT NULL DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
+                updatedAt datetime DEFAULT NULL ON UPDATE CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
+                INDEX idx_chart_configs_slug (slug)
+            )
+        `)
+    }
+
+    private async createConfigIdColumnInChartsTable(
+        queryRunner: QueryRunner
+    ): Promise<void> {
+        // add a new `configId` column to the charts table
+        // that points to the `chart_configs` table
+        await queryRunner.query(`-- sql
+            ALTER TABLE charts
+            ADD COLUMN configId char(36) UNIQUE AFTER type,
+            ADD CONSTRAINT charts_configId
+                FOREIGN KEY (configId)
+                REFERENCES chart_configs (id)
+                ON DELETE RESTRICT
+                ON UPDATE RESTRICT
+        `)
+    }
+
+    private async moveConfigsToChartConfigsTable(
+        queryRunner: QueryRunner
+    ): Promise<void> {
+        // make sure that the config's id matches the table's primary key
+        await queryRunner.query(`-- sql
+            UPDATE charts
+            SET config = JSON_REPLACE(config, '$.id', id)
+            WHERE id != config ->> "$.id";
+        `)
+
+        const chartConfigs: { config: string }[] =
+            await queryRunner.query(`-- sql
+            select config from charts`)
+
+        // I tried to write this as a chunked builk insert of 500 at a time but
+        // failed to get it to work without doing strange things. We only run this once
+        // for ~5000 items so it's not too bad to do it one insert at a time
+        for (const chartConfig of chartConfigs) {
+            await queryRunner.query(
+                `-- sql
+                INSERT INTO chart_configs (id, patch, full)
+                VALUES (?, ?, ?)`,
+                [uuidv7(), chartConfig.config, chartConfig.config]
+            )
+        }
+
+        // update the `configId` column in the `charts` table
+        await queryRunner.query(`-- sql
+            UPDATE charts ca
+            JOIN chart_configs cc
+            ON ca.id = cc.full ->> '$.id'
+            SET ca.configId = cc.id
+        `)
+
+        // now that the `configId` column is filled, make it NOT NULL
+        await queryRunner.query(`-- sql
+            ALTER TABLE charts
+            MODIFY COLUMN configId char(36) NOT NULL;
+        `)
+
+        // update `createdAt` and `updatedAt` of the chart_configs table
+        await queryRunner.query(`-- sql
+            UPDATE chart_configs cc
+            JOIN charts ca
+            ON cc.id = ca.configId
+            SET
+                cc.createdAt = ca.createdAt,
+                cc.updatedAt = ca.updatedAt
+        `)
+    }
+
+    private async dropConfigColumnFromChartsTable(
+        queryRunner: QueryRunner
+    ): Promise<void> {
+        await queryRunner.query(`-- sql
+            ALTER TABLE charts
+            DROP COLUMN slug,
+            DROP COLUMN type,
+            DROP COLUMN config
+        `)
+    }
+
+    public async up(queryRunner: QueryRunner): Promise<void> {
+        await this.createChartConfigsTable(queryRunner)
+        await this.createConfigIdColumnInChartsTable(queryRunner)
+        await this.moveConfigsToChartConfigsTable(queryRunner)
+        await this.dropConfigColumnFromChartsTable(queryRunner)
+    }
+
+    public async down(queryRunner: QueryRunner): Promise<void> {
+        // add back the config column and its virtual columns
+        await queryRunner.query(`-- sql
+            ALTER TABLE charts
+            ADD COLUMN config JSON AFTER configId,
+            ADD COLUMN slug VARCHAR(255) GENERATED ALWAYS AS (JSON_UNQUOTE(JSON_EXTRACT(config, '$.slug'))) VIRTUAL AFTER config,
+            ADD COLUMN type VARCHAR(255) GENERATED ALWAYS AS (COALESCE(JSON_UNQUOTE(JSON_EXTRACT(config, '$.type')), 'LineChart')) VIRTUAL AFTER slug
+        `)
+
+        await queryRunner.query(`-- sql
+            CREATE INDEX idx_charts_slug ON charts (slug)
+        `)
+
+        // recover configs
+        await queryRunner.query(`-- sql
+            UPDATE charts c
+            JOIN chart_configs cc ON c.configId = cc.id
+            SET c.config = cc.full
+        `)
+
+        // make the config column NOT NULL
+        await queryRunner.query(`-- sql
+            ALTER TABLE charts
+            MODIFY COLUMN config JSON NOT NULL;
+        `)
+
+        // drop the `charts.configId` column
+        await queryRunner.query(`-- sql
+            ALTER TABLE charts
+            DROP FOREIGN KEY charts_configId,
+            DROP COLUMN configId
+        `)
+
+        // drop the `chart_configs` table
+        await queryRunner.query(`-- sql
+            DROP TABLE chart_configs
+        `)
+    }
+}
diff --git a/db/migration/1720600092980-MakeChartsInheritDefaults.ts b/db/migration/1720600092980-MakeChartsInheritDefaults.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..93edf367602
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migration/1720600092980-MakeChartsInheritDefaults.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+import { MigrationInterface, QueryRunner } from "typeorm"
+import { diffGrapherConfigs, mergeGrapherConfigs } from "@ourworldindata/utils"
+import { defaultGrapherConfig } from "@ourworldindata/grapher"
+
+export class MakeChartsInheritDefaults1720600092980
+    implements MigrationInterface
+{
+    public async up(queryRunner: QueryRunner): Promise<void> {
+        const charts = (await queryRunner.query(
+            `-- sql
+                SELECT id, patch as config FROM chart_configs
+            `
+        )) as { id: string; config: string }[]
+
+        for (const chart of charts) {
+            const originalConfig = JSON.parse(chart.config)
+
+            // if the schema version is missing, assume it's the latest
+            if (!originalConfig["$schema"]) {
+                originalConfig["$schema"] = defaultGrapherConfig["$schema"]
+            }
+
+            const patchConfig = diffGrapherConfigs(
+                originalConfig,
+                defaultGrapherConfig
+            )
+            const fullConfig = mergeGrapherConfigs(
+                defaultGrapherConfig,
+                patchConfig
+            )
+
+            await queryRunner.query(
+                `-- sql
+                    UPDATE chart_configs
+                    SET
+                        patch = ?,
+                        full = ?
+                    WHERE id = ?
+                `,
+                [
+                    JSON.stringify(patchConfig),
+                    JSON.stringify(fullConfig),
+                    chart.id,
+                ]
+            )
+        }
+    }
+
+    public async down(queryRunner: QueryRunner): Promise<void> {
+        // we can't recover the original configs,
+        // but the patched one is the next best thing
+        await queryRunner.query(
+            `-- sql
+                UPDATE chart_configs
+                SET full = patch
+            `
+        )
+    }
+}
diff --git a/db/migration/1722415645057-AddChartConfigHash.ts b/db/migration/1722415645057-AddChartConfigHash.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8885900a088
--- /dev/null
+++ b/db/migration/1722415645057-AddChartConfigHash.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+import { MigrationInterface, QueryRunner } from "typeorm"
+
+export class AddChartConfigHash1722415645057 implements MigrationInterface {
+    public async up(queryRunner: QueryRunner): Promise<void> {
+        await queryRunner.query(`
+            ALTER TABLE chart_configs
+            ADD COLUMN fullMd5 CHAR(24);
+        `)
+
+        await queryRunner.query(`
+            UPDATE chart_configs
+            SET fullMd5 = to_base64(unhex(md5(full)))
+        `)
+    }
+
+    public async down(queryRunner: QueryRunner): Promise<void> {
+        await queryRunner.query(`
+            ALTER TABLE chart_configs
+            DROP COLUMN fullMd5;
+        `)
+    }
+}
diff --git a/db/model/Chart.ts b/db/model/Chart.ts
index 9ed8bd07b8a..86ece2b0648 100644
--- a/db/model/Chart.ts
+++ b/db/model/Chart.ts
@@ -12,12 +12,12 @@ import {
     ChartTypeName,
     RelatedChart,
     DbPlainPostLink,
-    DbRawChart,
-    DbEnrichedChart,
-    parseChartsRow,
+    DbPlainChart,
     parseChartConfig,
     ChartRedirect,
     DbPlainTag,
+    DbRawChartConfig,
+    DbEnrichedChartConfig,
 } from "@ourworldindata/types"
 import { OpenAI } from "openai"
 import {
@@ -42,12 +42,11 @@ export async function mapSlugsToIds(
     const rows = await db.knexRaw<{ id: number; slug: string }>(
         knex,
         `-- sql
-    SELECT
-        id,
-        JSON_UNQUOTE(JSON_EXTRACT(config, "$.slug")) AS slug
-    FROM charts
-    WHERE config->>"$.isPublished" = "true"
-`
+            SELECT c.id, cc.slug
+            FROM charts c
+            JOIN chart_configs cc ON cc.id = c.configId
+            WHERE cc.full ->> "$.isPublished" = "true"
+        `
     )
 
     const slugToId: { [slug: string]: number } = {}
@@ -72,16 +71,17 @@ export async function mapSlugsToConfigs(
         .knexRaw<{ slug: string; config: string; id: number }>(
             knex,
             `-- sql
-SELECT csr.slug AS slug, c.config AS config, c.id AS id
-FROM chart_slug_redirects csr
-JOIN charts c
-ON csr.chart_id = c.id
-WHERE c.config -> "$.isPublished" = true
-UNION
-SELECT c.slug AS slug, c.config AS config, c.id AS id
-FROM charts c
-WHERE c.config -> "$.isPublished" = true
-`
+                SELECT csr.slug AS slug, cc.full AS config, c.id AS id
+                FROM chart_slug_redirects csr
+                JOIN charts c ON csr.chart_id = c.id
+                JOIN chart_configs cc ON cc.id = c.configId
+                WHERE cc.full ->> "$.isPublished" = "true"
+                UNION
+                SELECT cc.slug, cc.full AS config, c.id AS id
+                FROM charts c
+                JOIN chart_configs cc ON cc.id = c.configId
+                WHERE cc.full ->> "$.isPublished" = "true"
+            `
         )
         .then((results) =>
             results.map((result) => ({
@@ -94,31 +94,42 @@ WHERE c.config -> "$.isPublished" = true
 export async function getEnrichedChartBySlug(
     knex: db.KnexReadonlyTransaction,
     slug: string
-): Promise<DbEnrichedChart | null> {
-    let chart = await db.knexRawFirst<DbRawChart>(
+): Promise<(DbPlainChart & { config: DbEnrichedChartConfig["full"] }) | null> {
+    let chart = await db.knexRawFirst<
+        DbPlainChart & { config: DbRawChartConfig["full"] }
+    >(
         knex,
-        `SELECT * FROM charts WHERE config ->> '$.slug' = ?`,
+        `-- sql
+            SELECT c.*, cc.full as config
+            FROM charts c
+            JOIN chart_configs cc ON c.configId = cc.id
+            WHERE cc.slug = ?
+        `,
         [slug]
     )
 
     if (!chart) {
-        chart = await db.knexRawFirst<DbRawChart>(
+        chart = await db.knexRawFirst<
+            DbPlainChart & { config: DbRawChartConfig["full"] }
+        >(
             knex,
             `-- sql
-            SELECT
-                c.*
-            FROM
-                chart_slug_redirects csr
-                JOIN charts c ON csr.chart_id = c.id
-            WHERE
-                csr.slug = ?`,
+                SELECT
+                    c.*, cc.full as config
+                FROM
+                    chart_slug_redirects csr
+                    JOIN charts c ON csr.chart_id = c.id
+                    JOIN chart_configs cc ON c.configId = cc.id
+                WHERE
+                    csr.slug = ?
+            `,
             [slug]
         )
     }
 
     if (!chart) return null
 
-    const enrichedChart = parseChartsRow(chart)
+    const enrichedChart = { ...chart, config: parseChartConfig(chart.config) }
 
     return enrichedChart
 }
@@ -126,10 +137,17 @@ export async function getEnrichedChartBySlug(
 export async function getRawChartById(
     knex: db.KnexReadonlyTransaction,
     id: number
-): Promise<DbRawChart | null> {
-    const chart = await db.knexRawFirst<DbRawChart>(
+): Promise<(DbPlainChart & { config: DbRawChartConfig["full"] }) | null> {
+    const chart = await db.knexRawFirst<
+        DbPlainChart & { config: DbRawChartConfig["full"] }
+    >(
         knex,
-        `SELECT * FROM charts WHERE id = ?`,
+        `-- sql
+            SELECT c.*, cc.full AS config
+            FROM charts c
+            JOIN chart_configs cc ON c.configId = cc.id
+            WHERE id = ?
+        `,
         [id]
     )
     if (!chart) return null
@@ -139,19 +157,24 @@ export async function getRawChartById(
 export async function getEnrichedChartById(
     knex: db.KnexReadonlyTransaction,
     id: number
-): Promise<DbEnrichedChart | null> {
+): Promise<(DbPlainChart & { config: DbEnrichedChartConfig["full"] }) | null> {
     const rawChart = await getRawChartById(knex, id)
     if (!rawChart) return null
-    return parseChartsRow(rawChart)
+    return { ...rawChart, config: parseChartConfig(rawChart.config) }
 }
 
 export async function getChartSlugById(
     knex: db.KnexReadonlyTransaction,
     id: number
 ): Promise<string | null> {
-    const chart = await db.knexRawFirst<Pick<DbRawChart, "slug">>(
+    const chart = await db.knexRawFirst<{ slug: string }>(
         knex,
-        `SELECT config ->> '$.slug' AS slug FROM charts WHERE id = ?`,
+        `-- sql
+            SELECT slug
+            FROM chart_configs cc
+            JOIN charts c ON c.configId = cc.id
+            WHERE c.id = ?
+        `,
         [id]
     )
     if (!chart) return null
@@ -161,10 +184,20 @@ export async function getChartSlugById(
 export const getChartConfigById = async (
     knex: db.KnexReadonlyTransaction,
     grapherId: number
-): Promise<Pick<DbEnrichedChart, "id" | "config"> | undefined> => {
-    const grapher = await db.knexRawFirst<Pick<DbRawChart, "id" | "config">>(
+): Promise<
+    | (Pick<DbPlainChart, "id"> & { config: DbEnrichedChartConfig["full"] })
+    | undefined
+> => {
+    const grapher = await db.knexRawFirst<
+        Pick<DbPlainChart, "id"> & { config: DbRawChartConfig["full"] }
+    >(
         knex,
-        `SELECT id, config FROM charts WHERE id=?`,
+        `-- sql
+            SELECT c.id, cc.full as config
+            FROM charts c
+            JOIN chart_configs cc ON c.configId = cc.id
+            WHERE c.id=?
+        `,
         [grapherId]
     )
 
@@ -179,16 +212,24 @@ export const getChartConfigById = async (
 export async function getChartConfigBySlug(
     knex: db.KnexReadonlyTransaction,
     slug: string
-): Promise<Pick<DbEnrichedChart, "id" | "config">> {
-    const row = await db.knexRawFirst<Pick<DbRawChart, "id" | "config">>(
+): Promise<
+    Pick<DbPlainChart, "id"> & { config: DbEnrichedChartConfig["full"] }
+> {
+    const row = await db.knexRawFirst<
+        Pick<DbPlainChart, "id"> & { config: DbRawChartConfig["full"] }
+    >(
         knex,
-        `SELECT id, config FROM charts WHERE JSON_EXTRACT(config, "$.slug") = ?`,
+        `-- sql
+            SELECT c.id, cc.full as config
+            FROM charts c
+            JOIN chart_configs cc ON c.configId = cc.id
+            WHERE cc.slug = ?`,
         [slug]
     )
 
     if (!row) throw new JsonError(`No chart found for slug ${slug}`, 404)
 
-    return { id: row.id, config: JSON.parse(row.config) }
+    return { id: row.id, config: parseChartConfig(row.config) }
 }
 
 export async function setChartTags(
@@ -287,11 +328,16 @@ export async function getGptTopicSuggestions(
 ): Promise<Pick<DbPlainTag, "id" | "name">[]> {
     if (!OPENAI_API_KEY) throw new JsonError("No OPENAI_API_KEY env found", 500)
 
-    const chartConfigOnly: Pick<DbRawChart, "config"> | undefined = await knex
-        .table<DbRawChart>("charts")
-        .select("config")
-        .where({ id: chartId })
-        .first()
+    const chartConfigOnly = await db.knexRawFirst<{ config: string }>(
+        knex,
+        `-- sql
+            SELECT cc.full as config
+            FROM chart_configs cc
+            JOIN charts c ON c.configId = cc.id
+            WHERE c.id = ?
+        `,
+        [chartId]
+    )
     if (!chartConfigOnly)
         throw new JsonError(`No chart found for id ${chartId}`, 404)
     const enrichedChartConfig = parseChartConfig(chartConfigOnly.config)
@@ -380,15 +426,15 @@ export interface OldChartFieldList {
 
 export const oldChartFieldList = `
         charts.id,
-        charts.config->>"$.title" AS title,
-        charts.config->>"$.slug" AS slug,
-        charts.config->>"$.type" AS type,
-        charts.config->>"$.internalNotes" AS internalNotes,
-        charts.config->>"$.variantName" AS variantName,
-        charts.config->>"$.isPublished" AS isPublished,
-        charts.config->>"$.tab" AS tab,
-        JSON_EXTRACT(charts.config, "$.hasChartTab") = true AS hasChartTab,
-        JSON_EXTRACT(charts.config, "$.hasMapTab") = true AS hasMapTab,
+        chart_configs.full->>"$.title" AS title,
+        chart_configs.full->>"$.slug" AS slug,
+        chart_configs.full->>"$.type" AS type,
+        chart_configs.full->>"$.internalNotes" AS internalNotes,
+        chart_configs.full->>"$.variantName" AS variantName,
+        chart_configs.full->>"$.isPublished" AS isPublished,
+        chart_configs.full->>"$.tab" AS tab,
+        JSON_EXTRACT(chart_configs.full, "$.hasChartTab") = true AS hasChartTab,
+        JSON_EXTRACT(chart_configs.full, "$.hasMapTab") = true AS hasMapTab,
         charts.lastEditedAt,
         charts.lastEditedByUserId,
         lastEditedByUser.fullName AS lastEditedBy,
@@ -417,15 +463,18 @@ export const getMostViewedGrapherIdsByChartType = async (
 ): Promise<number[]> => {
     const ids = await db.knexRaw<{ id: number }>(
         knex,
-        `SELECT c.id
-        FROM analytics_pageviews a
-        JOIN charts c ON c.slug = SUBSTRING_INDEX(a.url, '/', -1)
-        WHERE a.url LIKE "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/%"
-            AND c.type = ?
-            AND c.config ->> "$.isPublished" = "true"
-            and (c.config ->> "$.hasChartTab" = "true" or c.config ->> "$.hasChartTab" is null)
-        ORDER BY a.views_365d DESC
-        LIMIT ?`,
+        `-- sql
+            SELECT c.id
+            FROM analytics_pageviews a
+            JOIN chart_configs cc ON slug = SUBSTRING_INDEX(a.url, '/', -1)
+            JOIN charts c ON c.configId = cc.id
+            WHERE a.url LIKE "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/%"
+                AND cc.full ->> "$.type" = ?
+                AND cc.full ->> "$.isPublished" = "true"
+                and (cc.full ->> "$.hasChartTab" = "true" or cc.full ->> "$.hasChartTab" is null)
+            ORDER BY a.views_365d DESC
+            LIMIT ?
+        `,
         [chartType, count]
     )
     return ids.map((row) => row.id)
@@ -444,19 +493,20 @@ export const getRelatedChartsForVariable = async (
     return db.knexRaw<RelatedChart>(
         knex,
         `-- sql
-                SELECT
-                    charts.config->>"$.slug" AS slug,
-                    charts.config->>"$.title" AS title,
-                    charts.config->>"$.variantName" AS variantName,
-                    MAX(chart_tags.keyChartLevel) as keyChartLevel
-                FROM charts
-                INNER JOIN chart_tags ON charts.id=chart_tags.chartId
-                WHERE JSON_CONTAINS(config->'$.dimensions', '{"variableId":${variableId}}')
-                AND charts.config->>"$.isPublished" = "true"
-                ${excludeChartIds}
-                GROUP BY charts.id
-                ORDER BY title ASC
-            `
+            SELECT
+                chart_configs.slug,
+                chart_configs.full->>"$.title" AS title,
+                chart_configs.full->>"$.variantName" AS variantName,
+                MAX(chart_tags.keyChartLevel) as keyChartLevel
+            FROM charts
+            JOIN chart_configs ON charts.configId=chart_configs.id
+            INNER JOIN chart_tags ON charts.id=chart_tags.chartId
+            WHERE JSON_CONTAINS(chart_configs.full->'$.dimensions', '{"variableId":${variableId}}')
+            AND chart_configs.full->>"$.isPublished" = "true"
+            ${excludeChartIds}
+            GROUP BY charts.id
+            ORDER BY title ASC
+        `
     )
 }
 
diff --git a/db/model/Gdoc/GdocPost.ts b/db/model/Gdoc/GdocPost.ts
index 712625c11d7..838665a34b9 100644
--- a/db/model/Gdoc/GdocPost.ts
+++ b/db/model/Gdoc/GdocPost.ts
@@ -179,17 +179,18 @@ export class GdocPost extends GdocBase implements OwidGdocPostInterface {
         }>(
             knex,
             `-- sql
-        SELECT DISTINCT
-        charts.config->>"$.slug" AS slug,
-        charts.config->>"$.title" AS title,
-        charts.config->>"$.variantName" AS variantName,
-        chart_tags.keyChartLevel
-        FROM charts
-        INNER JOIN chart_tags ON charts.id=chart_tags.chartId
-        WHERE chart_tags.tagId IN (?)
-        AND charts.config->>"$.isPublished" = "true"
-        ORDER BY title ASC
-        `,
+                SELECT DISTINCT
+                    chart_configs.slug,
+                    chart_configs.full->>"$.title" AS title,
+                    chart_configs.full->>"$.variantName" AS variantName,
+                    chart_tags.keyChartLevel
+                FROM charts
+                JOIN chart_configs ON charts.configId=chart_configs.id
+                INNER JOIN chart_tags ON charts.id=chart_tags.chartId
+                WHERE chart_tags.tagId IN (?)
+                    AND chart_configs.full->>"$.isPublished" = "true"
+                ORDER BY title ASC
+            `,
             [this.tags.map((tag) => tag.id)]
         )
 
diff --git a/db/model/Image.ts b/db/model/Image.ts
index 60799fc9782..7042f529eca 100644
--- a/db/model/Image.ts
+++ b/db/model/Image.ts
@@ -21,10 +21,10 @@ import {
 } from "@ourworldindata/utils"
 import { OwidGoogleAuth } from "../OwidGoogleAuth.js"
 import {
-    IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_ENDPOINT,
-    IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID,
-    IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY,
-    IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_REGION,
+    R2_ENDPOINT,
+    R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID,
+    R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY,
+    R2_REGION,
     IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_BUCKET_PATH,
     GDOCS_CLIENT_EMAIL,
     GDOCS_SHARED_DRIVE_ID,
@@ -139,12 +139,12 @@ class ImageStore {
 export const imageStore = new ImageStore()
 
 export const s3Client = new S3Client({
-    endpoint: IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_ENDPOINT,
+    endpoint: R2_ENDPOINT,
     forcePathStyle: false,
-    region: IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_REGION,
+    region: R2_REGION,
     credentials: {
-        accessKeyId: IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID,
-        secretAccessKey: IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY,
+        accessKeyId: R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID,
+        secretAccessKey: R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY,
     },
 })
 
diff --git a/db/model/Post.ts b/db/model/Post.ts
index adf1a3e1f7f..548fe02e87c 100644
--- a/db/model/Post.ts
+++ b/db/model/Post.ts
@@ -233,15 +233,16 @@ export const getPostRelatedCharts = async (
         knex,
         `-- sql
         SELECT DISTINCT
-            charts.config->>"$.slug" AS slug,
-            charts.config->>"$.title" AS title,
-            charts.config->>"$.variantName" AS variantName,
+            chart_configs.slug,
+            chart_configs.full->>"$.title" AS title,
+            chart_configs.full->>"$.variantName" AS variantName,
             chart_tags.keyChartLevel
         FROM charts
+        JOIN chart_configs ON charts.configId=chart_configs.id
         INNER JOIN chart_tags ON charts.id=chart_tags.chartId
         INNER JOIN post_tags ON chart_tags.tagId=post_tags.tag_id
         WHERE post_tags.post_id=${postId}
-        AND charts.config->>"$.isPublished" = "true"
+        AND chart_configs.full->>"$.isPublished" = "true"
         ORDER BY title ASC
     `
     )
@@ -357,7 +358,8 @@ export const getWordpressPostReferencesByChartId = async (
             FROM
                 posts p
                 JOIN posts_links pl ON p.id = pl.sourceId
-                JOIN charts c ON pl.target = c.slug
+                JOIN chart_configs cc ON pl.target = cc.slug
+                JOIN charts c ON c.configId = cc.id
                 OR pl.target IN (
                     SELECT
                         cr.slug
@@ -405,7 +407,8 @@ export const getGdocsPostReferencesByChartId = async (
             FROM
                 posts_gdocs pg
                 JOIN posts_gdocs_links pgl ON pg.id = pgl.sourceId
-                JOIN charts c ON pgl.target = c.slug
+                JOIN chart_configs cc ON pgl.target = cc.slug
+                JOIN charts c ON c.configId = cc.id
                 OR pgl.target IN (
                     SELECT
                         cr.slug
@@ -490,7 +493,7 @@ export const getRelatedResearchAndWritingForVariable = async (
             SELECT DISTINCT
                 pl.target AS linkTargetSlug,
                 pl.componentType AS componentType,
-                COALESCE(csr.slug, c.slug) AS chartSlug,
+                COALESCE(csr.slug, cc.slug) AS chartSlug,
                 p.title AS title,
                 p.slug AS postSlug,
                 COALESCE(csr.chart_id, c.id) AS chartId,
@@ -510,7 +513,8 @@ export const getRelatedResearchAndWritingForVariable = async (
             FROM
                 posts_links pl
                 JOIN posts p ON pl.sourceId = p.id
-                LEFT JOIN charts c ON pl.target = c.slug
+                LEFT JOIN chart_configs cc on pl.target = cc.slug
+                LEFT JOIN charts c ON cc.id = c.configId
                 LEFT JOIN chart_slug_redirects csr ON pl.target = csr.slug
                 LEFT JOIN chart_dimensions cd ON cd.chartId = COALESCE(csr.chart_id, c.id)
                 LEFT JOIN analytics_pageviews pv ON pv.url = CONCAT('https://ourworldindata.org/', p.slug)
@@ -545,7 +549,7 @@ export const getRelatedResearchAndWritingForVariable = async (
         SELECT DISTINCT
             pl.target AS linkTargetSlug,
             pl.componentType AS componentType,
-            COALESCE(csr.slug, c.slug) AS chartSlug,
+            COALESCE(csr.slug, cc.slug) AS chartSlug,
             p.content ->> '$.title' AS title,
             p.slug AS postSlug,
             COALESCE(csr.chart_id, c.id) AS chartId,
@@ -565,7 +569,8 @@ export const getRelatedResearchAndWritingForVariable = async (
         FROM
             posts_gdocs_links pl
             JOIN posts_gdocs p ON pl.sourceId = p.id
-            LEFT JOIN charts c ON pl.target = c.slug
+            LEFT JOIN chart_configs cc ON pl.target = cc.slug
+            LEFT JOIN charts c ON c.configId = cc.id
             LEFT JOIN chart_slug_redirects csr ON pl.target = csr.slug
             JOIN chart_dimensions cd ON cd.chartId = COALESCE(csr.chart_id, c.id)
             LEFT JOIN analytics_pageviews pv ON pv.url = CONCAT('https://ourworldindata.org/', p.slug)
diff --git a/db/model/Variable.ts b/db/model/Variable.ts
index af2588be4b7..8bcd74abe0e 100644
--- a/db/model/Variable.ts
+++ b/db/model/Variable.ts
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ export async function getMergedGrapherConfigForVariable(
     const grapherConfigETL = row.grapherConfigETL
         ? JSON.parse(row.grapherConfigETL)
         : undefined
+    // TODO(inheritance): use mergeGrapherConfigs instead
     return _.merge({}, grapherConfigAdmin, grapherConfigETL)
 }
 
diff --git a/db/tests/basic.test.ts b/db/tests/basic.test.ts
index 1527c78cea3..e50e413edd1 100644
--- a/db/tests/basic.test.ts
+++ b/db/tests/basic.test.ts
@@ -11,12 +11,15 @@ import {
     TransactionCloseMode,
 } from "../db.js"
 import { deleteUser, insertUser, updateUser } from "../model/User.js"
+import { uuidv7 } from "uuidv7"
 import {
     ChartsTableName,
+    ChartConfigsTableName,
     DbInsertChart,
     DbPlainUser,
-    DbRawChart,
+    DbPlainChart,
     UsersTableName,
+    DbInsertChartConfig,
 } from "@ourworldindata/types"
 import { cleanTestDb, sleep } from "./testHelpers.js"
 
@@ -68,15 +71,22 @@ test("timestamps are automatically created and updated", async () => {
                 .first<DbPlainUser>()
             expect(user).toBeTruthy()
             expect(user.email).toBe("admin@example.com")
+            const configId = uuidv7()
+            const chartConfig: DbInsertChartConfig = {
+                id: configId,
+                patch: "{}",
+                full: "{}",
+            }
             const chart: DbInsertChart = {
-                config: "{}",
+                configId,
                 lastEditedAt: new Date(),
                 lastEditedByUserId: user.id,
                 isIndexable: 0,
             }
+            await trx.table(ChartConfigsTableName).insert(chartConfig)
             const res = await trx.table(ChartsTableName).insert(chart)
             const chartId = res[0]
-            const created = await knexRawFirst<DbRawChart>(
+            const created = await knexRawFirst<DbPlainChart>(
                 trx,
                 "select * from charts where id = ?",
                 [chartId]
@@ -90,7 +100,7 @@ test("timestamps are automatically created and updated", async () => {
                     .table(ChartsTableName)
                     .where({ id: chartId })
                     .update({ isIndexable: 1 })
-                const updated = await knexRawFirst<DbRawChart>(
+                const updated = await knexRawFirst<DbPlainChart>(
                     trx,
                     "select * from charts where id = ?",
                     [chartId]
diff --git a/devTools/schema/generate-default-object-from-schema.ts b/devTools/schema/generate-default-object-from-schema.ts
index b831c70b853..3ef1f66ca00 100644
--- a/devTools/schema/generate-default-object-from-schema.ts
+++ b/devTools/schema/generate-default-object-from-schema.ts
@@ -44,15 +44,31 @@ async function main(parsedArgs: parseArgs.ParsedArgs) {
 
     let schema = fs.readJSONSync(schemaFilename)
     const defs = schema.$defs || {}
-    const defaultObject = generateDefaultObjectFromSchema(schema, defs)
-    process.stdout.write(JSON.stringify(defaultObject, undefined, 2))
+    const defaultConfig = generateDefaultObjectFromSchema(schema, defs)
+    const defaultConfigJSON = JSON.stringify(defaultConfig, undefined, 2)
+
+    // save as ts file if requested
+    if (parsedArgs["save-ts"]) {
+        const out = parsedArgs["save-ts"]
+        const content = `// THIS IS A GENERATED FILE, DO NOT EDIT DIRECTLY
+
+// GENERATED BY devTools/schema/generate-default-object-from-schema.ts
+
+import { GrapherInterface } from "@ourworldindata/types"
+
+export const defaultGrapherConfig = ${defaultConfigJSON} as GrapherInterface`
+        fs.outputFileSync(out, content)
+    }
+
+    // write json to stdout
+    process.stdout.write(defaultConfigJSON)
 }
 
 function help() {
     console.log(`generate-default-object-from-schema.ts - utility to generate an object with all default values that are given in a JSON schema
 
 Usage:
-  generate-default-object-from-schema.js <schema.json>`)
+  generate-default-object-from-schema.js --save-ts <out.ts> <schema.json>`)
 }
 
 const parsedArgs = parseArgs(process.argv.slice(2))
diff --git a/devTools/svgTester/dump-data.ts b/devTools/svgTester/dump-data.ts
index 0e08ec6983e..f0d17b5c8d6 100644
--- a/devTools/svgTester/dump-data.ts
+++ b/devTools/svgTester/dump-data.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 #! /usr/bin/env node
 
 import { getPublishedGraphersBySlug } from "../../baker/GrapherImageBaker.js"
+import { defaultGrapherConfig } from "@ourworldindata/grapher"
+import { diffGrapherConfigs } from "@ourworldindata/utils"
 
 import { TransactionCloseMode, knexReadonlyTransaction } from "../../db/db.js"
 
@@ -23,7 +25,13 @@ async function main(parsedArgs: parseArgs.ParsedArgs) {
         )
         const allGraphers = [...graphersBySlug.values()]
         const saveJobs: utils.SaveGrapherSchemaAndDataJob[] = allGraphers.map(
-            (grapher) => ({ config: grapher, outDir })
+            (grapher) => {
+                // since we're not baking defaults, we also exlcude them here
+                return {
+                    config: diffGrapherConfigs(grapher, defaultGrapherConfig),
+                    outDir,
+                }
+            }
         )
 
         await pMap(saveJobs, utils.saveGrapherSchemaAndData, {
diff --git a/devTools/syncGraphersToR2/syncGraphersToR2.ts b/devTools/syncGraphersToR2/syncGraphersToR2.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..44bf798ee54
--- /dev/null
+++ b/devTools/syncGraphersToR2/syncGraphersToR2.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,285 @@
+import fs from "fs-extra"
+import parseArgs from "minimist"
+import {
+    DeleteObjectCommand,
+    DeleteObjectCommandInput,
+    ListObjectsCommand,
+    ListObjectsV2Command,
+    ListObjectsV2CommandOutput,
+    PutObjectCommand,
+    PutObjectCommandInput,
+    S3Client,
+} from "@aws-sdk/client-s3"
+import {
+    GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET,
+    GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET_PATH,
+    R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID,
+    R2_ENDPOINT,
+    R2_REGION,
+    R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY,
+} from "../../settings/serverSettings.js"
+import {
+    knexRaw,
+    KnexReadonlyTransaction,
+    knexReadonlyTransaction,
+} from "../../db/db.js"
+import {
+    base64ToBytes,
+    bytesToBase64,
+    DbRawChartConfig,
+    differenceOfSets,
+    excludeUndefined,
+    HexString,
+    hexToBytes,
+    R2GrapherConfigDirectory,
+} from "@ourworldindata/utils"
+import { string } from "ts-pattern/dist/patterns.js"
+import { chunk, take } from "lodash"
+import ProgressBar from "progress"
+
+type HashAndId = Pick<DbRawChartConfig, "fullMd5" | "id">
+
+/** Sync a set of chart configs with R2. Pass in a map of the keys to their md5 hashes and UUIDs
+    and this function will upsert all missing/outdated ones and delete any that are no longer needed.
+
+    @param s3Client The S3 client to use
+    @param pathPrefix The path prefix to use for the files (e.g. "config/by-uuid" then everything inside it will be synced)
+    @param hashesOfFilesToToUpsert A map of the keys to their md5 hashes and UUIDs
+    @param trx The transaction to use for querying the DB for full configs
+    @param dryRun Whether to actually make changes to R2 or just log what would
+ */
+async function syncWithR2(
+    s3Client: S3Client,
+    pathPrefix: string,
+    hashesOfFilesToToUpsert: Map<string, HashAndId>,
+    trx: KnexReadonlyTransaction,
+    dryRun: boolean = false
+) {
+    // We'll first get all the files in the R2 bucket under the path prefix
+    // and check if the hash of each file that exist in R2 matches the hash
+    // of the file we want to upsert. If it does, we'll remove it from the
+    // list of files to upsert. If it doesn't, we'll add it to the list of
+    // files to delete.
+
+    const hashesOfFilesToDelete = new Map<string, string>()
+
+    // list the files in the R2 bucket. There may be more files in the
+    // bucket than can be returned in one list operation so loop until
+    // all files are listed
+    let continuationToken: string | undefined = undefined
+    do {
+        const listObjectsCommandInput = {
+            Bucket: GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET,
+            Prefix: pathPrefix,
+            ContinuationToken: continuationToken,
+        }
+        const listObjectsCommandOutput: ListObjectsV2CommandOutput =
+            await s3Client.send(
+                new ListObjectsV2Command(listObjectsCommandInput)
+            )
+        if ((listObjectsCommandOutput.Contents?.length ?? 0) > 0) {
+            listObjectsCommandOutput.Contents!.forEach((object) => {
+                if (object.Key && object.ETag) {
+                    // For some reason the etag has quotes around it, strip those
+                    const md5 = object.ETag.replace(/"/g, "") as HexString
+                    const md5Base64 = bytesToBase64(hexToBytes(md5))
+
+                    if (hashesOfFilesToToUpsert.has(object.Key)) {
+                        if (
+                            hashesOfFilesToToUpsert.get(object.Key)?.fullMd5 ===
+                            md5Base64
+                        ) {
+                            hashesOfFilesToToUpsert.delete(object.Key)
+                        }
+                        // If the existing full config in R2 is different then
+                        // we just keep the hashesOfFilesToToUpsert entry around
+                        // which will upsert the new full config later on
+                    } else {
+                        // if the file in R2 is not in the list of files to upsert
+                        // then we should delete it
+                        hashesOfFilesToDelete.set(object.Key, md5Base64)
+                    }
+                }
+            })
+        }
+        continuationToken = listObjectsCommandOutput.NextContinuationToken
+    } while (continuationToken)
+
+    console.log("Number of files to upsert", hashesOfFilesToToUpsert.size)
+    console.log("Number of files to delete", hashesOfFilesToDelete.size)
+
+    let progressBar = new ProgressBar(
+        "--- Deleting obsolete configs [:bar] :current/:total :elapseds\n",
+        {
+            total: hashesOfFilesToDelete.size,
+        }
+    )
+
+    // We could parallelize the deletes but it's not worth the complexity for most cases IMHO
+    for (const [key, _] of hashesOfFilesToDelete.entries()) {
+        const deleteObjectCommandInput: DeleteObjectCommandInput = {
+            Bucket: GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET,
+            Key: key,
+        }
+        if (!dryRun)
+            await s3Client.send(
+                new DeleteObjectCommand(deleteObjectCommandInput)
+            )
+        else console.log("Would have deleted", key)
+        progressBar.tick()
+    }
+
+    console.log("Finished deletes")
+
+    progressBar = new ProgressBar(
+        "--- Storing missing configs [:bar] :current/:total :elapseds\n",
+        {
+            total: hashesOfFilesToToUpsert.size,
+        }
+    )
+
+    const errors = []
+
+    // Chunk the inserts so that we don't need to keep all the full configs in memory
+    for (const batch of chunk([...hashesOfFilesToToUpsert.entries()], 100)) {
+        // Get the full configs for the batch
+        const fullConfigs = await knexRaw<
+            Pick<DbRawChartConfig, "id" | "full">
+        >(trx, `select id, full from chart_configs where id in (?)`, [
+            batch.map((entry) => entry[1].id),
+        ])
+        const fullConfigMap = new Map<string, string>(
+            fullConfigs.map(({ id, full }) => [id, full])
+        )
+
+        // Upload the full configs to R2 in parallel
+        const uploadPromises = batch.map(async ([key, val]) => {
+            const id = val.id
+            const fullMd5 = val.fullMd5
+            const full = fullConfigMap.get(id)
+            if (full === undefined) {
+                return Promise.reject(
+                    new Error(`Full config not found for id ${id}`)
+                )
+            }
+            const putObjectCommandInput: PutObjectCommandInput = {
+                Bucket: GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET,
+                Key: key,
+                Body: full,
+                ContentMD5: fullMd5,
+            }
+            if (!dryRun)
+                await s3Client.send(new PutObjectCommand(putObjectCommandInput))
+            else console.log("Would have upserted", key)
+            progressBar.tick()
+            return
+        })
+        const promiseResults = await Promise.allSettled(uploadPromises)
+        const batchErrors = promiseResults
+            .filter((result) => result.status === "rejected")
+            .map((result) => result.reason)
+        errors.push(...batchErrors)
+    }
+
+    console.log("Finished upserts")
+    if (errors.length > 0) {
+        console.error(`${errors.length} Errors during upserts`)
+        for (const error of errors) {
+            console.error(error)
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+async function main(parsedArgs: parseArgs.ParsedArgs, dryRun: boolean) {
+    if (
+        GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET === undefined ||
+        GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET_PATH === undefined
+    ) {
+        console.info("R2 bucket not configured, exiting")
+        return
+    }
+
+    const s3Client = new S3Client({
+        endpoint: R2_ENDPOINT,
+        forcePathStyle: false,
+        region: R2_REGION,
+        credentials: {
+            accessKeyId: R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID,
+            secretAccessKey: R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY,
+        },
+    })
+
+    const hashesOfFilesToToUpsertBySlug = new Map<string, HashAndId>()
+    const hashesOfFilesToToUpsertByUuid = new Map<string, HashAndId>()
+    const pathPrefixBySlug = excludeUndefined([
+        GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET_PATH,
+        R2GrapherConfigDirectory.publishedGrapherBySlug,
+    ]).join("/")
+
+    const pathPrefixByUuid = excludeUndefined([
+        GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET_PATH,
+        R2GrapherConfigDirectory.byUUID,
+    ]).join("/")
+
+    await knexReadonlyTransaction(async (trx) => {
+        // Sync charts published by slug
+        const slugsAndHashesFromDb = await knexRaw<
+            Pick<DbRawChartConfig, "slug" | "fullMd5" | "id">
+        >(
+            trx,
+            `select slug, fullMd5, id from chart_configs where slug is not null`
+        )
+
+        slugsAndHashesFromDb.forEach((row) => {
+            hashesOfFilesToToUpsertBySlug.set(
+                `${pathPrefixBySlug}/${row.slug}.json`,
+                {
+                    fullMd5: row.fullMd5,
+                    id: row.id,
+                }
+            )
+        })
+
+        await syncWithR2(
+            s3Client,
+            pathPrefixBySlug,
+            hashesOfFilesToToUpsertBySlug,
+            trx,
+            dryRun
+        )
+
+        // Sync charts by UUID
+        const slugsAndHashesFromDbByUuid = await knexRaw<
+            Pick<DbRawChartConfig, "fullMd5" | "id">
+        >(trx, `select fullMd5, id from chart_configs`)
+
+        slugsAndHashesFromDbByUuid.forEach((row) => {
+            hashesOfFilesToToUpsertByUuid.set(
+                `${pathPrefixByUuid}/${row.id}.json`,
+                {
+                    fullMd5: row.fullMd5,
+                    id: row.id,
+                }
+            )
+        })
+
+        await syncWithR2(
+            s3Client,
+            pathPrefixByUuid,
+            hashesOfFilesToToUpsertByUuid,
+            trx,
+            dryRun
+        )
+    })
+}
+
+const parsedArgs = parseArgs(process.argv.slice(2))
+if (parsedArgs["h"]) {
+    console.log(
+        `syncGraphersToR2.js - sync grapher configs from the chart_configs table to R2
+
+--dry-run: Don't make any actual changes to R2`
+    )
+} else {
+    main(parsedArgs, parsedArgs["dry-run"])
+}
diff --git a/devTools/syncGraphersToR2/tsconfig.json b/devTools/syncGraphersToR2/tsconfig.json
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..74f2eaadbb6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/devTools/syncGraphersToR2/tsconfig.json
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+{
+    "extends": "../tsconfigs/tsconfig.base.json",
+    "compilerOptions": {
+        "outDir": "../../itsJustJavascript/devTools/syncGrapherToR2",
+        "rootDir": "."
+    },
+    "references": [
+        {
+            "path": "../../db"
+        },
+        {
+            "path": "../../adminSiteServer"
+        },
+        {
+            "path": "../../settings"
+        }
+    ]
+}
diff --git a/explorer/GrapherGrammar.ts b/explorer/GrapherGrammar.ts
index 28bcac3521c..ed67b32c649 100644
--- a/explorer/GrapherGrammar.ts
+++ b/explorer/GrapherGrammar.ts
@@ -224,8 +224,7 @@ export const GrapherGrammar: Grammar = {
     hideRelativeToggle: {
         ...BooleanCellDef,
         keyword: "hideRelativeToggle",
-        description:
-            "Whether to hide the relative mode UI toggle. Default depends on the chart type.",
+        description: "Whether to hide the relative mode UI toggle",
     },
     timelineMinTime: {
         ...IntegerCellDef,
diff --git a/functions/_common/grapherRenderer.ts b/functions/_common/grapherRenderer.ts
index 249488b75bf..fd0aa7a2c20 100644
--- a/functions/_common/grapherRenderer.ts
+++ b/functions/_common/grapherRenderer.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,10 @@
-import { Grapher, GrapherInterface } from "@ourworldindata/grapher"
-import { Bounds, deserializeJSONFromHTML } from "@ourworldindata/utils"
+import { Grapher } from "@ourworldindata/grapher"
+import {
+    Bounds,
+    excludeUndefined,
+    GrapherInterface,
+    R2GrapherConfigDirectory,
+} from "@ourworldindata/utils"
 import { svg2png, initialize as initializeSvg2Png } from "svg2png-wasm"
 import { TimeLogger } from "./timeLogger"
 import { png } from "itty-router"
@@ -12,6 +17,37 @@ import LatoMedium from "../_common/fonts/LatoLatin-Medium.ttf.bin"
 import LatoBold from "../_common/fonts/LatoLatin-Bold.ttf.bin"
 import PlayfairSemiBold from "../_common/fonts/PlayfairDisplayLatin-SemiBold.ttf.bin"
 import { Env } from "../grapher/thumbnail/[slug].js"
+import { R2GrapherConfigDirectory } from "@ourworldindata/types"
+import { GetObjectCommand, S3Client } from "@aws-sdk/client-s3"
+
+// async function getFileFromR2(key: string, env: Env): Promise<string | null> {
+//     const s3Client = new S3Client({
+//         endpoint: env.R2_ENDPOINT,
+//         forcePathStyle: false,
+//         region: env.R2_REGION,
+//         credentials: {
+//             accessKeyId: env.R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID,
+//             secretAccessKey: env.R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY,
+//         },
+//     })
+
+//     const params = {
+//         Bucket: env.GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET,
+//         Key: key,
+//     }
+
+//     try {
+//         console.log("preparing s3 get")
+//         const response = await s3Client.send(new GetObjectCommand(params))
+//         console.log("got s3 response")
+//         const content = await response.Body.transformToString()
+//         console.log("got s3 content")
+//         return content
+//     } catch (err) {
+//         if (err.name === "NoSuchKey") return null
+//         else throw err
+//     }
+// }
 
 declare global {
     // eslint-disable-next-line no-var
@@ -143,13 +179,29 @@ async function fetchAndRenderGrapherToSvg({
 }) {
     const grapherLogger = new TimeLogger("grapher")
 
+    const url = new URL(`/grapher/${slug}`, env.url)
+    const slugOnly = url.pathname.split("/").pop()
+
+    // The top level directory is either the bucket path (should be set in dev environments and production)
+    // or the branch name on preview staging environments
+    console.log("branch", env.CF_PAGES_BRANCH)
+    const topLevelDirectory = env.GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET_PATH
+        ? [env.GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET_PATH]
+        : ["by-branch", env.CF_PAGES_BRANCH]
+
+    const key = excludeUndefined([
+        ...topLevelDirectory,
+        R2GrapherConfigDirectory.publishedGrapherBySlug,
+        `${slugOnly}.json`,
+    ]).join("/")
+
+    console.log("fetching grapher config from this key", key)
+
+    console.log("Fetching", key)
+
     // Fetch grapher config and extract it from the HTML
-    const grapherConfig: GrapherInterface = await env.ASSETS.fetch(
-        new URL(`/grapher/${slug}`, env.url)
-    )
-        .then((r) => (r.ok ? r : Promise.reject("Failed to load grapher page")))
-        .then((r) => r.text())
-        .then((html) => deserializeJSONFromHTML(html))
+    const grapherConfigText = await getFileFromR2(key, env)
+    const grapherConfig: GrapherInterface = JSON.parse(grapherConfigText)
 
     if (!grapherConfig) {
         throw new Error("Could not find grapher config")
@@ -206,6 +258,10 @@ export const fetchAndRenderGrapher = async (
         env,
     })
 
+    if (!svg) {
+        return new Response("Not found", { status: 404 })
+    }
+
     switch (outType) {
         case "png":
             return png(await renderSvgToPng(svg, options))
diff --git a/functions/grapher/thumbnail/[slug].ts b/functions/grapher/thumbnail/[slug].ts
index b8bcbadaae0..5ae30672903 100644
--- a/functions/grapher/thumbnail/[slug].ts
+++ b/functions/grapher/thumbnail/[slug].ts
@@ -6,6 +6,13 @@ export interface Env {
         fetch: typeof fetch
     }
     url: URL
+    GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET: string
+    GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET_PATH: string
+    R2_ENDPOINT: string
+    R2_REGION: string
+    R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID: string
+    R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: string
+    CF_PAGES_BRANCH: string
 }
 
 const router = Router<IRequestStrict, [URL, Env, ExecutionContext]>()
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 2fa5500a365..7f2fa516a4f 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
         "revertLastDbMigration": "tsx --tsconfig tsconfig.tsx.json node_modules/typeorm/cli.js migration:revert -d db/dataSource.ts",
         "startAdminServer": "node --enable-source-maps ./itsJustJavascript/adminSiteServer/app.js",
         "startAdminDevServer": "tsx watch --ignore '**.mjs' --tsconfig tsconfig.tsx.json adminSiteServer/app.tsx",
-        "startLocalCloudflareFunctions": "wrangler pages dev localBake --compatibility-date 2023-10-09",
+        "startLocalCloudflareFunctions": "wrangler pages dev --local --persist-to ./cfstorage",
         "startDeployQueueServer": "node --enable-source-maps ./itsJustJavascript/baker/startDeployQueueServer.js",
         "startLernaWatcher": "lerna watch --scope '@ourworldindata/*' -- lerna run build --scope=\\$LERNA_PACKAGE_NAME --include-dependents",
         "startTmuxServer": "node_modules/tmex/tmex dev \"yarn startLernaWatcher\" \"yarn startAdminDevServer\" \"yarn startViteServer\"",
@@ -39,7 +39,8 @@
         "testPrettierAll": "yarn prettier --check \"**/*.{tsx,ts,jsx,js,json,md,html,css,scss,yml}\"",
         "testJest": "lerna run buildTests && jest",
         "testSiteNavigation": "tsx --tsconfig tsconfig.tsx.json devTools/navigationTest/navigationTest.ts",
-        "generateDbTypes": "npx @rmp135/sql-ts -c db/sql-ts/sql-ts-config.json"
+        "generateDbTypes": "npx @rmp135/sql-ts -c db/sql-ts/sql-ts-config.json",
+        "syncGraphersToR2": "tsx --tsconfig tsconfig.tsx.json devTools/syncGraphersToR2/syncGraphersToR2.ts"
     },
     "dependencies": {
         "@algolia/autocomplete-js": "^1.17.2",
@@ -165,6 +166,7 @@
         "url-parse": "^1.5.10",
         "url-slug": "^3.0.2",
         "usehooks-ts": "^3.1.0",
+        "uuidv7": "^1.0.1",
         "webfontloader": "^1.6.28",
         "workerpool": "^6.2.0",
         "yaml": "^2.4.2"
@@ -239,7 +241,7 @@
         "tsx": "^4.16.2",
         "vite": "^5.3.4",
         "vite-plugin-checker": "^0.7.2",
-        "wrangler": "^3.61.0"
+        "wrangler": "^3.68.0"
     },
     "prettier": {
         "trailingComma": "es5",
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/core/Grapher.jsdom.test.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/core/Grapher.jsdom.test.ts
index 1b7d4400b71..96ff4d3a4df 100755
--- a/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/core/Grapher.jsdom.test.ts
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/core/Grapher.jsdom.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #! /usr/bin/env jest
 import { Grapher, GrapherProgrammaticInterface } from "../core/Grapher"
-import { DEFAULT_GRAPHER_CONFIG_SCHEMA } from "./GrapherConstants"
+import { defaultGrapherConfig } from "../schema/defaultGrapherConfig"
 import {
     ChartTypeName,
     EntitySelectionMode,
@@ -76,13 +76,13 @@ it("can get dimension slots", () => {
 
 it("an empty Grapher serializes to an object that includes only the schema", () => {
     expect(new Grapher().toObject()).toEqual({
-        $schema: DEFAULT_GRAPHER_CONFIG_SCHEMA,
+        $schema: defaultGrapherConfig.$schema,
     })
 })
 
 it("a bad chart type does not crash grapher", () => {
     const input = {
-        $schema: DEFAULT_GRAPHER_CONFIG_SCHEMA,
+        $schema: defaultGrapherConfig.$schema,
         type: "fff" as any,
     }
     expect(new Grapher(input).toObject()).toEqual(input)
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ it("a bad chart type does not crash grapher", () => {
 
 it("does not preserve defaults in the object (except for the schema)", () => {
     expect(new Grapher({ tab: GrapherTabOption.chart }).toObject()).toEqual({
-        $schema: DEFAULT_GRAPHER_CONFIG_SCHEMA,
+        $schema: defaultGrapherConfig.$schema,
     })
 })
 
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/core/Grapher.tsx b/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/core/Grapher.tsx
index ed0b5d920ee..8a46e74a5ae 100644
--- a/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/core/Grapher.tsx
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/core/Grapher.tsx
@@ -114,7 +114,6 @@ import {
     BASE_FONT_SIZE,
     CookieKey,
     ThereWasAProblemLoadingThisChart,
-    DEFAULT_GRAPHER_CONFIG_SCHEMA,
     DEFAULT_GRAPHER_WIDTH,
     DEFAULT_GRAPHER_HEIGHT,
     DEFAULT_GRAPHER_FRAME_PADDING,
@@ -127,6 +126,7 @@ import {
     isContinentsVariableId,
     isPopulationVariableETLPath,
 } from "../core/GrapherConstants"
+import { defaultGrapherConfig } from "../schema/defaultGrapherConfig"
 import { loadVariableDataAndMetadata } from "./loadVariable"
 import Cookies from "js-cookie"
 import {
@@ -344,7 +344,7 @@ export class Grapher
         MapChartManager,
         SlopeChartManager
 {
-    @observable.ref $schema = DEFAULT_GRAPHER_CONFIG_SCHEMA
+    @observable.ref $schema = defaultGrapherConfig.$schema
     @observable.ref type = ChartTypeName.LineChart
     @observable.ref id?: number = undefined
     @observable.ref version = 1
@@ -527,7 +527,7 @@ export class Grapher
         deleteRuntimeAndUnchangedProps(obj, defaultObject)
 
         // always include the schema, even if it's the default
-        obj.$schema = this.$schema || DEFAULT_GRAPHER_CONFIG_SCHEMA
+        obj.$schema = this.$schema || defaultGrapherConfig.$schema
 
         // todo: nulls got into the DB for this one. we can remove after moving Graphers from DB.
         if (obj.stackMode === null) delete obj.stackMode
@@ -1000,6 +1000,10 @@ export class Grapher
             this.selection.setSelectedEntities(this.selectedEntityNames)
     }
 
+    @computed get hasData(): boolean {
+        return this.dimensions.length > 0 || this.newSlugs.length > 0
+    }
+
     // Ready to go iff we have retrieved data for every variable associated with the chart
     @computed get isReady(): boolean {
         return this.whatAreWeWaitingFor === ""
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/core/GrapherConstants.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/core/GrapherConstants.ts
index 35f47981580..820811a58b5 100644
--- a/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/core/GrapherConstants.ts
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/core/GrapherConstants.ts
@@ -9,9 +9,6 @@ export const GRAPHER_TIMELINE_CLASS = "timeline-component"
 export const GRAPHER_SIDE_PANEL_CLASS = "side-panel"
 export const GRAPHER_SETTINGS_CLASS = "settings-menu-contents"
 
-export const DEFAULT_GRAPHER_CONFIG_SCHEMA =
-    "https://files.ourworldindata.org/schemas/grapher-schema.004.json"
-
 export const DEFAULT_GRAPHER_ENTITY_TYPE = "country or region"
 export const DEFAULT_GRAPHER_ENTITY_TYPE_PLURAL = "countries and regions"
 
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/index.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/index.ts
index d28ffab95d9..9e9d08b9902 100644
--- a/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/index.ts
@@ -79,3 +79,4 @@ export {
     type SlideShowManager,
     SlideShowController,
 } from "./slideshowController/SlideShowController"
+export { defaultGrapherConfig } from "./schema/defaultGrapherConfig"
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/.gitignore b/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b1c3b6f48ad
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+grapher-schema.*.json
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/README.md b/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/README.md
index 19a5afc067b..cad2a6eb595 100644
--- a/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/README.md
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/README.md
@@ -6,13 +6,26 @@ The schema is versioned. There is one yaml file with a version number. For nonbr
 edit the yaml file as is. A github action will then generate a .latest.yaml and two json files (one .latest.json and one with the version number.json)
 and upload them to S3 so they can be accessed publicly.
 
+If you update the default value of an existing property or you add a new property with a default value, make sure to regenerate the default object from the schema and save it to `defaultGrapherConfig.ts` (see below). You should also write a migration to update the `chart_configs.full` column in the database for all stand-alone charts.
+
 Breaking changes should be done by renaming the schema file to an increased version number. Make sure to also rename the authorative url
 inside the schema file (the "$id" field at the top level) to point to the new version number json. Then write the migrations from the last to
-the current version of the schema, including the migration of pointing to the URL of the new schema version. Also update `DEFAULT_GRAPHER_CONFIG_SCHEMA` in `GrapherConstants.ts` to point to the new schema version number url.
+the current version of the schema, including the migration of pointing to the URL of the new schema version.s
 
 Checklist for breaking changes:
 
 -   Rename the schema file to an increased version number
 -   Rename the authorative url inside the schema file to point to the new version number json
 -   Write the migrations from the last to the current version of the schema, including the migration of pointing to the URL of the new schema version
--   Update `DEFAULT_GRAPHER_CONFIG_SCHEMA` in `GrapherConstants.ts` to point to the new schema version number url
+-   Regenerate the default object from the schema and save it to `defaultGrapherConfig.ts` (see below)
+-   Write a migration to update the `chart_configs.full` column in the database for all stand-alone charts
+
+To regenerate `defaultGrapherConfig.ts` from the schema, replace `XXX` with the current schema version number and run:
+
+```bash
+# generate json from the yaml schema
+nu -c 'open packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/grapher-schema.XXX.yaml | to json' > packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/grapher-schema.XXX.json
+
+# generate the default object from the schema
+node itsJustJavascript/devTools/schema/generate-default-object-from-schema.js packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/grapher-schema.XXX.json --save-ts packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/defaultGrapherConfig.ts
+```
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/defaultGrapherConfig.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/defaultGrapherConfig.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..dbbb82d9d5c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/defaultGrapherConfig.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+// THIS IS A GENERATED FILE, DO NOT EDIT DIRECTLY
+
+// GENERATED BY devTools/schema/generate-default-object-from-schema.ts
+
+import { GrapherInterface } from "@ourworldindata/types"
+
+export const defaultGrapherConfig = {
+    $schema: "https://files.ourworldindata.org/schemas/grapher-schema.004.json",
+    map: {
+        projection: "World",
+        hideTimeline: false,
+        colorScale: {
+            equalSizeBins: true,
+            binningStrategy: "ckmeans",
+            customNumericColorsActive: false,
+            colorSchemeInvert: false,
+            binningStrategyBinCount: 5,
+        },
+        timeTolerance: 0,
+        toleranceStrategy: "closest",
+        tooltipUseCustomLabels: false,
+        time: "latest",
+    },
+    maxTime: "latest",
+    yAxis: {
+        removePointsOutsideDomain: false,
+        scaleType: "linear",
+        canChangeScaleType: false,
+        facetDomain: "shared",
+    },
+    tab: "chart",
+    matchingEntitiesOnly: false,
+    hasChartTab: true,
+    hideLegend: false,
+    hideLogo: false,
+    hideTimeline: false,
+    colorScale: {
+        equalSizeBins: true,
+        binningStrategy: "ckmeans",
+        customNumericColorsActive: false,
+        colorSchemeInvert: false,
+        binningStrategyBinCount: 5,
+    },
+    scatterPointLabelStrategy: "year",
+    selectedFacetStrategy: "none",
+    isPublished: false,
+    invertColorScheme: false,
+    hideRelativeToggle: true,
+    logo: "owid",
+    entityType: "country or region",
+    facettingLabelByYVariables: "metric",
+    addCountryMode: "add-country",
+    compareEndPointsOnly: false,
+    type: "LineChart",
+    hasMapTab: false,
+    stackMode: "absolute",
+    minTime: "earliest",
+    hideAnnotationFieldsInTitle: {
+        entity: false,
+        time: false,
+        changeInPrefix: false,
+    },
+    xAxis: {
+        removePointsOutsideDomain: false,
+        scaleType: "linear",
+        canChangeScaleType: false,
+        facetDomain: "shared",
+    },
+    hideConnectedScatterLines: false,
+    showNoDataArea: true,
+    zoomToSelection: false,
+    showYearLabels: false,
+    hideLinesOutsideTolerance: false,
+    hideTotalValueLabel: false,
+    hideScatterLabels: false,
+    sortBy: "total",
+    sortOrder: "desc",
+    hideFacetControl: true,
+    entityTypePlural: "countries",
+    missingDataStrategy: "auto",
+} as GrapherInterface
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/grapher-schema.004.yaml b/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/grapher-schema.004.yaml
index 18deb0f59b6..055ce130ead 100644
--- a/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/grapher-schema.004.yaml
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/grapher/src/schema/grapher-schema.004.yaml
@@ -57,7 +57,6 @@ $defs:
             baseColorScheme:
                 type: string
                 description: One of the predefined base color schemes
-                default: default
                 enum:
                     - YlGn
                     - YlGnBu
@@ -258,7 +257,9 @@ properties:
                           - earliest
             columnSlug:
                 # TODO: remove this once we have a convention of using the first y dimension instead
-                description: "Column to show in the map tab. Can be a column slug (e.g. in explorers) or a variable ID (as string)."
+                description: |
+                    Column to show in the map tab. Can be a column slug (e.g. in explorers) or a variable ID (as string).
+                    If not provided, the first y dimension is used.
                 type: string
         additionalProperties: false
     maxTime:
@@ -281,7 +282,6 @@ properties:
                 - string
     baseColorScheme:
         type: string
-        default: default
         description: The default color scheme if no color overrides are specified
     yAxis:
         $ref: "#/$defs/axis"
@@ -356,7 +356,8 @@ properties:
         description: Reverse the order of colors in the color scheme
     hideRelativeToggle:
         type: boolean
-        description: Whether to hide the relative mode UI toggle. Default depends on the chart type
+        default: true
+        description: Whether to hide the relative mode UI toggle
     comparisonLines:
         description: List of vertical comparison lines to draw
         type: array
@@ -375,7 +376,6 @@ properties:
         type: string
     version:
         type: integer
-        default: 1
         minimum: 0
     logo:
         type: string
@@ -490,13 +490,16 @@ properties:
                             type: integer
                             description: Number of decimal places to show
                             minimum: 0
+                            default: 2
                         numSignificantFigures:
                             type: integer
                             description: Number of significant figures to show
                             minimum: 1
+                            default: 3
                         zeroDay:
                             type: string
                             description: Iso date day string for the starting date if yearIsDay is used
+                            default: "2020-01-21"
                     additionalProperties: false
                 variableId:
                     type: integer
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/NominalType.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/NominalType.ts
index f3487f54232..f24497dfb29 100644
--- a/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/NominalType.ts
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/NominalType.ts
@@ -20,3 +20,11 @@ declare const __nominal__type: unique symbol
 export type Nominal<Type, Identifier> = Type & {
     readonly [__nominal__type]: Identifier
 }
+
+export function wrap<T, I>(obj: T): Nominal<T, I> {
+    return obj as Nominal<T, I>
+}
+
+export function unwrap<T, I>(obj: Nominal<T, I>): T {
+    return obj
+}
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/dbTypes/ChartConfigs.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/dbTypes/ChartConfigs.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b1db3c1e82b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/dbTypes/ChartConfigs.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+import { JsonString } from "../domainTypes/Various.js"
+import { GrapherInterface } from "../grapherTypes/GrapherTypes.js"
+
+export const ChartConfigsTableName = "chart_configs"
+export interface DbInsertChartConfig {
+    id: string
+    patch: JsonString
+    full: JsonString
+    fullMd5?: string
+    slug?: string | null
+    createdAt?: Date
+    updatedAt?: Date | null
+}
+export type DbRawChartConfig = Required<DbInsertChartConfig>
+
+export type DbEnrichedChartConfig = Omit<DbRawChartConfig, "patch" | "full"> & {
+    patch: GrapherInterface
+    full: GrapherInterface
+}
+
+export function parseChartConfig(config: JsonString): GrapherInterface {
+    return JSON.parse(config)
+}
+
+export function serializeChartConfig(config: GrapherInterface): JsonString {
+    return JSON.stringify(config)
+}
+
+export function parseChartConfigsRow(
+    row: DbRawChartConfig
+): DbEnrichedChartConfig {
+    return {
+        ...row,
+        patch: parseChartConfig(row.patch),
+        full: parseChartConfig(row.full),
+    }
+}
+
+export function serializeChartsRow(
+    row: DbEnrichedChartConfig
+): DbRawChartConfig {
+    return {
+        ...row,
+        patch: serializeChartConfig(row.patch),
+        full: serializeChartConfig(row.full),
+    }
+}
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/dbTypes/ChartRevisions.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/dbTypes/ChartRevisions.ts
index 57db30588d3..4d295fb5802 100644
--- a/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/dbTypes/ChartRevisions.ts
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/dbTypes/ChartRevisions.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { JsonString } from "../domainTypes/Various.js"
 import { GrapherInterface } from "../grapherTypes/GrapherTypes.js"
-import { parseChartConfig, serializeChartConfig } from "./Charts.js"
+import { parseChartConfig, serializeChartConfig } from "./ChartConfigs.js"
 
 export const ChartRevisionsTableName = "chart_revisions"
 export interface DbInsertChartRevision {
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/dbTypes/Charts.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/dbTypes/Charts.ts
index f067113c4f4..baa75642201 100644
--- a/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/dbTypes/Charts.ts
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/dbTypes/Charts.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,6 @@
-import { JsonString } from "../domainTypes/Various.js"
-import { GrapherInterface } from "../grapherTypes/GrapherTypes.js"
-
 export const ChartsTableName = "charts"
 export interface DbInsertChart {
-    config: JsonString
+    configId: string
     createdAt?: Date
     id?: number
     isIndexable?: number
@@ -11,31 +8,6 @@ export interface DbInsertChart {
     lastEditedByUserId: number
     publishedAt?: Date | null
     publishedByUserId?: number | null
-    slug?: string | null
-    type?: string | null
     updatedAt?: Date | null
 }
-export type DbRawChart = Required<DbInsertChart>
-
-export type DbEnrichedChart = Omit<DbRawChart, "config"> & {
-    config: GrapherInterface
-}
-
-export function parseChartConfig(config: JsonString): GrapherInterface {
-    return JSON.parse(config)
-}
-
-export function serializeChartConfig(config: GrapherInterface): JsonString {
-    return JSON.stringify(config)
-}
-
-export function parseChartsRow(row: DbRawChart): DbEnrichedChart {
-    return { ...row, config: parseChartConfig(row.config) }
-}
-
-export function serializeChartsRow(row: DbEnrichedChart): DbRawChart {
-    return {
-        ...row,
-        config: serializeChartConfig(row.config),
-    }
-}
+export type DbPlainChart = Required<DbInsertChart>
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/domainTypes/Various.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/domainTypes/Various.ts
index 946339baa14..bc23e990f9d 100644
--- a/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/domainTypes/Various.ts
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/domainTypes/Various.ts
@@ -65,3 +65,8 @@ export class JsonError extends Error {
 export interface QueryParams {
     [key: string]: string | undefined
 }
+
+export enum R2GrapherConfigDirectory {
+    byUUID = "config/by-uuid",
+    publishedGrapherBySlug = "grapher/by-slug",
+}
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/grapherTypes/GrapherTypes.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/grapherTypes/GrapherTypes.ts
index 0d067710c0d..a24459de6b4 100644
--- a/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/grapherTypes/GrapherTypes.ts
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/grapherTypes/GrapherTypes.ts
@@ -106,6 +106,11 @@ export enum TimeBoundValue {
     positiveInfinity = Infinity,
 }
 
+export enum TimeBoundValueStr {
+    unboundedLeft = "earliest",
+    unboundedRight = "latest",
+}
+
 /**
  * Time tolerance strategy used for maps
  */
@@ -509,12 +514,12 @@ export enum MapProjectionName {
 
 export interface MapConfigInterface {
     columnSlug?: ColumnSlug
-    time?: Time
+    time?: Time | TimeBoundValueStr
     timeTolerance?: number
     toleranceStrategy?: ToleranceStrategy
     hideTimeline?: boolean
     projection?: MapProjectionName
-    colorScale?: ColorScaleConfigInterface
+    colorScale?: Partial<ColorScaleConfigInterface>
     tooltipUseCustomLabels?: boolean
 }
 
@@ -532,8 +537,8 @@ export interface GrapherInterface extends SortConfig {
     sourceDesc?: string
     note?: string
     hideAnnotationFieldsInTitle?: AnnotationFieldsInTitle
-    minTime?: TimeBound
-    maxTime?: TimeBound
+    minTime?: TimeBound | TimeBoundValueStr
+    maxTime?: TimeBound | TimeBoundValueStr
     timelineMinTime?: Time
     timelineMaxTime?: Time
     dimensions?: OwidChartDimensionInterface[]
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/index.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/index.ts
index 3832e2b0bd2..928b89712d1 100644
--- a/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/types/src/index.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ export {
     type RawPageview,
     type UserCountryInformation,
     type QueryParams,
+    R2GrapherConfigDirectory,
 } from "./domainTypes/Various.js"
 export { type BreadcrumbItem, type KeyValueProps } from "./domainTypes/Site.js"
 export {
@@ -53,6 +54,7 @@ export {
     type ValueRange,
     type Year,
     TimeBoundValue,
+    TimeBoundValueStr,
     type TimeRange,
     type Color,
     type ColumnSlug,
@@ -414,6 +416,15 @@ export {
     type DbPlainAnalyticsPageview,
     AnalyticsPageviewsTableName,
 } from "./dbTypes/AnalyticsPageviews.js"
+export {
+    type DbInsertChartConfig,
+    type DbRawChartConfig,
+    type DbEnrichedChartConfig,
+    parseChartConfigsRow,
+    parseChartConfig,
+    serializeChartConfig,
+    ChartConfigsTableName,
+} from "./dbTypes/ChartConfigs.js"
 export {
     type DbPlainChartDimension,
     type DbInsertChartDimension,
@@ -429,13 +440,8 @@ export {
 } from "./dbTypes/ChartRevisions.js"
 export {
     type DbInsertChart,
-    type DbRawChart,
-    type DbEnrichedChart,
+    type DbPlainChart,
     ChartsTableName,
-    parseChartConfig,
-    serializeChartConfig,
-    parseChartsRow,
-    serializeChartsRow,
 } from "./dbTypes/Charts.js"
 export {
     type DbPlainChartSlugRedirect,
@@ -642,7 +648,7 @@ export {
 
 export { RedirectCode, type DbPlainRedirect } from "./dbTypes/Redirects.js"
 
-export type { Nominal } from "./NominalType.js"
+export { type Nominal, wrap, unwrap } from "./NominalType.js"
 
 export {
     type DbRawLatestWork,
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/TimeBounds.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/TimeBounds.ts
index 736fc5c4009..08a46390a5b 100644
--- a/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/TimeBounds.ts
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/TimeBounds.ts
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import {
     Time,
     TimeBound,
     TimeBoundValue,
+    TimeBoundValueStr,
 } from "@ourworldindata/types"
 import {
     parseIntOrUndefined,
@@ -13,11 +14,6 @@ import {
     isPositiveInfinity,
 } from "./Util.js"
 
-enum TimeBoundValueStr {
-    unboundedLeft = "earliest",
-    unboundedRight = "latest",
-}
-
 export const timeFromTimebounds = (
     timeBound: TimeBound,
     minTime: Time,
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/Util.test.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/Util.test.ts
index c1cd463fac5..a10e4c9efd0 100755
--- a/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/Util.test.ts
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/Util.test.ts
@@ -29,12 +29,17 @@ import {
     traverseEnrichedBlock,
     cartesian,
     formatInlineList,
+    base64ToBytes,
+    bytesToBase64,
+    hexToBytes,
+    bytesToHex,
 } from "./Util.js"
 import {
     BlockImageSize,
     OwidEnrichedGdocBlock,
     SortOrder,
 } from "@ourworldindata/types"
+import { webcrypto as crypto } from "node:crypto"
 
 describe(findClosestTime, () => {
     describe("without tolerance", () => {
@@ -795,3 +800,24 @@ describe(formatInlineList, () => {
         )
     })
 })
+
+function generateRandomBytes(length: number): Uint8Array {
+    const bytes = new Uint8Array(length)
+    crypto.getRandomValues(bytes)
+    return bytes
+}
+
+describe("hex/base64 conversion is reversible", () => {
+    const originalBytes = generateRandomBytes(33)
+    const base64String = bytesToBase64(originalBytes)
+    const roundTrippedBytes = base64ToBytes(base64String)
+    it("is the same after converting to base64 and back", () => {
+        expect(originalBytes).toEqual(roundTrippedBytes)
+    })
+
+    const hexString = bytesToHex(originalBytes)
+    const roundTrippedBytesHex = hexToBytes(hexString)
+    it("is the same after converting to hex and back", () => {
+        expect(originalBytes).toEqual(roundTrippedBytesHex)
+    })
+})
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/Util.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/Util.ts
index 567ba543efe..553cb9f028d 100644
--- a/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/Util.ts
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/Util.ts
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ import {
     maxBy,
     memoize,
     merge,
+    mergeWith,
     min,
     minBy,
     noop,
@@ -102,6 +103,7 @@ export {
     isNil,
     isNull,
     isNumber,
+    isPlainObject,
     isString,
     isUndefined,
     keyBy,
@@ -110,6 +112,7 @@ export {
     maxBy,
     memoize,
     merge,
+    mergeWith,
     min,
     minBy,
     noop,
@@ -179,10 +182,12 @@ import {
     TagGraphRoot,
     TagGraphRootName,
     TagGraphNode,
+    Nominal,
 } from "@ourworldindata/types"
 import { PointVector } from "./PointVector.js"
 import React from "react"
 import { match, P } from "ts-pattern"
+// import "crypto"
 
 export type NoUndefinedValues<T> = {
     [P in keyof T]: Required<NonNullable<T[P]>>
@@ -459,6 +464,42 @@ export const cagr = (
     )
 }
 
+export type Base64String = Nominal<string, "Base64">
+export type HexString = Nominal<string, "Hex">
+
+export function base64ToBytes(base64: Base64String): Uint8Array {
+    const binString = atob(base64)
+    return Uint8Array.from(binString, (m) => {
+        const cp = m.codePointAt(0)
+        if (cp === undefined) throw new Error("Invalid base64")
+        return cp
+    })
+}
+
+export function bytesToBase64(bytes: Uint8Array): Base64String {
+    const binString = Array.from(bytes, (byte) =>
+        String.fromCodePoint(byte)
+    ).join("")
+    return btoa(binString) as Base64String
+}
+
+export function hexToBytes(hex: string): Uint8Array {
+    if (hex.length % 2 !== 0) throw new Error("Invalid hex")
+    const bytes = new Uint8Array(hex.length / 2)
+    for (let i = 0; i < hex.length; i += 2) {
+        const parsed = parseInt(hex.slice(i, i + 2), 16)
+        if (isNaN(parsed)) throw new Error("Invalid hex")
+        bytes[i / 2] = parsed
+    }
+    return bytes
+}
+
+export function bytesToHex(bytes: Uint8Array): HexString {
+    return Array.from(bytes)
+        .map((byte) => byte.toString(16).padStart(2, "0"))
+        .join("") as HexString
+}
+
 export const makeAnnotationsSlug = (columnSlug: string): string =>
     `${columnSlug}-annotations`
 
@@ -1121,6 +1162,39 @@ export const omitNullableValues = <T>(object: T): NoUndefinedValues<T> => {
     return result
 }
 
+export function omitUndefinedValuesRecursive<T extends Record<string, any>>(
+    obj: T
+): NoUndefinedValues<T> {
+    const result: any = {}
+    for (const key in obj) {
+        if (isPlainObject(obj[key])) {
+            // re-apply the function if we encounter a non-empty object
+            result[key] = omitUndefinedValuesRecursive(obj[key])
+        } else if (obj[key] === undefined) {
+            // omit undefined values
+        } else {
+            // otherwise, keep the value
+            result[key] = obj[key]
+        }
+    }
+    return result
+}
+
+export function omitEmptyObjectsRecursive<T extends Record<string, any>>(
+    obj: T
+): Partial<T> {
+    const result: any = {}
+    for (const key in obj) {
+        if (isPlainObject(obj[key])) {
+            const isObjectEmpty = isEmpty(omitEmptyObjectsRecursive(obj[key]))
+            if (!isObjectEmpty) result[key] = obj[key]
+        } else {
+            result[key] = obj[key]
+        }
+    }
+    return result
+}
+
 export const isInIFrame = (): boolean => {
     try {
         return window.self !== window.top
@@ -1747,7 +1821,7 @@ export function filterValidStringValues<ValidValue extends string>(
     return filteredValues
 }
 
-// TODO: type this correctly once we have moved types into their own top level package
+// TODO(inheritance): remove in favour of mergeGrapherConfigs
 export function mergePartialGrapherConfigs<T extends Record<string, any>>(
     ...grapherConfigs: (T | undefined)[]
 ): T {
@@ -1925,3 +1999,19 @@ export function lazy<T>(fn: () => T): () => T {
         return _value
     }
 }
+
+export function traverseObjects<T extends Record<string, any>>(
+    obj: T,
+    ref: Record<string, any>,
+    cb: (objValue: unknown, refValue: unknown, key: string) => unknown
+): Partial<T> {
+    const result: any = {}
+    for (const key in obj) {
+        if (isPlainObject(obj[key]) && isPlainObject(ref[key])) {
+            result[key] = traverseObjects(obj[key], ref[key], cb)
+        } else {
+            result[key] = cb(obj[key], ref[key], key)
+        }
+    }
+    return result
+}
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/grapherConfigUtils.test.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/grapherConfigUtils.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..882b0d74326
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/grapherConfigUtils.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,396 @@
+#! /usr/bin/env jest
+
+import {
+    DimensionProperty,
+    GrapherInterface,
+    GrapherTabOption,
+    MapProjectionName,
+} from "@ourworldindata/types"
+import {
+    mergeGrapherConfigs,
+    diffGrapherConfigs,
+} from "./grapherConfigUtils.js"
+
+describe(mergeGrapherConfigs, () => {
+    it("merges empty configs", () => {
+        expect(mergeGrapherConfigs({}, {})).toEqual({})
+        expect(mergeGrapherConfigs({ title: "Parent title" }, {})).toEqual({
+            title: "Parent title",
+        })
+        expect(mergeGrapherConfigs({}, { title: "Child title" })).toEqual({
+            title: "Child title",
+        })
+    })
+
+    it("doesn't mutate input objects", () => {
+        const parentConfig = { title: "Title" }
+        const childConfig = { subtitle: "Subtitle" }
+        mergeGrapherConfigs(parentConfig, childConfig)
+        expect(parentConfig).toEqual({ title: "Title" })
+        expect(childConfig).toEqual({ subtitle: "Subtitle" })
+    })
+
+    it("merges two objects", () => {
+        expect(
+            mergeGrapherConfigs(
+                { title: "Parent title" },
+                { subtitle: "Child subtitle" }
+            )
+        ).toEqual({
+            title: "Parent title",
+            subtitle: "Child subtitle",
+        })
+        expect(
+            mergeGrapherConfigs(
+                { title: "Parent title" },
+                { title: "Child title" }
+            )
+        ).toEqual({ title: "Child title" })
+        expect(
+            mergeGrapherConfigs(
+                { title: "Parent title", subtitle: "Parent subtitle" },
+                { title: "Child title", hideRelativeToggle: true }
+            )
+        ).toEqual({
+            title: "Child title",
+            subtitle: "Parent subtitle",
+            hideRelativeToggle: true,
+        })
+    })
+
+    it("merges three objects", () => {
+        expect(
+            mergeGrapherConfigs(
+                { title: "Parent title" },
+                { subtitle: "Child subtitle" },
+                { note: "Grandchild note" }
+            )
+        ).toEqual({
+            title: "Parent title",
+            subtitle: "Child subtitle",
+            note: "Grandchild note",
+        })
+        expect(
+            mergeGrapherConfigs(
+                {
+                    title: "Parent title",
+                    subtitle: "Parent subtitle",
+                    sourceDesc: "Parent sources",
+                },
+                { title: "Child title", subtitle: "Child subtitle" },
+                { title: "Grandchild title", note: "Grandchild note" }
+            )
+        ).toEqual({
+            title: "Grandchild title",
+            subtitle: "Child subtitle",
+            note: "Grandchild note",
+            sourceDesc: "Parent sources",
+        })
+    })
+
+    it("merges nested objects", () => {
+        expect(
+            mergeGrapherConfigs(
+                {
+                    map: {
+                        projection: MapProjectionName.World,
+                        time: 2000,
+                    },
+                },
+                {
+                    map: {
+                        projection: MapProjectionName.Africa,
+                        hideTimeline: true,
+                    },
+                }
+            )
+        ).toEqual({
+            map: {
+                projection: MapProjectionName.Africa,
+                time: 2000,
+                hideTimeline: true,
+            },
+        })
+    })
+
+    it("overwrites arrays", () => {
+        expect(
+            mergeGrapherConfigs(
+                { selectedEntityNames: ["France", "Italy"] },
+                { selectedEntityNames: ["Italy", "Spain"] }
+            )
+        ).toEqual({
+            selectedEntityNames: ["Italy", "Spain"],
+        })
+        expect(
+            mergeGrapherConfigs(
+                { colorScale: { customNumericValues: [1, 2] } },
+                { colorScale: { customNumericValues: [3, 4] } }
+            )
+        ).toEqual({
+            colorScale: { customNumericValues: [3, 4] },
+        })
+    })
+
+    it("doesn't merge configs of different schema versions", () => {
+        expect(() =>
+            mergeGrapherConfigs(
+                { $schema: "1", title: "Title A" },
+                { $schema: "2", title: "Title B" }
+            )
+        ).toThrowError()
+    })
+
+    it("excludes id, slug, version and isPublished from inheritance", () => {
+        expect(
+            mergeGrapherConfigs(
+                {
+                    $schema: "004",
+                    id: 1,
+                    slug: "parent-slug",
+                    version: 1,
+                    title: "Title A",
+                },
+                { title: "Title B" }
+            )
+        ).toEqual({ title: "Title B" })
+        expect(
+            mergeGrapherConfigs(
+                {
+                    $schema: "004",
+                    id: 1,
+                    slug: "parent-slug",
+                    version: 1,
+                    title: "Title A",
+                },
+                { slug: "child-slug", version: 1, title: "Title B" }
+            )
+        ).toEqual({
+            slug: "child-slug",
+            version: 1,
+            title: "Title B",
+        })
+    })
+
+    it("ignores empty objects", () => {
+        expect(
+            mergeGrapherConfigs(
+                {
+                    title: "Parent title",
+                    subtitle: "Parent subtitle",
+                },
+                {
+                    $schema: "004",
+                    id: 1,
+                    slug: "parent-slug",
+                    version: 1,
+                    title: "Title A",
+                },
+                {}
+            )
+        ).toEqual({
+            $schema: "004",
+            id: 1,
+            slug: "parent-slug",
+            version: 1,
+            title: "Title A",
+            subtitle: "Parent subtitle",
+        })
+    })
+
+    it("overwrites values with an empty string if requested", () => {
+        expect(
+            mergeGrapherConfigs(
+                { title: "Parent title", subtitle: "Parent subtitle" },
+                { subtitle: "" }
+            )
+        ).toEqual({ title: "Parent title", subtitle: "" })
+    })
+
+    it("is associative", () => {
+        const configA: GrapherInterface = {
+            title: "Title A",
+            subtitle: "Subtitle A",
+        }
+        const configB: GrapherInterface = { title: "Title B", note: "Note B" }
+        const configC: GrapherInterface = {
+            title: "Title C",
+            subtitle: "Subtitle C",
+            sourceDesc: "Source C",
+        }
+        expect(
+            mergeGrapherConfigs(configA, mergeGrapherConfigs(configB, configC))
+        ).toEqual(
+            mergeGrapherConfigs(mergeGrapherConfigs(configA, configB), configC)
+        )
+        expect(
+            mergeGrapherConfigs(mergeGrapherConfigs(configA, configB), configC)
+        ).toEqual(mergeGrapherConfigs(configA, configB, configC))
+    })
+})
+
+describe(diffGrapherConfigs, () => {
+    it("returns the given config if the reference is empty", () => {
+        expect(diffGrapherConfigs({ title: "Chart" }, {})).toEqual({
+            title: "Chart",
+        })
+    })
+
+    it("returns the given config if it's empty", () => {
+        expect(diffGrapherConfigs({}, { title: "Reference chart" })).toEqual({})
+    })
+
+    it("drops redundant entries", () => {
+        expect(
+            diffGrapherConfigs(
+                { tab: GrapherTabOption.map },
+                { tab: GrapherTabOption.map }
+            )
+        ).toEqual({})
+        expect(
+            diffGrapherConfigs(
+                { tab: GrapherTabOption.chart, title: "Chart" },
+                { tab: GrapherTabOption.chart, title: "Reference chart" }
+            )
+        ).toEqual({ title: "Chart" })
+    })
+
+    it("diffs nested configs correctly", () => {
+        expect(
+            diffGrapherConfigs(
+                {
+                    title: "Chart",
+                    tab: GrapherTabOption.chart,
+                    map: {
+                        projection: MapProjectionName.World,
+                        hideTimeline: true,
+                    },
+                },
+                {
+                    title: "Reference chart",
+                    tab: GrapherTabOption.chart,
+                    map: {
+                        projection: MapProjectionName.World,
+                        hideTimeline: false,
+                    },
+                }
+            )
+        ).toEqual({ title: "Chart", map: { hideTimeline: true } })
+        expect(
+            diffGrapherConfigs(
+                {
+                    tab: GrapherTabOption.chart,
+                    map: {
+                        projection: MapProjectionName.World,
+                        hideTimeline: true,
+                    },
+                },
+                {
+                    tab: GrapherTabOption.chart,
+                    map: {
+                        projection: MapProjectionName.World,
+                        hideTimeline: true,
+                    },
+                }
+            )
+        ).toEqual({})
+    })
+
+    it("strips undefined values from the config", () => {
+        expect(
+            diffGrapherConfigs(
+                {
+                    tab: GrapherTabOption.chart,
+                    title: "Chart",
+                    subtitle: undefined,
+                },
+                { tab: GrapherTabOption.chart, title: "Reference chart" }
+            )
+        ).toEqual({ title: "Chart" })
+    })
+
+    it("strips empty objects from the config", () => {
+        expect(diffGrapherConfigs({ map: {} }, {})).toEqual({})
+        expect(
+            diffGrapherConfigs(
+                { map: { colorScale: { customCategoryColors: {} } } },
+                { map: { colorScale: { colorSchemeInvert: false } } }
+            )
+        ).toEqual({})
+    })
+
+    it("doesn't diff $schema, id, version, slug, isPublished or dimensions", () => {
+        expect(
+            diffGrapherConfigs(
+                {
+                    title: "Chart",
+                    $schema:
+                        "https://files.ourworldindata.org/schemas/grapher-schema.004.json",
+                    id: 20,
+                    version: 1,
+                    slug: "slug",
+                    isPublished: false,
+                    dimensions: [
+                        { property: DimensionProperty.y, variableId: 123456 },
+                    ],
+                },
+                {
+                    title: "Reference chart",
+                    $schema:
+                        "https://files.ourworldindata.org/schemas/grapher-schema.004.json",
+                    id: 20,
+                    version: 1,
+                    slug: "slug",
+                    isPublished: false,
+                    dimensions: [
+                        { property: DimensionProperty.y, variableId: 123456 },
+                    ],
+                }
+            )
+        ).toEqual({
+            title: "Chart",
+            $schema:
+                "https://files.ourworldindata.org/schemas/grapher-schema.004.json",
+            id: 20,
+            version: 1,
+            slug: "slug",
+            isPublished: false,
+            dimensions: [{ property: DimensionProperty.y, variableId: 123456 }],
+        })
+    })
+
+    it("is idempotent", () => {
+        const config: GrapherInterface = {
+            tab: GrapherTabOption.chart,
+            title: "Chart",
+            subtitle: undefined,
+        }
+        const reference: GrapherInterface = {
+            tab: GrapherTabOption.chart,
+            title: "Reference chart",
+        }
+        const diffedOnce = diffGrapherConfigs(config, reference)
+        const diffedTwice = diffGrapherConfigs(diffedOnce, reference)
+        expect(diffedTwice).toEqual(diffedOnce)
+    })
+})
+
+describe("diff+merge", () => {
+    it("are consistent", () => {
+        const config: GrapherInterface = {
+            tab: GrapherTabOption.chart,
+            title: "Chart",
+            subtitle: "Chart subtitle",
+        }
+        const reference: GrapherInterface = {
+            tab: GrapherTabOption.chart,
+            title: "Reference chart",
+        }
+        const diffedAndMerged = mergeGrapherConfigs(
+            reference,
+            diffGrapherConfigs(config, reference)
+        )
+        const onlyMerged = mergeGrapherConfigs(reference, config)
+        expect(diffedAndMerged).toEqual(onlyMerged)
+    })
+})
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/grapherConfigUtils.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/grapherConfigUtils.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..2a8db8e0120
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/grapherConfigUtils.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,93 @@
+import { GrapherInterface } from "@ourworldindata/types"
+import {
+    isEqual,
+    mergeWith,
+    uniq,
+    omit,
+    pick,
+    excludeUndefined,
+    omitUndefinedValuesRecursive,
+    omitEmptyObjectsRecursive,
+    traverseObjects,
+    isEmpty,
+} from "./Util"
+
+const REQUIRED_KEYS = ["$schema", "dimensions"]
+
+const KEYS_EXCLUDED_FROM_INHERITANCE = [
+    "$schema",
+    "id",
+    "slug",
+    "version",
+    "isPublished",
+]
+
+export function mergeGrapherConfigs(
+    ...grapherConfigs: GrapherInterface[]
+): GrapherInterface {
+    const configsToMerge = grapherConfigs.filter((c) => !isEmpty(c))
+
+    // return early if there are no configs to merge
+    if (configsToMerge.length === 0) return {}
+    if (configsToMerge.length === 1) return configsToMerge[0]
+
+    // warn if one of the configs is missing a schema version
+    const configsWithoutSchema = configsToMerge.filter(
+        (c) => c["$schema"] === undefined
+    )
+    if (configsWithoutSchema.length > 0) {
+        const configsJson = JSON.stringify(configsWithoutSchema, null, 2)
+        console.warn(
+            `About to merge Grapher configs with missing schema information: ${configsJson}`
+        )
+    }
+
+    // abort if the grapher configs have different schema versions
+    const uniqueSchemas = uniq(
+        excludeUndefined(configsToMerge.map((c) => c["$schema"]))
+    )
+    if (uniqueSchemas.length > 1) {
+        throw new Error(
+            `Can't merge Grapher configs with different schema versions: ${uniqueSchemas.join(
+                ", "
+            )}`
+        )
+    }
+
+    // keys that should not be inherited are removed from all but the last config
+    const cleanedConfigs = configsToMerge.map((config, index) => {
+        if (index === configsToMerge.length - 1) return config
+        return omit(config, KEYS_EXCLUDED_FROM_INHERITANCE)
+    })
+
+    return mergeWith(
+        {}, // mergeWith mutates the first argument
+        ...cleanedConfigs,
+        (_: unknown, childValue: unknown): any => {
+            // don't concat arrays, just use the last one
+            if (Array.isArray(childValue)) {
+                return childValue
+            }
+        }
+    )
+}
+
+export function diffGrapherConfigs(
+    config: GrapherInterface,
+    reference: GrapherInterface
+): GrapherInterface {
+    const keepKeys = [...REQUIRED_KEYS, ...KEYS_EXCLUDED_FROM_INHERITANCE]
+    const keep = pick(config, keepKeys)
+
+    const diffed = omitEmptyObjectsRecursive(
+        omitUndefinedValuesRecursive(
+            traverseObjects(config, reference, (value, refValue) => {
+                if (refValue === undefined) return value
+                if (!isEqual(value, refValue)) return value
+                return undefined
+            })
+        )
+    )
+
+    return { ...diffed, ...keep }
+}
diff --git a/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/index.ts b/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/index.ts
index 0cd96a487a0..917a33f7b55 100644
--- a/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/@ourworldindata/utils/src/index.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,12 @@ export {
     firstOfNonEmptyArray,
     lastOfNonEmptyArray,
     mapToObjectLiteral,
+    type Base64String,
+    type HexString,
+    bytesToBase64,
+    base64ToBytes,
+    bytesToHex,
+    hexToBytes,
     next,
     previous,
     domainExtent,
@@ -333,3 +339,8 @@ export {
 } from "./DonateUtils.js"
 
 export { isAndroid, isIOS } from "./BrowserUtils.js"
+
+export {
+    diffGrapherConfigs,
+    mergeGrapherConfigs,
+} from "./grapherConfigUtils.js"
diff --git a/settings/serverSettings.ts b/settings/serverSettings.ts
index c6f3c42cbf2..d945b49173c 100644
--- a/settings/serverSettings.ts
+++ b/settings/serverSettings.ts
@@ -154,22 +154,29 @@ export const IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_BUCKET_SUBFOLDER_PATH: string =
         IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_BUCKET_PATH.indexOf("/") + 1
     )
 // extract R2 credentials from rclone config as defaults
-export const IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_ENDPOINT: string =
-    serverSettings.IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_ENDPOINT ||
+export const R2_ENDPOINT: string =
+    serverSettings.R2_ENDPOINT ||
     rcloneConfig["owid-r2"]?.endpoint ||
     "https://078fcdfed9955087315dd86792e71a7e.r2.cloudflarestorage.com"
-export const IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID: string =
-    serverSettings.IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID ||
+export const R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID: string =
+    serverSettings.R2_ACCESS_KEY_ID ||
     rcloneConfig["owid-r2"]?.access_key_id ||
     ""
-export const IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: string =
-    serverSettings.IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY ||
+export const R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY: string =
+    serverSettings.R2_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY ||
     rcloneConfig["owid-r2"]?.secret_access_key ||
     ""
-export const IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_REGION: string =
-    serverSettings.IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_REGION ||
-    rcloneConfig["owid-r2"]?.region ||
-    "auto"
+export const R2_REGION: string =
+    serverSettings.R2_REGION || rcloneConfig["owid-r2"]?.region || "auto"
+
+export const GRAPHER_CONFIG_BASE_URL: string =
+    serverSettings.GRAPHER_CONFIG_BASE_URL ||
+    "https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/"
+
+export const GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET: string | undefined =
+    serverSettings.GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET
+export const GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET_PATH: string | undefined =
+    serverSettings.GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET_PATH
 
 export const DATA_API_URL: string = clientSettings.DATA_API_URL
 
diff --git a/site/DataPageV2.tsx b/site/DataPageV2.tsx
index 83877927fa5..259f2044379 100644
--- a/site/DataPageV2.tsx
+++ b/site/DataPageV2.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import {
+    defaultGrapherConfig,
     getVariableDataRoute,
     getVariableMetadataRoute,
     GrapherProgrammaticInterface,
@@ -15,6 +16,7 @@ import {
     GrapherInterface,
     ImageMetadata,
     Url,
+    diffGrapherConfigs,
 } from "@ourworldindata/utils"
 import { MarkdownTextWrap } from "@ourworldindata/components"
 import React from "react"
@@ -85,6 +87,7 @@ export const DataPageV2 = (props: {
         compact(grapher?.dimensions?.map((d) => d.variableId))
     )
 
+    // TODO(inheritance): use mergeGrapherConfigs instead
     const mergedGrapherConfig = mergePartialGrapherConfigs(
         datapageData.chartConfig as GrapherInterface,
         grapher
@@ -102,6 +105,12 @@ export const DataPageV2 = (props: {
         dataApiUrl: DATA_API_URL,
     }
 
+    // We bake the Grapher config without defaults
+    const grapherConfigToBake = diffGrapherConfigs(
+        grapherConfig,
+        defaultGrapherConfig
+    )
+
     // Only embed the tags that are actually used by the datapage, instead of the complete JSON object with ~240 properties
     const minimalTagToSlugMap = pick(
         tagToSlugMap,
@@ -181,7 +190,7 @@ export const DataPageV2 = (props: {
                 <script
                     dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{
                         __html: `window._OWID_GRAPHER_CONFIG = ${serializeJSONForHTML(
-                            grapherConfig
+                            grapherConfigToBake
                         )}`,
                     }}
                 />
diff --git a/site/ExplorerPage.tsx b/site/ExplorerPage.tsx
index f3c2a86fcbc..b358ef72915 100644
--- a/site/ExplorerPage.tsx
+++ b/site/ExplorerPage.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import {
+    defaultGrapherConfig,
     GRAPHER_PAGE_BODY_CLASS,
     LoadingIndicator,
 } from "@ourworldindata/grapher"
@@ -6,6 +7,7 @@ import {
     serializeJSONForHTML,
     SiteFooterContext,
     GrapherInterface,
+    diffGrapherConfigs,
 } from "@ourworldindata/utils"
 import React from "react"
 import {
@@ -79,16 +81,24 @@ export const ExplorerPage = (props: ExplorerPageSettings) => {
         />
     ) : undefined
 
+    // We bake the given Grapher configs without defaults
+    const grapherConfigsToBake = grapherConfigs.map((config) =>
+        diffGrapherConfigs(config, defaultGrapherConfig)
+    )
+    const partialGrapherConfigsToBake = partialGrapherConfigs.map((config) =>
+        diffGrapherConfigs(config, defaultGrapherConfig)
+    )
+
     const inlineJs = `const explorerProgram = ${serializeJSONForHTML(
         program.toJson(),
         EMBEDDED_EXPLORER_DELIMITER
     )};
 const grapherConfigs = ${serializeJSONForHTML(
-        grapherConfigs,
+        grapherConfigsToBake,
         EMBEDDED_EXPLORER_GRAPHER_CONFIGS
     )};
 const partialGrapherConfigs = ${serializeJSONForHTML(
-        partialGrapherConfigs,
+        partialGrapherConfigsToBake,
         EMBEDDED_EXPLORER_PARTIAL_GRAPHER_CONFIGS
     )};
 const urlMigrationSpec = ${
diff --git a/site/GrapherPage.tsx b/site/GrapherPage.tsx
index a4f682d7df3..70b696ee172 100644
--- a/site/GrapherPage.tsx
+++ b/site/GrapherPage.tsx
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import {
     getVariableMetadataRoute,
     GRAPHER_PAGE_BODY_CLASS,
     LoadingIndicator,
+    defaultGrapherConfig,
 } from "@ourworldindata/grapher"
 import {
     flatten,
@@ -13,6 +14,7 @@ import {
     uniq,
     SiteFooterContext,
     Url,
+    diffGrapherConfigs,
 } from "@ourworldindata/utils"
 import { MarkdownTextWrap } from "@ourworldindata/components"
 import React from "react"
@@ -64,8 +66,11 @@ export const GrapherPage = (props: {
     const imageWidth = "1200"
     const imageHeight = "628"
 
+    // We bake the Grapher config without defaults
+    const grapherToBake = diffGrapherConfigs(grapher, defaultGrapherConfig)
+
     const script = `const jsonConfig = ${serializeJSONForHTML({
-        ...grapher,
+        ...grapherToBake,
         adminBaseUrl: ADMIN_BASE_URL,
         bakedGrapherURL: BAKED_GRAPHER_URL,
         dataApiUrl: DATA_API_URL,
diff --git a/site/gdocs/components/Image.tsx b/site/gdocs/components/Image.tsx
index 57e58bbb967..3aceb05b773 100644
--- a/site/gdocs/components/Image.tsx
+++ b/site/gdocs/components/Image.tsx
@@ -115,9 +115,7 @@ export default function Image(props: {
 
     if (isPreviewing) {
         const makePreviewUrl = (f: string) =>
-            `${IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_CDN_URL}/${IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_BUCKET_SUBFOLDER_PATH}/${encodeURIComponent(
-                f
-            )}`
+            `${IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_CDN_URL}/${IMAGE_HOSTING_R2_BUCKET_SUBFOLDER_PATH}/${encodeURIComponent(f)}`
 
         const PreviewSource = (props: { i?: ImageMetadata; sm?: boolean }) => {
             const { i, sm } = props
diff --git a/site/multiembedder/MultiEmbedder.tsx b/site/multiembedder/MultiEmbedder.tsx
index b3416dc7ea3..5dc2363dc95 100644
--- a/site/multiembedder/MultiEmbedder.tsx
+++ b/site/multiembedder/MultiEmbedder.tsx
@@ -225,14 +225,20 @@ class MultiEmbedder {
                     localConfig.hasTableTab = true
             }
 
-            const config = merge(grapherPageConfig, common, localConfig, {
-                manager: {
-                    selection: new SelectionArray(
-                        this.selection.selectedEntityNames
-                    ),
-                },
-                annotation,
-            })
+            const config = merge(
+                {}, // merge mutates the first argument
+                grapherPageConfig,
+                common,
+                localConfig,
+                {
+                    manager: {
+                        selection: new SelectionArray(
+                            this.selection.selectedEntityNames
+                        ),
+                    },
+                    annotation,
+                }
+            )
             if (config.manager?.selection)
                 this.graphersAndExplorersToUpdate.add(config.manager.selection)
 
diff --git a/tsconfig.json b/tsconfig.json
index 94bbeed9aae..ae863d527a2 100644
--- a/tsconfig.json
+++ b/tsconfig.json
@@ -54,6 +54,9 @@
         },
         {
             "path": "./devTools/navigationTest"
+        },
+        {
+            "path": "./devTools/syncGraphersToR2"
         }
     ]
 }
diff --git a/wrangler.toml b/wrangler.toml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..149ec2ef602
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wrangler.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+# Generated by Wrangler on Mon Aug 05 2024 16:52:18 GMT+0000 (GMT)
+name = "owid"
+compatibility_date = "2024-04-29"
+pages_build_output_dir = "./localBake"
+
+# Vars that should be available in all envs, including local dev
+[vars]
+ENV = "development"
+GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET = "owid-grapher-configs-staging"
+R2_ENDPOINT = "https://078fcdfed9955087315dd86792e71a7e.r2.cloudflarestorage.com"
+R2_REGION = "auto"
+
+# Overrides for CF preview deployments
+[env.preview.vars]
+MAILGUN_DOMAIN = "mg.ourworldindata.org"
+SLACK_ERROR_CHANNEL_ID = "C016H0BNNB1"
+
+# Overrides for CF production deployment
+[env.production]
+compatibility_date = "2024-04-29"
+
+[env.production.vars]
+ENV = "production"
+MAILGUN_DOMAIN = "mg.ourworldindata.org"
+SLACK_ERROR_CHANNEL_ID = "C5JJW19PS"
+GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET = "owid-grapher-configs"
+GRAPHER_CONFIG_R2_BUCKET_PATH = "v1"
diff --git a/yarn.lock b/yarn.lock
index 7d77a3e05e7..811e04df0d4 100644
--- a/yarn.lock
+++ b/yarn.lock
@@ -1546,46 +1546,46 @@ __metadata:
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
-"@cloudflare/kv-asset-handler@npm:0.3.3":
-  version: 0.3.3
-  resolution: "@cloudflare/kv-asset-handler@npm:0.3.3"
+"@cloudflare/kv-asset-handler@npm:0.3.4":
+  version: 0.3.4
+  resolution: "@cloudflare/kv-asset-handler@npm:0.3.4"
   dependencies:
     mime: "npm:^3.0.0"
-  checksum: 10/020ef0a6f7f70f8cdcecd5d8c6cd3938a80205c5e4561255d8f6d6ad6be4bf231961a62c6a8d0cf94dab1cea249cc81064b8670fdbac2eb13a006b1f34a759c4
+  checksum: 10/f02840c2da8e75f3dbfe769f3ba99b99fb87b438c518c06c279334882ce7745ba5dd7ab66a07695dde0596e297758ce66761f9aac2365e7dfb83d7001cd44afa
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
-"@cloudflare/workerd-darwin-64@npm:1.20240610.1":
-  version: 1.20240610.1
-  resolution: "@cloudflare/workerd-darwin-64@npm:1.20240610.1"
+"@cloudflare/workerd-darwin-64@npm:1.20240725.0":
+  version: 1.20240725.0
+  resolution: "@cloudflare/workerd-darwin-64@npm:1.20240725.0"
   conditions: os=darwin & cpu=x64
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
-"@cloudflare/workerd-darwin-arm64@npm:1.20240610.1":
-  version: 1.20240610.1
-  resolution: "@cloudflare/workerd-darwin-arm64@npm:1.20240610.1"
+"@cloudflare/workerd-darwin-arm64@npm:1.20240725.0":
+  version: 1.20240725.0
+  resolution: "@cloudflare/workerd-darwin-arm64@npm:1.20240725.0"
   conditions: os=darwin & cpu=arm64
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
-"@cloudflare/workerd-linux-64@npm:1.20240610.1":
-  version: 1.20240610.1
-  resolution: "@cloudflare/workerd-linux-64@npm:1.20240610.1"
+"@cloudflare/workerd-linux-64@npm:1.20240725.0":
+  version: 1.20240725.0
+  resolution: "@cloudflare/workerd-linux-64@npm:1.20240725.0"
   conditions: os=linux & cpu=x64
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
-"@cloudflare/workerd-linux-arm64@npm:1.20240610.1":
-  version: 1.20240610.1
-  resolution: "@cloudflare/workerd-linux-arm64@npm:1.20240610.1"
+"@cloudflare/workerd-linux-arm64@npm:1.20240725.0":
+  version: 1.20240725.0
+  resolution: "@cloudflare/workerd-linux-arm64@npm:1.20240725.0"
   conditions: os=linux & cpu=arm64
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
-"@cloudflare/workerd-windows-64@npm:1.20240610.1":
-  version: 1.20240610.1
-  resolution: "@cloudflare/workerd-windows-64@npm:1.20240610.1"
+"@cloudflare/workerd-windows-64@npm:1.20240725.0":
+  version: 1.20240725.0
+  resolution: "@cloudflare/workerd-windows-64@npm:1.20240725.0"
   conditions: os=win32 & cpu=x64
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
@@ -8456,6 +8456,13 @@ __metadata:
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
+"date-fns@npm:^3.6.0":
+  version: 3.6.0
+  resolution: "date-fns@npm:3.6.0"
+  checksum: 10/cac35c58926a3b5d577082ff2b253612ec1c79eb6754fddef46b6a8e826501ea2cb346ecbd211205f1ba382ddd1f9d8c3f00bf433ad63cc3063454d294e3a6b8
+  languageName: node
+  linkType: hard
+
 "dateformat@npm:^3.0.3":
   version: 3.0.3
   resolution: "dateformat@npm:3.0.3"
@@ -11064,11 +11071,12 @@ __metadata:
     url-parse: "npm:^1.5.10"
     url-slug: "npm:^3.0.2"
     usehooks-ts: "npm:^3.1.0"
+    uuidv7: "npm:^1.0.1"
     vite: "npm:^5.3.4"
     vite-plugin-checker: "npm:^0.7.2"
     webfontloader: "npm:^1.6.28"
     workerpool: "npm:^6.2.0"
-    wrangler: "npm:^3.61.0"
+    wrangler: "npm:^3.68.0"
     yaml: "npm:^2.4.2"
   languageName: unknown
   linkType: soft
@@ -14109,9 +14117,9 @@ __metadata:
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
-"miniflare@npm:3.20240610.1":
-  version: 3.20240610.1
-  resolution: "miniflare@npm:3.20240610.1"
+"miniflare@npm:3.20240725.0":
+  version: 3.20240725.0
+  resolution: "miniflare@npm:3.20240725.0"
   dependencies:
     "@cspotcode/source-map-support": "npm:0.8.1"
     acorn: "npm:^8.8.0"
@@ -14121,13 +14129,13 @@ __metadata:
     glob-to-regexp: "npm:^0.4.1"
     stoppable: "npm:^1.1.0"
     undici: "npm:^5.28.4"
-    workerd: "npm:1.20240610.1"
-    ws: "npm:^8.14.2"
+    workerd: "npm:1.20240725.0"
+    ws: "npm:^8.17.1"
     youch: "npm:^3.2.2"
     zod: "npm:^3.22.3"
   bin:
     miniflare: bootstrap.js
-  checksum: 10/ebd4d979294af03838c86275503f9f9c6d55fd4f17aafbd07421252660521ae48229358fa9ea06a1d24c052ce0de471c75213dbf6ad19e78a8b641b092881b5c
+  checksum: 10/6def8bf81c4a05e70b6b5fc0c422d0f90f5fdea93f15272281a16a0f51b93bb42c90efa75aae09848f6db6442bc6996e41e2c340fc779e115e5d0fe2b4d9a3e9
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
@@ -20014,6 +20022,15 @@ __metadata:
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
+"uuidv7@npm:^1.0.1":
+  version: 1.0.1
+  resolution: "uuidv7@npm:1.0.1"
+  bin:
+    uuidv7: cli.js
+  checksum: 10/24f835d067ee69ee46b1734b1da33e6f751f04ccfa5aa83703fc84693b8628d0ae0b4cd7f31c940ec933268971c338931bf5b57b09e882e14df47dfebba2b760
+  languageName: node
+  linkType: hard
+
 "v8-to-istanbul@npm:^9.0.1":
   version: 9.0.1
   resolution: "v8-to-istanbul@npm:9.0.1"
@@ -20467,15 +20484,15 @@ __metadata:
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
-"workerd@npm:1.20240610.1":
-  version: 1.20240610.1
-  resolution: "workerd@npm:1.20240610.1"
+"workerd@npm:1.20240725.0":
+  version: 1.20240725.0
+  resolution: "workerd@npm:1.20240725.0"
   dependencies:
-    "@cloudflare/workerd-darwin-64": "npm:1.20240610.1"
-    "@cloudflare/workerd-darwin-arm64": "npm:1.20240610.1"
-    "@cloudflare/workerd-linux-64": "npm:1.20240610.1"
-    "@cloudflare/workerd-linux-arm64": "npm:1.20240610.1"
-    "@cloudflare/workerd-windows-64": "npm:1.20240610.1"
+    "@cloudflare/workerd-darwin-64": "npm:1.20240725.0"
+    "@cloudflare/workerd-darwin-arm64": "npm:1.20240725.0"
+    "@cloudflare/workerd-linux-64": "npm:1.20240725.0"
+    "@cloudflare/workerd-linux-arm64": "npm:1.20240725.0"
+    "@cloudflare/workerd-windows-64": "npm:1.20240725.0"
   dependenciesMeta:
     "@cloudflare/workerd-darwin-64":
       optional: true
@@ -20489,7 +20506,7 @@ __metadata:
       optional: true
   bin:
     workerd: bin/workerd
-  checksum: 10/c37cd30c25fbdc7f97a296cf4b1a8ad2dbb65621a9c4b4bb24cb8fc00d9674c6610c5d2e5dc87c6cda83aa7b3b23a63d84b924ec1d9a3881622a9284590723f6
+  checksum: 10/0957136cb6793b6b68ea6c76584a3f803fcd980cecdd1bd4f493be3ff5df85a66bd05b4e218d02f14db196632177f5b3a5d86f89c0d20952b36350950dd66946
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
@@ -20500,18 +20517,19 @@ __metadata:
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
-"wrangler@npm:^3.61.0":
-  version: 3.61.0
-  resolution: "wrangler@npm:3.61.0"
+"wrangler@npm:^3.68.0":
+  version: 3.68.0
+  resolution: "wrangler@npm:3.68.0"
   dependencies:
-    "@cloudflare/kv-asset-handler": "npm:0.3.3"
+    "@cloudflare/kv-asset-handler": "npm:0.3.4"
     "@esbuild-plugins/node-globals-polyfill": "npm:^0.2.3"
     "@esbuild-plugins/node-modules-polyfill": "npm:^0.2.2"
     blake3-wasm: "npm:^2.1.5"
     chokidar: "npm:^3.5.3"
+    date-fns: "npm:^3.6.0"
     esbuild: "npm:0.17.19"
     fsevents: "npm:~2.3.2"
-    miniflare: "npm:3.20240610.1"
+    miniflare: "npm:3.20240725.0"
     nanoid: "npm:^3.3.3"
     path-to-regexp: "npm:^6.2.0"
     resolve: "npm:^1.22.8"
@@ -20519,9 +20537,10 @@ __metadata:
     selfsigned: "npm:^2.0.1"
     source-map: "npm:^0.6.1"
     unenv: "npm:unenv-nightly@1.10.0-1717606461.a117952"
+    workerd: "npm:1.20240725.0"
     xxhash-wasm: "npm:^1.0.1"
   peerDependencies:
-    "@cloudflare/workers-types": ^4.20240605.0
+    "@cloudflare/workers-types": ^4.20240725.0
   dependenciesMeta:
     fsevents:
       optional: true
@@ -20531,7 +20550,7 @@ __metadata:
   bin:
     wrangler: bin/wrangler.js
     wrangler2: bin/wrangler.js
-  checksum: 10/91594c182fbfa65ffb1d3946829c3a51258d2ce6d7c83f0447f043e3bdb237096c4c69eda5e028f1e9742d8c0ddeae01c87512f438ab3635c5db9e923da3412b
+  checksum: 10/9d9884562f632de510c3755694822edaf530b875624b61188784ad56e9dc63e4daf900f8565c8271d7b30220e653cc2c1f787ee9fafef3d980f2806a583d1003
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
@@ -20642,7 +20661,7 @@ __metadata:
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
-"ws@npm:^8.11.0, ws@npm:^8.14.2":
+"ws@npm:^8.11.0":
   version: 8.17.1
   resolution: "ws@npm:8.17.1"
   peerDependencies:
@@ -20657,6 +20676,21 @@ __metadata:
   languageName: node
   linkType: hard
 
+"ws@npm:^8.17.1":
+  version: 8.18.0
+  resolution: "ws@npm:8.18.0"
+  peerDependencies:
+    bufferutil: ^4.0.1
+    utf-8-validate: ">=5.0.2"
+  peerDependenciesMeta:
+    bufferutil:
+      optional: true
+    utf-8-validate:
+      optional: true
+  checksum: 10/70dfe53f23ff4368d46e4c0b1d4ca734db2c4149c6f68bc62cb16fc21f753c47b35fcc6e582f3bdfba0eaeb1c488cddab3c2255755a5c3eecb251431e42b3ff6
+  languageName: node
+  linkType: hard
+
 "xml-name-validator@npm:^4.0.0":
   version: 4.0.0
   resolution: "xml-name-validator@npm:4.0.0"