diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 7e0cc441..619d80c4 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ set(rcutils_sources
   src/string_map.c
   src/time.c
   ${time_impl_c}
+  src/uint8_array.c
 )
 set_source_files_properties(
   ${rcutils_sources}
@@ -304,6 +305,13 @@ if(BUILD_TESTING)
   if(TARGET test_snprintf)
     target_link_libraries(test_snprintf ${PROJECT_NAME})
   endif()
+
+  rcutils_custom_add_gtest(test_uint8_array
+    test/test_uint8_array.cpp
+  )
+  if(TARGET test_uint8_array)
+    target_link_libraries(test_uint8_array ${PROJECT_NAME})
+  endif()
 endif()
 
 ament_export_dependencies(ament_cmake)
diff --git a/include/rcutils/types.h b/include/rcutils/types.h
index 2d3666dd..9c0c41e8 100644
--- a/include/rcutils/types.h
+++ b/include/rcutils/types.h
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ extern "C"
 #include "rcutils/types/string_array.h"
 #include "rcutils/types/string_map.h"
 #include "rcutils/types/rcutils_ret.h"
+#include "rcutils/types/uint8_array.h"
 
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
diff --git a/include/rcutils/types/uint8_array.h b/include/rcutils/types/uint8_array.h
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cf767aac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/include/rcutils/types/uint8_array.h
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+// Copyright 2018 Open Source Robotics Foundation, Inc.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+#ifndef RCUTILS__TYPES__UINT8_ARRAY_H_
+#define RCUTILS__TYPES__UINT8_ARRAY_H_
+
+#if __cplusplus
+extern "C"
+{
+#endif
+
+#include <stdint.h>
+
+#include "rcutils/allocator.h"
+#include "rcutils/types/rcutils_ret.h"
+#include "rcutils/visibility_control.h"
+
+typedef struct RCUTILS_PUBLIC_TYPE rcutils_uint8_array_t
+{
+  uint8_t * buffer;
+  size_t buffer_length;
+  size_t buffer_capacity;
+  rcutils_allocator_t allocator;
+} rcutils_uint8_array_t;
+
+/// Return a zero initialized uint8 array struct.
+/**
+ * \return rcutils_uint8_array_t a zero initialized uint8 array struct
+ */
+RCUTILS_PUBLIC
+RCUTILS_WARN_UNUSED
+rcutils_uint8_array_t
+rcutils_get_zero_initialized_uint8_array(void);
+
+/// Initialize a zero initialized uint8 array struct.
+/**
+ * This function may leak if the uint8 array struct is already initialized.
+ * If the capacity is set to 0, no memory is allocated and the internal buffer
+ * is still NULL.
+ *
+ * \param uint8_array a pointer to the to be initialized uint8 array struct
+ * \param buffer_capacity the size of the memory to allocate for the byte stream
+ * \param allocator the allocator to use for the memory allocation
+ * \return `RCUTILS_RET_OK` if successful, or
+ * \return `RCUTILS_RET_INVALID_ARGUMENTS` if any arguments are invalid, or
+ * \return 'RCUTILS_RET_BAD_ALLOC` if no memory could be allocated correctly
+ * \return `RCUTILS_RET_ERROR` if an unexpected error occurs
+ */
+RCUTILS_PUBLIC
+RCUTILS_WARN_UNUSED
+rcutils_ret_t
+rcutils_uint8_array_init(
+  rcutils_uint8_array_t * uint8_array,
+  size_t buffer_capacity,
+  const rcutils_allocator_t * allocator);
+
+/// Finalize a uint8 array struct.
+/**
+ * Cleans up and deallocates any resources used in a rcutils_uint8_array_t.
+ * The array passed to this function needs to have been initialized by
+ * rcutils_uint8_array_init().
+ * Passing an uninitialized instance to this function leads to undefined
+ * behavior.
+ *
+ * \param uint8_array pointer to the rcutils_uint8_array_t to be cleaned up
+ * \return `RCUTILS_RET_OK` if successful, or
+ * \return `RCUTILS_RET_INVALID_ARGUMENTS` if the uint8_array argument is invalid
+ * \return `RCUTILS_RET_ERROR` if an unexpected error occurs
+ */
+RCUTILS_PUBLIC
+RCUTILS_WARN_UNUSED
+rcutils_ret_t
+rcutils_uint8_array_fini(rcutils_uint8_array_t * uint8_array);
+
+/// Resize the internal buffer of the uint8 array.
+/**
+ * The internal buffer of the uint8 array can be resized dynamically if needed.
+ * If the new size is smaller than the current capacity, then the memory is
+ * truncated.
+ * Be aware, that this might deallocate the memory and therefore invalidates any
+ * pointers to this storage.
+ *
+ * \param uint8_array pointer to the instance of rcutils_uint8_array_t which is being resized
+ * \param new_size the new size of the internal buffer
+ * \return `RCUTILS_RET_OK` if successful, or
+ * \return `RCUTILS_RET_INVALID_ARGUMENT` if new_size is set to zero
+ * \return `RCUTILS_RET_BAD_ALLOC` if memory allocation failed, or
+ * \return `RCUTILS_RET_ERROR` if an unexpected error occurs
+ */
+RCUTILS_PUBLIC
+RCUTILS_WARN_UNUSED
+rcutils_ret_t
+rcutils_uint8_array_resize(rcutils_uint8_array_t * uint8_array, size_t new_size);
+
+#if __cplusplus
+}
+#endif
+
+#endif  // RCUTILS__TYPES__UINT8_ARRAY_H_
diff --git a/src/uint8_array.c b/src/uint8_array.c
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..85eeecf6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/uint8_array.c
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+// Copyright 2018 Open Source Robotics Foundation, Inc.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+#include "rcutils/error_handling.h"
+#include "rcutils/types/uint8_array.h"
+
+rcutils_uint8_array_t
+rcutils_get_zero_initialized_uint8_array(void)
+{
+  static rcutils_uint8_array_t uint8_array = {
+    .buffer = NULL,
+    .buffer_length = 0lu,
+    .buffer_capacity = 0lu
+  };
+  uint8_array.allocator = rcutils_get_zero_initialized_allocator();
+  return uint8_array;
+}
+
+rcutils_ret_t
+rcutils_uint8_array_init(
+  rcutils_uint8_array_t * uint8_array,
+  size_t buffer_capacity,
+  const rcutils_allocator_t * allocator)
+{
+  RCUTILS_CHECK_ARGUMENT_FOR_NULL(uint8_array, RCUTILS_RET_INVALID_ARGUMENT);
+  RCUTILS_CHECK_ALLOCATOR(allocator, return RCUTILS_RET_INVALID_ARGUMENT);
+
+  uint8_array->buffer_length = 0lu;
+  uint8_array->buffer_capacity = buffer_capacity;
+  uint8_array->allocator = *allocator;
+
+  if (buffer_capacity > 0lu) {
+    uint8_array->buffer = (uint8_t *)allocator->allocate(
+      buffer_capacity * sizeof(uint8_t), allocator->state);
+    RCUTILS_CHECK_FOR_NULL_WITH_MSG(
+      uint8_array->buffer,
+      "failed to allocate memory for uint8 array",
+      uint8_array->buffer_capacity = 0lu;
+      uint8_array->buffer_length = 0lu;
+      return RCUTILS_RET_BAD_ALLOC);
+  }
+
+  return RCUTILS_RET_OK;
+}
+
+rcutils_ret_t
+rcutils_uint8_array_fini(rcutils_uint8_array_t * uint8_array)
+{
+  RCUTILS_CHECK_ARGUMENT_FOR_NULL(uint8_array, RCUTILS_RET_INVALID_ARGUMENT);
+
+  rcutils_allocator_t * allocator = &uint8_array->allocator;
+  RCUTILS_CHECK_ALLOCATOR(allocator, return RCUTILS_RET_INVALID_ARGUMENT);
+
+  allocator->deallocate(uint8_array->buffer, allocator->state);
+  uint8_array->buffer = NULL;
+  uint8_array->buffer_length = 0lu;
+  uint8_array->buffer_capacity = 0lu;
+
+  return RCUTILS_RET_OK;
+}
+
+rcutils_ret_t
+rcutils_uint8_array_resize(rcutils_uint8_array_t * uint8_array, size_t new_size)
+{
+  RCUTILS_CHECK_ARGUMENT_FOR_NULL(uint8_array, RCUTILS_RET_INVALID_ARGUMENT);
+
+  if (new_size == 0lu) {
+    RCUTILS_SET_ERROR_MSG("new size of uint8_array has to be greater than zero");
+    return RCUTILS_RET_INVALID_ARGUMENT;
+  }
+
+  rcutils_allocator_t * allocator = &uint8_array->allocator;
+  RCUTILS_CHECK_ALLOCATOR(allocator, return RCUTILS_RET_INVALID_ARGUMENT);
+
+  if (new_size == uint8_array->buffer_capacity) {
+    // nothing to do here
+    return RCUTILS_RET_OK;
+  }
+
+  uint8_array->buffer = rcutils_reallocf(
+    uint8_array->buffer, new_size * sizeof(uint8_t), allocator);
+  RCUTILS_CHECK_FOR_NULL_WITH_MSG(
+    uint8_array->buffer,
+    "failed to reallocate memory for uint8 array",
+    uint8_array->buffer_capacity = 0lu;
+    uint8_array->buffer_length = 0lu;
+    return RCUTILS_RET_BAD_ALLOC);
+
+  uint8_array->buffer_capacity = new_size;
+  if (new_size < uint8_array->buffer_length) {
+    uint8_array->buffer_length = new_size;
+  }
+
+  return RCUTILS_RET_OK;
+}
diff --git a/test/test_uint8_array.cpp b/test/test_uint8_array.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..748648ee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/test_uint8_array.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+// Copyright 2018 Open Source Robotics Foundation, Inc.
+//
+// Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+// you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+// You may obtain a copy of the License at
+//
+//     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+// WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+// See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+// limitations under the License.
+
+#include <gtest/gtest.h>
+
+#include "rcutils/allocator.h"
+
+#include "rcutils/types/uint8_array.h"
+
+TEST(test_uint8_array, default_initialization) {
+  auto uint8_array = rcutils_get_zero_initialized_uint8_array();
+
+  auto allocator = rcutils_get_default_allocator();
+  EXPECT_EQ(RCUTILS_RET_OK, rcutils_uint8_array_init(&uint8_array, 0, &allocator));
+  EXPECT_EQ(0lu, uint8_array.buffer_capacity);
+  EXPECT_EQ(RCUTILS_RET_OK, rcutils_uint8_array_fini(&uint8_array));
+  EXPECT_EQ(0lu, uint8_array.buffer_capacity);
+  EXPECT_FALSE(uint8_array.buffer);
+}
+
+TEST(test_uint8_array, resize) {
+  auto uint8_array = rcutils_get_zero_initialized_uint8_array();
+  auto allocator = rcutils_get_default_allocator();
+  auto ret = rcutils_uint8_array_init(&uint8_array, 5, &allocator);
+  ASSERT_EQ(RCUTILS_RET_OK, ret);
+
+  for (size_t i = 0; i < 5; ++i) {
+    uint8_t c = 0xFF;
+    memcpy(uint8_array.buffer + i, &c, 1);
+  }
+  uint8_array.buffer_length = 5;
+  for (size_t i = 0; i < uint8_array.buffer_length; ++i) {
+    EXPECT_EQ(0xFF, uint8_array.buffer[i]);
+  }
+
+  ret = rcutils_uint8_array_resize(&uint8_array, 0);
+  ASSERT_EQ(RCUTILS_RET_INVALID_ARGUMENT, ret);
+  EXPECT_EQ(5lu, uint8_array.buffer_capacity);
+  EXPECT_EQ(5lu, uint8_array.buffer_length);
+
+  ret = rcutils_uint8_array_resize(&uint8_array, 10);
+  ASSERT_EQ(RCUTILS_RET_OK, ret);
+  EXPECT_EQ(10u, uint8_array.buffer_capacity);
+  EXPECT_EQ(5u, uint8_array.buffer_length);
+
+  for (uint8_t i = 0; i < 10; ++i) {
+    uint8_t u = 0xFF - i;
+    memcpy(uint8_array.buffer + i, &u, 1);
+  }
+  uint8_array.buffer_length = 10lu;
+  for (size_t i = 0; i < uint8_array.buffer_length; ++i) {
+    uint8_t u = 0xFF - static_cast<uint8_t>(i);
+    EXPECT_EQ(u, uint8_array.buffer[i]);
+  }
+
+  ret = rcutils_uint8_array_resize(&uint8_array, 3);
+  ASSERT_EQ(RCUTILS_RET_OK, ret);
+  EXPECT_EQ(3lu, uint8_array.buffer_capacity);
+  EXPECT_EQ(3lu, uint8_array.buffer_length);
+  EXPECT_EQ(0xFF, uint8_array.buffer[0]);
+  EXPECT_EQ(0xFF - 1, uint8_array.buffer[1]);
+  EXPECT_EQ(0xFF - 2, uint8_array.buffer[2]);
+  // the other fields are garbage.
+
+  // cleanup only 3 fields
+  EXPECT_EQ(RCUTILS_RET_OK, rcutils_uint8_array_fini(&uint8_array));
+}