diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index c556189ad..d56f74e69 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 
 SimpleX chat prototype is a thin terminal UI on top of [SimpleXMQ](https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplexmq) message broker that uses [SMP protocols](https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplexmq/blob/master/protocol). The motivation for SimpleX chat is [presented here](./simplex.md). See [simplex.chat](https://simplex.chat) website for chat demo and the explanations of the system and how SMP protocol works.
 
-**NEW in v0.5.4: [messages persistence](#access-chat-history)**
+**NEW in v0.5.4: [message persistence](#access-chat-history)**
 
 **NEW in v0.5.0: [user contact addresses](#user-contact-addresses-alpha)**
 
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ $ stack install
 
 To start the chat client, run `simplex-chat` from the terminal. If you get `simplex-chat: command not found`, see [Troubleshooting on Unix](#troubleshooting-on-unix).
 
-By default, app data directory is created in the home directory (`~/.simplex`, or `%APPDATA%/simplex` on Windows), and two SQLite database files `simplex.chat.db` and `simplex.agent.db` are initialized in it.
+By default, app data directory is created in the home directory (`~/.simplex`, or `%APPDATA%/simplex` on Windows), and two SQLite database files `simplex_v1_chat.db` and `simplex_v1_agent.db` are initialized in it.
 
 To specify a different file path prefix for the database files use `-d` command line option:
 
@@ -208,7 +208,7 @@ To specify a different file path prefix for the database files use `-d` command
 $ simplex-chat -d alice
 ```
 
-Running above, for example, would create `alice.chat.db` and `alice.agent.db` database files in current directory.
+Running above, for example, would create `alice_chat.db` and `alice_agent.db` database files in current directory.
 
 Default SMP servers are hosted on Linode (London, UK and Fremont, CA) - they are [pre-configured in the app](https://github.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/blob/master/src/Simplex/Chat/Options.hs#L40). Base-64 encoded string after server host is the transport key digest.
 
@@ -280,37 +280,54 @@ Use `/help address` for other commands.
 
 SimpleX chat stores all your contacts and conversations in a local SQLite database, making it private and portable by design, owned and controlled by user.
 
+> **Please note:** Starting with v1.0.0 message views are not created as part of database initialization. Run the below script to create them in your database.
+
+```sh
+curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/simplex-chat/simplex-chat/master/message_views.sql | sqlite3 ~/.simplex/simplex_v1_chat.db
+```
+
 You can view and search your chat history by querying your database:
 
-```
-sqlite3 ~/.simplex/simplex.chat.db
+```sh
+sqlite3 ~/.simplex/simplex_v1_chat.db
 ```
 
 Now you can run queries against `direct_messages`, `group_messages` and `all_messages` (or their simpler alternatives `direct_messages_plain`, `group_messages_plain` and `all_messages_plain`), for example:
 
 ```sql
--- you can put these or your preferred settings into ~/.sqliterc to persist across sqlite3 client sessions
+-- you can put these or your preferred settings into ~/.sqliterc
+-- to persist across sqlite3 client sessions
 .mode column
 .headers on
+.nullvalue NULL
 
--- simple views into direct, group and all_messages with user's messages deduplicated for group and all_messages
--- only 'x.msg.new' ("new message") chat events - filters out service events
+-- simple views into direct, group and all_messages
+-- with user's messages deduplicated for group and all_messages;
+-- only 'x.msg.new' ("new message") chat events - filters out service events;
 -- msg_sent is 0 for received, 1 for sent
 select * from direct_messages_plain;
 select * from group_messages_plain;
 select * from all_messages_plain;
 
--- query other details of your chat history with regular SQL
-select * from direct_messages where msg_sent = 1 and chat_msg_event = 'x.file'; -- files you offered for sending
-select * from direct_messages where msg_sent = 0 and contact = 'catherine' and msg_body like '%cats%'; -- everything catherine sent related to cats
-select * from group_messages where group_name = 'team' and contact = 'alice'; -- all correspondence with alice in #team
+-- query other details of your chat history with regular SQL, for example:
+-- files you offered for sending
+select * from direct_messages where msg_sent = 1 and chat_msg_event = 'x.file';
+-- everything catherine sent related to cats
+select * from direct_messages where msg_sent = 0 and contact = 'catherine' and msg_body like '%cats%'; 
+-- all correspondence with alice in #team
+select * from group_messages where group_name = 'team' and contact = 'alice';
 
 -- aggregate your chat data
 select contact_or_group, num_messages from (
-  select contact as contact_or_group, count(1) as num_messages from direct_messages_plain group by contact
+  select
+    contact as contact_or_group, count(1) as num_messages
+    from direct_messages_plain group by contact
   union
-  select group_name as contact_or_group, count(1) as num_messages from group_messages_plain group by group_name
-) order by num_messages desc;
+  select
+    group_name as contact_or_group, count(1) as num_messages
+    from group_messages_plain group by group_name
+)
+order by num_messages desc;
 ```
 
 **Convenience queries**
diff --git a/message_views.sql b/message_views.sql
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e0c90145c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/message_views.sql
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+CREATE VIEW direct_messages AS
+SELECT
+  ct.local_display_name AS contact,
+  m.message_id AS message_id,
+  m.msg_sent AS msg_sent,
+  m.chat_msg_event AS chat_msg_event,
+  m.msg_body AS msg_body,
+  md.msg_delivery_id AS delivery_id,
+  datetime(md.chat_ts) AS chat_dt,
+  md.agent_msg_meta AS msg_meta,
+  mde.delivery_status AS delivery_status,
+  datetime(mde.created_at) AS delivery_status_dt
+FROM messages m
+JOIN msg_deliveries md ON md.message_id = m.message_id
+JOIN (
+  SELECT msg_delivery_id, MAX(created_at) MaxDate
+  FROM msg_delivery_events
+  GROUP BY msg_delivery_id
+) MaxDates ON MaxDates.msg_delivery_id = md.msg_delivery_id
+JOIN msg_delivery_events mde ON mde.msg_delivery_id = MaxDates.msg_delivery_id
+                            AND mde.created_at = MaxDates.MaxDate
+JOIN connections c ON c.connection_id = md.connection_id
+JOIN contacts ct ON ct.contact_id = c.contact_id
+ORDER BY chat_dt DESC;
+
+CREATE VIEW direct_messages_plain AS
+SELECT
+  dm.contact AS contact,
+  dm.msg_sent AS msg_sent,
+  dm.msg_body AS msg_body,
+  dm.chat_dt AS chat_dt
+FROM direct_messages dm
+WHERE dm.chat_msg_event = 'x.msg.new';
+
+CREATE VIEW group_messages AS
+SELECT
+  g.local_display_name AS group_name,
+  gm.local_display_name AS contact,
+  m.message_id AS message_id,
+  m.msg_sent AS msg_sent,
+  m.chat_msg_event AS chat_msg_event,
+  m.msg_body AS msg_body,
+  md.msg_delivery_id AS delivery_id,
+  datetime(md.chat_ts) AS chat_dt,
+  md.agent_msg_meta AS msg_meta,
+  mde.delivery_status AS delivery_status,
+  datetime(mde.created_at) AS delivery_status_dt
+FROM messages m
+JOIN msg_deliveries md ON md.message_id = m.message_id
+JOIN (
+  SELECT msg_delivery_id, MAX(created_at) MaxDate
+  FROM msg_delivery_events
+  GROUP BY msg_delivery_id
+) MaxDates ON MaxDates.msg_delivery_id = md.msg_delivery_id
+JOIN msg_delivery_events mde ON mde.msg_delivery_id = MaxDates.msg_delivery_id
+                            AND mde.created_at = MaxDates.MaxDate
+JOIN connections c ON c.connection_id = md.connection_id
+JOIN group_members gm ON gm.group_member_id = c.group_member_id
+JOIN groups g ON g.group_id = gm.group_id
+ORDER BY chat_dt DESC;
+
+CREATE VIEW group_messages_plain AS
+SELECT
+  gm.group_name AS group_name,
+  (CASE WHEN gm.msg_sent = 0 THEN gm.contact ELSE gm.group_name END) AS contact,
+  gm.msg_sent AS msg_sent,
+  gm.msg_body AS msg_body,
+  gm.chat_dt AS chat_dt
+FROM group_messages gm
+JOIN (
+  SELECT message_id, MIN(delivery_id) MinDeliveryId
+  FROM group_messages
+  GROUP BY message_id
+) Deduplicated ON Deduplicated.message_id = gm.message_id
+              AND Deduplicated.MinDeliveryId = gm.delivery_id
+WHERE gm.chat_msg_event = 'x.msg.new';
+
+CREATE VIEW all_messages (
+  group_name,
+  contact,
+  message_id,
+  msg_sent,
+  chat_msg_event,
+  msg_body,
+  delivery_id,
+  chat_dt,
+  msg_meta,
+  delivery_status,
+  delivery_status_dt
+) AS
+  SELECT * FROM (
+    SELECT NULL AS group_name, * FROM direct_messages
+    UNION
+    SELECT * FROM group_messages
+  )
+  ORDER BY chat_dt DESC;
+
+CREATE VIEW all_messages_plain (
+  group_name,
+  contact,
+  msg_sent,
+  msg_body,
+  chat_dt
+) AS
+  SELECT * FROM (
+    SELECT NULL AS group_name, * FROM direct_messages_plain
+    UNION
+    SELECT * FROM group_messages_plain
+  )
+  ORDER BY chat_dt DESC;
diff --git a/migrations/20211229_messages.sql b/migrations/20211229_messages.sql
index da6c40b6a..86e2fc56e 100644
--- a/migrations/20211229_messages.sql
+++ b/migrations/20211229_messages.sql
@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ CREATE TABLE msg_delivery_events (
   UNIQUE (msg_delivery_id, delivery_status)
 );
 
+-- TODO delete all message views when merging migrations
+
 CREATE VIEW direct_messages AS
 SELECT
   ct.local_display_name AS contact,