diff --git a/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/CachedGsonKeyValueN5Writer.java b/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/CachedGsonKeyValueN5Writer.java
index 495883a3..1c6fee59 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/CachedGsonKeyValueN5Writer.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/CachedGsonKeyValueN5Writer.java
@@ -54,9 +54,9 @@ default void setVersion(final String path) throws N5Exception {
 	default void createGroup(final String path) throws N5Exception {
 
 		final String normalPath = N5URI.normalizeGroupPath(path);
-		// TODO: John document this!
-		// if you are a group, avoid hitting the backend
-		// if something exists, be safe
+		// avoid hitting the backend if this path is already a group according to the cache
+		// else if exists is true (then a dataset is present) so throw an exception to avoid
+		// overwriting / invalidating existing data
 		if (cacheMeta()) {
 			if (getCache().isGroup(normalPath, N5KeyValueReader.ATTRIBUTES_JSON))
 				return;
@@ -67,10 +67,8 @@ else if (getCache().exists(normalPath, N5KeyValueReader.ATTRIBUTES_JSON)) {
 
 		// N5Writer.super.createGroup(path);
 		/*
-		 * the 6 lines below duplicate the single line above but would have to
-		 * call
-		 * normalizeGroupPath again the below duplicates code, but avoids extra
-		 * work
+		 * the lines below duplicate the single line above but would have to call
+		 * normalizeGroupPath again the below duplicates code, but avoids extra work
 		 */
 		try {
 			getKeyValueAccess().createDirectories(absoluteGroupPath(normalPath));
@@ -140,10 +138,8 @@ default boolean remove(final String path) throws N5Exception {
 
 		// GsonKeyValueN5Writer.super.remove(path)
 		/*
-		 * the 8 lines below duplicate the single line above but would have to
-		 * call
-		 * normalizeGroupPath again the below duplicates code, but avoids extra
-		 * work
+		 * the lines below duplicate the single line above but would have to call
+		 * normalizeGroupPath again the below duplicates code, but avoids extra work
 		 */
 		final String normalPath = N5URI.normalizeGroupPath(path);
 		final String groupPath = absoluteGroupPath(normalPath);
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/GsonKeyValueN5Reader.java b/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/GsonKeyValueN5Reader.java
index 2e824bb6..907c0f25 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/GsonKeyValueN5Reader.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/GsonKeyValueN5Reader.java
@@ -27,7 +27,6 @@
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 import java.util.Arrays;
-import java.util.stream.Stream;
 
 import org.janelia.saalfeldlab.n5.N5Exception.N5IOException;
 
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/GsonN5Reader.java b/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/GsonN5Reader.java
index dbec5973..0df07b35 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/GsonN5Reader.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/GsonN5Reader.java
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@
  */
 package org.janelia.saalfeldlab.n5;
 
-import java.io.IOException;
 import java.lang.reflect.Type;
 import java.util.Map;
 
@@ -107,7 +106,7 @@ default <T> T getAttribute(final String pathName, final String key, final Type t
 	 * @param pathName
 	 *            group path
 	 * @return
-	 * @throws IOException
+	 * @throws N5Exception
 	 */
 	JsonElement getAttributes(final String pathName) throws N5Exception;
 }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/N5Reader.java b/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/N5Reader.java
index 13637985..d034dd72 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/N5Reader.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/N5Reader.java
@@ -339,7 +339,7 @@ default <T> T readSerializedBlock(
 	boolean exists(final String pathName);
 
 	/**
-	 * Test whether a dataset exists.
+	 * Test whether a dataset exists at a given path.
 	 *
 	 * @param pathName
 	 *            dataset path
@@ -364,7 +364,7 @@ default boolean datasetExists(final String pathName) throws N5Exception {
 	String[] list(final String pathName) throws N5Exception;
 
 	/**
-	 * Recursively list all groups (including datasets) in the given group.
+	 * Recursively list all groups and datasets in the given path.
 	 * Only paths that satisfy the provided filter will be included, but the
 	 * children of paths that were excluded may be included (filter does not
 	 * apply to the subtree).
@@ -373,7 +373,7 @@ default boolean datasetExists(final String pathName) throws N5Exception {
 	 *            base group path
 	 * @param filter
 	 *            filter for children to be included
-	 * @return list of groups
+	 * @return list of child groups and datasets
 	 * @throws N5Exception
 	 *             the exception
 	 */
@@ -396,11 +396,11 @@ default String[] deepList(
 	}
 
 	/**
-	 * Recursively list all groups (including datasets) in the given group.
+	 * Recursively list all groups and datasets in the given path.
 	 *
 	 * @param pathName
 	 *            base group path
-	 * @return list of groups
+	 * @return list of groups and datasets
 	 * @throws N5Exception
 	 *             the exception
 	 */
@@ -410,8 +410,7 @@ default String[] deepList(final String pathName) throws N5Exception {
 	}
 
 	/**
-	 * Recursively list all datasets in the given group. Only paths that satisfy
-	 * the
+	 * Recursively list all datasets in the given path. Only paths that satisfy the
 	 * provided filter will be included, but the children of paths that were
 	 * excluded may be included (filter does not apply to the subtree).
 	 *
@@ -431,19 +430,14 @@ default String[] deepList(final String pathName) throws N5Exception {
 	 * }
 	 * </pre>
 	 * <p>
-	 * but will execute {@link #datasetExists(String)} only once per node. This
-	 * can
-	 * be relevant for performance on high latency backends such as cloud
-	 * stores.
+	 * but will execute {@link #datasetExists(String)} only once per node. This can
+	 * be relevant for performance on high latency backends such as cloud stores.
 	 * </p>
 	 *
-	 * @param pathName
-	 *            base group path
-	 * @param filter
-	 *            filter for datasets to be included
+	 * @param pathName base group path
+	 * @param filter   filter for datasets to be included
 	 * @return list of groups
-	 * @throws N5Exception
-	 *             the exception
+	 * @throws N5Exception the exception
 	 */
 	default String[] deepListDatasets(
 			final String pathName,
@@ -464,7 +458,7 @@ default String[] deepListDatasets(
 	}
 
 	/**
-	 * Recursively list all including datasets in the given group.
+	 * Recursively list all including datasets in the given path.
 	 *
 	 * <p>
 	 * This method delivers the same results as
@@ -500,23 +494,18 @@ default String[] deepListDatasets(final String pathName) throws N5Exception {
 	}
 
 	/**
-	 * Helper method to recursively list all groups. This method is not part
-	 * of the public API and is accessible only because Java 8 does not support
-	 * private interface methods yet.
+	 * Helper method to recursively list all groups and datasets. This method is not part of the
+	 * public API and is accessible only because Java 8 does not support private
+	 * interface methods yet.
 	 *
 	 * TODO make private when committing to Java versions newer than 8
 	 *
-	 * @param n5
-	 *            the n5 reader
-	 * @param pathName
-	 *            the base group path
-	 * @param datasetsOnly
-	 *            true if only dataset paths should be returned
-	 * @param filter
-	 *            a dataset filter
+	 * @param n5           the n5 reader
+	 * @param pathName     the base group path
+	 * @param datasetsOnly true if only dataset paths should be returned
+	 * @param filter       a dataset filter
 	 * @return the list of all children
-	 * @throws N5Exception
-	 *             the exception
+	 * @throws N5Exception the exception
 	 */
 	static ArrayList<String> deepList(
 			final N5Reader n5,
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/N5URI.java b/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/N5URI.java
index 52001450..004c0de3 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/N5URI.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/N5URI.java
@@ -17,6 +17,12 @@
 import java.util.regex.Matcher;
 import java.util.regex.Pattern;
 
+/**
+ * A {@link URI} for N5 containers, groups, datasets, and attributes.
+ * <p>
+ * Container paths are stored in the URI path. Group / dataset paths are stored in the URI query,
+ * and attribute paths are stored in the URI fragment.
+ */
 public class N5URI {
 
 	private static final Charset UTF8 = Charset.forName("UTF-8");
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/cache/N5JsonCache.java b/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/cache/N5JsonCache.java
index ffca797b..20dbffae 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/cache/N5JsonCache.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/cache/N5JsonCache.java
@@ -8,6 +8,12 @@
 
 import com.google.gson.JsonElement;
 
+/*
+ * A cache containing JSON attributes and children for groups and
+ * datasets stored in N5 containers. Used by {@link CachedGsonKeyValueN5Reader}
+ * and {@link CachedGsonKeyValueN5Writer}.
+ *
+ */
 public class N5JsonCache {
 
 	public static final N5CacheInfo emptyCacheInfo = new N5CacheInfo();
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/cache/N5JsonCacheableContainer.java b/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/cache/N5JsonCacheableContainer.java
index e8d59301..8c598ec9 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/cache/N5JsonCacheableContainer.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/janelia/saalfeldlab/n5/cache/N5JsonCacheableContainer.java
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
  * An N5 container whose structure and attributes can be cached.
  * <p>
  * Implementations of interface methods must explicitly query the backing
- * storage. Cached implmentations (e.g {@link CachedGsonKeyValueN5Reader}) call
+ * storage unless noted otherwise. Cached implementations (e.g {@link CachedGsonKeyValueN5Reader}) call
  * these methods to update their {@link N5JsonCache}. Corresponding
  * {@link N5Reader} methods should use the cache, if present.
  */
@@ -60,8 +60,11 @@ public interface N5JsonCacheableContainer {
 	boolean isDatasetFromContainer(final String normalPathName);
 
 	/**
-	 * If this method is called, its parent path must exist,
-	 * and normalCacheKey must exist, with contents given by attributes.
+	 * 
+	 * Returns true if a path is a group, given that the the given attributes exist
+	 * for the given cache key.
+	 * <p>
+	 * Should not call the backing storage.
 	 *
 	 * @param normalCacheKey
 	 *            the cache key
@@ -72,8 +75,10 @@ public interface N5JsonCacheableContainer {
 	boolean isGroupFromAttributes(final String normalCacheKey, final JsonElement attributes);
 
 	/**
-	 * If this method is called, its parent path must exist,
-	 * and normalCacheKey must exist, with contents given by attributes.
+	 * Returns true if a path is a dataset, given that the the given attributes exist
+	 * for the given cache key.
+	 * <p>
+	 * Should not call the backing storage.
 	 *
 	 * @param normalCacheKey
 	 *            the cache key