diff --git a/content/local/store_test.go b/content/local/store_test.go
index 54e90c7cf..86e284a77 100644
--- a/content/local/store_test.go
+++ b/content/local/store_test.go
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/containerd/containerd/content"
 	"github.com/containerd/containerd/content/testsuite"
+	"github.com/containerd/containerd/errdefs"
 	"github.com/containerd/containerd/pkg/testutil"
 
 	"github.com/opencontainers/go-digest"
@@ -174,7 +175,9 @@ func TestContentWriter(t *testing.T) {
 
 	// now, attempt to write the same data again
 	checkCopy(t, int64(len(p)), cw, bufio.NewReader(ioutil.NopCloser(bytes.NewReader(p))))
-	if err := cw.Commit(ctx, int64(len(p)), expected); err != nil {
+	if err := cw.Commit(ctx, int64(len(p)), expected); err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected already exists error")
+	} else if !errdefs.IsAlreadyExists(err) {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
 
diff --git a/content/local/writer.go b/content/local/writer.go
index a6579a9d2..10df4a4c5 100644
--- a/content/local/writer.go
+++ b/content/local/writer.go
@@ -132,11 +132,11 @@ func (w *writer) Commit(ctx context.Context, size int64, expected digest.Digest,
 	// clean up!!
 	defer os.RemoveAll(w.path)
 
+	if _, err := os.Stat(target); err == nil {
+		// collision with the target file!
+		return errors.Wrapf(errdefs.ErrAlreadyExists, "content %v", dgst)
+	}
 	if err := os.Rename(ingest, target); err != nil {
-		if os.IsExist(err) {
-			// collision with the target file!
-			return errors.Wrapf(errdefs.ErrAlreadyExists, "content %v", dgst)
-		}
 		return err
 	}
 	commitTime := time.Now()
diff --git a/content/testsuite/testsuite.go b/content/testsuite/testsuite.go
index 366926c16..908facbdf 100644
--- a/content/testsuite/testsuite.go
+++ b/content/testsuite/testsuite.go
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ import (
 	"time"
 
 	"github.com/containerd/containerd/content"
+	"github.com/containerd/containerd/errdefs"
 	"github.com/containerd/containerd/pkg/testutil"
 	digest "github.com/opencontainers/go-digest"
 	ocispec "github.com/opencontainers/image-spec/specs-go/v1"
@@ -41,6 +42,7 @@ import (
 func ContentSuite(t *testing.T, name string, storeFn func(ctx context.Context, root string) (context.Context, content.Store, func() error, error)) {
 	t.Run("Writer", makeTest(t, name, storeFn, checkContentStoreWriter))
 	t.Run("UpdateStatus", makeTest(t, name, storeFn, checkUpdateStatus))
+	t.Run("CommitExists", makeTest(t, name, storeFn, checkCommitExists))
 	t.Run("Resume", makeTest(t, name, storeFn, checkResumeWriter))
 	t.Run("ResumeTruncate", makeTest(t, name, storeFn, checkResume(resumeTruncate)))
 	t.Run("ResumeDiscard", makeTest(t, name, storeFn, checkResume(resumeDiscard)))
@@ -281,6 +283,39 @@ func checkResumeWriter(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, cs content.Store) {
 	}
 }
 
+func checkCommitExists(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, cs content.Store) {
+	c1, d1 := createContent(256)
+	if err := content.WriteBlob(ctx, cs, "c1", bytes.NewReader(c1), ocispec.Descriptor{Digest: d1}); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+
+	for i, tc := range []struct {
+		expected digest.Digest
+	}{
+		{
+			expected: d1,
+		},
+		{},
+	} {
+		w, err := cs.Writer(ctx, content.WithRef(fmt.Sprintf("c1-commitexists-%d", i)))
+		if err != nil {
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		if _, err := w.Write(c1); err != nil {
+			w.Close()
+			t.Fatal(err)
+		}
+		err = w.Commit(ctx, int64(len(c1)), tc.expected)
+		w.Close()
+		if err == nil {
+			t.Errorf("(%d) Expected already exists error", i)
+		} else if !errdefs.IsAlreadyExists(err) {
+			t.Fatalf("(%d) Unexpected error: %+v", i, err)
+		}
+
+	}
+}
+
 func checkUpdateStatus(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, cs content.Store) {
 	c1, d1 := createContent(256)
 
@@ -353,7 +388,7 @@ func checkUpdateStatus(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, cs content.Store) {
 func checkLabels(ctx context.Context, t *testing.T, cs content.Store) {
 	c1, d1 := createContent(256)
 
-	w1, err := cs.Writer(ctx, content.WithRef("c1"), content.WithDescriptor(ocispec.Descriptor{Size: 256, Digest: d1}))
+	w1, err := cs.Writer(ctx, content.WithRef("c1-checklabels"), content.WithDescriptor(ocispec.Descriptor{Size: 256, Digest: d1}))
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatal(err)
 	}
diff --git a/diff/walking/differ.go b/diff/walking/differ.go
index 462d70856..f06aa016f 100644
--- a/diff/walking/differ.go
+++ b/diff/walking/differ.go
@@ -139,7 +139,9 @@ func (s *walkingDiff) Compare(ctx context.Context, lower, upper []mount.Mount, o
 
 			dgst := cw.Digest()
 			if err := cw.Commit(ctx, 0, dgst, commitopts...); err != nil {
-				return errors.Wrap(err, "failed to commit")
+				if !errdefs.IsAlreadyExists(err) {
+					return errors.Wrap(err, "failed to commit")
+				}
 			}
 
 			info, err := s.store.Info(ctx, dgst)
diff --git a/metadata/buckets.go b/metadata/buckets.go
index a7af0176c..51d40a7f3 100644
--- a/metadata/buckets.go
+++ b/metadata/buckets.go
@@ -164,11 +164,11 @@ func getSnapshotterBucket(tx *bolt.Tx, namespace, snapshotter string) *bolt.Buck
 }
 
 func createBlobBucket(tx *bolt.Tx, namespace string, dgst digest.Digest) (*bolt.Bucket, error) {
-	bkt, err := createBucketIfNotExists(tx, bucketKeyVersion, []byte(namespace), bucketKeyObjectContent, bucketKeyObjectBlob, []byte(dgst.String()))
+	bkt, err := createBucketIfNotExists(tx, bucketKeyVersion, []byte(namespace), bucketKeyObjectContent, bucketKeyObjectBlob)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	return bkt, nil
+	return bkt.CreateBucket([]byte(dgst.String()))
 }
 
 func getBlobsBucket(tx *bolt.Tx, namespace string) *bolt.Bucket {
diff --git a/metadata/content.go b/metadata/content.go
index 088f4ba27..ac4440060 100644
--- a/metadata/content.go
+++ b/metadata/content.go
@@ -592,9 +592,6 @@ func (nw *namespacedWriter) commit(ctx context.Context, tx *bolt.Tx, size int64,
 		}
 		size = nw.desc.Size
 		actual = nw.desc.Digest
-		if getBlobBucket(tx, nw.namespace, actual) != nil {
-			return "", errors.Wrapf(errdefs.ErrAlreadyExists, "content %v", actual)
-		}
 	} else {
 		status, err := nw.w.Status()
 		if err != nil {
@@ -606,18 +603,16 @@ func (nw *namespacedWriter) commit(ctx context.Context, tx *bolt.Tx, size int64,
 		size = status.Offset
 		actual = nw.w.Digest()
 
-		if err := nw.w.Commit(ctx, size, expected); err != nil {
-			if !errdefs.IsAlreadyExists(err) {
-				return "", err
-			}
-			if getBlobBucket(tx, nw.namespace, actual) != nil {
-				return "", errors.Wrapf(errdefs.ErrAlreadyExists, "content %v", actual)
-			}
+		if err := nw.w.Commit(ctx, size, expected); err != nil && !errdefs.IsAlreadyExists(err) {
+			return "", err
 		}
 	}
 
 	bkt, err := createBlobBucket(tx, nw.namespace, actual)
 	if err != nil {
+		if err == bolt.ErrBucketExists {
+			return "", errors.Wrapf(errdefs.ErrAlreadyExists, "content %v", actual)
+		}
 		return "", err
 	}
 
diff --git a/services/content/service.go b/services/content/service.go
index a27e8ee98..68d3920ff 100644
--- a/services/content/service.go
+++ b/services/content/service.go
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ func (s *service) Read(req *api.ReadContentRequest, session api.Content_ReadServ
 	_, err = io.CopyBuffer(
 		&readResponseWriter{session: session},
 		io.NewSectionReader(ra, offset, size), *p)
-	return err
+	return errdefs.ToGRPC(err)
 }
 
 // readResponseWriter is a writer that places the output into ReadContentRequest messages.
@@ -420,7 +420,7 @@ func (s *service) Write(session api.Content_WriteServer) (err error) {
 				// maintain the offset as append only, we just issue the write.
 				n, err := wr.Write(req.Data)
 				if err != nil {
-					return err
+					return errdefs.ToGRPC(err)
 				}
 
 				if n != len(req.Data) {
@@ -438,7 +438,7 @@ func (s *service) Write(session api.Content_WriteServer) (err error) {
 					opts = append(opts, content.WithLabels(req.Labels))
 				}
 				if err := wr.Commit(ctx, total, expected, opts...); err != nil {
-					return err
+					return errdefs.ToGRPC(err)
 				}
 			}
 
diff --git a/task.go b/task.go
index 750075f8d..6806e1162 100644
--- a/task.go
+++ b/task.go
@@ -607,8 +607,11 @@ func writeContent(ctx context.Context, store content.Ingester, mediaType, ref st
 	if err != nil {
 		return d, err
 	}
+
 	if err := writer.Commit(ctx, size, "", opts...); err != nil {
-		return d, err
+		if !errdefs.IsAlreadyExists(err) {
+			return d, err
+		}
 	}
 	return v1.Descriptor{
 		MediaType: mediaType,