diff --git a/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_context.h b/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_context.h
index 416947e0b62..8917580689d 100644
--- a/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_context.h
+++ b/source/blender/blenkernel/BKE_context.h
@@ -23,6 +23,9 @@
  * \ingroup bke
  */
 
+/* XXX temporary, until AssetHandle is designed properly and queries can return a pointer to it. */
+#include "DNA_asset_types.h"
+
 #include "DNA_listBase.h"
 #include "DNA_object_enums.h"
 #include "RNA_types.h"
@@ -358,6 +361,7 @@ int CTX_data_editable_gpencil_layers(const bContext *C, ListBase *list);
 int CTX_data_editable_gpencil_strokes(const bContext *C, ListBase *list);
 
 const struct AssetLibraryReference *CTX_wm_asset_library(const bContext *C);
+struct AssetHandle CTX_wm_asset_handle(const bContext *C, bool *r_is_valid);
 
 bool CTX_wm_interface_locked(const bContext *C);
 
diff --git a/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/context.c b/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/context.c
index 4c91a3f3387..dced945bea0 100644
--- a/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/context.c
+++ b/source/blender/blenkernel/intern/context.c
@@ -1453,6 +1453,31 @@ const AssetLibraryReference *CTX_wm_asset_library(const bContext *C)
   return ctx_data_pointer_get(C, "asset_library");
 }
 
+AssetHandle CTX_wm_asset_handle(const bContext *C, bool *r_is_valid)
+{
+  AssetHandle *asset_handle_p =
+      (AssetHandle *)CTX_data_pointer_get_type(C, "asset_handle", &RNA_AssetHandle).data;
+  if (asset_handle_p) {
+    *r_is_valid = true;
+    return *asset_handle_p;
+  }
+
+  /* If the asset handle was not found in context directly, try if there's an active file with
+   * asset data there instead. Not nice to have this here, would be better to have this in
+   * `ED_asset.h`, but we can't include that in BKE. Even better would be not needing this at all
+   * and being able to have editors return this in the usual `context` callback. But that would
+   * require returning a non-owning pointer, which we don't have in the Asset Browser (yet). */
+  FileDirEntry *file =
+      (FileDirEntry *)CTX_data_pointer_get_type(C, "active_file", &RNA_FileSelectEntry).data;
+  if (file && file->asset_data) {
+    *r_is_valid = true;
+    return (AssetHandle){.file_data = file};
+  }
+
+  *r_is_valid = false;
+  return (AssetHandle){0};
+}
+
 Depsgraph *CTX_data_depsgraph_pointer(const bContext *C)
 {
   Main *bmain = CTX_data_main(C);
diff --git a/source/blender/editors/asset/asset_edit.cc b/source/blender/editors/asset/asset_edit.cc
index 5ae07a54b11..949dc1890ad 100644
--- a/source/blender/editors/asset/asset_edit.cc
+++ b/source/blender/editors/asset/asset_edit.cc
@@ -23,6 +23,8 @@
 #include "BKE_lib_id.h"
 
 #include "DNA_ID.h"
+#include "DNA_asset_types.h"
+#include "DNA_space_types.h"
 
 #include "UI_interface_icons.h"
 
@@ -118,3 +120,8 @@ AssetLibraryReference ED_asset_library_reference_from_enum_value(int value)
   }
   return library;
 }
+
+const char *ED_asset_handle_get_name(const AssetHandle *asset)
+{
+  return asset->file_data->name;
+}
diff --git a/source/blender/editors/include/ED_asset.h b/source/blender/editors/include/ED_asset.h
index a2ef0755fbd..da0809f2e33 100644
--- a/source/blender/editors/include/ED_asset.h
+++ b/source/blender/editors/include/ED_asset.h
@@ -35,6 +35,8 @@ bool ED_asset_can_make_single_from_context(const struct bContext *C);
 int ED_asset_library_reference_to_enum_value(const struct AssetLibraryReference *library);
 struct AssetLibraryReference ED_asset_library_reference_from_enum_value(int value);
 
+const char *ED_asset_handle_get_name(const AssetHandle *asset);
+
 void ED_operatortypes_asset(void);
 
 #ifdef __cplusplus
diff --git a/source/blender/makesdna/DNA_asset_types.h b/source/blender/makesdna/DNA_asset_types.h
index 5acdc4ee862..9b17bca2ab6 100644
--- a/source/blender/makesdna/DNA_asset_types.h
+++ b/source/blender/makesdna/DNA_asset_types.h
@@ -97,6 +97,17 @@ typedef struct AssetLibraryReference {
   int custom_library_index;
 } AssetLibraryReference;
 
+/**
+ * Not part of the core design, we should try to get rid of it. Only needed to wrap FileDirEntry
+ * into a type with PropertyGroup as base, so we can have an RNA collection of #AssetHandle's to
+ * pass to the UI.
+ */
+#
+#
+typedef struct AssetHandle {
+  struct FileDirEntry *file_data;
+} AssetHandle;
+
 #ifdef __cplusplus
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/source/blender/makesrna/RNA_access.h b/source/blender/makesrna/RNA_access.h
index 52bf80ee45b..97615016016 100644
--- a/source/blender/makesrna/RNA_access.h
+++ b/source/blender/makesrna/RNA_access.h
@@ -71,6 +71,7 @@ extern StructRNA RNA_ArrayGpencilModifier;
 extern StructRNA RNA_ArrayModifier;
 extern StructRNA RNA_Attribute;
 extern StructRNA RNA_AttributeGroup;
+extern StructRNA RNA_AssetHandle;
 extern StructRNA RNA_AssetLibraryReference;
 extern StructRNA RNA_AssetMetaData;
 extern StructRNA RNA_AssetTag;
diff --git a/source/blender/makesrna/intern/rna_asset.c b/source/blender/makesrna/intern/rna_asset.c
index 54cc87b4eea..82430d3e174 100644
--- a/source/blender/makesrna/intern/rna_asset.c
+++ b/source/blender/makesrna/intern/rna_asset.c
@@ -125,6 +125,20 @@ static void rna_AssetMetaData_active_tag_range(
   *max = *softmax = MAX2(asset_data->tot_tags - 1, 0);
 }
 
+static PointerRNA rna_AssetHandle_file_data_get(PointerRNA *ptr)
+{
+  AssetHandle *asset_handle = ptr->data;
+  return rna_pointer_inherit_refine(ptr, &RNA_FileSelectEntry, asset_handle->file_data);
+}
+
+static void rna_AssetHandle_file_data_set(PointerRNA *ptr,
+                                          PointerRNA value,
+                                          struct ReportList *UNUSED(reports))
+{
+  AssetHandle *asset_handle = ptr->data;
+  asset_handle->file_data = value.data;
+}
+
 int rna_asset_library_reference_get(const AssetLibraryReference *library)
 {
   return ED_asset_library_reference_to_enum_value(library);
@@ -278,6 +292,23 @@ static void rna_def_asset_data(BlenderRNA *brna)
   RNA_def_property_ui_text(prop, "Active Tag", "Index of the tag set for editing");
 }
 
+static void rna_def_asset_handle(BlenderRNA *brna)
+{
+  StructRNA *srna;
+  PropertyRNA *prop;
+
+  srna = RNA_def_struct(brna, "AssetHandle", "PropertyGroup");
+  RNA_def_struct_ui_text(srna, "Asset Handle", "Reference to some asset");
+
+  /* TODO why is this editable? There probably shouldn't be a setter. */
+  prop = RNA_def_property(srna, "file_data", PROP_POINTER, PROP_NONE);
+  RNA_def_property_flag(prop, PROP_EDITABLE);
+  RNA_def_property_struct_type(prop, "FileSelectEntry");
+  RNA_def_property_pointer_funcs(
+      prop, "rna_AssetHandle_file_data_get", "rna_AssetHandle_file_data_set", NULL, NULL);
+  RNA_def_property_ui_text(prop, "File Entry", "File data used to refer to the asset");
+}
+
 static void rna_def_asset_library_reference(BlenderRNA *brna)
 {
   StructRNA *srna = RNA_def_struct(brna, "AssetLibraryReference", NULL);
@@ -306,6 +337,7 @@ void RNA_def_asset(BlenderRNA *brna)
   rna_def_asset_tag(brna);
   rna_def_asset_data(brna);
   rna_def_asset_library_reference(brna);
+  rna_def_asset_handle(brna);
 
   RNA_define_animate_sdna(true);
 }
diff --git a/source/blender/makesrna/intern/rna_context.c b/source/blender/makesrna/intern/rna_context.c
index 4079406e64b..9da08de2168 100644
--- a/source/blender/makesrna/intern/rna_context.c
+++ b/source/blender/makesrna/intern/rna_context.c
@@ -58,6 +58,8 @@ const EnumPropertyItem rna_enum_context_mode_items[] = {
 
 #ifdef RNA_RUNTIME
 
+#  include "DNA_asset_types.h"
+
 #  ifdef WITH_PYTHON
 #    include "BPY_extern.h"
 #  endif
@@ -134,6 +136,20 @@ static PointerRNA rna_Context_gizmo_group_get(PointerRNA *ptr)
   return newptr;
 }
 
+static PointerRNA rna_Context_asset_file_handle_get(PointerRNA *ptr)
+{
+  bContext *C = (bContext *)ptr->data;
+  bool is_handle_valid;
+  AssetHandle asset_handle = CTX_wm_asset_handle(C, &is_handle_valid);
+  if (!is_handle_valid) {
+    return PointerRNA_NULL;
+  }
+
+  PointerRNA newptr;
+  RNA_pointer_create(NULL, &RNA_FileSelectEntry, asset_handle.file_data, &newptr);
+  return newptr;
+}
+
 static PointerRNA rna_Context_main_get(PointerRNA *ptr)
 {
   bContext *C = (bContext *)ptr->data;
@@ -281,6 +297,17 @@ void RNA_def_context(BlenderRNA *brna)
   RNA_def_property_struct_type(prop, "GizmoGroup");
   RNA_def_property_pointer_funcs(prop, "rna_Context_gizmo_group_get", NULL, NULL, NULL);
 
+  /* TODO can't expose AssetHandle, since there is no permanent storage to it (so we can't
+   * return a pointer). Instead provide the FileDirEntry pointer it wraps. */
+  prop = RNA_def_property(srna, "asset_file_handle", PROP_POINTER, PROP_NONE);
+  RNA_def_property_clear_flag(prop, PROP_EDITABLE);
+  RNA_def_property_struct_type(prop, "FileSelectEntry");
+  RNA_def_property_pointer_funcs(prop, "rna_Context_asset_file_handle_get", NULL, NULL, NULL);
+  RNA_def_property_ui_text(prop,
+                           "",
+                           "The file of an active asset. Avoid using this, it will be replaced by "
+                           "a proper AssetHandle design");
+
   /* Data */
   prop = RNA_def_property(srna, "blend_data", PROP_POINTER, PROP_NONE);
   RNA_def_property_clear_flag(prop, PROP_EDITABLE);