diff --git a/full/cheat_mode_mod.F90 b/full/cheat_mode_mod.F90
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..cb73c140
--- /dev/null
+++ b/full/cheat_mode_mod.F90
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+!***********************************************************************
+!*                             Apache License 2.0
+!*
+!* This file is part of the GFDL Flexible Modeling System (FMS) Coupler.
+!*
+!* 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
+!*
+!* FMS Coupler is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
+!* WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied;
+!* without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
+!* PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the License for the specific language
+!* governing permissions and limitations under the License.
+!***********************************************************************
+
+!> @defgroup cheat_mode_mod cheat_mode_mod
+!> @ingroup cheat_mode_mod
+!> @brief Generate or extract a tarball containing the final contents of a run directory.
+!!
+!> This module supports "cheat mode", so that the workflow can be tested without the
+!! computational cost of an actual model run. A directory is supplied via the
+!! `cheat_mode_nml` namelist: if a tarball is found in this directory corresponding
+!! to the date range of the current segment, `cheat_mode_invoke` will extract this
+!! tarball; otherwise, it will generate it from the content of the run directory.
+
+#ifdef CHEAT_MODE
+
+module cheat_mode_mod
+  use FMS
+  use platform_mod, only: FMS_PATH_LEN
+  implicit none
+  private
+
+  public :: cheat_mode_tarball_exists, cheat_mode_tarball_path, cheat_mode_init, cheat_mode_invoke
+
+  logical :: cheat_mode_tarball_exists !< Whether to extract (true) or generate (false) a tarball
+  character(FMS_PATH_LEN) :: cheat_mode_tarball_path !< Path to the tarball to be extracted or created
+  character(FMS_PATH_LEN) :: dir !< Directory containing the tarballs
+
+  namelist /cheat_mode_nml/ dir
+
+!> @addtogroup cheat_mode_mod
+!> @{
+
+contains
+
+  !> Initialize cheat mode. Determine the path to the tarball from `cheat_mode_nml` and
+  !! from the date range of the current segment.
+  subroutine cheat_mode_init(year0, month0, day0, year1, month1, day1)
+    integer, intent(in) :: year0, month0, day0 !< Initial year, month, and day of the current segment
+    integer, intent(in) :: year1, month1, day1 !< Final year, month, and day of the current segment
+    integer :: io_status
+
+    read (fms_mpp_input_nml_file, cheat_mode_nml, iostat=io_status)
+    io_status = fms_check_nml_error(io_status, "cheat_mode_nml")
+
+    write (cheat_mode_tarball_path, '(A,"/",I0.4,I0.2,I0.2,"_",I0.4,I0.2,I0.2,".tar")') &
+          trim(dir), year0, month0, day0, year1, month1, day1
+    inquire (file=trim(cheat_mode_tarball_path), exist=cheat_mode_tarball_exists)
+  end subroutine
+
+  !> Invoke the tar command to either create or extract the tarball. This subroutine
+  !! should only be called by the root PE.
+  subroutine cheat_mode_invoke
+    integer :: exitstat
+
+    if (cheat_mode_tarball_exists) then
+      call execute_command_line("tar -xf " // trim(cheat_mode_tarball_path) // &
+                                " --touch --overwrite", exitstat=exitstat)
+    else
+      call execute_command_line("tar -cf " // trim(cheat_mode_tarball_path) // &
+                                " `find . -type f -newer input.nml | xargs`", exitstat=exitstat)
+    endif
+
+    if (exitstat.ne.0) then
+      call fms_error_mesg("cheat mode", "tar command failed", FATAL)
+    endif
+  end subroutine cheat_mode_invoke
+end module cheat_mode_mod
+
+#endif
+
+!> @}
+! close documentation grouping
diff --git a/full/coupler_main.F90 b/full/coupler_main.F90
index ffd4f738..9f362a7e 100644
--- a/full/coupler_main.F90
+++ b/full/coupler_main.F90
@@ -336,6 +336,10 @@ program coupler_main
   use FMS
   use full_coupler_mod
 
+#ifdef CHEAT_MODE
+  use cheat_mode_mod, only: cheat_mode_invoke
+#endif
+
   implicit none
 
   !> model defined types.
@@ -687,4 +691,10 @@ program coupler_main
 
 !-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+#ifdef CHEAT_MODE
+  if (fms_mpp_pe().eq.fms_mpp_root_pe()) then
+    call cheat_mode_invoke
+  endif
+#endif
+
 end program coupler_main
diff --git a/full/full_coupler_mod.F90 b/full/full_coupler_mod.F90
index 445ef77b..7d7e3258 100644
--- a/full/full_coupler_mod.F90
+++ b/full/full_coupler_mod.F90
@@ -28,6 +28,10 @@ module full_coupler_mod
   use fms_io_mod,              only: fms_io_exit
 #endif
 
+#ifdef CHEAT_MODE
+  use cheat_mode_mod, only: cheat_mode_init, cheat_mode_tarball_exists, cheat_mode_tarball_path
+#endif
+
 ! model interfaces used to couple the component models:
 !               atmosphere, land, ice, and ocean
 !
@@ -1150,6 +1154,19 @@ subroutine coupler_init(Atm, Ocean, Land, Ice, Ocean_state, Atmos_land_boundary,
                        //trim(walldate)//' '//trim(walltime)
     endif
 
+!-----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+#ifdef CHEAT_MODE
+    call cheat_mode_init(date_init(1), date_init(2), date_init(3), date(1), date(2), date(3))
+
+    if (cheat_mode_tarball_exists) then
+      call fms_error_mesg("cheat mode", "Results tarball will be extracted: " // trim(cheat_mode_tarball_path), NOTE)
+      num_cpld_calls = 0
+    else
+      call fms_error_mesg("cheat mode", "Results tarball will be created: " // trim(cheat_mode_tarball_path), NOTE)
+    endif
+#endif
+
   end subroutine coupler_init
 
 !#######################################################################