diff --git a/tests/src/args.rs b/tests/src/args.rs
index 786733cce..e94986ced 100644
--- a/tests/src/args.rs
+++ b/tests/src/args.rs
@@ -43,7 +43,9 @@ pub struct CliArguments {
     /// Runs SVG export.
     #[arg(long)]
     pub svg: bool,
-    /// Displays the syntax tree.
+    /// Displays the syntax tree before running tests.
+    ///
+    /// Note: This is ignored if using '--syntax-compare'.
     #[arg(long)]
     pub syntax: bool,
     /// Displays only one line per test, hiding details about failures.
@@ -55,6 +57,25 @@ pub struct CliArguments {
     /// How many threads to spawn when running the tests.
     #[arg(short = 'j', long)]
     pub num_threads: Option<usize>,
+    /// Changes testing behavior for debugging the parser: With no argument,
+    /// outputs the concrete syntax trees of tests as files in
+    /// 'tests/store/syntax/'. With a directory as argument, will treat it as a
+    /// reference of correct syntax tree files and will print which output
+    /// syntax trees differ (viewing the diffs is on you).
+    ///
+    /// This overrides the normal testing system. It parses, but does not run
+    /// the test suite.
+    ///
+    /// You can generate a correct reference directory by running on a known
+    /// good commit and copying the generated outputs to a new directory.
+    /// `_things` may be a good location as it is in the top-level gitignore.
+    ///
+    /// You can view diffs in VS Code with: `code --diff <ref_dir>/<test>.syntax
+    /// tests/store/syntax/<test>.syntax`
+    #[arg(long)]
+    pub parser_compare: Option<Option<PathBuf>>,
+    // ^ I'm not using a subcommand here because then test patterns don't parse
+    // how you would expect and I'm too lazy to try to fix it.
 }
 
 impl CliArguments {
diff --git a/tests/src/tests.rs b/tests/src/tests.rs
index 940c9e3c4..eb2cfd796 100644
--- a/tests/src/tests.rs
+++ b/tests/src/tests.rs
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ mod logger;
 mod run;
 mod world;
 
-use std::path::Path;
+use std::path::{Path, PathBuf};
 use std::sync::LazyLock;
 use std::time::Duration;
 
@@ -16,7 +16,9 @@ use parking_lot::Mutex;
 use rayon::iter::{ParallelBridge, ParallelIterator};
 
 use crate::args::{CliArguments, Command};
+use crate::collect::Test;
 use crate::logger::Logger;
+use crate::run::TestResult;
 
 /// The parsed command line arguments.
 static ARGS: LazyLock<CliArguments> = LazyLock::new(CliArguments::parse);
@@ -27,6 +29,9 @@ const SUITE_PATH: &str = "tests/suite";
 /// The directory where the full test results are stored.
 const STORE_PATH: &str = "tests/store";
 
+/// The directory where syntax trees are stored.
+const SYNTAX_PATH: &str = "tests/store/syntax";
+
 /// The directory where the reference images are stored.
 const REF_PATH: &str = "tests/ref";
 
@@ -89,6 +94,16 @@ fn test() {
         return;
     }
 
+    let parser_dirs = ARGS.parser_compare.clone().map(create_syntax_store);
+
+    let runner = |test: &Test| {
+        if let Some((live_path, ref_path)) = &parser_dirs {
+            run_parser_test(test, live_path, ref_path)
+        } else {
+            run::run(test)
+        }
+    };
+
     // Run the tests.
     let logger = Mutex::new(Logger::new(selected, skipped));
     std::thread::scope(|scope| {
@@ -112,7 +127,7 @@ fn test() {
         // to `typst::utils::Deferred` yielding.
         tests.iter().par_bridge().for_each(|test| {
             logger.lock().start(test);
-            let result = std::panic::catch_unwind(|| run::run(test));
+            let result = std::panic::catch_unwind(|| runner(test));
             logger.lock().end(test, result);
         });
 
@@ -142,3 +157,46 @@ fn undangle() {
         }
     }
 }
+
+fn create_syntax_store(ref_path: Option<PathBuf>) -> (&'static Path, Option<PathBuf>) {
+    if ref_path.as_ref().is_some_and(|p| !p.exists()) {
+        eprintln!("syntax reference path doesn't exist");
+        std::process::exit(1);
+    }
+
+    let live_path = Path::new(SYNTAX_PATH);
+    std::fs::remove_dir_all(live_path).ok();
+    std::fs::create_dir_all(live_path).unwrap();
+    (live_path, ref_path)
+}
+
+fn run_parser_test(
+    test: &Test,
+    live_path: &Path,
+    ref_path: &Option<PathBuf>,
+) -> TestResult {
+    let mut result = TestResult {
+        errors: String::new(),
+        infos: String::new(),
+        mismatched_image: false,
+    };
+
+    let syntax_file = live_path.join(format!("{}.syntax", test.name));
+    let tree = format!("{:#?}\n", test.source.root());
+    std::fs::write(syntax_file, &tree).unwrap();
+
+    let Some(ref_path) = ref_path else { return result };
+    let ref_file = ref_path.join(format!("{}.syntax", test.name));
+    match std::fs::read_to_string(&ref_file) {
+        Ok(ref_tree) => {
+            if tree != ref_tree {
+                result.errors = "differs".to_string();
+            }
+        }
+        Err(_) => {
+            result.errors = format!("missing reference: {}", ref_file.display());
+        }
+    }
+
+    result
+}