diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 49f18365f0..5d2afdb4f8 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -49,6 +49,7 @@ packages = ["src/specify_cli"]
 test = [
     "pytest>=7.0",
     "pytest-cov>=4.0",
+    "pytest-xdist>=3.5",
 ]
 
 [tool.pytest.ini_options]
diff --git a/scripts/dev/test.sh b/scripts/dev/test.sh
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ed8fdf43b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/dev/test.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Spec Kit local test wrapper — chunked FIFO dispatch over pytest-xdist.
+#
+# Design (matches the chunked-task / bounded-memory pattern):
+#   * Collect node ids once: `pytest --collect-only -q`.
+#   * Split the collection into fixed-size chunks (default 200 nodes).
+#   * Dispatch chunks sequentially as a FIFO queue; inside each chunk,
+#     pytest-xdist's `--dist=load` hands tests out one at a time to
+#     workers as they finish — natural FIFO progression with bounded
+#     in-flight memory.
+#   * Persist the cursor (next chunk index) to
+#     `.pytest_cache/fast-test-cursor` after every successful chunk so
+#     `--resume` continues exactly where a crash left off.
+#   * `--reset` clears the cursor; `--bench` reports wall-time only.
+#
+# Usage:
+#   scripts/dev/test.sh                          # full suite, chunked
+#   scripts/dev/test.sh --chunk-size 100
+#   scripts/dev/test.sh --resume                 # continue from cursor
+#   scripts/dev/test.sh --reset                  # clear cursor
+#   scripts/dev/test.sh --bench                  # time only, no -v
+#   scripts/dev/test.sh -- tests/test_merge.py   # pass-through to pytest
+
+set -euo pipefail
+
+REPO_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")/../.." && pwd)"
+CURSOR_FILE="$REPO_ROOT/.pytest_cache/fast-test-cursor"
+
+CHUNK_SIZE=200
+RESUME=0
+RESET=0
+BENCH=0
+PASSTHROUGH=()
+
+while (( $# )); do
+    case "$1" in
+        --chunk-size) CHUNK_SIZE="$2"; shift 2 ;;
+        --resume)     RESUME=1; shift ;;
+        --reset)      RESET=1;  shift ;;
+        --bench)      BENCH=1;  shift ;;
+        --)           shift; PASSTHROUGH+=("$@"); break ;;
+        -h|--help)    sed -n '2,22p' "$0"; exit 0 ;;
+        *)            PASSTHROUGH+=("$1"); shift ;;
+    esac
+done
+
+if (( RESET )); then
+    rm -f "$CURSOR_FILE"
+    echo "[fast-test] cursor cleared"
+    exit 0
+fi
+
+cd "$REPO_ROOT"
+mkdir -p "$(dirname "$CURSOR_FILE")"
+
+# 1. Collect node ids.
+echo "[fast-test] collecting tests ..."
+COLLECT_ERR="$(mktemp)"
+COLLECT_OUT="$(mktemp)"
+if ! uv run pytest --collect-only -qq "${PASSTHROUGH[@]}" >"$COLLECT_OUT" 2>"$COLLECT_ERR"; then
+    echo "[fast-test] test collection failed" >&2
+    [[ -s "$COLLECT_ERR" ]] && { echo "--- collection stderr ---"; cat "$COLLECT_ERR"; } >&2
+    rm -f "$COLLECT_ERR" "$COLLECT_OUT"
+    exit 1
+fi
+mapfile -t NODES < <(grep -E '::' "$COLLECT_OUT" || true)
+rm -f "$COLLECT_ERR" "$COLLECT_OUT"
+TOTAL="${#NODES[@]}"
+if (( TOTAL == 0 )); then
+    echo "[fast-test] no tests collected" >&2
+    exit 1
+fi
+
+# 2. Determine starting cursor.
+START=0
+if (( RESUME )) && [[ -f "$CURSOR_FILE" ]]; then
+    START="$(cat "$CURSOR_FILE")"
+    echo "[fast-test] resuming from next test index: $START"
+fi
+
+CHUNKS=$(( (TOTAL - START + CHUNK_SIZE - 1) / CHUNK_SIZE ))
+echo "[fast-test] $TOTAL tests · chunk=$CHUNK_SIZE · $CHUNKS chunk(s) queued · workers=auto"
+
+# 3. FIFO dispatch.
+T_START=$(date +%s)
+i="$START"
+chunk_idx=0
+while (( i < TOTAL )); do
+    end=$(( i + CHUNK_SIZE ))
+    (( end > TOTAL )) && end="$TOTAL"
+    chunk_idx=$(( chunk_idx + 1 ))
+    echo "[fast-test] chunk $chunk_idx/$CHUNKS  tests $((i+1))..$end"
+
+    PYTEST_FLAGS=(-n auto --dist=load)
+    (( BENCH )) && PYTEST_FLAGS+=(-q) || PYTEST_FLAGS+=(--no-header -q)
+
+    if ! uv run pytest "${PYTEST_FLAGS[@]}" "${NODES[@]:i:CHUNK_SIZE}"; then
+        echo "[fast-test] chunk failed — cursor preserved at next test index $i (use --resume to retry)"
+        echo "$i" > "$CURSOR_FILE"
+        exit 1
+    fi
+
+    i="$end"
+    echo "$i" > "$CURSOR_FILE"
+done
+
+T_END=$(date +%s)
+rm -f "$CURSOR_FILE"
+echo "[fast-test] all $TOTAL tests passed in $((T_END - T_START))s"