diff --git a/pw_assert/assert_backend_compile_test.cc b/pw_assert/assert_backend_compile_test.cc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..49666eb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pw_assert/assert_backend_compile_test.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,184 @@
+// Copyright 2020 The Pigweed Authors
+//
+// 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
+//
+//     https://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+//
+// Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+// distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT
+// WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the
+// License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under
+// the License.
+
+// This series of "tests" is more a compile test to verify that the assert
+// backend is able to compile the constructs promised by the assert facade.
+// Truly testing the backend in a general way from the facade is impossible
+// since the device will go down when an assert triggers, and so that must be
+// handled inside the individual backends.
+//
+// NOTE: While these tests are not intended to run, it *is* possible to run
+// them with the assert_basic backend, in a special mode where the assert
+// statements fall through instead of aborting.
+//
+// To run these "tests" for pw_assert_basic, you must modify two things:
+//
+//   (1) Set DISABLE_ASSERT_TEST_EXECUTION 0 in assert_backend_compile_test.cc
+//   (2) Set DISABLE_ASSERT_TEST_EXECUTION 0 in assert_backend_compile_test.c
+//   (3) Set PW_ASSERT_BASIC_DISABLE_NORETURN 1 in assert_basic.h
+//   (4) Compile and run the resulting binary, paying attention to the
+//       displayed error messages. If "FAIL IF DISPLAYED" is printed, the
+//       test has failed. If any "FAIL_IF_HIDDEN" asserts are not displayed,
+//       the test has failed. Obviously manually verifying these is a pain
+//       and so this is not a suitable test for production.
+//
+// TODO(pwbug/88): Add verification of the actually recorded asserts statements.
+
+// clang-format off
+#define PW_ASSERT_USE_SHORT_NAMES 1
+#include "pw_assert/assert.h"
+// clang-format on
+
+#include "gtest/gtest.h"
+
+// This is a global constant to feed into the formatter for tests.
+// Intended to pair with FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED_ARGS or FAIL_IF_HIDDEN_ARGS.
+static const int z = 10;
+
+// At some point in the future when there is a proper test system in place for
+// crashing, the below strings can help indicate pass/fail for a check.
+
+#define FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED "FAIL IF DISPLAYED"
+#define FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED_ARGS "FAIL IF DISPLAYED: %d"
+
+#define FAIL_IF_HIDDEN "FAIL IF HIDDEN"
+#define FAIL_IF_HIDDEN_ARGS "FAIL IF HIDDEN: %d"
+
+// This switch exists to support compiling and/or running the tests.
+#define DISABLE_ASSERT_TEST_EXECUTION 1
+#if DISABLE_ASSERT_TEST_EXECUTION
+#define MAYBE_SKIP_TEST return
+#else
+#define MAYBE_SKIP_TEST ;
+#endif
+
+namespace {
+
+TEST(Crash, WithAndWithoutMessageArguments) {
+  MAYBE_SKIP_TEST;
+  PW_CRASH(FAIL_IF_HIDDEN);
+  PW_CRASH(FAIL_IF_HIDDEN_ARGS, z);
+}
+
+TEST(Check, NoMessage) {
+  MAYBE_SKIP_TEST;
+  PW_CHECK(true);
+  PW_CHECK(false);
+}
+
+TEST(Check, WithMessageAndArgs) {
+  MAYBE_SKIP_TEST;
+  PW_CHECK(true, FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED);
+  PW_CHECK(true, FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED_ARGS, z);
+
+  PW_CHECK(false, FAIL_IF_HIDDEN);
+  PW_CHECK(false, FAIL_IF_HIDDEN_ARGS, z);
+}
+
+TEST(Check, IntComparison) {
+  MAYBE_SKIP_TEST;
+  int x_int = 50;
+  int y_int = 66;
+
+  PW_CHECK_INT_LE(x_int, y_int);
+  PW_CHECK_INT_LE(x_int, y_int, "INT: " FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED);
+  PW_CHECK_INT_LE(x_int, y_int, "INT: " FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED_ARGS, z);
+
+  PW_CHECK_INT_GE(x_int, y_int);
+  PW_CHECK_INT_GE(x_int, y_int, "INT: " FAIL_IF_HIDDEN);
+  PW_CHECK_INT_GE(x_int, y_int, "INT: " FAIL_IF_HIDDEN_ARGS, z);
+}
+
+TEST(Check, UintComparison) {
+  MAYBE_SKIP_TEST;
+  unsigned int x_uint = 50;
+  unsigned int y_uint = 66;
+
+  PW_CHECK_UINT_LE(x_uint, y_uint);
+  PW_CHECK_UINT_LE(x_uint, y_uint, "UINT: " FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED);
+  PW_CHECK_UINT_LE(x_uint, y_uint, "UINT: " FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED_ARGS, z);
+
+  PW_CHECK_UINT_GE(x_uint, y_uint);
+  PW_CHECK_UINT_GE(x_uint, y_uint, "UINT: " FAIL_IF_HIDDEN);
+  PW_CHECK_UINT_GE(x_uint, y_uint, "UINT: " FAIL_IF_HIDDEN_ARGS, z);
+}
+
+TEST(Check, FloatComparison) {
+  MAYBE_SKIP_TEST;
+  float x_float = 50.5;
+  float y_float = 66.5;
+
+  PW_CHECK_FLOAT_LE(x_float, y_float);
+  PW_CHECK_FLOAT_LE(x_float, y_float, "FLOAT: " FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED);
+  PW_CHECK_FLOAT_LE(x_float, y_float, "FLOAT: " FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED_ARGS, z);
+
+  PW_CHECK_FLOAT_GE(x_float, y_float);
+  PW_CHECK_FLOAT_GE(x_float, y_float, "FLOAT: " FAIL_IF_HIDDEN);
+  PW_CHECK_FLOAT_GE(x_float, y_float, "FLOAT: " FAIL_IF_HIDDEN_ARGS, z);
+}
+
+static int Add3(int a, int b, int c) { return a + b + c; }
+
+TEST(Check, ComparisonArgumentsWithCommas) {
+  MAYBE_SKIP_TEST;
+  int x_int = 50;
+  int y_int = 66;
+
+  PW_CHECK_INT_LE(Add3(1, 2, 3), y_int);
+  PW_CHECK_INT_LE(x_int, Add3(1, 2, 3));
+
+  PW_CHECK_INT_LE(Add3(1, 2, 3), y_int, FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED);
+  PW_CHECK_INT_LE(x_int, Add3(1, 2, 3), FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED_ARGS, z);
+
+  PW_CHECK_INT_LE(Add3(1, 2, 3), Add3(1, 2, 3), "INT: " FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED);
+  PW_CHECK_INT_LE(x_int, y_int, "INT: " FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED_ARGS, z);
+}
+
+// Note: This requires enabling PW_ASSERT_USE_SHORT_NAMES 1 above.
+TEST(Check, ShortNamesWork) {
+  MAYBE_SKIP_TEST;
+
+  // Crash
+  CRASH(FAIL_IF_HIDDEN);
+  CRASH(FAIL_IF_HIDDEN_ARGS, z);
+
+  // Check
+  CHECK(true, FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED);
+  CHECK(true, FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED_ARGS, z);
+  CHECK(false, FAIL_IF_HIDDEN);
+  CHECK(false, FAIL_IF_HIDDEN_ARGS, z);
+
+  // Check with binary comparison
+  int x_int = 50;
+  int y_int = 66;
+
+  CHECK_INT_LE(Add3(1, 2, 3), y_int);
+  CHECK_INT_LE(x_int, Add3(1, 2, 3));
+
+  CHECK_INT_LE(Add3(1, 2, 3), y_int, FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED);
+  CHECK_INT_LE(x_int, Add3(1, 2, 3), FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED_ARGS, z);
+
+  CHECK_INT_LE(Add3(1, 2, 3), Add3(1, 2, 3), "INT: " FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED);
+  CHECK_INT_LE(x_int, y_int, "INT: " FAIL_IF_DISPLAYED_ARGS, z);
+}
+
+// These are defined in assert_test.c, to test C compatibility.
+extern "C" void AssertBackendCompileTestsInC();
+
+TEST(Check, AssertBackendCompileTestsInC) {
+  MAYBE_SKIP_TEST;
+  AssertBackendCompileTestsInC();
+}
+
+}  // namespace