diff --git a/.cargo/config.toml b/.cargo/config.toml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..524a65e38
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.cargo/config.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+[alias]
+xtask = "run --manifest-path=xtask/Cargo.toml --"
diff --git a/.github/workflows/main.yml b/.github/workflows/main.yml
index 269bbbbc9..cb8687839 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/main.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/main.yml
@@ -103,6 +103,9 @@ jobs:
     - name: Rustfmt check
       working-directory: ./mdbook-spec
       run: cargo fmt --check
+    - name: Xtask rustfmt check
+      working-directory: ./xtask
+      run: cargo fmt --check
 
   preview:
     if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
diff --git a/docs/authoring.md b/docs/authoring.md
index 6654af11e..73ca9dbed 100644
--- a/docs/authoring.md
+++ b/docs/authoring.md
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ This document serves as a guide for editors and reviewers. Some conventions and
     ```
 * See the [Conventions] section for formatting callouts such as notes, edition differences, and warnings.
 
-There are automated checks for some of these rules. Run `cargo run --manifest-path style-check/Cargo.toml -- src` to run them locally.
+There are automated checks for some of these rules. Run `cargo xtask style-check` to run them locally.
 
 [atx]: https://spec.commonmark.org/0.31.2/#atx-headings
 [conventions]: ../src/introduction.md#conventions
@@ -58,6 +58,16 @@ See the [rustdoc documentation] for more detail.
 
 [rustdoc documentation]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/rustdoc/documentation-tests.html
 
+You can verify the samples pass by running `mdbook test`.
+
+### Linkcheck
+
+To verify that links are not broken, run `cargo xtask linkcheck`.
+
+### Running all tests
+
+As a last step before opening a PR, it is recommended to run `cargo xtask test-all`. This will go through and run most of the tests that are required for CI to pass. See `xtask/src/main.rs` for what all this does.
+
 ## Special markdown constructs
 
 The following are extensions provided by [`mdbook-spec`](https://github.com/rust-lang/spec/tree/main/mdbook-spec).
diff --git a/xtask/.gitignore b/xtask/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ea8c4bf7f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/xtask/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+/target
diff --git a/xtask/Cargo.lock b/xtask/Cargo.lock
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..249bf303d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/xtask/Cargo.lock
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+# This file is automatically @generated by Cargo.
+# It is not intended for manual editing.
+version = 4
+
+[[package]]
+name = "xtask"
+version = "0.0.0"
diff --git a/xtask/Cargo.toml b/xtask/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ccade17e4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/xtask/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+[package]
+name = "xtask"
+edition = "2024"
+
+[dependencies]
diff --git a/xtask/src/main.rs b/xtask/src/main.rs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e4a216cbc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/xtask/src/main.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,106 @@
+use std::error::Error;
+use std::process::Command;
+use std::process::exit;
+
+type Result<T> = std::result::Result<T, Box<dyn Error>>;
+
+fn main() -> Result<()> {
+    let mut args = std::env::args().skip(1);
+    let cmd = args.next();
+    const OPTIONS: &str = "linkcheck, style-check, test-all";
+    match cmd.as_deref() {
+        Some("test-all") => {
+            mdbook_test()?;
+            style_check()?;
+            fmt()?;
+            linkcheck(args)?;
+            cargo_test()?;
+            eprintln!("all tests passed!");
+        }
+        Some("linkcheck") => linkcheck(args)?,
+        Some("style-check") => style_check()?,
+        Some("-h" | "--help") => eprintln!("valid options: {OPTIONS}"),
+        Some(x) => {
+            eprintln!("error: unknown command `{x}` (valid options: {OPTIONS})");
+            exit(1);
+        }
+        None => {
+            eprintln!("error: specify a command (valid options: {OPTIONS})");
+            exit(1);
+        }
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn mdbook_test() -> Result<()> {
+    eprintln!("Testing inline code tests...");
+    let status = Command::new("mdbook")
+        .arg("test")
+        .status()
+        .expect("mdbook should be installed");
+    if !status.success() {
+        return Err("inline code tests failed".into());
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn style_check() -> Result<()> {
+    eprintln!("Running style checks...");
+    let status = Command::new("cargo")
+        .args(["run", "--manifest-path=style-check/Cargo.toml", "--", "src"])
+        .status()
+        .expect("cargo should be installed");
+    if !status.success() {
+        return Err("style check failed".into());
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn fmt() -> Result<()> {
+    eprintln!("Checking code formatting...");
+    for dir in ["style-check", "mdbook-spec", "xtask"] {
+        let status = Command::new("cargo")
+            .args(["fmt", "--check"])
+            .current_dir(dir)
+            .status()
+            .expect("cargo should be installed");
+        if !status.success() {
+            return Err(format!("fmt check failed for {dir}").into());
+        }
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn cargo_test() -> Result<()> {
+    eprintln!("Running cargo tests...");
+    let status = Command::new("cargo")
+        .arg("test")
+        .current_dir("mdbook-spec")
+        .status()
+        .expect("cargo should be installed");
+    if !status.success() {
+        return Err("mdbook-spec test failed".into());
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
+fn linkcheck(args: impl Iterator<Item = String>) -> Result<()> {
+    eprintln!("Running linkcheck...");
+    let status = Command::new("curl")
+        .args(["-sSLo", "linkcheck.sh", "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rust-lang/rust/master/src/tools/linkchecker/linkcheck.sh"])
+        .status()
+        .expect("curl should be installed");
+    if !status.success() {
+        return Err("failed to fetch script from GitHub".into());
+    }
+
+    let status = Command::new("sh")
+        .args(["linkcheck.sh", "--all", "reference"])
+        .args(args)
+        .status()
+        .expect("sh should be installed");
+    if !status.success() {
+        return Err("linkcheck failed".into());
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}