diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 87912df..8fdd19e 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -33,6 +33,8 @@ path = "src/lib.rs"
 default = ["threshold-engine", "qemu-backend", "tui"]
 threshold-engine = []
 qemu-backend = ["dep:rustix", "dep:uuid", "dep:virt"]
+# In-process VM stand-in used by component tests. Not part of a production build.
+fake-backend = []
 # TUI (`iothread-tui` binary), enabled by default.
 tui = ["dep:anyhow", "dep:ratatui", "dep:crossterm"]
 
diff --git a/src/backends/fake/mod.rs b/src/backends/fake/mod.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..da09a81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/backends/fake/mod.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,269 @@
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+// Copyright (c) 2026 Nutanix, Inc.
+//
+// Author: Leonardo Forchini <leonardo.forchini@nutanix.com>
+
+//! File-backed backend for component tests.
+//!
+//! Each VM is one JSON file in `state_dir`. The pytest harness updates that
+//! file; every snapshot re-reads it. `set_thread_count` writes the new count
+//! back and appends the target to `calls.json`. A sibling `.lock` file,
+//! taken with `flock`, serialises those accesses with the harness.
+
+use std::{
+    fs::{self, File, OpenOptions},
+    io::{Error as IoError, Write},
+    sync::Arc,
+};
+
+use async_trait::async_trait;
+use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
+
+use crate::{
+    backends::{Backend, BackendClientError, BackendRegistration},
+    config::ConfigError,
+    instance::{Instance, InstanceClient, InstancePerfSample, ThreadPoolSnapshot},
+    util::Path,
+};
+
+const BACKEND_NAME: &str = "fake";
+
+fn build_fake_backend(dir: &Path) -> Result<Box<dyn Backend>, BackendClientError> {
+    Ok(Box::new(FakeBackend::from_config_dir(dir)?))
+}
+
+#[linkme::distributed_slice(crate::backends::BACKENDS)]
+static FAKE_BACKEND: BackendRegistration = BackendRegistration {
+    name: BACKEND_NAME,
+    build: build_fake_backend,
+};
+
+/// `<backend_config_dir>/fake.json`.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+#[serde(deny_unknown_fields)]
+struct FakeConfig {
+    /// Directory of `<vm-id>.json` files and `calls.json`.
+    state_dir: Path,
+}
+
+impl FakeConfig {
+    /// Read `fake.json` when it exists. An absent file discovers nothing.
+    fn from_dir(dir: &Path) -> Result<Option<Self>, ConfigError> {
+        let path = dir.join("fake.json");
+        if !path.exists() {
+            return Ok(None);
+        }
+
+        let data = fs::read_to_string(&path)?;
+        Ok(Some(serde_json::from_str(&data)?))
+    }
+}
+
+/// One component-test VM, as stored on disk.
+///
+/// Missing fields take [`VmFile::default`]: one thread, one vCPU, and
+/// `managed` so the controller may scale the VM.
+#[derive(Debug, Clone, Serialize, Deserialize)]
+#[serde(deny_unknown_fields, default)]
+struct VmFile {
+    thread_count: u32,
+    vcpu_count: u32,
+    per_thread_util: f64,
+    /// First-snapshot ownership. `true` lets the controller scale the VM.
+    managed: bool,
+    fail_snapshot: bool,
+    read_io_count: u64,
+    write_io_count: u64,
+    other_io_count: u64,
+}
+
+impl Default for VmFile {
+    fn default() -> Self {
+        Self {
+            thread_count: 1,
+            vcpu_count: 1,
+            per_thread_util: 0.0,
+            managed: true,
+            fail_snapshot: false,
+            read_io_count: 0,
+            write_io_count: 0,
+            other_io_count: 0,
+        }
+    }
+}
+
+/// Fleet adapter that discovers JSON VM files.
+pub struct FakeBackend {
+    cfg: Option<FakeConfig>,
+}
+
+impl FakeBackend {
+    /// Build from `<dir>/fake.json`, or an empty inventory when it is absent.
+    pub fn from_config_dir(dir: &Path) -> Result<Self, ConfigError> {
+        Ok(Self {
+            cfg: FakeConfig::from_dir(dir)?,
+        })
+    }
+}
+
+#[async_trait]
+impl Backend for FakeBackend {
+    fn name(&self) -> &'static str {
+        BACKEND_NAME
+    }
+
+    async fn discover(&self) -> Vec<Arc<Instance>> {
+        let Some(cfg) = &self.cfg else {
+            return Vec::new();
+        };
+        discover_vms(&cfg.state_dir)
+    }
+
+    fn watch_paths(&self) -> Vec<Path> {
+        self.cfg
+            .as_ref()
+            .map(|cfg| vec![cfg.state_dir.clone()])
+            .unwrap_or_default()
+    }
+}
+
+/// Load every `<vm-id>.json` file in `state_dir`.
+#[tracing::instrument(skip(state_dir), fields(directory = %state_dir))]
+fn discover_vms(state_dir: &Path) -> Vec<Arc<Instance>> {
+    let entries = fs::read_dir(state_dir).expect("fake backend state directory is not readable");
+    let mut instances = Vec::new();
+    for entry in entries.flatten() {
+        let path = entry.path();
+        if path.extension().and_then(|ext| ext.to_str()) != Some("json") {
+            continue;
+        }
+        let Some(id) = path.file_stem().and_then(|stem| stem.to_str()) else {
+            continue;
+        };
+        let Some(vm) = read_vm(&path, id) else {
+            continue;
+        };
+        let client = FakeClient {
+            vm_path: path.clone(),
+            calls_path: state_dir.join("calls.json"),
+            managed: vm.managed,
+        };
+        instances.push(Arc::new(Instance::new(
+            id.to_string(),
+            Path::new(id),
+            0,
+            client,
+        )));
+    }
+    instances
+}
+
+/// Read one VM file, or log and return `None` when it cannot be parsed.
+#[tracing::instrument(skip(path, id), fields(vm = id))]
+fn read_vm(path: &std::path::Path, id: &str) -> Option<VmFile> {
+    let _guard = LockGuard::acquire(&lock_path_for(path)).ok()?;
+    VmFile::read(path).ok()
+}
+
+/// Per-VM client. Paths are real filesystem paths, not logical `util::Path`s.
+struct FakeClient {
+    vm_path: std::path::PathBuf,
+    calls_path: std::path::PathBuf,
+    managed: bool,
+}
+
+/// `<vm-id>.json` shares `<vm-id>.lock` with the pytest harness.
+fn lock_path_for(vm_path: &std::path::Path) -> std::path::PathBuf {
+    vm_path.with_extension("lock")
+}
+
+/// Exclusive `flock` held until dropped. Matches `fcntl.flock(LOCK_EX)`.
+struct LockGuard {
+    file: File,
+}
+
+impl LockGuard {
+    /// Get the lock on the given file. Blocks until it gets the lock.
+    fn acquire(path: &std::path::Path) -> Result<Self, IoError> {
+        if let Some(parent) = path.parent() {
+            fs::create_dir_all(parent)?;
+        }
+        let file = OpenOptions::new()
+            .create(true)
+            .truncate(false)
+            .read(true)
+            .write(true)
+            .open(path)?;
+        file.lock()?;
+        Ok(Self { file })
+    }
+}
+
+impl Drop for LockGuard {
+    fn drop(&mut self) {
+        let _ = self.file.unlock();
+    }
+}
+
+impl VmFile {
+    fn read(path: &std::path::Path) -> Result<Self, BackendClientError> {
+        let data = fs::read_to_string(path)?;
+        Ok(serde_json::from_str(&data)?)
+    }
+
+    fn write_atomic(path: &std::path::Path, vm: &Self) -> Result<(), BackendClientError> {
+        let tmp = path.with_extension("json.tmp");
+        fs::write(&tmp, serde_json::to_vec_pretty(vm)?)?;
+        fs::rename(&tmp, path)?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+}
+
+#[async_trait]
+impl InstanceClient for FakeClient {
+    async fn set_thread_count(&self, count: u32) -> Result<(), BackendClientError> {
+        let _guard = LockGuard::acquire(&lock_path_for(&self.vm_path))?;
+        let mut vm = VmFile::read(&self.vm_path)?;
+        vm.thread_count = count;
+        VmFile::write_atomic(&self.vm_path, &vm)?;
+        let mut calls = OpenOptions::new()
+            .create(true)
+            .append(true)
+            .open(&self.calls_path)?;
+        let line = serde_json::json!({
+            "vm": self.vm_path.file_stem().and_then(|stem| stem.to_str()).unwrap_or(""),
+            "threads": count,
+        });
+        writeln!(calls, "{line}")?;
+        Ok(())
+    }
+
+    async fn get_thread_pool_snapshot(&self) -> Result<ThreadPoolSnapshot, BackendClientError> {
+        let _guard = LockGuard::acquire(&lock_path_for(&self.vm_path))?;
+        let vm = VmFile::read(&self.vm_path)?;
+        if vm.fail_snapshot {
+            return Err(BackendClientError::InvalidState(format!(
+                "fake snapshot failed for {}",
+                self.vm_path.display()
+            )));
+        }
+        Ok(ThreadPoolSnapshot {
+            thread_count: vm.thread_count,
+            vcpu_count: vm.vcpu_count,
+            perf: Some(InstancePerfSample {
+                read_io_count: vm.read_io_count,
+                write_io_count: vm.write_io_count,
+                other_io_count: vm.other_io_count,
+                read_bytes_total: 0,
+                write_bytes_total: 0,
+            }),
+            per_thread_util: Some(vm.per_thread_util),
+        })
+    }
+
+    fn initial_pool_is_managed(&self, _thread_count: u32, _vcpu_count: u32) -> bool {
+        self.managed
+    }
+
+    async fn close(&self) {}
+}
diff --git a/src/backends/mod.rs b/src/backends/mod.rs
index c63f6fc..07c40b8 100644
--- a/src/backends/mod.rs
+++ b/src/backends/mod.rs
@@ -142,6 +142,8 @@ fn is_peer_disconnect_kind(kind: ErrorKind) -> bool {
 
 use std::{io, sync::Arc};
 
+#[cfg(feature = "fake-backend")]
+pub mod fake;
 #[cfg(feature = "qemu-backend")]
 pub mod qemu;