diff --git a/backends/native/tools/BUCK b/backends/native/tools/BUCK
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..0ab35888218
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backends/native/tools/BUCK
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+load("@fbcode_macros//build_defs:build_file_migration.bzl", "fbcode_target", "non_fbcode_target")
+load(":targets.bzl", "define_common_targets")
+
+oncall("executorch")
+
+# Any targets that should be shared between fbcode and xplat must be defined in
+# targets.bzl. This file can contain cell-only targets.
+
+non_fbcode_target(_kind = define_common_targets)
+
+fbcode_target(_kind = define_common_targets)
diff --git a/backends/native/tools/native_executor.cpp b/backends/native/tools/native_executor.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1188d616b94
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backends/native/tools/native_executor.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+// Copyright (c) Meta Platforms, Inc. and affiliates.
+// All rights reserved.
+//
+// This source code is licensed under the BSD-style license found in the
+// LICENSE file in the root directory of this source tree.
+
+// native_executor: a standalone harness for native-runtime graphs.
+//
+// Scope today: load a serialized native graph (*.nptg) and its optional
+// out-of-line constant file into memory, and report what was loaded. This is
+// the seed of a central tool that will grow load / inspect / benchmark /
+// validate / profile subcommands. It has no ExecuTorch or torch dependency;
+// until the C++ program reader lands it treats both files as raw bytes.
+
+#include <cstdint>
+#include <cstdio>
+#include <cstring>
+#include <fstream>
+#include <optional>
+#include <string>
+#include <vector>
+
+#include <gflags/gflags.h>
+
+DEFINE_string(program, "", "Path to the *.nptg to load. Required.");
+DEFINE_string(constants, "", "Path to the out-of-line constant file.");
+
+namespace {
+
+// FlatBuffer file_identifier for a native Program, at byte offset 4 (see
+// native_graph.fbs: file_identifier "NPTG").
+constexpr char kProgramMagic[4] = {'N', 'P', 'T', 'G'};
+constexpr size_t kMagicOffset = 4;
+
+// Read an entire file into a byte buffer; nullopt (with a message) on failure.
+std::optional<std::vector<uint8_t>> read_file(const std::string& path) {
+  std::ifstream f(path, std::ios::binary | std::ios::ate);
+  if (!f) {
+    std::fprintf(stderr, "error: cannot open %s\n", path.c_str());
+    return std::nullopt;
+  }
+  const std::streamsize size = f.tellg();
+  if (size < 0) {
+    std::fprintf(stderr, "error: cannot size %s\n", path.c_str());
+    return std::nullopt;
+  }
+  f.seekg(0, std::ios::beg);
+  std::vector<uint8_t> buf(static_cast<size_t>(size));
+  if (size > 0 && !f.read(reinterpret_cast<char*>(buf.data()), size)) {
+    std::fprintf(stderr, "error: cannot read %s\n", path.c_str());
+    return std::nullopt;
+  }
+  return buf;
+}
+
+bool has_program_magic(const std::vector<uint8_t>& buf) {
+  if (buf.size() < kMagicOffset + sizeof(kProgramMagic)) {
+    return false;
+  }
+  return std::memcmp(
+             buf.data() + kMagicOffset, kProgramMagic, sizeof(kProgramMagic)) ==
+      0;
+}
+
+} // namespace
+
+int main(int argc, char** argv) {
+  gflags::SetUsageMessage(
+      "Load a serialized native graph and report what it holds.");
+  gflags::ParseCommandLineFlags(&argc, &argv, true);
+  if (FLAGS_program.empty()) {
+    std::fprintf(stderr, "error: --program is required\n");
+    return 1;
+  }
+
+  const std::optional<std::vector<uint8_t>> program = read_file(FLAGS_program);
+  if (!program) {
+    return 1;
+  }
+  const bool magic_ok = has_program_magic(*program);
+  std::printf("program:   %s\n", FLAGS_program.c_str());
+  std::printf("  bytes:   %zu\n", program->size());
+  std::printf(
+      "  magic:   %s (expect 'NPTG' at offset 4)\n",
+      magic_ok ? "NPTG ok" : "MISSING/BAD");
+
+  if (!FLAGS_constants.empty()) {
+    const std::optional<std::vector<uint8_t>> constants =
+        read_file(FLAGS_constants);
+    if (!constants) {
+      return 1;
+    }
+    std::printf("constants: %s\n", FLAGS_constants.c_str());
+    std::printf("  bytes:   %zu\n", constants->size());
+    std::printf(
+        "  note:    opaque bytes only (torch pickle; not parsed in "
+        "standalone C++)\n");
+  }
+
+  if (!magic_ok) {
+    std::fprintf(
+        stderr, "error: program is not a native graph (bad NPTG magic)\n");
+    return 2;
+  }
+  std::printf("ok: loaded into memory\n");
+  return 0;
+}
diff --git a/backends/native/tools/targets.bzl b/backends/native/tools/targets.bzl
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..211e474f9b4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backends/native/tools/targets.bzl
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+load("@fbsource//xplat/executorch/build:runtime_wrapper.bzl", "runtime")
+
+def define_common_targets():
+    runtime.cxx_binary(
+        name = "native_executor",
+        srcs = ["native_executor.cpp"],
+        external_deps = ["gflags"],
+        visibility = ["PUBLIC"],
+    )