diff --git a/apps/repl/app/components/compiler.gts b/apps/repl/app/components/compiler.gts
index 21db71e4c..e90962935 100644
--- a/apps/repl/app/components/compiler.gts
+++ b/apps/repl/app/components/compiler.gts
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ interface Signature {
 
 export default class Compiler extends Component<Signature> {
   <template>
-    {{#let (Compiled this.editor.text this.format this.flavor) as |compiled|}}
+    {{#let (Compiled this.editor.renderInput.text this.format this.flavor) as |compiled|}}
       {{yield compiled}}
     {{/let}}
   </template>
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ export default class Compiler extends Component<Signature> {
   @service declare editor: EditorService;
 
   get formatQP() {
-    return this.editor.format;
+    return this.editor.renderInput.format;
   }
 
   get formatQPParts() {
diff --git a/apps/repl/app/controllers/application.ts b/apps/repl/app/controllers/application.ts
index 49334bc1b..4030bec3e 100644
--- a/apps/repl/app/controllers/application.ts
+++ b/apps/repl/app/controllers/application.ts
@@ -72,6 +72,10 @@ export default class ApplicationController extends Controller {
     // or force it to not be rendered in to a shadow-dom if falsey value is passed
     'shadowdom',
 
+    // When falsey ("off"), the output only compiles when the "Render" button is clicked,
+    // instead of on every edit.
+    'autorender',
+
     // Disable shiki highlighting on page load
     // this is primarily an optimization for tests
     'nohighlight',
diff --git a/apps/repl/app/services/editor.ts b/apps/repl/app/services/editor.ts
index 26299ef7e..7e663fb1b 100644
--- a/apps/repl/app/services/editor.ts
+++ b/apps/repl/app/services/editor.ts
@@ -1,14 +1,22 @@
 import { tracked } from '@glimmer/tracking';
+import { registerDestructor } from '@ember/destroyable';
 import Service, { service } from '@ember/service';
 
+import { castToBoolean } from 'ember-primitives/qp';
 import { link } from 'reactiveweb/link';
 
 import { FileURIComponent } from 'limber/utils/editor-text';
 
 import type { DemoEntry } from '../snippets';
+import type Owner from '@ember/owner';
 import type RouterService from '@ember/routing/router-service';
 import type { FormatQP } from '#app/languages.gts';
 
+interface RenderInput {
+  text: EditorService['text'];
+  format: FormatQP;
+}
+
 export default class EditorService extends Service {
   @service declare router: RouterService;
 
@@ -38,6 +46,51 @@ export default class EditorService extends Service {
     return this.fileURIComponent.format;
   }
 
+  /**
+   * The file in the output pane while `?autorender=off` pauses compiling.
+   * Rendering is automatic while this is undefined.
+   *
+   * A getter on the router would compile again on each keystroke,
+   * because every edit writes the URL.
+   */
+  @tracked pausedFile: RenderInput | undefined;
+
+  constructor(owner: Owner) {
+    super(owner);
+
+    this.router.on('routeDidChange', this.#syncAutoRender);
+    registerDestructor(this, () => this.router.off('routeDidChange', this.#syncAutoRender));
+  }
+
+  #syncAutoRender = () => {
+    const value = this.router.currentRoute?.queryParams?.['autorender'];
+    const autoRender = typeof value === 'string' ? castToBoolean(value) : true;
+
+    // Every edit writes the URL, so a new pausedFile here would compile each keystroke.
+    if (autoRender === this.autoRender) return;
+
+    this.pausedFile = autoRender ? undefined : this.#file;
+  };
+
+  get autoRender() {
+    return this.pausedFile === undefined;
+  }
+
+  render = () => {
+    this.pausedFile = this.#file;
+  };
+
+  get #file(): RenderInput {
+    return { text: this.text, format: this.format };
+  }
+
+  /**
+   * The text and format for the output pane.
+   */
+  get renderInput(): RenderInput {
+    return this.pausedFile ?? this.#file;
+  }
+
   get nohighlight() {
     return (this.router.currentRoute?.queryParams ?? {}).nohighlight;
   }
diff --git a/apps/repl/app/templates/edit/layout/controls/auto-render.gts b/apps/repl/app/templates/edit/layout/controls/auto-render.gts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2319f1da3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/repl/app/templates/edit/layout/controls/auto-render.gts
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+import Component from '@glimmer/component';
+import { service } from '@ember/service';
+
+import FaIcon from '@fortawesome/ember-fontawesome/components/fa-icon';
+import { faForwardStep, faPause, faPlay } from '@fortawesome/free-solid-svg-icons';
+
+import { Button } from './button.gts';
+
+import type RouterService from '@ember/routing/router-service';
+import type EditorService from 'limber/services/editor';
+
+export class AutoRender extends Component {
+  @service declare editor: EditorService;
+  @service declare router: RouterService;
+
+  toggle = () => {
+    const url = new URL(this.router.currentURL ?? '/edit', location.origin);
+
+    if (this.editor.autoRender) {
+      url.searchParams.set('autorender', 'off');
+    } else {
+      url.searchParams.delete('autorender');
+    }
+
+    this.router.replaceWith(url.pathname + url.search);
+  };
+
+  <template>
+    <Button
+      title={{if this.editor.autoRender "Pause automatic rendering" "Resume automatic rendering"}}
+      data-test-auto-render
+      {{on "click" this.toggle}}
+    >
+      {{#if this.editor.autoRender}}
+        <FaIcon @icon={{faPause}} />
+      {{else}}
+        <FaIcon @icon={{faPlay}} />
+      {{/if}}
+    </Button>
+    {{#unless this.editor.autoRender}}
+      <Button title="Render" data-test-render {{on "click" this.editor.render}}>
+        <FaIcon @icon={{faForwardStep}} />
+      </Button>
+    {{/unless}}
+  </template>
+}
diff --git a/apps/repl/app/templates/edit/layout/controls/index.gts b/apps/repl/app/templates/edit/layout/controls/index.gts
index 031103c26..d4c5e45f1 100644
--- a/apps/repl/app/templates/edit/layout/controls/index.gts
+++ b/apps/repl/app/templates/edit/layout/controls/index.gts
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import { castToBoolean, qp, withQP } from 'ember-primitives/qp';
 
 import currentURL from 'limber/helpers/current-url';
 
+import { AutoRender } from './auto-render.gts';
 import { Button } from './button.gts';
 import { FormatDocument } from './format-document.gts';
 
@@ -70,6 +71,7 @@ export const Controls: TOC<{
           {{/if}}
         </Button>
         <FormatDocument />
+        <AutoRender />
         <Button
           title="Rotate Editor/Output orientation"
           disabled={{or @isMaximized @isMinimized}}
diff --git a/apps/repl/tests/application/auto-render-test.gts b/apps/repl/tests/application/auto-render-test.gts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6f079bc2f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/repl/tests/application/auto-render-test.gts
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+import { click, currentURL, find, settled, visit } from '@ember/test-helpers';
+import { module, test } from 'qunit';
+
+import LZString from 'lz-string';
+
+import { Output } from '#components/output.gts';
+import { AutoRender } from '#edit/layout/controls/auto-render.gts';
+import { setupApplicationCompilerTest } from '#tests/helpers.ts';
+
+import { getService } from '../helpers';
+import { Page } from './-page';
+
+const { compressToEncodedURIComponent } = LZString;
+
+const toggle = '[data-test-auto-render]';
+const render = '[data-test-render]';
+const out = '[data-test-compiled-output] [data-test-text]';
+
+const doc = (text: string) => `<template><p data-test-text>${text}</p></template>`;
+
+async function type(text: string) {
+  getService('editor').updateText(doc(text));
+  await settled();
+}
+
+module('Editor > Auto render', function (hooks) {
+  setupApplicationCompilerTest(hooks);
+
+  const page = new Page();
+
+  hooks.beforeEach(function () {
+    this.owner.lookup('service:editor').setCodemirrorState = () => {};
+
+    this.owner.register(
+      'template:edit',
+      <template>
+        <AutoRender />
+        <Output @shadow={{false}} />
+      </template>
+    );
+  });
+
+  test('typing re-renders by default', async function (assert) {
+    await page.visitEdit('gjs', doc('one'));
+
+    assert.dom(out).hasText('one');
+    assert.dom(render).doesNotExist();
+
+    await type('two');
+
+    assert.dom(out).hasText('two');
+  });
+
+  test('while paused, typing does not compile until render is clicked', async function (assert) {
+    await page.visitEdit('gjs', doc('one'));
+    await click(toggle);
+
+    assert.true(currentURL().includes('autorender=off'), 'the URL has the paused state');
+
+    const before = find(out);
+
+    await type('two');
+
+    assert.dom(out).hasText('one');
+    assert.strictEqual(find(out), before, 'the output did not compile again');
+    assert.true(currentURL().includes('autorender=off'), 'typing keeps the paused state');
+
+    await click(render);
+
+    assert.dom(out).hasText('two');
+
+    await click(toggle);
+
+    assert.false(currentURL().includes('autorender'), 'the URL no longer has the paused state');
+    assert.dom(render).doesNotExist();
+
+    await type('three');
+
+    assert.dom(out).hasText('three');
+  });
+
+  test('render compiles again when the text did not change', async function (assert) {
+    await page.visitEdit('gjs', doc('one'));
+    await click(toggle);
+
+    const before = find(out);
+
+    await click(render);
+
+    assert.dom(out).hasText('one');
+    assert.notStrictEqual(find(out), before, 'the output compiled again');
+  });
+
+  test('after render is clicked, typing does not compile again', async function (assert) {
+    await page.visitEdit('gjs', doc('one'));
+    await click(toggle);
+    await type('two');
+    await click(render);
+
+    const before = find(out);
+
+    await type('three');
+
+    assert.dom(out).hasText('two');
+    assert.strictEqual(find(out), before, 'the output did not compile again');
+  });
+
+  test('a paused page renders once on load', async function (assert) {
+    await visit(`/edit?format=gjs&autorender=off&c=${compressToEncodedURIComponent(doc('one'))}`);
+
+    assert.dom(out).hasText('one');
+    assert.dom(render).exists();
+
+    await type('two');
+
+    assert.dom(out).hasText('one');
+  });
+
+  test('resuming renders the latest text', async function (assert) {
+    await visit(`/edit?format=gjs&autorender=off&c=${compressToEncodedURIComponent(doc('one'))}`);
+
+    await type('two');
+    await click(toggle);
+
+    assert.dom(out).hasText('two');
+  });
+});