diff --git a/docs/changelog.md b/docs/changelog.md
index a1d7a617..5ec6a914 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.md
+++ b/docs/changelog.md
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+- Add command-line option `-c`/`--code` to typecheck code from
+  the command line (#685)
 - Add a `pyanalyze.extensions.EnumName` predicate and infer it
   as the value for the `.name` attribute on enums. Also fix
   type inference for enum "properties" on Python 3.11 and up. (#682)
diff --git a/pyanalyze/name_check_visitor.py b/pyanalyze/name_check_visitor.py
index cfc55a94..36920769 100644
--- a/pyanalyze/name_check_visitor.py
+++ b/pyanalyze/name_check_visitor.py
@@ -1104,6 +1104,7 @@ def __init__(
         annotate: bool = False,
         add_ignores: bool = False,
         checker: Checker,
+        is_code_only: bool = False,
     ) -> None:
         super().__init__(
             filename,
@@ -1113,6 +1114,7 @@ def __init__(
             fail_after_first=fail_after_first,
             verbosity=verbosity,
             add_ignores=add_ignores,
+            is_code_only=is_code_only,
         )
         self.checker = checker
 
@@ -1250,6 +1252,26 @@ def _load_module(self) -> Tuple[Optional[types.ModuleType], bool]:
         if not self.filename:
             return None, False
         self.log(logging.INFO, "Checking file", (self.filename, os.getpid()))
+        if self.is_code_only:
+            mod_dict = {}
+            try:
+                exec(self.contents, mod_dict)
+            except KeyboardInterrupt:
+                raise
+            except BaseException as e:
+                if self.tree is not None and self.tree.body:
+                    node = self.tree.body[0]
+                else:
+                    node = None
+                self.show_error(
+                    node,
+                    f"Failed to execute code due to {e!r}",
+                    error_code=ErrorCode.import_failed,
+                )
+                return None, False
+            mod = types.ModuleType(self.filename)
+            mod.__dict__.update(mod_dict)
+            return mod, False
         import_paths = self.options.get_value_for(ImportPaths)
 
         try:
diff --git a/pyanalyze/node_visitor.py b/pyanalyze/node_visitor.py
index 0f3545e8..837b8056 100644
--- a/pyanalyze/node_visitor.py
+++ b/pyanalyze/node_visitor.py
@@ -176,6 +176,7 @@ class BaseNodeVisitor(ast.NodeVisitor):
 
     tree: ast.Module
     all_failures: List[Failure]
+    is_code_only: bool
 
     def __init__(
         self,
@@ -187,6 +188,7 @@ def __init__(
         verbosity: int = logging.CRITICAL,
         collect_failures: bool = False,
         add_ignores: bool = False,
+        is_code_only: bool = False,
     ) -> None:
         """Constructor.
 
@@ -212,6 +214,7 @@ def __init__(
         self.seen_errors = set()  # of (node, error_code) pairs
         self.add_ignores = add_ignores
         self.caught_errors = None
+        self.is_code_only = is_code_only
 
     def check(self) -> List[Failure]:
         """Runs the class's checks on a tree."""
@@ -732,14 +735,32 @@ def _run(
 
     @classmethod
     def _run_on_files_or_all(
-        cls, files: Optional[Sequence[str]] = None, **kwargs: Any
+        cls,
+        files: Optional[Sequence[str]] = None,
+        code: Optional[str] = None,
+        **kwargs: Any,
     ) -> List[Failure]:
+        if code is not None:
+            return cls._run_on_code(code, **kwargs)
         files = files or cls.get_default_directories(**kwargs)
         if not files:
             return cls.check_all_files(**kwargs)
         else:
             return cls._run_on_files(_get_all_files(files), **kwargs)
 
+    @classmethod
+    def _run_on_code(cls, code: str, **kwargs: Any) -> List[Failure]:
+        try:
+            tree = ast.parse(code)
+        except Exception as e:
+            print(f"Failed to parse code: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
+            sys.exit(1)
+        kwargs.pop("parallel", False)
+        kwargs.pop("find_unused", False)
+        kwargs.pop("find_unused_attributes", False)
+        kwargs.pop("assert_passes", False)
+        return cls("<code>", code, tree, is_code_only=True, **kwargs).check()
+
     @classmethod
     def _run_on_files(cls, files: Iterable[str], **kwargs: Any) -> List[Failure]:
         all_failures = []
@@ -825,6 +846,14 @@ def _get_argument_parser(cls) -> argparse.ArgumentParser:
         parser.add_argument(
             "-v", "--verbose", help="Print more information.", action="count"
         )
+        parser.add_argument(
+            "-c",
+            "--code",
+            help=(
+                "Typecheck the given string. Note that pyanalyze will execute the code"
+                " before attempting to typecheck it."
+            ),
+        )
         parser.add_argument(
             "-f",
             "--run-fixer",