diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 86787b8f6a..10b6f26b29 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -850,6 +850,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
  "serde_with",
+ "utils",
  "workspace_hack",
 ]
 
diff --git a/compute_tools/src/compute.rs b/compute_tools/src/compute.rs
index 6ddfcf86c2..2204d620a3 100644
--- a/compute_tools/src/compute.rs
+++ b/compute_tools/src/compute.rs
@@ -256,26 +256,36 @@ impl ComputeNode {
         self.create_pgdata()?;
         config::write_postgres_conf(&pgdata_path.join("postgresql.conf"), &pspec.spec)?;
 
-        info!("starting safekeepers syncing");
-        let lsn = self
-            .sync_safekeepers(pspec.storage_auth_token.clone())
-            .with_context(|| "failed to sync safekeepers")?;
-        info!("safekeepers synced at LSN {}", lsn);
+        let start_lsn = if let Some(lsn) = pspec.spec.start_lsn {
+            lsn
+        } else {
+            info!("starting safekeepers syncing");
+            let last_lsn = self
+                .sync_safekeepers(pspec.storage_auth_token.clone())
+                .with_context(|| "failed to sync safekeepers")?;
+            info!("safekeepers synced at LSN {}", last_lsn);
+            last_lsn
+        };
 
         info!(
             "getting basebackup@{} from pageserver {}",
-            lsn, &pspec.pageserver_connstr
+            start_lsn, &pspec.pageserver_connstr
         );
-        self.get_basebackup(compute_state, lsn).with_context(|| {
-            format!(
-                "failed to get basebackup@{} from pageserver {}",
-                lsn, &pspec.pageserver_connstr
-            )
-        })?;
+        self.get_basebackup(compute_state, start_lsn)
+            .with_context(|| {
+                format!(
+                    "failed to get basebackup@{} from pageserver {}",
+                    start_lsn, &pspec.pageserver_connstr
+                )
+            })?;
 
         // Update pg_hba.conf received with basebackup.
         update_pg_hba(pgdata_path)?;
 
+        if pspec.spec.standby {
+            std::fs::File::create(pgdata_path.join("standby.signal"))?;
+        }
+
         Ok(())
     }
 
@@ -416,7 +426,9 @@ impl ComputeNode {
 
         let pg = self.start_postgres(spec.storage_auth_token.clone())?;
 
-        self.apply_config(&compute_state)?;
+        if !spec.spec.standby {
+            self.apply_config(&compute_state)?;
+        }
 
         let startup_end_time = Utc::now();
         {
diff --git a/libs/compute_api/Cargo.toml b/libs/compute_api/Cargo.toml
index 533a091207..428d031a93 100644
--- a/libs/compute_api/Cargo.toml
+++ b/libs/compute_api/Cargo.toml
@@ -11,4 +11,5 @@ serde.workspace = true
 serde_with.workspace = true
 serde_json.workspace = true
 
+utils = { path = "../utils" }
 workspace_hack.workspace = true
diff --git a/libs/compute_api/src/spec.rs b/libs/compute_api/src/spec.rs
index f771910329..a38a625d75 100644
--- a/libs/compute_api/src/spec.rs
+++ b/libs/compute_api/src/spec.rs
@@ -4,7 +4,9 @@
 //! all the information needed to start up the right version of PostgreSQL,
 //! and connect it to the storage nodes.
 use serde::Deserialize;
+use serde_with::{serde_as, DisplayFromStr};
 use std::collections::HashMap;
+use utils::lsn::Lsn;
 
 /// String type alias representing Postgres identifier and
 /// intended to be used for DB / role names.
@@ -12,6 +14,7 @@ pub type PgIdent = String;
 
 /// Cluster spec or configuration represented as an optional number of
 /// delta operations + final cluster state description.
+#[serde_as]
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, Default, Deserialize)]
 pub struct ComputeSpec {
     pub format_version: f32,
@@ -24,6 +27,17 @@ pub struct ComputeSpec {
     pub cluster: Cluster,
     pub delta_operations: Option<Vec<DeltaOp>>,
 
+    // If 'lsn' is set, start the compute at the given LSN.
+    // If 'lsn' is not set, compute_ctl performs "sync safekeepers" step first,
+    // and uses the last LSN on the timeline as the starting point.
+    #[serde_as(as = "Option<DisplayFromStr>")]
+    pub start_lsn: Option<Lsn>,
+
+    // If standy == true, a standby.signal file is created, putting Postgres
+    // into standby mode.
+    #[serde(default)]
+    pub standby: bool,
+
     pub storage_auth_token: Option<String>,
 
     pub startup_tracing_context: Option<HashMap<String, String>>,