diff --git a/.github/workflows/default-tests.yml b/.github/workflows/default-tests.yml
index df0dc0bf..5842a940 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/default-tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/default-tests.yml
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ jobs:
     - name: Python ${{ matrix.python-version }}
       shell: bash -l {0}
       run: |
-        conda create --name TEST python=${{ matrix.python-version }} pip "libnetcdf<4.8.0" --file requirements.txt --file test_requirements.txt --strict-channel-priority
+        conda create --name TEST python=${{ matrix.python-version }} pip --file requirements.txt --file test_requirements.txt --strict-channel-priority
         source activate TEST
         pip install -e . --no-deps --force-reinstall
 
diff --git a/compliance_checker/protocols/netcdf.py b/compliance_checker/protocols/netcdf.py
index 65c58748..035f3a0d 100644
--- a/compliance_checker/protocols/netcdf.py
+++ b/compliance_checker/protocols/netcdf.py
@@ -5,6 +5,10 @@
 Functions to assist in determining if the URL points to a netCDF file
 """
 
+import zipfile
+
+from pathlib import Path
+
 import requests
 
 
@@ -22,17 +26,25 @@ def is_netcdf(url):
     if url.endswith("nc"):
         return True
 
-    # Brute force
-    with open(url, "rb") as f:
-        magic_number = f.read(4)
-        if len(magic_number) < 4:
-            return False
-        if is_classic_netcdf(magic_number):
-            return True
-        elif is_hdf5(magic_number):
-            return True
-
+    try:
+        # Brute force
+        with open(url, "rb") as f:
+            magic_number = f.read(4)
+            if len(magic_number) < 4:
+                return False
+            if is_classic_netcdf(magic_number):
+                return True
+            elif is_hdf5(magic_number):
+                return True
+    except PermissionError:
+        # open will fail for both a directory or a local url, either of which may be pointing to a Zarr dataset
+        # directory
         return False
+    except OSError:
+        # local file url
+        return False
+
+    return False
 
 
 def is_classic_netcdf(file_buffer):
diff --git a/compliance_checker/protocols/opendap.py b/compliance_checker/protocols/opendap.py
index 3ae4e890..32066783 100644
--- a/compliance_checker/protocols/opendap.py
+++ b/compliance_checker/protocols/opendap.py
@@ -55,14 +55,19 @@ def is_opendap(url):
         das_url = url.replace("#fillmismatch", ".das")
     else:
         das_url = url + ".das"
-    response = requests.get(das_url, allow_redirects=True)
-    if "xdods-server" in response.headers:
-        return True
-    # Check if it is an access restricted ESGF thredds service
-    if (
-        response.status_code == 401
-        and "text/html" in response.headers["content-type"]
-        and "The following URL requires authentication:" in response.text
-    ):
-        return True
+
+    try:
+        response = requests.get(das_url, allow_redirects=True)
+
+        if "xdods-server" in response.headers:
+            return True
+        # Check if it is an access restricted ESGF thredds service
+        if (
+            response.status_code == 401
+            and "text/html" in response.headers["content-type"]
+            and "The following URL requires authentication:" in response.text
+        ):
+            return True
+    except requests.exceptions.InvalidSchema:
+        return False  # not opendap if url + ".das" isn't found
     return False
diff --git a/compliance_checker/protocols/zarr.py b/compliance_checker/protocols/zarr.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..18e7d76c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compliance_checker/protocols/zarr.py
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+import zipfile
+
+from pathlib import Path
+from urllib.parse import urlparse
+from urllib.request import url2pathname
+from zipfile import ZipFile
+
+from compliance_checker.protocols import netcdf
+
+
+#
+
+
+def is_zarr(url):
+    """ """
+
+    if netcdf.is_netcdf(url):
+        return False
+
+    if ".zarr" in url:
+        return True
+
+    if urlparse(url).scheme in ("https", "s3", "file"):
+        return True
+
+    if zipfile.is_zipfile(url):
+        if ".zmetadata" in ZipFile(url).namelist():
+            return True
+
+    if Path(url).is_dir():
+        if (Path(url) / ".zmetadata").exists():
+            return True
+
+    return False
+
+
+def as_zarr(url):
+    """
+    Transform pointers to zarr datasets to valid nczarr urls, as described in
+    https://www.unidata.ucar.edu/blogs/developer/entry/overview-of-zarr-support-in\n
+    url: str or Path to valid zarr dataset\n
+    Distinct from is_cdl etc in that it will return the appropriate URI \n\n
+
+    Not tested on Windows paths at the moment, as NCZarr is not supported in Windows\n
+
+    A valid Zarr dataset could be provided in any of the following forms:\n
+    "http://s3.amazonaws.com/bucket/dataset.zarr"\n
+    "http://s3.amazonaws.com/bucket/dataset.zarr"#mode=nczarr,s3\n
+    "/home/path/to/dataset.zarr"\n
+    Path('/home/path/to/dataset.zarr')\n
+    "file:///home/path/to/dataset.zarr"\n
+    "file:///home/path/to/dataset.randomExt#mode=nczarr,file"
+    "file:///home/path/to/dataset.zarr#mode=nczarr,zip"
+    """
+
+    pr = urlparse(str(url))
+
+    if "mode=nczarr" in pr.fragment:
+        if pr.netloc:
+            return str(url)  # already valid nczarr url
+        elif pr.scheme == "file":
+            return str(url)  # already valid nczarr url
+
+    zarr_url = Path(
+        url2pathname(pr.path)
+    ).resolve()  # url2pathname necessary to avoid urlparse bug in windows
+
+    if pr.netloc:
+        mode = "s3"
+    elif zipfile.is_zipfile(zarr_url):
+        mode = "zip"
+    elif zarr_url.is_dir():
+        mode = "file"
+    else:
+        raise ValueError(
+            f"Could not identify {url},\nif #mode=nczarr,zarr, please pass this explicitly\nValid url options are described here\nhttps://www.unidata.ucar.edu/blogs/developer/entry/overview-of-zarr-support-in"
+        )
+
+    url_base = url if mode == "s3" else zarr_url.as_uri()
+
+    zarr_url = f"{url_base}#mode=nczarr,{mode}"
+    return zarr_url
diff --git a/compliance_checker/suite.py b/compliance_checker/suite.py
index 26c460ae..05a5c033 100644
--- a/compliance_checker/suite.py
+++ b/compliance_checker/suite.py
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 import inspect
 import itertools
 import os
+import platform
 import re
 import subprocess
 import sys
@@ -16,7 +17,9 @@
 from datetime import datetime, timezone
 from distutils.version import StrictVersion
 from operator import itemgetter
-from urllib.parse import urlparse
+from pathlib import Path
+from urllib.parse import urljoin, urlparse
+from urllib.request import url2pathname
 
 import requests
 
@@ -29,7 +32,7 @@
 from compliance_checker import MemoizedDataset, __version__, tempnc
 from compliance_checker.base import BaseCheck, GenericFile, Result, fix_return_value
 from compliance_checker.cf.cf import CFBaseCheck
-from compliance_checker.protocols import cdl, erddap, netcdf, opendap
+from compliance_checker.protocols import cdl, erddap, netcdf, opendap, zarr
 
 
 # Ensure output is encoded as Unicode when checker output is redirected or piped
@@ -845,6 +848,13 @@ def load_local_dataset(self, ds_str):
         if cdl.is_cdl(ds_str):
             ds_str = self.generate_dataset(ds_str)
 
+        if zarr.is_zarr(ds_str):
+            if platform.system() != "Linux":
+                print(
+                    f"WARNING: {platform.system()} OS detected. NCZarr is not officially supported for your OS as of when this API was written. Your mileage may vary."
+                )
+            return MemoizedDataset(zarr.as_zarr(ds_str))
+
         if netcdf.is_netcdf(ds_str):
             return MemoizedDataset(ds_str)
 
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/conftest.py b/compliance_checker/tests/conftest.py
index d51d3898..a6f47174 100644
--- a/compliance_checker/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/compliance_checker/tests/conftest.py
@@ -24,14 +24,15 @@ def generate_dataset(cdl_path, nc_path):
     subprocess.call(["ncgen", "-o", str(nc_path), str(cdl_path)])
 
 
+datadir = Path(resource_filename("compliance_checker", "tests/data")).resolve()
+assert datadir.exists(), f"{datadir} not found"
+
+
 def static_files(cdl_stem):
     """
     Returns the Path to a valid nc dataset\n
     replaces the old STATIC_FILES dict
     """
-    datadir = Path(resource_filename("compliance_checker", "tests/data")).resolve()
-    assert datadir.exists(), f"{datadir} not found"
-
     cdl_paths = glob_down(datadir, f"{cdl_stem}.cdl", 3)
     assert (
         len(cdl_paths) > 0
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/.zattrs b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/.zattrs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9e26dfee
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/.zattrs
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+{}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/.zgroup b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/.zgroup
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..3b7daf22
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/.zgroup
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+{
+    "zarr_format": 2
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/.zmetadata b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/.zmetadata
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..129505f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/.zmetadata
@@ -0,0 +1,169 @@
+{
+    "metadata": {
+        ".zattrs": {},
+        ".zgroup": {
+            "zarr_format": 2
+        },
+        "lat/.zarray": {
+            "chunks": [
+                2,
+                3
+            ],
+            "compressor": {
+                "blocksize": 0,
+                "clevel": 5,
+                "cname": "lz4",
+                "id": "blosc",
+                "shuffle": 1
+            },
+            "dtype": "<f4",
+            "fill_value": "NaN",
+            "filters": null,
+            "order": "C",
+            "shape": [
+                2,
+                3
+            ],
+            "zarr_format": 2
+        },
+        "lat/.zattrs": {
+            "_ARRAY_DIMENSIONS": [
+                "trajectory",
+                "obs"
+            ],
+            "axis": "Y",
+            "long_name": "Latitude",
+            "standard_name": "latitude",
+            "units": "degrees_north"
+        },
+        "lon/.zarray": {
+            "chunks": [
+                2,
+                3
+            ],
+            "compressor": {
+                "blocksize": 0,
+                "clevel": 5,
+                "cname": "lz4",
+                "id": "blosc",
+                "shuffle": 1
+            },
+            "dtype": "<f4",
+            "fill_value": "NaN",
+            "filters": null,
+            "order": "C",
+            "shape": [
+                2,
+                3
+            ],
+            "zarr_format": 2
+        },
+        "lon/.zattrs": {
+            "_ARRAY_DIMENSIONS": [
+                "trajectory",
+                "obs"
+            ],
+            "axis": "X",
+            "long_name": "Longitude",
+            "standard_name": "longitude",
+            "units": "degrees_east"
+        },
+        "temperature/.zarray": {
+            "chunks": [
+                2,
+                3,
+                5
+            ],
+            "compressor": {
+                "blocksize": 0,
+                "clevel": 5,
+                "cname": "lz4",
+                "id": "blosc",
+                "shuffle": 1
+            },
+            "dtype": "<f4",
+            "fill_value": "NaN",
+            "filters": null,
+            "order": "C",
+            "shape": [
+                2,
+                3,
+                5
+            ],
+            "zarr_format": 2
+        },
+        "temperature/.zattrs": {
+            "_ARRAY_DIMENSIONS": [
+                "trajectory",
+                "obs",
+                "z"
+            ],
+            "coordinates": "time lat lon z",
+            "long_name": "Seawater Temperature",
+            "standard_name": "sea_water_temperature",
+            "units": "deg_C"
+        },
+        "time/.zarray": {
+            "chunks": [
+                2,
+                3
+            ],
+            "compressor": {
+                "blocksize": 0,
+                "clevel": 5,
+                "cname": "lz4",
+                "id": "blosc",
+                "shuffle": 1
+            },
+            "dtype": "<f8",
+            "fill_value": "NaN",
+            "filters": null,
+            "order": "C",
+            "shape": [
+                2,
+                3
+            ],
+            "zarr_format": 2
+        },
+        "time/.zattrs": {
+            "_ARRAY_DIMENSIONS": [
+                "trajectory",
+                "obs"
+            ],
+            "axis": "T",
+            "long_name": "Time",
+            "standard_name": "time",
+            "units": "seconds since 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z"
+        },
+        "z/.zarray": {
+            "chunks": [
+                5
+            ],
+            "compressor": {
+                "blocksize": 0,
+                "clevel": 5,
+                "cname": "lz4",
+                "id": "blosc",
+                "shuffle": 1
+            },
+            "dtype": "<f4",
+            "fill_value": "NaN",
+            "filters": null,
+            "order": "C",
+            "shape": [
+                5
+            ],
+            "zarr_format": 2
+        },
+        "z/.zattrs": {
+            "_ARRAY_DIMENSIONS": [
+                "z"
+            ],
+            "long_name": "Depth below surface",
+            "positive": "down",
+            "standard_name": "depth",
+            "units": "m"
+        }
+    },
+    "zarr_consolidated_format": 1
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/lat/.zarray b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/lat/.zarray
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c8da4eef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/lat/.zarray
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+{
+    "chunks": [
+        2,
+        3
+    ],
+    "compressor": {
+        "blocksize": 0,
+        "clevel": 5,
+        "cname": "lz4",
+        "id": "blosc",
+        "shuffle": 1
+    },
+    "dtype": "<f4",
+    "fill_value": "NaN",
+    "filters": null,
+    "order": "C",
+    "shape": [
+        2,
+        3
+    ],
+    "zarr_format": 2
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/lat/.zattrs b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/lat/.zattrs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..27c6246d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/lat/.zattrs
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+{
+    "_ARRAY_DIMENSIONS": [
+        "trajectory",
+        "obs"
+    ],
+    "axis": "Y",
+    "long_name": "Latitude",
+    "standard_name": "latitude",
+    "units": "degrees_north"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/lat/0.0 b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/lat/0.0
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9cb65c48
Binary files /dev/null and b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/lat/0.0 differ
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/lon/.zarray b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/lon/.zarray
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c8da4eef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/lon/.zarray
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+{
+    "chunks": [
+        2,
+        3
+    ],
+    "compressor": {
+        "blocksize": 0,
+        "clevel": 5,
+        "cname": "lz4",
+        "id": "blosc",
+        "shuffle": 1
+    },
+    "dtype": "<f4",
+    "fill_value": "NaN",
+    "filters": null,
+    "order": "C",
+    "shape": [
+        2,
+        3
+    ],
+    "zarr_format": 2
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/lon/.zattrs b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/lon/.zattrs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b4f38f79
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/lon/.zattrs
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+{
+    "_ARRAY_DIMENSIONS": [
+        "trajectory",
+        "obs"
+    ],
+    "axis": "X",
+    "long_name": "Longitude",
+    "standard_name": "longitude",
+    "units": "degrees_east"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/lon/0.0 b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/lon/0.0
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..9cb65c48
Binary files /dev/null and b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/lon/0.0 differ
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/temperature/.zarray b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/temperature/.zarray
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..34592f42
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/temperature/.zarray
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+{
+    "chunks": [
+        2,
+        3,
+        5
+    ],
+    "compressor": {
+        "blocksize": 0,
+        "clevel": 5,
+        "cname": "lz4",
+        "id": "blosc",
+        "shuffle": 1
+    },
+    "dtype": "<f4",
+    "fill_value": "NaN",
+    "filters": null,
+    "order": "C",
+    "shape": [
+        2,
+        3,
+        5
+    ],
+    "zarr_format": 2
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/temperature/.zattrs b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/temperature/.zattrs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..64f59f90
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/temperature/.zattrs
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+{
+    "_ARRAY_DIMENSIONS": [
+        "trajectory",
+        "obs",
+        "z"
+    ],
+    "coordinates": "time lat lon z",
+    "long_name": "Seawater Temperature",
+    "standard_name": "sea_water_temperature",
+    "units": "deg_C"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/temperature/0.0.0 b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/temperature/0.0.0
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..160b985a
Binary files /dev/null and b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/temperature/0.0.0 differ
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/time/.zarray b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/time/.zarray
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7ccc9b07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/time/.zarray
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+{
+    "chunks": [
+        2,
+        3
+    ],
+    "compressor": {
+        "blocksize": 0,
+        "clevel": 5,
+        "cname": "lz4",
+        "id": "blosc",
+        "shuffle": 1
+    },
+    "dtype": "<f8",
+    "fill_value": "NaN",
+    "filters": null,
+    "order": "C",
+    "shape": [
+        2,
+        3
+    ],
+    "zarr_format": 2
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/time/.zattrs b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/time/.zattrs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4ca37cdf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/time/.zattrs
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+{
+    "_ARRAY_DIMENSIONS": [
+        "trajectory",
+        "obs"
+    ],
+    "axis": "T",
+    "long_name": "Time",
+    "standard_name": "time",
+    "units": "seconds since 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/time/0.0 b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/time/0.0
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..aa72fb20
Binary files /dev/null and b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/time/0.0 differ
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/z/.zarray b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/z/.zarray
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..29e647fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/z/.zarray
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+{
+    "chunks": [
+        5
+    ],
+    "compressor": {
+        "blocksize": 0,
+        "clevel": 5,
+        "cname": "lz4",
+        "id": "blosc",
+        "shuffle": 1
+    },
+    "dtype": "<f4",
+    "fill_value": "NaN",
+    "filters": null,
+    "order": "C",
+    "shape": [
+        5
+    ],
+    "zarr_format": 2
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/z/.zattrs b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/z/.zattrs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5754c2e0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/z/.zattrs
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+{
+    "_ARRAY_DIMENSIONS": [
+        "z"
+    ],
+    "long_name": "Depth below surface",
+    "positive": "down",
+    "standard_name": "depth",
+    "units": "m"
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/z/0 b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/z/0
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..1e5e35d3
Binary files /dev/null and b/compliance_checker/tests/data/trajectory.zarr/z/0 differ
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/data/zip.zarr b/compliance_checker/tests/data/zip.zarr
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..dd2685e4
Binary files /dev/null and b/compliance_checker/tests/data/zip.zarr differ
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/test_cli.py b/compliance_checker/tests/test_cli.py
index 7b572162..61e74cdb 100644
--- a/compliance_checker/tests/test_cli.py
+++ b/compliance_checker/tests/test_cli.py
@@ -7,6 +7,8 @@
 import io
 import json
 import os
+import platform
+import subprocess
 import sys
 
 from argparse import Namespace
@@ -15,7 +17,7 @@
 
 from compliance_checker.runner import CheckSuite, ComplianceChecker
 
-from .conftest import static_files
+from .conftest import datadir, static_files
 
 
 @pytest.mark.usefixtures("checksuite_setup")
@@ -215,3 +217,48 @@ def test_multi_checker_return_value(self, tmp_txt_file):
             output_format="text",
         )
         assert not return_value
+
+    def _check_libnetcdf_version():
+        if platform.system() == "Linux":
+            # nc-config doesn't work on windows... and neither does NCZarr so this skipif is mutually exclusive to the OS check skipif
+            return (
+                float(
+                    subprocess.check_output(
+                        ["nc-config", "--version"], encoding="UTF-8"
+                    )[9:12]
+                )
+                < 8.0
+            )
+        else:
+            return True
+
+    # TODO uncomment the third parameter once S3 support is working
+    @pytest.mark.skipif(
+        _check_libnetcdf_version(),
+        reason=f"NCZarr support was not available until netCDF version 4.8.0. Please upgrade to the latest libnetcdf version to test this functionality",
+    )
+    @pytest.mark.skipif(
+        platform.system() != "Linux",
+        reason=f"NCZarr is not officially supported for your OS as of when this API was written",
+    )
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize(
+        "zarr_url",
+        [
+            f"{(datadir/'trajectory.zarr').as_uri()}#mode=nczarr,file",
+            str(datadir / "zip.zarr"),
+            # "s3://hrrrzarr/sfc/20210408/20210408_10z_anl.zarr#mode=nczarr,s3"
+        ],
+        ids=["local_file", "zip_file"],  # ,'s3_url'
+    )
+    def test_nczarr_pass_through(self, zarr_url):
+        """Test that the url's with #mode=nczarr option pass through to ncgen\n
+        https://www.unidata.ucar.edu/blogs/developer/entry/overview-of-zarr-support-in"""
+
+        return_value, errors = ComplianceChecker.run_checker(
+            ds_loc=zarr_url,
+            verbose=0,
+            criteria="strict",
+            checker_names=["cf:1.6"],
+            output_format="text",
+        )
+        assert not errors
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/test_protocols.py b/compliance_checker/tests/test_protocols.py
index 5143e26e..ee5aa4c4 100644
--- a/compliance_checker/tests/test_protocols.py
+++ b/compliance_checker/tests/test_protocols.py
@@ -4,60 +4,61 @@
 
 Unit tests that ensure the compliance checker can successfully identify protocol endpoints
 """
-from unittest import TestCase
+import platform
 
 import pytest
 
+from compliance_checker.protocols import zarr
 from compliance_checker.suite import CheckSuite
 
+from .conftest import datadir
 
-@pytest.mark.integration
-class TestProtocols(TestCase):
-    def test_netcdf_content_type(self):
-        """
-        Check that urls with Content-Type header of "application/x-netcdf" can
-        successfully be read into memory for checks.
-        """
-        url = "https://gliders.ioos.us/erddap/tabledap/amelia-20180501T0000.ncCF?&time%3E=max(time)-1%20hour"
-        cs = CheckSuite()
-        ds = cs.load_dataset(url)
-        assert ds is not None
-
-    def test_erddap(self):
-        """
-        Tests that a connection can be made to ERDDAP's GridDAP
-        """
-        url = "http://coastwatch.pfeg.noaa.gov/erddap/griddap/osuChlaAnom"
-        cs = CheckSuite()
-        ds = cs.load_dataset(url)
-        assert ds is not None
 
-    def test_hyrax(self):
-        """
-        Tests that a connection can be made to Hyrax
-        """
-        url = "http://ingria.coas.oregonstate.edu/opendap/hyrax/aggregated/ocean_time_aggregation.ncml"
-        cs = CheckSuite()
-        ds = cs.load_dataset(url)
-        assert ds is not None
+id_url = {
+    # Check that urls with Content-Type header of "application/x-netcdf" can
+    # successfully be read into memory for checks.
+    "netcdf_content_type": "https://gliders.ioos.us/erddap/tabledap/amelia-20180501T0000.ncCF?&time%3E=max(time)-1%20hour",
+    # Tests that a connection can be made to ERDDAP's GridDAP
+    "erddap": "http://coastwatch.pfeg.noaa.gov/erddap/griddap/osuChlaAnom",
+    # Tests that a connection can be made to Hyrax
+    "hyrax": "http://ingria.coas.oregonstate.edu/opendap/hyrax/aggregated/ocean_time_aggregation.ncml",
+    # Tests that a connection can be made to a remote THREDDS endpoint
+    "thredds": "http://thredds.ucar.edu/thredds/dodsC/grib/NCEP/GFS/Global_0p25deg_ana/TP",
+    # Tests that a connection can be made to an SOS endpoint
+    "sos": "https://data.oceansmap.com/thredds/sos/caricoos_ag/VIA/VIA.ncml",
+}
 
-    def test_thredds(self):
-        """
-        Tests that a connection can be made to a remote THREDDS endpoint
-        """
-        url = (
-            "http://thredds.ucar.edu/thredds/dodsC/grib/NCEP/GFS/Global_0p25deg_ana/TP"
-        )
 
+class TestProtocols:
+    @pytest.mark.integration
+    @pytest.mark.slowtest
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize("url", list(id_url.values()), ids=list(id_url.keys()))
+    def test_connection(self, url):
         cs = CheckSuite()
         ds = cs.load_dataset(url)
         assert ds is not None
 
-    def test_sos(self):
-        """
-        Tests that a connection can be made to an SOS endpoint
-        """
-        url = "https://data.oceansmap.com/thredds/sos/caricoos_ag/VIA/VIA.ncml"
-        cs = CheckSuite()
-        ds = cs.load_dataset(url)
-        assert ds is not None
+    # test that as_zurl can transform pointers to zarr datasets to valid nczarr urls
+    str_dir = str(datadir.resolve()).replace("\\", "/")
+    file_url = "file://" + str_dir + "/trajectory.zarr#mode=nczarr,file"
+    s3_url = "s3://hrrrzarr/sfc/20210408/20210408_10z_anl.zarr#mode=nczarr,s3"
+    zip_url = "file://" + str_dir + "/zip.zarr#mode=nczarr,zip"
+    # replace slashes for windows compatibility
+    url_io = [
+        ("s3://hrrrzarr/sfc/20210408/20210408_10z_anl.zarr", s3_url),
+        (s3_url, s3_url),
+        (datadir / "trajectory.zarr", file_url),
+        ("file://" + str_dir + "/trajectory.zarr", file_url),
+        (file_url, file_url),
+        (datadir / "zip.zarr", zip_url),
+        ("file://" + str_dir + "/zip.zarr", zip_url),
+        (zip_url, zip_url),
+    ]
+
+    @pytest.mark.skipif(
+        platform.system() != "Linux",
+        reason=f"NCZarr is not officially supported for your OS as of when this API was written",
+    )
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize("url_in,url_out", url_io)
+    def test_as_zarr(self, url_in, url_out):
+        assert zarr.as_zarr(url_in) == url_out
diff --git a/compliance_checker/tests/test_suite.py b/compliance_checker/tests/test_suite.py
index f68e939b..8c437a76 100644
--- a/compliance_checker/tests/test_suite.py
+++ b/compliance_checker/tests/test_suite.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 from pkg_resources import resource_filename
 
 from compliance_checker.base import BaseCheck, GenericFile, Result
+from compliance_checker.runner import ComplianceChecker
 from compliance_checker.suite import CheckSuite