diff --git a/test/functional/functional_test.go b/test/functional/functional_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5eae4f07
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/functional/functional_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+package functional
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+)
+
+const (
+	binaryName      = "validator"
+	binaryPath      = "bin"
+	functionalTests = "functional"
+)
+
+var (
+	binaryFilepath            = filepath.Join(binaryPath, binaryName)
+	projectRoot, _            = getProjectRoot()
+	err                       error
+	expectedSuccessExitCode   = 0
+	expectedErrExitCode       = 1
+	expectedValidationErrCode = 2
+)
+
+func TestMain(m *testing.M) {
+	// Compile the CLI binary once
+	cmd := exec.Command("go", "build", "-o", binaryFilepath, "github.com/Boeing/config-file-validator/cmd/validator")
+	err := cmd.Run()
+	if err != nil {
+		// Fail the whole test suite if compilation fails
+		panic(err)
+	}
+
+	// Add execute permissions to the binary
+	err = os.Chmod(binaryFilepath, 0755)
+	if err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+
+	// Run the tests
+	exitCode := m.Run()
+
+	// Clean up the binary
+	_, err = os.Stat(binaryFilepath)
+	if err == nil {
+		err = os.Remove(binaryFilepath)
+		if err != nil {
+			panic(err)
+		}
+	}
+	os.Exit(exitCode)
+}
+
+func getProjectRoot() (string, error) {
+	_, b, _, _ := runtime.Caller(0)
+	basepath := filepath.Dir(b)
+	projectRoot, err := filepath.Abs(filepath.Join(basepath, "..", ".."))
+
+	return projectRoot, err
+}
+
+func TestHelp(t *testing.T) {
+	cmd := exec.Command(binaryFilepath, "--help")
+	output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+
+	assert.NoError(t, err, "The command should execute without errors")
+	assert.Contains(t, string(output), "Usage:", "The output should contain the usage information")
+
+	exitCode := cmd.ProcessState.ExitCode()
+	assert.Equal(t, expectedSuccessExitCode, exitCode, "The command should exit with a success code")
+}
+
+func TestVersion(t *testing.T) {
+	cmd := exec.Command(binaryFilepath, "--version")
+	output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+
+	assert.NoError(t, err, "The command should execute without errors")
+	assert.Contains(t, string(output), "validator version unknown", "The output should contain the version information")
+
+	exitCode := cmd.ProcessState.ExitCode()
+	assert.Equal(t, expectedSuccessExitCode, exitCode, "The command should exit with a success code")
+}
+
+func TestBadPath(t *testing.T) {
+	cmd := exec.Command(binaryFilepath, "/badpath")
+	output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+
+	assert.Error(t, err, "The command should execute with an error")
+	// The error message has a timestamp, so we can't do an exact match
+	assert.Contains(t, string(output), "An error occurred during CLI execution: unable to find files: stat /badpath: no such file or directory", "The output should contain the error message")
+
+	exitCode := cmd.ProcessState.ExitCode()
+	assert.Equal(t, expectedErrExitCode, exitCode, "The command should exit with an error code")
+}
+
+func TestInvalidFlag(t *testing.T) {
+	cmd := exec.Command(binaryFilepath, "-v")
+	output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+
+	assert.Error(t, err, "The command should execute with an error")
+	assert.Contains(t, string(output), "flag provided but not defined: -v", "The output should contain the error message")
+
+	exitCode := cmd.ProcessState.ExitCode()
+	assert.Equal(t, expectedValidationErrCode, exitCode, "The command should exit with a validation error code")
+}
+
+func TestBasicValidation(t *testing.T) {
+	fixturesPath := filepath.Join(projectRoot, "test", "fixtures")
+	cmd := exec.Command(binaryFilepath, fixturesPath)
+	output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+
+	assert.Error(t, err, "The command should execute with an error because there are failing files")
+	assert.Contains(t, string(output), "bad.json", "The output should contain the name of a failing file")
+
+	exitCode := cmd.ProcessState.ExitCode()
+	assert.Equal(t, expectedErrExitCode, exitCode, "The command should exit with an error code")
+}
+
+func TestQuietFlag(t *testing.T) {
+	fixturesPath := filepath.Join(projectRoot, "test", "fixtures")
+	cmd := exec.Command(binaryFilepath, "--quiet", fixturesPath)
+	output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
+
+	assert.Error(t, err, "The command should execute with an error because there are failing files")
+	assert.Empty(t, string(output), "The output should be empty when the --quiet flag is used")
+
+	exitCode := cmd.ProcessState.ExitCode()
+	assert.Equal(t, expectedErrExitCode, exitCode, "The command should exit with an error code")
+}