diff --git a/lib/flame/code_sync.ex b/lib/flame/code_sync.ex
index e5fb315..41a5d33 100644
--- a/lib/flame/code_sync.ex
+++ b/lib/flame/code_sync.ex
@@ -34,7 +34,8 @@ defmodule FLAME.CodeSync do
             purge_modules: [],
             verbose: false,
             compress: false,
-            chunk_size: 64_000
+            chunk_size: 64_000,
+            eager: false
 
   def new(opts \\ []) do
     Keyword.validate!(opts, [
@@ -45,7 +46,8 @@ defmodule FLAME.CodeSync do
       :start_apps,
       :verbose,
       :compress,
-      :chunk_size
+      :chunk_size,
+      :eager
     ])
 
     compute_start_apps(%CodeSync{
@@ -57,7 +59,8 @@ defmodule FLAME.CodeSync do
       start_apps: Keyword.get(opts, :start_apps, true),
       verbose: Keyword.get(opts, :verbose, false),
       compress: Keyword.get(opts, :compress, true),
-      chunk_size: Keyword.get(opts, :chunk_size, 64_000)
+      chunk_size: Keyword.get(opts, :chunk_size, 64_000),
+      eager: Keyword.get(opts, :eager, false)
     })
   end
 
@@ -188,7 +191,13 @@ defmodule FLAME.CodeSync do
           log_verbose("packaged size: #{File.stat!(out_path).size / (1024 * 1024)}mb")
         end
 
-        [File.stream!(out_path, [], code.chunk_size) |> Enum.to_list() |> IO.iodata_to_binary()]
+        stream = File.stream!(out_path, [], code.chunk_size)
+
+        if code.eager do
+          [stream |> Enum.to_list() |> IO.iodata_to_binary()]
+        else
+          stream
+        end
       end
 
     %PackagedStream{
@@ -260,7 +269,11 @@ defmodule FLAME.CodeSync do
   end
 
   def rm_packaged_stream(%PackagedStream{} = pkg) do
-    # if pkg.stream, do: File.rm(pkg.stream.path)
+    case pkg.stream do
+      val when is_binary(val) or is_nil(val) -> :noop
+      %File.Stream{path: path} -> File.rm(path)
+    end
+
     :ok
   end
 
diff --git a/lib/flame/pool.ex b/lib/flame/pool.ex
index 6a13397..962720d 100644
--- a/lib/flame/pool.ex
+++ b/lib/flame/pool.ex
@@ -164,6 +164,9 @@ defmodule FLAME.Pool do
         when the runner boots. When `true`, all applications currently running on the parent node
         are sent to the runner node to be started. Defaults to `false`.
 
+      * `:eager` – Whether to load the code sync artifacts eagerly into memory or stream
+        from disk. Eager can enable faster code sync but will consume more memory. Defaults to `false`.
+
       * `:verbose` – If `true`, the pool will log verbose information about the code sync process.
         Defaults to `false`.
 
@@ -224,7 +227,8 @@ defmodule FLAME.Pool do
       :start_apps,
       :verbose,
       :compress,
-      :chunk_size
+      :chunk_size,
+      :eager,
     ])
 
     GenServer.start_link(__MODULE__, opts, name: Keyword.fetch!(opts, :name))
diff --git a/test/code_sync_test.exs b/test/code_sync_test.exs
index 22b6694..afd48b7 100644
--- a/test/code_sync_test.exs
+++ b/test/code_sync_test.exs
@@ -108,7 +108,7 @@ defmodule FLAME.CodeSyncTest do
       |> CodeSync.compute_copy_paths()
 
     assert %FLAME.CodeSync.PackagedStream{} = pkg = CodeSync.package_to_stream(code)
-    # assert File.exists?(pkg.stream.path)
+    assert File.exists?(pkg.stream.path)
 
     # cheap way to ensure apps are started on extract. Note async: false is required
     Application.stop(:logger)