diff --git a/passes/cmds/scratchpad.cc b/passes/cmds/scratchpad.cc
index 6bf14a6bd..805badc7e 100644
--- a/passes/cmds/scratchpad.cc
+++ b/passes/cmds/scratchpad.cc
@@ -34,15 +34,29 @@ struct ScratchpadPass : public Pass {
 		log("    scratchpad [options]\n");
 		log("\n");
 		log("This pass allows to read and modify values from the scratchpad of the current\n");
-		log("design. Options:\n\n");
+		log("design. Options:\n");
+		log("\n");
 		log("    -get <identifier>\n");
-		log("        print the value saved in the scratchpad under the given identifier.\n\n");
+		log("        print the value saved in the scratchpad under the given identifier.\n");
+		log("\n");
 		log("    -set <identifier> <value>\n");
-		log("        save the given value in the scratchpad under the given identifier.\n\n");
+		log("        save the given value in the scratchpad under the given identifier.\n");
+		log("\n");
 		log("    -unset <identifier>\n");
-		log("        remove the entry for the given identifier from the scratchpad.\n\n");
+		log("        remove the entry for the given identifier from the scratchpad.\n");
+		log("\n");
 		log("    -copy <identifier_from> <identifier_to>\n");
-		log("        copy the value of the first identifier to the second identifier.\n\n");
+		log("        copy the value of the first identifier to the second identifier.\n");
+		log("\n");
+		log("    -assert <identifier> <value>\n");
+		log("        assert that the entry for the given identifier is set to the given value.\n");
+		log("\n");
+		log("    -assert-set <identifier>\n");
+		log("        assert that the entry for the given identifier exists.\n");
+		log("\n");
+		log("    -assert-unset <identifier>\n");
+		log("        assert that the entry for the given identifier does not exist.\n");
+		log("\n");
 		log("The identifier may not contain whitespace. By convention, it is usually prefixed\n");
 		log("by the name of the pass that uses it, e.g. 'opt.did_something'. If the value\n");
 		log("contains whitespace, it must be enclosed in double quotes.\n");
@@ -83,6 +97,31 @@ struct ScratchpadPass : public Pass {
 				design->scratchpad_set_string(identifier_to, value);
 				continue;
 			}
+			if (args[argidx] == "-assert" && argidx+2 < args.size()) {
+				string identifier = args[++argidx];
+				string expected = args[++argidx];
+				if (expected.front() == '\"' && expected.back() == '\"') expected = expected.substr(1, expected.size() - 2);
+				if (design->scratchpad.count(identifier) == 0)
+					log_error("Assertion failed: scratchpad entry '%s' is not defined\n", identifier.c_str());
+				string value = design->scratchpad_get_string(identifier);
+				if (value != expected) {
+					log_error("Assertion failed: scratchpad entry '%s' is set to '%s' instead of the asserted '%s'\n",
+					           identifier.c_str(), value.c_str(), expected.c_str());
+				}
+				continue;
+			}
+			if (args[argidx] == "-assert-set" && argidx+1 < args.size()) {
+				string identifier = args[++argidx];
+				if (design->scratchpad.count(identifier) == 0)
+					log_error("Assertion failed: scratchpad entry '%s' is not defined\n", identifier.c_str());
+				continue;
+			}
+			if (args[argidx] == "-assert-unset" && argidx+1 < args.size()) {
+				string identifier = args[++argidx];
+				if (design->scratchpad.count(identifier) > 0)
+					log_error("Assertion failed: scratchpad entry '%s' is defined\n", identifier.c_str());
+				continue;
+			}
 			log("Unrecognized argument: %s\n", args[argidx].c_str());
 			break;
 		}
diff --git a/tests/various/scratchpad.sh b/tests/various/scratchpad.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 4e92473f8..000000000
--- a/tests/various/scratchpad.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,14 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/bash
-
-trap 'echo "ERROR in scratchpad.sh" >&2; exit 1' ERR
-
-../../yosys -qp "scratchpad -set foo \"bar baz\"; \
-scratchpad -copy foo oof; scratchpad -unset foo; \
-tee -o scratchpad1.log scratchpad -get oof; \
-tee -o scratchpad2.log scratchpad -get foo"
-
-test "$(cat scratchpad1.log)" = "bar baz"
-test "$(cat scratchpad2.log)" = "\"foo\" not set"
-
-rm scratchpad1.log
-rm scratchpad2.log
diff --git a/tests/various/scratchpad.ys b/tests/various/scratchpad.ys
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..dc94081ea
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/various/scratchpad.ys
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+scratchpad -set foo "bar baz"
+scratchpad -copy foo oof
+scratchpad -unset foo
+scratchpad -assert oof "bar baz"
+scratchpad -assert-unset foo