diff --git a/update_hdf5_compat_files.sh b/update_hdf5_compat_files.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..30d2dfb52
--- /dev/null
+++ b/update_hdf5_compat_files.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Temporary utility script.
+
+cp ./tst_vars.nc ../../nc_test4/ref_hdf5_compat1.nc
+cp ./tst_vars4.nc ../../nc_test4/ref_hdf5_compat2.nc
+cp ./tst_compounds.nc ../../nc_test4/ref_hdf5_compat3.nc