diff --git a/src/user/user_api.cc b/src/user/user_api.cc
index 5e8214b4..4dbf3b0e 100644
--- a/src/user/user_api.cc
+++ b/src/user/user_api.cc
@@ -67,20 +67,36 @@ mjSpec* mj_copySpec(const mjSpec* s) {
 // parse file into spec
 mjSpec* mj_parse(const char* filename, const char* content_type,
                  const mjVFS* vfs, char* error, int error_sz) {
+  mjVFS local_vfs;
+  mujoco::user::Cleanup cleanup;
+
   // early exit for existing XML workflow
   auto filepath = mujoco::user::FilePath(filename);
   if (filepath.Ext() == ".xml" || (content_type && std::strcmp(content_type, "text/xml") == 0)) {
     return mj_parseXML(filename, vfs, error, error_sz);
   }
 
+  // If no VFS is provided, we'll create our own temporary one for the duration
+  // of this function.
+  if (vfs == nullptr) {
+    mj_defaultVFS(&local_vfs);
+    cleanup += [&local_vfs](){ mj_deleteVFS(&local_vfs); };
+
+    vfs = &local_vfs;
+  }
+
   mjResource* resource = mju_openResource("", filename, vfs, error, error_sz);
   // If we are unable to open the resource, we will create our own resource with
   // just the filename. This allows decoders that rely on other systems to fetch
   // their content to function without a custom resource provider.
   // For example, USD may use identifiers to assets that are strictly in memory
   // or that are fetched on a need-be basis via URI.
-  if (!resource) {
+  if (resource) {
+    cleanup += [resource](){ mju_closeResource(resource); };
+  } else {
     resource = (mjResource*) mju_malloc(sizeof(mjResource));
+    cleanup += [resource](){ if (resource) mju_free(resource); };
+
     if (resource == nullptr) {
       if (error) {
         strncpy(error, "could not allocate memory", error_sz);
@@ -96,20 +112,19 @@ mjSpec* mj_parse(const char* filename, const char* content_type,
     std::string fullname = filename;
     std::size_t n = fullname.size();
     resource->name = (char*) mju_malloc(sizeof(char) * (n + 1));
+    cleanup += [resource](){ if (resource) mju_free(resource->name); };
+
     if (resource->name == nullptr) {
       if (error) {
         strncpy(error, "could not allocate memory", error_sz);
         error[error_sz - 1] = '\0';
       }
-      mju_closeResource(resource);
       return nullptr;
     }
     memcpy(resource->name, fullname.c_str(), sizeof(char) * (n + 1));
   }
 
-  mjSpec* spec = mju_decodeResource(resource, content_type, vfs);
-  mju_closeResource(resource);
-  return spec;
+  return mju_decodeResource(resource, content_type, vfs);
 }
 
 // compile model
diff --git a/src/user/user_util.h b/src/user/user_util.h
index 31abf544..2eeb3a0f 100644
--- a/src/user/user_util.h
+++ b/src/user/user_util.h
@@ -18,9 +18,12 @@
 #include <algorithm>
 #include <cstddef>
 #include <cstdint>
+#include <deque>
+#include <functional>
 #include <optional>
 #include <string>
 #include <string_view>
+#include <utility>
 #include <vector>
 
 const double mjEPS = 1E-14;     // minimum value in various calculations
@@ -235,6 +238,15 @@ class FilePath {
   std::string path_;
 };
 
+// utility class for scoping resources to functions
+struct Cleanup {
+  using Fn = std::function<void()>;
+  ~Cleanup() { for (auto& f : cleanup) f(); }
+  void operator+=(Fn f) { cleanup.push_front(std::move(f)); }
+  std::deque<Fn> cleanup;
+};
+
+
 // read file into memory buffer
 std::vector<uint8_t> FileToMemory(const char* filename);