diff --git a/src/core/gzipBundle.js b/src/core/gzipBundle.js
index ef331c7..0ee7cd9 100644
--- a/src/core/gzipBundle.js
+++ b/src/core/gzipBundle.js
@@ -2,15 +2,6 @@ import untar from "js-untar";
 import { stripLeadingDotSlash } from "./stringOps.js";
 import { MODULE_JS_FILE_EXTENSION, WASM_FILE_EXTENSION } from "./constants.js";
 
-/**
- * Check if provided URL points to a gzip bundle
- * @param {string} url 
- * @returns {boolean}
- */
-export function isGzipBundle(url) {
-  return typeof url === "string" && url.endsWith(".gz");
-}
-
 /**
  * Fetch gzip bundle from provided URL
  * @param {string} url 
diff --git a/src/standalone.js b/src/standalone.js
index f3a81e9..2df94e7 100644
--- a/src/standalone.js
+++ b/src/standalone.js
@@ -8,12 +8,20 @@ import { createFuture } from "./core/future";
  *                  If vtkWebAssemblyInterface.mjs is already loaded as a script,
  *                  this will be ignored.
  * @param {Object} config
+ * @param {string} [wasmBaseName] - (default is `"vtk"`) base name of the wasm bundle to load. e.g., `"vtk"` or `"addon"` will
+ *                             look for vtkWebAssembly.mjs or addonWebAssembly.mjs in the wasmBaseURL.
+ * @param {boolean} [urlIsGzipBundle] - (default is `true`) specifies whether the resource at `wasmBaseURL` is a Gzip archive.
  *
  * @returns the vtk namespace for creating VTK objects.
  */
-export async function createNamespace(url, config = {}, wasmBaseName = "vtk") {
+export async function createNamespace(
+    url,
+    config = {},
+    wasmBaseName = "vtk",
+    urlIsGzipBundle = true,
+) {
   const loader = new VtkWASMLoader();
-  await loader.load(url || "loaded-module", config, wasmBaseName);
+  await loader.load(url || "loaded-module", config, wasmBaseName, urlIsGzipBundle);
   return loader.createNamespace();
 }
 
diff --git a/src/wasmLoader.js b/src/wasmLoader.js
index 37696fc..010b8a5 100644
--- a/src/wasmLoader.js
+++ b/src/wasmLoader.js
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { extractFilesFromGzipBundle, fetchGzipBundle, isGzipBundle } from "./core/gzipBundle";
+import { extractFilesFromGzipBundle, fetchGzipBundle } from "./core/gzipBundle";
 import { createEmscriptenConfig, normalizeConfig, validateConfig } from "./core/configManager";
 import { DEFAULT_CONFIG, MIME_TYPES } from "./core/constants";
 import { createScriptURL, loadWebAssemblyModuleFromExistingScript, loadWebAssemblyModuleFromScript } from "./core/scriptLoader";
@@ -42,13 +42,15 @@ export class VtkWASMLoader {
    *
    * @param {string} wasmBaseURL
    * @param {object} config - for WASM runtime creation.
-   * @param {string} wasmBaseName - (default is "vtk") base name of the wasm bundle to load. e.g., "vtk" or "addon" will
+   * @param {string} wasmBaseName - (default is `"vtk"`) base name of the wasm bundle to load. e.g., `"vtk"` or `"addon"` will
    *                             look for vtkWebAssembly.mjs or addonWebAssembly.mjs in the wasmBaseURL.
+   * @param {boolean} [urlIsGzipBundle] - (default is `true`) specifies whether the resource at `wasmBaseURL` is a Gzip archive.
    */
   async load(
     wasmBaseURL,
     config = DEFAULT_CONFIG,
     wasmBaseName = "vtk",
+    urlIsGzipBundle = true,
   ) {
     if (this.#loaded) {
       return;
@@ -67,7 +69,7 @@ export class VtkWASMLoader {
 
       let wasmFile = null;
       if (!window.createVTKWASM) {
-        if (isGzipBundle(wasmBaseURL)) {
+        if (urlIsGzipBundle) {
           let gzipArrayBuffer;
           let javaScriptBlobURL = null;
           try {