Tools

The HUD SDK provides a comprehensive set of tools for environment interaction. All tools inherit from BaseTool and return standardized MCP content blocks.

Base Classes

BaseTool

from hud.tools import BaseTool

Abstract base class for all MCP tools. Provides standardized output formatting and MCP registration. Constructor Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
`env`	`Any`	Optional stateful context (game, executor, browser)	`None`
`name`	`str`	Tool name for MCP registration	Auto from class
`title`	`str`	Human-readable display name	Auto from class
`description`	`str`	Tool description	Auto from docstring

Abstract Methods:

async def __call__(self, **kwargs: Any) -> list[ContentBlock]

Properties:

mcp - FastMCP FunctionTool wrapper for registration

Usage:

class MyTool(BaseTool):
    async def __call__(self, param: str) -> list[ContentBlock]:
        result = await self.env.do_something(param)
        return [TextContent(text=result, type="text")]

# MCPServer automatically handles BaseTool instances
tool = MyTool(env=my_context)
mcp_server.add_tool(tool)  # No need for .mcp property

BaseHub

from hud.tools import BaseHub

A composition-friendly FastMCP server for organizing tools into nested namespaces. Key Features:

Internal tool dispatcher pattern
Automatic resource catalog generation
Hidden internal tools from MCP clients

Usage:

hub = BaseHub("evaluators")

@hub.tool()  # Internal tool, hidden from agents
async def url_match(url: str) -> EvaluationResult:
    return EvaluationResult(reward=1.0, done=True)

# Access via dispatcher when mounted on server
# Agents call: evaluators(name="url_match", arguments={"url": "..."})

Core Tools

BashTool

from hud.tools import BashTool

Execute bash commands in a persistent shell session. Constructor Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
`session`	`_BashSession`	Pre-configured bash session	`None`

Tool Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
`command`	`str`	Bash command to execute	Required
`restart`	`bool`	Restart the bash session	`False`

Example:

bash = BashTool()
result = await bash(command="ls -la")
# Returns: [TextContent(text="file1.txt\nfile2.txt", type="text")]

# Restart session
await bash(restart=True)

EditTool

from hud.tools import EditTool

File system editor with undo support. Constructor Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
`file_history`	`dict[Path, list[str]]`	Edit history per file	`None`

Commands:

Command	Parameters	Description
`view`	`path`, `view_range`	View file or directory contents
`create`	`path`, `file_text`	Create new file
`str_replace`	`path`, `old_str`, `new_str`	Replace string in file
`insert`	`path`, `insert_line`, `new_str`	Insert text at line
`undo_edit`	`path`	Undo last edit

Example:

editor = EditTool()

# View file
await editor(command="view", path="/path/to/file.py", view_range=[1, 20])

# Create file
await editor(command="create", path="/new/file.py", file_text="print('hello')")

# Replace text
await editor(command="str_replace", path="/file.py", 
            old_str="old_text", new_str="new_text")

PlaywrightTool

from hud.tools import PlaywrightTool

Web automation using Playwright browser. Constructor Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
`page`	`Page`	Existing Playwright page	`None`
`cdp_url`	`str`	Chrome DevTools Protocol URL	`None`

Actions:

Action	Parameters	Description
`navigate`	`url`, `wait_for_load_state`	Navigate to URL
`screenshot`	-	Capture page screenshot
`click`	`selector`	Click element
`type`	`selector`, `text`	Type text in element
`get_page_info`	-	Get page title and URL
`wait_for_element`	`selector`	Wait for element to appear

Example:

tool = PlaywrightTool()

# Navigate
await tool(action="navigate", url="https://example.com")

# Click button
await tool(action="click", selector="button.submit")

# Type text
await tool(action="type", selector="input#search", text="query")

Computer Control Tools

HudComputerTool

from hud.tools import HudComputerTool

Universal computer control with automatic scaling and executor selection. Constructor Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
`executor`	`BaseExecutor`	Executor to use	Auto-detect
`platform_type`	`"auto"`, `"xdo"`, `"pyautogui"`	Executor type	`"auto"`
`display_num`	`int`	X display number	From env
`width`	`int`	Agent screen width	1280
`height`	`int`	Agent screen height	720
`rescale_images`	`bool`	Rescale screenshots	`True`

Actions:

Action	Parameters	Description
`screenshot`	-	Capture screen
`click`	`x`, `y`, `button`, `pattern`, `hold_keys`	Mouse click
`write`	`text`, `enter_after`, `delay`	Type text
`press`	`keys`	Press key combination
`scroll`	`x`, `y`, `scroll_x`, `scroll_y`	Scroll
`drag`	`start_x`, `start_y`, `end_x`, `end_y`	Drag mouse

Example:

computer = HudComputerTool()

# Take screenshot
await computer(action="screenshot")

# Click at coordinates
await computer(action="click", x=100, y=200)

# Type text
await computer(action="write", text="Hello World", enter_after=True)

# Press hotkey
await computer(action="press", keys=["ctrl", "c"])

AnthropicComputerTool

from hud.tools import AnthropicComputerTool

Computer control optimized for Anthropic’s Claude models. Features:

Pre-configured for 1280x720 resolution
Optimized action names for Claude
Built-in screenshot scaling

OpenAIComputerTool

from hud.tools import OpenAIComputerTool

Computer control optimized for OpenAI models. Features:

Pre-configured for 1920x1080 resolution
Simplified action interface
No automatic screenshot scaling

Executors

Executors provide platform-specific implementations for computer control actions.

BaseExecutor

from hud.tools.executors import BaseExecutor

Abstract base providing simulation mode for all actions. Core Methods:

click(x, y, button, pattern, hold_keys) - Mouse click
write(text, enter_after, delay) - Type text
press(keys) - Press key combination
scroll(x, y, scroll_x, scroll_y) - Scroll
drag(start_x, start_y, end_x, end_y) - Drag mouse
screenshot() - Capture screen
get_screen_size() - Get display dimensions

PyAutoGUIExecutor

from hud.tools.executors import PyAutoGUIExecutor

Cross-platform executor using PyAutoGUI library. Features:

Works on Windows, macOS, Linux
Real mouse/keyboard control
Screenshot capture
Automatic failsafe

Example:

executor = PyAutoGUIExecutor()
computer = HudComputerTool(executor=executor)

XDOExecutor

from hud.tools.executors import XDOExecutor

Linux/X11 executor using xdotool. Features:

Native X11 integration
Faster than PyAutoGUI on Linux
Support for X display selection
Window management capabilities

Example:

executor = XDOExecutor(display_num=1)
computer = HudComputerTool(executor=executor)

Common Types

ContentBlock

MCP standard output format (from mcp.types):

from mcp.types import TextContent, ImageContent

# Text output
TextContent(text="Operation complete", type="text")

# Image output  
ImageContent(data="base64_data", mimeType="image/png", type="image")

EvaluationResult

from hud.tools.types import EvaluationResult

result = EvaluationResult(
    reward=0.8,        # Score 0-1
    done=True,         # Task complete
    content="Details", # Optional text
    info={"score": 80} # Metadata
)

ContentResult

from hud.tools.types import ContentResult

# Helper for building complex outputs
result = ContentResult(
    output="Success message",
    error="Error if any",
    base64_image="screenshot_data",
    system="System message"
)

# Convert to ContentBlocks
blocks = result.to_content_blocks()

Integration Examples

Adding Tools to Environment

from hud.server import MCPServer
from hud.tools import BashTool, EditTool

mcp = MCPServer(name="my-env")

# MCPServer handles BaseTool instances automatically
bash = BashTool()
mcp.add_tool(bash)  # Internally uses bash.mcp

editor = EditTool()
mcp.add_tool(editor)  # Same here

Custom Tool Implementation

from hud.tools import BaseTool
from mcp.types import TextContent

class DatabaseTool(BaseTool):
    def __init__(self, db_connection):
        super().__init__(
            env=db_connection,
            name="database",
            title="Database Query Tool",
            description="Execute SQL queries"
        )
    
    async def __call__(self, query: str) -> list[ContentBlock]:
        try:
            results = await self.env.execute(query)
            return [TextContent(text=str(results), type="text")]
        except Exception as e:
            return [TextContent(text=f"Error: {e}", type="text")]

Hub Pattern for Evaluators

from hud.tools import BaseHub
from hud.tools.types import EvaluationResult

evaluators = BaseHub("evaluate")

@evaluators.tool("text_contains")
async def check_text(text: str, target: str) -> EvaluationResult:
    return EvaluationResult(
        reward=1.0 if target in text else 0.0,
        done=True,
        content=f"Checking if '{target}' in text"
    )

# Use in environment
@mcp.tool()
async def evaluate(name: str, **kwargs):
    return await evaluators.call_tool(name, kwargs)

Get Started

Core Concepts

Evaluate Agents

Build Environments

Train Agents

CLI Reference

SDK Reference

Base Classes

BaseTool

BaseHub

Core Tools

BashTool

EditTool

PlaywrightTool

Computer Control Tools

HudComputerTool

AnthropicComputerTool

OpenAIComputerTool

Executors

BaseExecutor

PyAutoGUIExecutor

XDOExecutor

Common Types

ContentBlock

EvaluationResult

ContentResult

Integration Examples

Adding Tools to Environment

Custom Tool Implementation

Hub Pattern for Evaluators

See Also

Get Started

Core Concepts

Evaluate Agents

Build Environments

Train Agents

CLI Reference

SDK Reference

​Base Classes

​BaseTool

​BaseHub

​Core Tools

​BashTool

​EditTool

​PlaywrightTool

​Computer Control Tools

​HudComputerTool

​AnthropicComputerTool

​OpenAIComputerTool

​Executors

​BaseExecutor

​PyAutoGUIExecutor

​XDOExecutor

​Common Types

​ContentBlock

​EvaluationResult

​ContentResult

​Integration Examples

​Adding Tools to Environment

​Custom Tool Implementation

​Hub Pattern for Evaluators

​See Also

Base Classes

BaseTool

BaseHub

Core Tools

BashTool

EditTool

PlaywrightTool

Computer Control Tools

HudComputerTool

AnthropicComputerTool

OpenAIComputerTool

Executors

BaseExecutor

PyAutoGUIExecutor

XDOExecutor

Common Types

ContentBlock

EvaluationResult

ContentResult

Integration Examples

Adding Tools to Environment

Custom Tool Implementation

Hub Pattern for Evaluators

See Also