4. Set up HIL test benches

Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing is what sets Hideout apart: while an agent writes code in the cloud, it runs your test procedures against the real board on your bench — closing the loop between a firmware change and how the hardware actually behaves. You define those procedures and hardware connections here.

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Procedures

A procedure is a named verification step saved on the project. Agents run them during implementation to validate their work, giving you confidence in the code they produce. Common shapes:

• Smoke test — boot the firmware, check the expected strings on serial.
• Calibration check — run a routine, compare results against expected ranges.
• Regression — replay a captured CAN sequence, assert no unexpected frames.

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Add a procedure

The quickest way is to have Seb draft one for you from chat. You can also set one up manually: Testing page → procedure list → + Add procedure opens an editor. Fill in:

• Title and tags — a name and optional categories.
• Where it runs — the agent’s cloud VM, or your machine via local Seb (for licensed toolchains or hardware-bound builds).
• Steps — the shell commands to run, each with a working directory and timeout.
• Output files — path globs to capture from the run.

Saving adds the procedure to the project; it appears immediately for every member.

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Run a procedure

Click Run on a procedure card. If it takes inputs, a dialog asks for them; live output streams in a side pane. Each run is recorded with timestamp, outcome, and operator.

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Bridges (hardware links)

A bridge is a live stream from a device connected to your host machine. Add a bridge from the Testing page → bridge list → + Add. The Connection status pill in Platform’s header shows whether a host is online. Without an active host, bridges can’t stream and procedures that touch hardware won’t run.

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Set up from chat

You don’t have to build any of this by hand. On the Agents page, ask Seb and it drafts the setup for you:

Write a procedure that builds the firmware with CMake and captures the ELF.

Set up the serial console on USB device A50285BI at 115200 baud.

For a custom procedure, Seb reads your repo and fills in the title, steps, where it runs, and output files; for a built-in bridge (serial console, CAN bus, …), it fills in the connection fields. Either way it posts a proposal card — nothing is saved yet — and you click Save to Testing tab. The result lands on your Testing page identical to a manual setup: runnable by you and by launched agents, and editable in the procedure editor above.

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How agents use this

Agents call procedures while writing code, ensuring proper implementation of the given task. Software-only procedures run on the agent’s cloud machine; hardware procedures reach your host machine through the bridges configured here — putting your real board in the loop so the agent validates against actual hardware behavior, not just a build that compiles.

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Next

Guide → 5. Review in the CLI.