drive_player
EXPERIMENTAL — Drive the active PlayerController DURING PLAY MODE across multiple frames: synthesize sustained look (EyeAngles), analog movement (wish velocity), and/or hold a named action down long enough that Input.Pressed fires its rising edge. This is the reliable alternative to simulate_inpu...
This record as markdown: /tools/sbox/drive-player.md
What drive_player does on Sbox
AI agents invoke drive_player to trigger actions in Sbox. What it does depends on the arguments the agent supplies, and its effects often reach beyond the immediate call: builds kicked off, notifications sent, workflows started.
Why drive_player is rated High
This tool directly manipulates and controls game engine state by injecting sustained synthetic inputs (movement, look angles, actions) into a running game session across multiple frames. It triggers external operations (player movement, input events) in the game engine, qualifying as Execute.
From the tool's definition Drive the active PlayerController DURING PLAY MODE across multiple frames: synthesize sustained look (EyeAngles), analog movement (wish velocity), and/or hold a named action down long enough that Input.Pressed fires its rising edge
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs drive_player safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Sbox, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For drive_player, this is the rule to start with:
drive_player stays usable, but rate-capped: a runaway agent can't fire it dozens of times a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Sbox, apply this rule, and every drive_player call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about drive_player
EXPERIMENTAL — Drive the active PlayerController DURING PLAY MODE across multiple frames: synthesize sustained look (EyeAngles), analog movement (wish velocity), and/or hold a named action down long enough that Input.Pressed fires its rising edge. This is the reliable alternative to simulate_input, which only sets an action for ONE frame and so MISSES edge-triggered controls (Input.Pressed) and cannot inject analog move/look at all. Requires start_play first. Runs ASYNC across editor frames and returns immediately — the job keeps applying for. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the Sbox MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.
Register the Sbox MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for drive_player: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Sbox. Nothing to install.
drive_player is a Execute tool with high risk. Execute tools should be rate-limited and have argument validation enabled.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the drive_player rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for drive_player. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
drive_player is provided by the Sbox MCP server (sbox-mcp-server). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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