diff --git a/ci/buildbot.py b/ci/buildbot.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..97097be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ci/buildbot.py
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+# Copyright 2024, The Android Open Source Project
+#
+# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+# You may obtain a copy of the License at
+#
+#     http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+#
+# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+# limitations under the License.
+
+"""Utilities for interacting with buildbot, with a simulation in a local environment"""
+
+import os
+import sys
+
+# Check that the script is running from the root of the tree. Prevents subtle
+# errors later, and CI always runs from the root of the tree.
+if not os.path.exists("build/make/ci/buildbot.py"):
+    raise Exception("CI script must be run from the root of the tree instead of: "
+                    + os.getcwd())
+
+# Check that we are using the hermetic interpreter
+if "prebuilts/build-tools/" not in sys.executable:
+    raise Exception("CI script must be run using the hermetic interpreter from "
+                    + "prebuilts/build-tools instead of: " + sys.executable)
+
+
+def OutDir():
+    "Get the out directory. Will create it if needed."
+    result = os.environ.get("OUT_DIR", "out")
+    os.makedirs(result, exist_ok=True)
+    return result
+
+def DistDir():
+    "Get the dist directory. Will create it if needed."
+    result = os.environ.get("DIST_DIR", os.path.join(OutDir(), "dist"))
+    os.makedirs(result, exist_ok=True)
+    return result
+