diff --git a/tools/ipmi_interface.hpp b/tools/ipmi_interface.hpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..932d2e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/ipmi_interface.hpp
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+#pragma once
+
+#include <cstdint>
+#include <vector>
+
+class IpmiInterface
+{
+  public:
+    virtual ~IpmiInterface() = default;
+
+    /**
+     * Send an IPMI packet to the BMC.
+     *
+     * @param[in] data - a vector of the IPMI packet contents.
+     * @return non-zero on failure.
+     */
+    virtual int sendPacket(const std::vector<std::uint8_t>& data) = 0;
+};