tool.xml Reference

Every Rappture tool is defined by a tool.xml file. This page documents the XML structure that rappture2web understands.

Root structure

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<run>
  <tool>...</tool>
  <input>...</input>
  <output>...</output>
</run>

The <tool> section

<tool>
  <title>My Tool</title>
  <about>Description shown at the top of the page.</about>
  <command>python3 @tool/script.py @driver</command>
  <uq>true</uq>    <!-- optional: enable UQ controls -->
</tool>

@tool

Replaced with the directory containing tool.xml.

@driver

Replaced with the path to the generated driver.xml (classic mode) or the server URL (library mode).

<uq>true</uq>

Enables Uncertainty Quantification controls on numeric inputs. See Uncertainty Quantification (UQ).

The <input> section

Inputs are rendered as form controls in the sidebar. Supported types:

Type	Description
<number>	Floating-point number with optional units, min/max, presets
<integer>	Integer with optional min/max
<boolean>	Checkbox (yes/no)
<string>	Text input; multiline if <size> specifies rows
<choice>	Dropdown select from <option> elements
<multichoice>	Multiple-select checkboxes
<loader>	Example file loader with <example> patterns
<periodicelement>	Periodic table element picker
<image>	Image upload input
<note>	Read-only HTML or text; supports file:// references
<drawing>	Interactive 2D canvas with hotspots
<group>	Container that groups child inputs
<phase>	Tab container for multi-step workflows
<structure>	3D molecular/crystal structure viewer with parameters
<separator>	Visual horizontal rule between inputs

Number input

<number id="temperature">
  <about>
    <label>Temperature</label>
    <description>Ambient temperature.</description>
    <icon>BASE64-ENCODED-GIF</icon>
  </about>
  <units>K</units>
  <min>50K</min>
  <max>1000K</max>
  <default>300K</default>
  <current>300K</current>
  <color>purple</color>
  <uq>false</uq>   <!-- opt out of UQ when tool has uq=true -->
  <preset>
    <value>300K</value>
    <label>Room temperature</label>
  </preset>
  <preset>
    <value>77K</value>
    <label>Liquid nitrogen</label>
  </preset>
</number>

Choice input

<choice id="method">
  <about><label>Method</label></about>
  <default>fermi</default>
  <option>
    <about><label>Fermi-Dirac</label></about>
    <value>fermi</value>
  </option>
  <option>
    <about><label>Boltzmann</label></about>
    <value>boltzmann</value>
  </option>
</choice>

Conditional enable/disable

Inputs can be conditionally enabled based on other input values:

<number id="detail">
  <about>
    <label>Detail Level</label>
    <enable>input.choice(method) == "fermi"</enable>
  </about>
  <default>5</default>
</number>

The <output> section

See Output Types for a complete reference of output types.