diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fa6732e6cd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.1)
+
+set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 17)
+set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
+set(CMAKE_CXX_EXTENSIONS OFF)
+
+if(NOT CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE)
+  set(CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE Release)
+endif()
+
+set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS "-O3")
+set(CMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_RELEASE "-O3")
+
+project(pydownward)
+
+include_directories("${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/src/search/")
+include_directories("${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/src/search/ext/")
+include_directories("${CMAKE_SOURCE_DIR}/python")
+
+
+file (GLOB SOURCE_FILES "src/search/*.cc" "src/search/*/*.cc")
+file (GLOB HEADER_FILES "src/search/*.h*" "src/search/*/*.h*")
+file (GLOB PYTHON_FILES "python/*.cc" "python/*.h")
+
+# Set up such that XCode organizes the files
+#source_group(TREE ${CMAKE_CURRENT_SOURCE_DIR} FILES ${SOURCE_FILES} ${HEADER_FILES} ${PYTHON_FILES} )
+
+find_package(pybind11 REQUIRED)
+pybind11_add_module(pydownward 
+	${SOURCE_FILES}
+	${HEADER_FILES}
+	${PYTHON_FILES}
+)
+
+target_link_libraries(pydownward PUBLIC)
+
+install(TARGETS pydownward
+  COMPONENT python
+  LIBRARY DESTINATION "${PYTHON_LIBRARY_DIR}"
+  )
diff --git a/README_PYBIND.txt b/README_PYBIND.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f155cdc06d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/README_PYBIND.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+To install pybind11, use
+  apt install python3-pybind11
+
+To test the current pybind setup, proceed as follows:
+
+$ mkdir pybind-build
+$ cd pybind-build
+$ cmake .. -DPYTHON_LIBRARY_DIR="<absolutepathtorepositoryroot>/try-pybindings" -DPYTHON_EXECUTABLE="/usr/bin/python3"
+ (or wherever your python3 lives)
+$ make -j8
+$ make install
+$ cd ../try-pybindings
+$ ls
+pydownward.cpython-310-x86_64-linux-gnu.so  test.py
+$ cat test.py
+
+Put some output.sas file into the directory. The test only runs enforced
+hill-climbing, which has a high likelihood to NOT solve a task. It can for
+example solve the first driverlog task, so if in doubt, use that one.
+
+Enjoy:
+$ python -i test.py
+
+
+Notes on the interface:
+
+* We hacked the code in some places
+  - We made Heuristic::compute_heuristic public. This might be necessary for the
+    trampoline classes but have not looked for alternatives.
+  - We added a constructor Heuristic(task) that fixes some options (see
+    create_dummy_options_for_python_binding in heuristic.cc). The long term plan
+    would be t not pass the options object into the constructor and instead pass
+    individual parameters that are then also all exposed through the interface.
+  - Similarly, we added temporary constructors for the FF heuristic, search
+    engines, and EHC search.
+  - We added a global function get_root_task to access the global task. We have
+    to think about how to expose the task.
+
+* The order of template parameters in py::class_<...> does not matter. Pybind
+  will figure out which parameter is which. We should agree on some default order.
+  For Heuristic, we use four parameters:
+  - Heuristic is the class to expose to Python
+  - std::shared_ptr<Heuristic> is the holder that is internally used for
+    reference counting, we use shared pointers to make this compatible with our
+    other features.
+  - Evaluator is the base class
+  - HeuristicTrampoline is a class used to handle function calls of virtual
+    functions. If we inherit from Heuristic in Python, the trampoline class is
+    responsible for forwarding calls to the Python class. See
+    https://pybind11.readthedocs.io/en/stable/advanced/classes.html
+
+* Trampoline classes (EvaluatorTrampoline, HeuristicTrampoline) are needed to
+  derive classes in Python. They are needed for all classes in the hierarchy. For
+  example, if we wanted to allow users to inherit from FFHeuristic, it would also
+  need a trampoline class. They have to define all virtual methods that we want to
+  make available in Python on every level (FFHeuristicTrampoline would have to
+  repeat the definition of compute_heuristic). It is not clear if the trampoline
+  for Evaluator is needed as long as no virtual method from Evaluator is in the
+  interface. Probably yes, because the constructor counts.
+
+* py::make_iterator can be used to set up an iterable but py::keep_alive is
+  required to keep the iterator alive while it is used.
diff --git a/python/test.cc b/python/test.cc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..5b62806849
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python/test.cc
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    #include <pybind11/pybind11.h>
+#include <pybind11/stl.h>
+#include <functional>
+#include <fstream>
+#include <vector>
+
+#include "command_line.h"
+#include "heuristic.h"
+#include "search_engine.h"
+#include "task_proxy.h"
+
+#include "search_engines/enforced_hill_climbing_search.h"
+#include "heuristics/ff_heuristic.h"
+#include "tasks/root_task.h"
+#include "task_utils/task_properties.h"
+#include "utils/logging.h"
+#include "utils/system.h"
+#include "utils/timer.h"
+
+namespace py = pybind11;
+
+//py::object test(const std::string &sas_file, const std::string &cmd_line) {
+void read_task(const std::string &sas_file) {
+  std::ifstream task_file(sas_file);
+  tasks::read_root_task(task_file);
+}
+
+class EvaluatorTrampoline : public Evaluator {
+public:
+    using Evaluator::Evaluator;
+};
+
+class HeuristicTrampoline : public Heuristic {
+public:
+    using Heuristic::Heuristic;
+
+    virtual int compute_heuristic(const State &ancestor_state) override {
+        PYBIND11_OVERRIDE_PURE(
+            int,                /* Return type */
+            Heuristic,          /* Parent class */
+            compute_heuristic,  /* Name of function in C++ (must match Python name) */
+            ancestor_state      /* Argument(s) */
+        );
+    }
+};
+
+void init_ff(py::module_ &m) {
+    py::options options;
+    options.disable_function_signatures();
+
+    py::class_<ff_heuristic::FFHeuristic, std::shared_ptr<ff_heuristic::FFHeuristic>, Heuristic>(m, "FFHeuristic")
+      .def(py::init<std::shared_ptr<AbstractTask>>(), py::arg("task"), py::doc(R"delimiter(
+    FFHeuristic
+    bla bla bla synopsis
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    :param AbstractTask task: optional task transformation for this heuristic
+)delimiter"));
+}
+
+void init_ehc(py::module_ &m) {
+    py::options options;
+    options.disable_function_signatures();
+
+    py::class_<enforced_hill_climbing_search::EnforcedHillClimbingSearch, std::shared_ptr<enforced_hill_climbing_search::EnforcedHillClimbingSearch>>(m, "EHCSearch")
+      .def(py::init<const std::string &, int, double, int, std::shared_ptr<Evaluator>>())
+      .def("search", &enforced_hill_climbing_search::EnforcedHillClimbingSearch::search, py::doc("this has some effect"))
+      .def("found_solution", &enforced_hill_climbing_search::EnforcedHillClimbingSearch::found_solution)
+      .def("get_plan", &enforced_hill_climbing_search::EnforcedHillClimbingSearch::get_plan);
+}
+
+PYBIND11_MODULE(pydownward, m) {
+    m.doc() = "Gabi's pybind11 example plugin"; // Optional module docstring
+
+    py::options options;
+    options.disable_function_signatures();
+
+    m.def("read_task", &read_task, "Read the task from sas_file", py::arg("sas_file")="output.sas");
+
+    m.def("get_root_task", &tasks::get_root_task, "Get the root task");
+
+    py::class_<AbstractTask, std::shared_ptr<AbstractTask>>(m, "AbstractTask")
+      .def("get_operator_name", &AbstractTask::get_operator_name);
+
+    py::class_<OperatorID>(m, "OperatorID")
+      .def("get_index", &OperatorID::get_index);
+
+    py::class_<FactProxy>(m, "FactProxy")
+      .def("get_name", &FactProxy::get_name);
+
+    py::class_<State>(m, "State")
+      .def("__getitem__", [](State &self, unsigned index)
+        { return self[index]; })
+      .def("__iter__", [](const State &s) { return py::make_iterator(begin(s), end(s)); }, py::keep_alive<0, 1>());
+
+    py::class_<Evaluator, std::shared_ptr<Evaluator>, EvaluatorTrampoline>(m, "Evaluator");
+  
+    py::class_<Heuristic, std::shared_ptr<Heuristic>, Evaluator, HeuristicTrampoline>(m, "Heuristic")
+      .def(py::init<std::shared_ptr<AbstractTask>>())
+      .def("compute_heuristic", &Heuristic::compute_heuristic);
+
+    std::vector<std::function<void(py::module_ &)>> init_functions = {init_ff, init_ehc};
+    for(auto f : init_functions) {
+        f(m);
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/search/heuristic.cc b/src/search/heuristic.cc
index 9030deb64e..89a1e313e4 100644
--- a/src/search/heuristic.cc
+++ b/src/search/heuristic.cc
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 #include "task_utils/task_properties.h"
 #include "tasks/cost_adapted_task.h"
 #include "tasks/root_task.h"
+#include "utils/logging.h"
 
 #include <cassert>
 #include <cstdlib>
@@ -22,6 +23,22 @@ Heuristic::Heuristic(const plugins::Options &opts)
       task_proxy(*task) {
 }
 
+
+plugins::Options create_dummy_options_for_python_binding() {
+    plugins::Options opts;
+    opts.set<utils::Verbosity>("verbosity", utils::Verbosity::NORMAL);
+    opts.set_unparsed_config("Evaluator created from Python");
+    return opts;
+}
+
+Heuristic::Heuristic(shared_ptr<AbstractTask> task)
+    : Evaluator(create_dummy_options_for_python_binding(), true, true, true),
+      heuristic_cache(HEntry(NO_VALUE, true)),
+      cache_evaluator_values(true),
+      task(task),
+      task_proxy(*task) {
+}
+
 Heuristic::~Heuristic() {
 }
 
diff --git a/src/search/heuristic.h b/src/search/heuristic.h
index 12e0770851..dd74dcf4c8 100644
--- a/src/search/heuristic.h
+++ b/src/search/heuristic.h
@@ -61,8 +61,6 @@ class Heuristic : public Evaluator {
 
     enum {DEAD_END = -1, NO_VALUE = -2};
 
-    virtual int compute_heuristic(const State &ancestor_state) = 0;
-
     /*
       Usage note: Marking the same operator as preferred multiple times
       is OK -- it will only appear once in the list of preferred
@@ -74,8 +72,11 @@ class Heuristic : public Evaluator {
 
 public:
     explicit Heuristic(const plugins::Options &opts);
+    explicit Heuristic(std::shared_ptr<AbstractTask> task);
     virtual ~Heuristic() override;
 
+    virtual int compute_heuristic(const State &ancestor_state) = 0;
+
     virtual void get_path_dependent_evaluators(
         std::set<Evaluator *> & /*evals*/) override {
     }
diff --git a/src/search/heuristics/ff_heuristic.cc b/src/search/heuristics/ff_heuristic.cc
index c782fee62f..015613df23 100644
--- a/src/search/heuristics/ff_heuristic.cc
+++ b/src/search/heuristics/ff_heuristic.cc
@@ -19,6 +19,23 @@ FFHeuristic::FFHeuristic(const plugins::Options &opts)
     }
 }
 
+static plugins::Options mimic_options(shared_ptr<AbstractTask> task) {
+  plugins::Options opts;
+  opts.set<bool>("cache_estimates", true);
+  opts.set<shared_ptr<AbstractTask>>("transform", task);
+  opts.set<utils::Verbosity>("verbosity", utils::Verbosity::NORMAL);
+  opts.set_unparsed_config("Manual FF");
+  return opts;
+}
+
+FFHeuristic::FFHeuristic(shared_ptr<AbstractTask> task)
+    : AdditiveHeuristic(mimic_options(task)),
+      relaxed_plan(task_proxy.get_operators().size(), false) {
+    if (log.is_at_least_normal()) {
+        log << "Initializing FF heuristic..." << endl;
+    }
+}
+
 void FFHeuristic::mark_preferred_operators_and_relaxed_plan(
     const State &state, PropID goal_id) {
     Proposition *goal = get_proposition(goal_id);
diff --git a/src/search/heuristics/ff_heuristic.h b/src/search/heuristics/ff_heuristic.h
index 5a7cad2ecf..6605237ddd 100644
--- a/src/search/heuristics/ff_heuristic.h
+++ b/src/search/heuristics/ff_heuristic.h
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ class FFHeuristic : public additive_heuristic::AdditiveHeuristic {
     virtual int compute_heuristic(const State &ancestor_state) override;
 public:
     explicit FFHeuristic(const plugins::Options &opts);
+    explicit FFHeuristic(std::shared_ptr<AbstractTask> task);
 };
 }
 
diff --git a/src/search/search_engine.cc b/src/search/search_engine.cc
index 8a7b42cd93..1f1ae3d29d 100644
--- a/src/search/search_engine.cc
+++ b/src/search/search_engine.cc
@@ -40,6 +40,28 @@ successor_generator::SuccessorGenerator &get_successor_generator(
     return successor_generator;
 }
 
+SearchEngine::SearchEngine(const std::string &description, OperatorCost cost_type, double max_time, int cost_bound)
+    : description(description),
+      status(IN_PROGRESS),
+      solution_found(false),
+      task(tasks::g_root_task),
+      task_proxy(*task),
+      log(utils::g_log), // TODO the options version can set the verbosity level
+      state_registry(task_proxy),
+      successor_generator(get_successor_generator(task_proxy, log)),
+      search_space(state_registry, log),
+      statistics(log),
+      cost_type(cost_type),
+      is_unit_cost(task_properties::is_unit_cost(task_proxy)),
+      max_time(max_time) {
+    if (cost_bound < 0) {
+        cerr << "error: negative cost bound " << cost_bound << endl;
+        utils::exit_with(ExitCode::SEARCH_INPUT_ERROR);
+    }
+    bound = cost_bound;
+    task_properties::print_variable_statistics(task_proxy);
+}
+
 SearchEngine::SearchEngine(const plugins::Options &opts)
     : description(opts.get_unparsed_config()),
       status(IN_PROGRESS),
diff --git a/src/search/search_engine.h b/src/search/search_engine.h
index 478fb39a36..08321f555c 100644
--- a/src/search/search_engine.h
+++ b/src/search/search_engine.h
@@ -61,6 +61,7 @@ class SearchEngine {
     int get_adjusted_cost(const OperatorProxy &op) const;
 public:
     SearchEngine(const plugins::Options &opts);
+    SearchEngine(const std::string &description, OperatorCost cost_type, double max_time, int cost_bound);
     virtual ~SearchEngine();
     virtual void print_statistics() const = 0;
     virtual void save_plan_if_necessary();
diff --git a/src/search/search_engines/enforced_hill_climbing_search.cc b/src/search/search_engines/enforced_hill_climbing_search.cc
index 7ae27218f2..ecd031d7c6 100644
--- a/src/search/search_engines/enforced_hill_climbing_search.cc
+++ b/src/search/search_engines/enforced_hill_climbing_search.cc
@@ -92,6 +92,39 @@ EnforcedHillClimbingSearch::EnforcedHillClimbingSearch(
         opts, use_preferred, preferred_usage)->create_edge_open_list();
 }
 
+
+// TODO we do not support preferred operators, selection of preferred usage
+// TODO verbosity fixed to NORMAL
+EnforcedHillClimbingSearch::EnforcedHillClimbingSearch(const std::string &description,
+    int cost_type, double max_time, int cost_bound,
+    shared_ptr<Evaluator> h)
+    : SearchEngine(description, OperatorCost(cost_type), max_time, cost_bound),
+      evaluator(h),
+      preferred_operator_evaluators(vector<shared_ptr<Evaluator>>()),
+      preferred_usage(PreferredUsage::RANK_PREFERRED_FIRST),
+      current_eval_context(state_registry.get_initial_state(), &statistics),
+      current_phase_start_g(-1),
+      num_ehc_phases(0),
+      last_num_expanded(-1) {
+    for (const shared_ptr<Evaluator> &eval : preferred_operator_evaluators) {
+        eval->get_path_dependent_evaluators(path_dependent_evaluators);
+    }
+    evaluator->get_path_dependent_evaluators(path_dependent_evaluators);
+
+    State initial_state = state_registry.get_initial_state();
+    for (Evaluator *evaluator : path_dependent_evaluators) {
+        evaluator->notify_initial_state(initial_state);
+    }
+    use_preferred = find(preferred_operator_evaluators.begin(),
+                         preferred_operator_evaluators.end(), evaluator) !=
+        preferred_operator_evaluators.end();
+
+    plugins::Options options;
+    options.set("verbosity", utils::Verbosity::NORMAL);
+    open_list = create_ehc_open_list_factory(
+        options, use_preferred, preferred_usage)->create_edge_open_list();
+}
+
 EnforcedHillClimbingSearch::~EnforcedHillClimbingSearch() {
 }
 
diff --git a/src/search/search_engines/enforced_hill_climbing_search.h b/src/search/search_engines/enforced_hill_climbing_search.h
index 49c9bbfc2e..ec813b301c 100644
--- a/src/search/search_engines/enforced_hill_climbing_search.h
+++ b/src/search/search_engines/enforced_hill_climbing_search.h
@@ -61,6 +61,9 @@ class EnforcedHillClimbingSearch : public SearchEngine {
 
 public:
     explicit EnforcedHillClimbingSearch(const plugins::Options &opts);
+    EnforcedHillClimbingSearch(const std::string &description,
+        int cost_type, double max_time, int cost_bound,
+        std::shared_ptr<Evaluator> h);
     virtual ~EnforcedHillClimbingSearch() override;
 
     virtual void print_statistics() const override;
diff --git a/src/search/tasks/root_task.cc b/src/search/tasks/root_task.cc
index 2ed2241122..0ebc9db7e5 100644
--- a/src/search/tasks/root_task.cc
+++ b/src/search/tasks/root_task.cc
@@ -497,6 +497,11 @@ void read_root_task(istream &in) {
     g_root_task = make_shared<RootTask>(in);
 }
 
+shared_ptr<AbstractTask> get_root_task() { 
+  return g_root_task;
+}
+
+
 class RootTaskFeature : public plugins::TypedFeature<AbstractTask, AbstractTask> {
 public:
     RootTaskFeature() : TypedFeature("no_transform") {
diff --git a/src/search/tasks/root_task.h b/src/search/tasks/root_task.h
index 15961d1e87..6e1e3efca8 100644
--- a/src/search/tasks/root_task.h
+++ b/src/search/tasks/root_task.h
@@ -6,5 +6,7 @@
 namespace tasks {
 extern std::shared_ptr<AbstractTask> g_root_task;
 extern void read_root_task(std::istream &in);
+
+extern std::shared_ptr<AbstractTask> get_root_task();
 }
 #endif
diff --git a/try-pybindings/test.py b/try-pybindings/test.py
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..81c324c7ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/try-pybindings/test.py
@@ -0,0 +1,25 @@
+#! /usr/bin/env python
+
+import pydownward
+
+class MyHeuristic(pydownward.Heuristic):
+    def __init__(self, task):
+        super().__init__(task)
+        self.ff = pydownward.FFHeuristic(task)
+
+    def compute_heuristic(self, state):
+        ff = self.ff.compute_heuristic(state)
+        print(f"Returning h = {ff} for state: {[f.get_name() for f in state]}")
+        return ff
+
+pydownward.read_task("output.sas")
+task = pydownward.get_root_task()
+
+h = MyHeuristic(task)
+search = pydownward.EHCSearch("hallo", 0, 100.0, 100, h) 
+search.search()
+assert search.found_solution()
+op_id_plan = search.get_plan()
+plan = [task.get_operator_name(op_id.get_index(), False)
+        for op_id in op_id_plan]
+print(plan)
\ No newline at end of file