The hydride toolbox is an international conference held in Paris, from the 12^th to the 15^th of December 2016. The goal of the event is to bring together experts in molecular physics (gas phase & solid phase ; theory & experiments), theoretical and numerical modelling, and astronomical observations, in order to review our current knowledge of interstellar hydrides, benchmark their diagnostic capabilities, and expand the validation domain from the local universe to distant systems. The sessions will be organized with introductory review talks, and ample time for contributed talks and poster presentations.