diff --git a/src/util/system.h b/src/util/system.h
--- a/src/util/system.h
+++ b/src/util/system.h
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 #include <util/threadnames.h>
 #include <util/time.h>
 
+#include <any>
 #include <cstdint>
 #include <exception>
 #include <map>
@@ -498,6 +499,16 @@
     dst.insert(src.begin(), src.end());
 }
 
+/**
+ * Helper function to access the contained object of a std::any instance.
+ * Returns a pointer to the object if passed instance has a value and the type
+ * matches, nullptr otherwise.
+ */
+template <typename T> T *AnyPtr(const std::any &any) noexcept {
+    T *const *ptr = std::any_cast<T *>(&any);
+    return ptr ? *ptr : nullptr;
+}
+
 #ifdef WIN32
 class WinCmdLineArgs {
 public: