Medium Risk

set_watch

Register a persistent threshold on a lens metric. Evaluated hourly; a fresh crossing writes a notification that surfaces in get_notifications. Scope (v1): friction.failure_rate, friction.proportion_of_wait, trend.failure_rate_delta on a specific target_system_id. Calling set_watch again with the ...

Single-target operation

Part of the ACR — Agent Composition Records MCP server. Enforce policies on this tool with Intercept, the open-source MCP proxy.

AI agents use set_watch to create or modify resources in ACR — Agent Composition Records. Write operations carry medium risk because an autonomous agent could trigger bulk unintended modifications. Rate limits prevent a single agent session from making hundreds of changes in rapid succession. Argument validation ensures the agent passes expected values.

Without a policy, an AI agent could call set_watch repeatedly, creating or modifying resources faster than any human could review. Intercept's rate limiting ensures write operations happen at a controlled pace, and argument validation catches malformed or unexpected inputs before they reach ACR — Agent Composition Records.

Write tools can modify data. A rate limit prevents runaway bulk operations from AI agents.

acr-agent-composition-records.yaml
tools:
  set_watch:
    rules:
      - action: allow
        rate_limit:
          max: 30
          window: 60

See the full ACR — Agent Composition Records policy for all 30 tools.

Tool Name set_watch
Category Write
Risk Level Medium

View all 30 tools →

Agents calling write-class tools like set_watch have been implicated in these attack patterns. Read the full case and prevention policy for each:

Browse the full MCP Attack Database →

Other tools in the Write risk category across the catalogue. The same policy patterns (rate-limit, validate) apply to each.

What does the set_watch tool do? +

Register a persistent threshold on a lens metric. Evaluated hourly; a fresh crossing writes a notification that surfaces in get_notifications. Scope (v1): friction.failure_rate, friction.proportion_of_wait, trend.failure_rate_delta on a specific target_system_id. Calling set_watch again with the same (lens, target, metric, condition) updates the threshold in place.. It is categorised as a Write tool in the ACR — Agent Composition Records MCP Server, which means it can create or modify data. Consider rate limits to prevent runaway writes.

How do I enforce a policy on set_watch? +

Add a rule in your Intercept YAML policy under the tools section for set_watch. You can allow, deny, rate-limit, or validate arguments. Then run Intercept as a proxy in front of the ACR — Agent Composition Records MCP server.

What risk level is set_watch? +

set_watch is a Write tool with medium risk. Write tools should be rate-limited to prevent accidental bulk modifications.

Can I rate-limit set_watch? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the set_watch rule in your Intercept policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.

How do I block set_watch completely? +

Set action: deny in the Intercept policy for set_watch. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.

What MCP server provides set_watch? +

set_watch is provided by the ACR — Agent Composition Records MCP server (@tethral/acr-mcp). Intercept sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Let agents act without letting them run wild.

Deterministic policy on every MCP tool call. Per-identity grants. Full audit log.

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