actual_category_groups_delete
Delete a category group from Actual Budget. Note: Categories within the group will be moved to a default group or ungrouped. This operation cannot be undone.
This record as markdown: /tools/actual/actual-category-groups-delete.md
What actual_category_groups_delete does on Actual
AI agents call actual_category_groups_delete to permanently remove resources in Actual, typically in cleanup and lifecycle workflows. It does its job in a single call, and there is no undo.
Why actual_category_groups_delete is rated Critical
The tool permanently deletes a category group, which is an irreversible destructive operation on financial data structure. While the categories themselves are preserved (moved to default), the deletion of the group itself and its organizational metadata cannot be undone, meeting the Destructive definition.
From the tool's definition 'Delete a category group' and 'This operation cannot be undone' — explicitly describes irreversible deletion of financial organizational data.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs actual_category_groups_delete safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Actual, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For actual_category_groups_delete, this is the rule to start with:
actual_category_groups_delete is removed from the agent's tool list entirely, so the agent never calls it. The rest of the server keeps working.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Actual, apply this rule, and every actual_category_groups_delete call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about actual_category_groups_delete
Delete a category group from Actual Budget. Note: Categories within the group will be moved to a default group or ungrouped. This operation cannot be undone. It is categorised as a Destructive tool in the Actual MCP Server, which means it can permanently delete or destroy data. Block by default and require explicit approval.
Register the Actual MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for actual_category_groups_delete: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Actual. Nothing to install.
actual_category_groups_delete is a Destructive tool with critical risk. Critical-risk tools should be blocked by default and only enabled with explicit human approval.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the actual_category_groups_delete rule in your PolicyLayer 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.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for actual_category_groups_delete. 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.
actual_category_groups_delete is provided by the Actual MCP server (actual-mcp-server). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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