actual_transactions_summary_by_category
Get spending summary grouped by category using ActualQL aggregation. Returns total amount and transaction count per category for a date range. Perfect for budget analysis and expense tracking. By default excludes income categories (set includeIncome=true to include them).
This record as markdown: /tools/actual/actual-transactions-summary-by-category.md
What actual_transactions_summary_by_category does on Actual
AI agents call actual_transactions_summary_by_category to retrieve information from Actual without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
Why actual_transactions_summary_by_category is rated Low
This tool only retrieves and aggregates financial data (totals and counts by category) for a given date range. It has no side effects — it does not create, modify, or delete any records. Despite being in a financial management context, it does not move money or commit financial obligations; it is purely a read/query operation.
From the tool's definition Get spending summary grouped by category... Returns total amount and transaction count per category for a date range. Perfect for budget analysis and expense tracking.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs actual_transactions_summary_by_category 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_transactions_summary_by_category, this is the rule to start with:
actual_transactions_summary_by_category is read-only, so it stays allowed. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Actual, apply this rule, and every actual_transactions_summary_by_category call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about actual_transactions_summary_by_category
Get spending summary grouped by category using ActualQL aggregation. Returns total amount and transaction count per category for a date range. Perfect for budget analysis and expense tracking. By default excludes income categories (set includeIncome=true to include them). It is categorised as a Read tool in the Actual MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Actual MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for actual_transactions_summary_by_category: 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_transactions_summary_by_category is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the actual_transactions_summary_by_category 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_transactions_summary_by_category. 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_transactions_summary_by_category 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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