# list_capabilities

Traverse the capability spine joining books, guides (capability packages), KSAO-grade elements and jobs. Use min_guides=2 for the cross-cutting capabilities that span many guides, role=<role> for what a job requires, capability_detail=<slug> for one package with its elements and books hydrated. ksao_type/canon_component_id are null by design where unresolved — treat null as 'not yet joined', never as 'no link'.

Agent View of the PolicyLayer registry record for `list_capabilities`. HTML page: https://policylayer.com/tools/com-aiengineerprofessional-guide-registry/list-capabilities

## Facts

- Tool: `list_capabilities`
- Server: Guide Registry (`https://aiengineerprofessional.com/mcp`) — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-aiengineerprofessional-guide-registry.md
- Homepage: https://github.com/people-analyst/bicycle-guide
- Risk category: Read (Low risk)
- Registry record: grade C, identity unverified
- Server auth posture: open
- Server CORS policy: *
- Server rate-limited: no
- Parameters: 12
- Recommended policy verdict: Allowed

## Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `q` | string | no | Substring match on the element label. |
| `role` | string | no | Elements required by this job role, e.g. compensation-analyst. |
| `limit` | number | no | Cap the rows returned (default 200). `total` always reports the true count. |
| `has_job` | boolean | no | Only elements that some job requires (via a career guide). |
| `ksao_type` | string | no | knowledge \| skill \| ability \| other — from a panel validated at 95.1% on gold O*NET labels. 'other' is UNVALIDATED (no gold labels existed for it). |
| `capability` | string | no | Elements taught by this capability (guide slug). |
| `min_guides` | number | no | Only elements taught by >= N capabilities. 2 gives the cross-cutting spine. |
| `conflicting` | boolean | no | Only elements where 2+ non-career guides define the same label differently — these need a ruling. |
| `construct_class` | string | no | person-attribute (knowledge/skill/ability — what a JOB requires and a learner develops) \| condition-or-outcome (what a capability PRODUCES, e.g. 'Retention & Wo |
| `capability_detail` | string | no | Return ONE capability with its elements and books hydrated, instead of querying elements. |
| `has_canon_identity` | boolean | no | true = only elements resolved to a JobFrame canon component (an IDENTITY, panel-adjudicated). false = only unresolved. |
| `canon_promotion_candidate` | boolean | no | true = only elements the JobFrame canon has NO component for. This is a real answer, not a failed lookup — these are the constructs to PROMOTE into the canon. |

Parameters from the server's own tool schema.

## Example call (MCP tools/call, JSON-RPC 2.0)

```json
{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "list_capabilities",
    "arguments": {}
  }
}
```

## Why list_capabilities is rated Low

Even though list_capabilities only reads data, uncontrolled read access leaks sensitive information and racks up API costs: an agent caught in a retry loop can make thousands of calls a minute without anyone noticing.

Risk signals: High parameter count (12 properties)

## Use case

AI agents call list_capabilities to retrieve information from Guide Registry without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

## Recommended policy (PolicyLayer)

Verdict: **Allowed**. Enforced by the PolicyLayer MCP gateway (https://policylayer.com/mcp-gateway) before a call reaches Guide Registry:

```json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "list_capabilities": {}
  }
}
```

## Other tools on Guide Registry (9)

- `get_answer` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-aiengineerprofessional-guide-registry/get-answer.md
- `get_guide` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-aiengineerprofessional-guide-registry/get-guide.md
- `list_answers` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-aiengineerprofessional-guide-registry/list-answers.md
- `list_conditions` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-aiengineerprofessional-guide-registry/list-conditions.md
- `list_disagreements` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-aiengineerprofessional-guide-registry/list-disagreements.md
- `list_guides` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-aiengineerprofessional-guide-registry/list-guides.md
- `list_taxonomy` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-aiengineerprofessional-guide-registry/list-taxonomy.md
- `search_answers` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-aiengineerprofessional-guide-registry/search-answers.md
- `search_guides` — Read — https://policylayer.com/tools/com-aiengineerprofessional-guide-registry/search-guides.md

## For agents

This record is a snapshot. Live verdicts and the full registry:

- Check every server in your MCP config at once: `npx -y policylayer stack`
- Vet a server before you add it: install the mcp-precheck skill — `npx skills add https://policylayer.com` (skill text: https://policylayer.com/skill.md)
- Query the registry over MCP: endpoint `https://api.policylayer.com/mcp` — tools `check_mcp_server`, `check_mcp_stack`, `check_tool`, `search_registry`, `get_change_events`

---

Source: the PolicyLayer MCP registry — one continuously verified record per MCP server. Full record: https://policylayer.com/registry?q=com-aiengineerprofessional-guide-registry · API: https://policylayer.com/registry/api · Policy library: https://policylayer.com/policies/com-aiengineerprofessional-guide-registry