get_contact
Gets a contact from the Mac's Contacts app (Contacts.app) by name or ID. Pass name to look up directly by name (no need to search_contacts first — if several people match it returns a compact list to choose from), or contact_id for an exact lookup. For Microsoft 365 use m365_get_contact instead.
This record as markdown: /tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/get-contact.md
What get_contact does on Local
AI agents call get_contact to retrieve information from Local without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
name | string | — | Full or partial contact name — the one-step path. Provide this OR contact_id. |
contact_id | string | — | Exact identifier from list_contacts/search_contacts. Provide this OR name. |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why get_contact is rated Low
This tool retrieves contact information from the Mac's Contacts app without creating, modifying, or deleting data. It is a straightforward Read operation. Severity is medium (not low) because contacts may contain personally identifiable information (PII) including phone numbers, email addresses, and addresses; unauthorized or careless exposure could facilitate social engineering, privacy violations, or identity…
From the tool's definition Tool description states it 'Gets a contact' and 'look up directly by name' or 'exact lookup' — these are retrieval operations with no modification.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs get_contact safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Local, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For get_contact, this is the rule to start with:
get_contact 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 Local, apply this rule, and every get_contact call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about get_contact
Gets a contact from the Mac's Contacts app (Contacts.app) by name or ID. Pass name to look up directly by name (no need to search_contacts first — if several people match it returns a compact list to choose from), or contact_id for an exact lookup. For Microsoft 365 use m365_get_contact instead. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Local MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
get_contact accepts 2 parameters: name, contact_id. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Local MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for get_contact: 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 Local. Nothing to install.
get_contact 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 get_contact 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 get_contact. 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.
get_contact is provided by the Local MCP server (local-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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