list_email_folders

SERVERLocal SOURCElocal-mcp

Low RISK CLASS

Category Read

Parameters 20 required

Recommended Allowedsee the rule below

Registry record Grade F, identity unverified Pull the record →

This record as markdown: /tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/list-email-folders.md

WHAT IT DOES

What list_email_folders does on Local

AI agents call list_email_folders 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
`account`	string	—
`include_counts`	boolean	—

Parameters from the server's own tool schema.

RISK

Why list_email_folders is rated Low

This tool performs a query-only operation that retrieves the structure of email folders without creating, modifying, or deleting any data. It has no side effects beyond reading metadata about folder hierarchies. While it accesses potentially sensitive email account structure information, the capability itself is read-only and presents minimal risk of misuse compared to tools that can move or delete emails.

From the tool's definition Tool description explicitly states 'Lists the full folder (mailbox) tree' and 'Use this to discover the exact folder names'. The verb 'Lists' indicates data retrieval with no modification.

Risk signalsBulk/mass operation — affects multiple targets

Attacks that exploit this kind of access

RECOMMENDED RULE

The rule that runs list_email_folders 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 list_email_folders, this is the rule to start with:

list_email_folders Allowed

list_email_folders is read-only, so it stays allowed. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

View as policy code

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "list_email_folders": {}
  }
}

ALLOW ONLY THIS TOOL → Instant setup, no code required.

The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Local, apply this rule, and every list_email_folders call is checked against it from then on.

FAQ

Questions about list_email_folders

What does the list_email_folders tool do? +

Lists the full folder (mailbox) tree for Apple Mail (Mail.app) accounts, including nested subfolders. Use this to discover the exact folder names that move_email(target_mailbox=...) and list_emails(mailbox=...) expect. Outlook.com, Exchange, Gmail, iCloud and IMAP accounts added to Mail.app are all included. For a Graph-only Microsoft 365 mailbox not added to Mail.app, use m365_list_emails instead. Pass account=<name> (from list_email_accounts) to enumerate one account fully; without it, every account is walked which can be slow on macOS 15+. Message counts are off by default (slow on IMAP) — pass include_counts=true to add unread/total per folder. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Local MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

What parameters does list_email_folders accept? +

list_email_folders accepts 2 parameters: account, include_counts. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.

How do I enforce a policy on list_email_folders? +

Register the Local MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for list_email_folders: 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.

What risk level is list_email_folders? +

list_email_folders is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.

Can I rate-limit list_email_folders? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the list_email_folders 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.

How do I block list_email_folders completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for list_email_folders. 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 list_email_folders? +

list_email_folders 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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