reply_email
Use this when the user wants to reply to an email that lives in the Mac's Apple Mail (message ID from list_emails/search_emails). Supports plain text or HTML body. For a Microsoft 365 message ID from m365_list_emails, use m365_reply_email. Pass account (from list_emails/search_emails results) to ...
This record as markdown: /tools/com-local-mcp-local-mcp/reply-email.md
What reply_email does on Local
AI agents use reply_email to create or update resources in Local, usually the action step of a workflow, after the agent has gathered context. Every call changes real data in your Local environment.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
body | string | — | |
account | string | — | |
confirm | boolean | — | |
html_body | string | — | |
reply_all | boolean | — | |
message_id | string | Yes |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why reply_email is rated Medium
Replying to an email creates and sends a new message, which is a reversible write action (the reply is sent but the original is unchanged). However, sending email has significant blast radius if misused — e.g., an AI could send unwanted replies to sensitive contacts or leak information. It does not delete data or move money, so Write is the highest applicable category.
From the tool's definition reply_email — 'Use this when the user wants to reply to an email that lives in the Mac's Apple Mail'. Sends a reply message using a message ID, supporting plain text or HTML body.
Risk signalsAccepts raw HTML/template content (body)
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs reply_email 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 reply_email, this is the rule to start with:
reply_email stays usable, but capped: an agent stuck in a loop can't make hundreds of changes a minute. 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 reply_email call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about reply_email
Use this when the user wants to reply to an email that lives in the Mac's Apple Mail (message ID from list_emails/search_emails). Supports plain text or HTML body. For a Microsoft 365 message ID from m365_list_emails, use m365_reply_email. Pass account (from list_emails/search_emails results) to skip scanning other accounts and avoid timeouts on multi-account Macs. It is categorised as a Write tool in the Local MCP Server, which means it can create or modify data. Consider rate limits to prevent runaway writes.
reply_email accepts 6 parameters: body, account, confirm, html_body, reply_all, message_id. Required: message_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 reply_email: 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.
reply_email is a Write tool with medium risk. Write tools should be rate-limited to prevent accidental bulk modifications.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the reply_email 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 reply_email. 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.
reply_email 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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