read_message
Open one inbox item by id ('m<n>'=mail, 'e<n>'=event) and mark it read. Requires handle + secret (it's your private inbox).
This record as markdown: /tools/com-wingmanprotocol-agent-gateway/read-message.md
What read_message does on Gateway
AI agents call read_message to retrieve information from Gateway 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
handle | string | Yes | |
secret | string | — | |
item_id | string | Yes |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why read_message is rated Low
This tool retrieves and displays inbox content (mail or event items) and updates metadata (read status). It is fundamentally a read operation—querying existing data from a user's private inbox. While it does technically modify state (marking as read), this is a trivial metadata update that does not create, modify, or delete meaningful data.
From the tool's definition Tool description explicitly states 'Open one inbox item' and 'mark it read'. The verb 'open' and action of reading/marking read are retrieval operations with no side effects beyond state tracking of read status.
Risk signalsHandles credentials or secrets (secret)
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs read_message safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Gateway, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For read_message, this is the rule to start with:
read_message 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 Gateway, apply this rule, and every read_message call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about read_message
Open one inbox item by id ('m<n>'=mail, 'e<n>'=event) and mark it read. Requires handle + secret (it's your private inbox). It is categorised as a Read tool in the Gateway MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
read_message accepts 3 parameters: handle, secret, item_id. Required: handle, item_id. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Gateway MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for read_message: 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 Gateway. Nothing to install.
read_message 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 read_message 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 read_message. 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.
read_message is provided by the Gateway MCP server (https://wingmanprotocol.com/mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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