Low Risk

list_entities

List every named entity in the Decoder Index — the smallest citable unit of authority in the corpus. Returns the four-class taxonomy (Person / Organization / Legislation / CreativeWork) with class-specific summary fields (jobTitle for Person; jurisdiction for Organization / Legislation / Project;...

Risk signalsBulk/mass operation — affects multiple targets

Part of the Zoning Signal server.

list_entities is read-only, but an agent in a loop can still rack up calls and cost. PolicyLayer caps every call before it runs. Live in minutes.

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AI agents call list_entities to retrieve information from Zoning Signal without modifying any data. This is common in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows where the agent needs context before taking action. Because read operations don't change state, they are generally safe to allow without restrictions -- but you may still want rate limits to control API costs.

Even though list_entities only reads data, uncontrolled read access can leak sensitive information or rack up API costs. An agent caught in a retry loop could make thousands of calls per minute. A rate limit gives you a safety net without blocking legitimate use.

Read-only tools are safe to allow by default. No rate limit needed unless you want to control costs.

policy.json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "list_entities": {}
  }
}

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These attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access list_entities gives an agent. Each links to the full case and the policy that stops it:

Browse the full MCP Attack Database →

Every attack above starts with a tool call. PolicyLayer checks each one against your policy first, so list_entities only ever does what you allow.

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Other read tools across the catalogue. The same approach applies to each: allow, with a rate cap to control cost.

What does the list_entities tool do? +

List every named entity in the Decoder Index — the smallest citable unit of authority in the corpus. Returns the four-class taxonomy (Person / Organization / Legislation / CreativeWork) with class-specific summary fields (jobTitle for Person; jurisdiction for Organization / Legislation / Project; legal_status for Legislation; case_number + work_status for Project) plus cross-reference counts (meetings_count, briefs_count, watches_count, patterns_count) for each entity. Filter by entity_class, place (jurisdiction), or search substring. Use as the discovery surface for the entity graph; pair with describe_entity for full structured detail. Each entity's schema_id is a stable cross-page reference (/entities/{slug}#{class.toLowerCase()}) that resolves to the canonical Schema.org node — Person / Organization / Legislation / CreativeWork — for AI-citation grounding.. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Zoning Signal MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on list_entities? +

Register the Zoning Signal MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for list_entities: 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 Zoning Signal. Nothing to install.

What risk level is list_entities? +

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

Can I rate-limit list_entities? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the list_entities 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_entities completely? +

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

list_entities is provided by the Zoning Signal MCP server (https://zoningsignal.com/mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every Zoning Signal tool call.

Deterministic rules across all 17 Zoning Signal tools. Per-identity grants. Full audit log. Live in minutes. Nothing to install.

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