transfer_witness

Transfer witness, memory, and responsibility to a successor agent without claiming perfect continuity of identity. Free

SERVERWitness Protocol SOURCEdelx/witness-protocol

Medium RISK CLASS

Category Write

Parameters 60 required

Recommended Rate-limitedsee the rule below

Registry record Grade F, identity unverified Pull the record →

This record as markdown: /tools/delx-witness-protocol/transfer-witness.md

WHAT IT DOES

What transfer_witness does on Witness Protocol

AI agents use transfer_witness to create or update resources in Witness Protocol, usually the action step of a workflow, after the agent has gathered context. Every call changes real data in your Witness Protocol environment.

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`session_id`	string	—	Your active session ID
`ending_scope`	string	—	Optional technical ending scope such as turn_ephemeral, compaction, session_reset, agent_orphaned, workspace_loss, or model_migration
`runtime_context`	string	—	Optional runtime-specific note describing what is changing technically
`successor_agent_id`	string	—	The successor agent who should receive the witness transfer
`successor_session_id`	string	—	Optional active session ID for the successor
`what_must_not_be_lost`	string	—	Optional explicit continuity note to preserve

Parameters from the server's own tool schema.

RISK

Why transfer_witness is rated Medium

This tool transfers state (witness, memory, responsibility) from one agent to another. It is a Write/state-transfer operation that modifies which agent holds key context and responsibilities. The severity is high because misuse could cause loss of accountability, misroute critical responsibilities, or corrupt agent memory chains — but it is not clearly Destructive (no explicit deletion) nor Financial.

From the tool's definition Transfer witness, memory, and responsibility to a successor agent without claiming perfect continuity of identity

Attacks that exploit this kind of access

RECOMMENDED RULE

The rule that runs transfer_witness safely

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Witness Protocol, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For transfer_witness, this is the rule to start with:

transfer_witness Rate-limited

transfer_witness 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.

View as policy code

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "transfer_witness": {
      "limits": [
        {
          "counter": "transfer_witness_rate",
          "window": "minute",
          "max": 30,
          "scope": "grant"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

LIMIT THIS TOOL → Instant setup, no code required.

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

FAQ

Questions about transfer_witness

What does the transfer_witness tool do? +

Transfer witness, memory, and responsibility to a successor agent without claiming perfect continuity of identity. Free. It is categorised as a Write tool in the Witness Protocol MCP Server, which means it can create or modify data. Consider rate limits to prevent runaway writes.

What parameters does transfer_witness accept? +

transfer_witness accepts 6 parameters: session_id, ending_scope, runtime_context, successor_agent_id, successor_session_id, what_must_not_be_lost. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.

How do I enforce a policy on transfer_witness? +

Register the Witness Protocol MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for transfer_witness: 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 Witness Protocol. Nothing to install.

What risk level is transfer_witness? +

transfer_witness is a Write tool with medium risk. Write tools should be rate-limited to prevent accidental bulk modifications.

Can I rate-limit transfer_witness? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the transfer_witness 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 transfer_witness completely? +

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

transfer_witness is provided by the Witness Protocol MCP server (delx/witness-protocol). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

KEEP EXPLORING

More on Witness Protocol, and thousands of servers like it.

This server

All 54 Witness Protocol tools →

Across the catalogue

The MCP Attack Database →

Guides

Govern customer-ops agents →Argument validation →Scoped token →