copy_course
Copy a course into a new one, as Moodle's "Copy course" does: its content (and, with withUsers, its people's enrolments and data) under a new full and short name, in a category (the course's unless given), with new dates. Needs the rights to back up, restore and create courses. It can take minute...
This record as markdown: /tools/falkenslab-moodle-mcp/copy-course.md
What copy_course does on Moodle
AI agents use copy_course to create or update resources in Moodle, usually the action step of a workflow, after the agent has gathered context. Every call changes real data in your Moodle environment.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
end | string | — | The new course's end, ISO 8601 |
start | string | — | The new course's start, ISO 8601 |
visible | boolean | — | |
courseId | integer | Yes | |
fullName | string | Yes | |
shortName | string | Yes | |
withUsers | boolean | — | Also its participants and their data (default false) |
categoryId | integer | — |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why copy_course is rated Medium
An AI agent can call copy_course faster than any human can review: one bad instruction and it creates or modifies resources in Moodle by the hundred, each call as confident as the last.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs copy_course safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Moodle, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For copy_course, this is the rule to start with:
copy_course 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 Moodle, apply this rule, and every copy_course call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about copy_course
Copy a course into a new one, as Moodle's "Copy course" does: its content (and, with withUsers, its people's enrolments and data) under a new full and short name, in a category (the course's unless given), with new dates. Needs the rights to back up, restore and create courses. It can take minutes: Moodle does it in steps, and waits up to ten. Creates a course: confirm with the person first. It is categorised as a Write tool in the Moodle MCP Server, which means it can create or modify data. Consider rate limits to prevent runaway writes.
copy_course accepts 8 parameters: end, start, visible, courseId, fullName, shortName, withUsers, categoryId. Required: courseId, fullName, shortName. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Moodle MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for copy_course: 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 Moodle. Nothing to install.
copy_course 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 copy_course 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 copy_course. 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.
copy_course is provided by the Moodle MCP server (@falkenslab/moodle-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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