get_course_updates
What changed in a course's activities since a date (settings, content files, forum posts, submissions, attempts, grades…), as Moodle tracks it for the person, with each activity's name and type. Useful at the start of a session: what's new since last time.
This record as markdown: /tools/falkenslab-moodle-mcp/get-course-updates.md
What get_course_updates does on Moodle
AI agents call get_course_updates to retrieve information from Moodle 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
since | string | — | ISO date and time; a week ago when missing |
courseId | integer | Yes | The course's id, from list_courses |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why get_course_updates is rated Low
Even though get_course_updates only reads data, uncontrolled read access leaks sensitive information and racks up API costs: an agent caught in a retry loop can make thousands of calls a minute without anyone noticing.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs get_course_updates 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 get_course_updates, this is the rule to start with:
get_course_updates 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 Moodle, apply this rule, and every get_course_updates call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about get_course_updates
What changed in a course's activities since a date (settings, content files, forum posts, submissions, attempts, grades…), as Moodle tracks it for the person, with each activity's name and type. Useful at the start of a session: what's new since last time. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Moodle MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
get_course_updates accepts 2 parameters: since, courseId. Required: courseId. 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 get_course_updates: 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.
get_course_updates 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 get_course_updates 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 get_course_updates. 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.
get_course_updates 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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