list_question_categories
List a question bank's categories as its categories page shows them, parents before their subcategories: id, name, parent, description and how many questions are directly in each. The bank's hidden Top is the top-level ones' parentId. Takes managing the bank's categories (a teacher's).
This record as markdown: /tools/falkenslab-moodle-mcp/list-question-categories.md
What list_question_categories does on Moodle
AI agents call list_question_categories 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
bankId | integer | Yes | The bank's id, as list_question_banks gives it (on Moodle 4.x, the course's id) |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why list_question_categories is rated Low
Even though list_question_categories 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 list_question_categories 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 list_question_categories, this is the rule to start with:
list_question_categories 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 list_question_categories call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about list_question_categories
List a question bank's categories as its categories page shows them, parents before their subcategories: id, name, parent, description and how many questions are directly in each. The bank's hidden Top is the top-level ones' parentId. Takes managing the bank's categories (a teacher's). It is categorised as a Read tool in the Moodle MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
list_question_categories accepts 1 parameter: bankId. Required: bankId. 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 list_question_categories: 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.
list_question_categories 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 list_question_categories 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 list_question_categories. 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.
list_question_categories 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.
More on Moodle, and thousands of servers like it.
This server
Across the catalogue