update_course
Change a course's full name, short name, summary (HTML) or any other setting by its field name in Moodle's course settings form (settings), through that form. Only what is given changes. Returns the course afterwards. Changes the course: confirm with the person first.
This record as markdown: /tools/falkenslab-moodle-mcp/update-course.md
What update_course does on Moodle
AI agents use update_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 |
|---|---|---|---|
embed | array | — | Absolute local files (images…) to embed in the HTML, which names each by its file name: <img src="shot.png"> |
summary | string | — | HTML |
courseId | integer | Yes | |
fullName | string | — | |
settings | object | — | Other fields by their name in the course settings form, e.g. {"visible": 0, "startdate[day]": 1} |
shortName | string | — |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why update_course is rated Medium
An AI agent can call update_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 update_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 update_course, this is the rule to start with:
update_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 update_course call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about update_course
Change a course's full name, short name, summary (HTML) or any other setting by its field name in Moodle's course settings form (settings), through that form. Only what is given changes. Returns the course afterwards. Changes the 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.
update_course accepts 6 parameters: embed, summary, courseId, fullName, settings, shortName. 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 update_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.
update_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 update_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 update_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.
update_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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