get_label
Get a specific label from a repository.
This record as markdown: /tools/github/get-label.md
What get_label does on GitHub
AI agents call get_label to retrieve information from GitHub 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
name | string | — | Label name. |
repo | string | — | Repository name |
owner | string | — | Repository owner (username or organization name) |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why get_label is rated Low
This tool queries and retrieves label metadata from a GitHub repository without modifying, deleting, or executing any operations. It is a straightforward read operation that returns existing data. The low severity reflects minimal blast radius if misused—an AI agent could only retrieve label information, which is already public on most repositories.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'get_label' and description 'Get a specific label from a repository' indicate a retrieval operation with no side effects.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs get_label safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and GitHub, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For get_label, this is the rule to start with:
get_label 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 GitHub, apply this rule, and every get_label call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about get_label
Get a specific label from a repository. It is categorised as a Read tool in the GitHub MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
get_label accepts 3 parameters: name, repo, owner. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the GitHub MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for get_label: 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 GitHub. Nothing to install.
get_label 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_label 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_label. 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_label is provided by the GitHub MCP server (oci:ghcr.io/github/github-mcp-server:1.3.0). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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