list_releases
List releases in a GitHub repository
This record as markdown: /tools/github/list-releases.md
What list_releases does on GitHub
AI agents call list_releases 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
page | number | — | Page number for pagination (min 1) |
repo | string | — | Repository name |
owner | string | — | Repository owner |
perPage | number | — | Results per page for pagination (min 1, max 100) |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why list_releases is rated Low
This tool retrieves and lists existing release information from a repository. It performs no side effects, makes no modifications, executes no external operations, and poses minimal risk of misuse. The action is purely informational (Read category). Severity is low since release metadata is typically public or at least non-sensitive information, and listing poses no blast radius risk.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'list_releases' and description 'List releases in a GitHub repository' indicate a query operation that retrieves release metadata without modifying data or triggering actions.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs list_releases 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 list_releases, this is the rule to start with:
list_releases 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 list_releases call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about list_releases
List releases in a GitHub repository. It is categorised as a Read tool in the GitHub MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
list_releases accepts 4 parameters: page, repo, owner, perPage. 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 list_releases: 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.
list_releases 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_releases 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_releases. 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_releases 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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