Low Risk

help

Show the imessage-mcp guide: all 25 tools and usage examples. Call this when you're unsure what's available.

Part of the iMessage MCP MCP server. Enforce policies on this tool with Intercept, the open-source MCP proxy.

AI agents call help to retrieve information from iMessage MCP without modifying any data. This is common in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows where the agent needs context before taking action. Because read operations don't change state, they are generally safe to allow without restrictions -- but you may still want rate limits to control API costs.

Even though help only reads data, uncontrolled read access can leak sensitive information or rack up API costs. An agent caught in a retry loop could make thousands of calls per minute. A rate limit gives you a safety net without blocking legitimate use.

Read-only tools are safe to allow by default. No rate limit needed unless you want to control costs.

imessage-mcp.yaml
tools:
  help:
    rules:
      - action: allow

See the full iMessage MCP policy for all 25 tools.

Tool Name help
Category Read
Risk Level Low

View all 25 tools →

Agents calling read-class tools like help have been implicated in these attack patterns. Read the full case and prevention policy for each:

Browse the full MCP Attack Database →

Other tools in the Read risk category across the catalogue. The same policy patterns (rate-limit, allow) apply to each.

What does the help tool do? +

Show the imessage-mcp guide: all 25 tools and usage examples. Call this when you're unsure what's available.. It is categorised as a Read tool in the iMessage MCP MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on help? +

Add a rule in your Intercept YAML policy under the tools section for help. You can allow, deny, rate-limit, or validate arguments. Then run Intercept as a proxy in front of the iMessage MCP MCP server.

What risk level is help? +

help is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.

Can I rate-limit help? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the help rule in your Intercept 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.

How do I block help completely? +

Set action: deny in the Intercept policy for help. 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.

What MCP server provides help? +

help is provided by the iMessage MCP MCP server (imessage-mcp). Intercept sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policies on iMessage MCP

Open source. One binary. Zero dependencies.

npx -y @policylayer/intercept
github.com/policylayer/intercept →
// GET IN TOUCH

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