inspect
Shows detailed container or image information with structured state, image, and platform data.
This record as markdown: /tools/io-github-dave-london-github/inspect.md
What inspect does on Github
AI agents call inspect 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.
Why inspect is rated Low
This tool retrieves and displays metadata about containers or images without creating, modifying, or deleting resources. It has no side effects and poses minimal risk if called by an AI agent. The confidence is slightly reduced (0.85 rather than 0.95) because the description is generic; however, the clear use of 'shows...information' strongly indicates a read-only operation.
From the tool's definition Tool description states 'Shows detailed container or image information' — a retrieval operation with no modification or destructive capability. The verb 'shows' and 'information' indicate inspection/querying only.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs inspect 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 inspect, this is the rule to start with:
inspect 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 inspect call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about inspect
Shows detailed container or image information with structured state, image, and platform data. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Github MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Github MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for inspect: 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.
inspect 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 inspect 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 inspect. 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.
inspect is provided by the Github MCP server (@paretools/github). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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