High Risk →

clippy

Runs cargo clippy and returns structured lint diagnostics.

How to control clippy ↓

What clippy does on Http

AI agents invoke clippy to trigger actions in Http. What it does depends on the arguments the agent supplies, and its effects often reach beyond the immediate call — builds kicked off, notifications sent, workflows started.

High Risk

Why clippy needs a policy

This tool executes a cargo clippy command on the system, which runs an external process/tool. While clippy is primarily a linting tool (read-like in intent), it executes shell commands and its behavior depends on the project being analyzed. Misuse could expose source code details or be used to trigger build side effects. Classified as Execute due to running an external command.

From the tool's definition Runs cargo clippy

Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access clippy gives an agent:

How to control clippy

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Http, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for clippy:

policy.json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "clippy": {
      "limits": [
        {
          "counter": "clippy_rate",
          "window": "minute",
          "max": 10,
          "scope": "grant"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

clippy stays usable, but rate-capped — a runaway agent can't fire it dozens of times a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

  1. Create a free account and register Http — nothing to install.
  2. Add this policy — paste it, or build it visually.
  3. Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.
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Related tools and policies

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Questions about clippy

What does the clippy tool do? +

Runs cargo clippy and returns structured lint diagnostics. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the Http MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.

How do I enforce a policy on clippy? +

Register the Http MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for clippy: 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 Http. Nothing to install.

What risk level is clippy? +

clippy is a Execute tool with high risk. Execute tools should be rate-limited and have argument validation enabled.

Can I rate-limit clippy? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the clippy 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.

How do I block clippy completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for clippy. 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 clippy? +

clippy is provided by the Http MCP server (@paretools/http). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every Http tool call.

Start from Http, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.

Free to start. No card required.

202 Http tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.

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