High Risk →

restore

Runs dotnet restore to restore NuGet dependencies and returns structured results.

How to control restore ↓

What restore does on Http

AI agents invoke restore 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 restore needs a policy

This tool executes a dotnet CLI command that fetches and installs NuGet packages from external registries. While it doesn't directly delete data or move money, it runs an external process that can download arbitrary packages, modify the local package cache, and alter project dependency state. This qualifies as Execute due to triggering an external operation with side effects dependent on the project configuration.

From the tool's definition 'Runs dotnet restore to restore NuGet dependencies' — executes an external CLI command (dotnet restore) that downloads and installs packages from external sources

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

How to control restore

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 restore:

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

restore 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

Go deeper

Questions about restore

What does the restore tool do? +

Runs dotnet restore to restore NuGet dependencies and returns structured results. 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 restore? +

Register the Http MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for restore: 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 restore? +

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

Can I rate-limit restore? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the restore 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 restore completely? +

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

restore 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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