High Risk →

black

Runs Black code formatter and returns structured results (files changed, unchanged, would reformat).

How to control black ↓

What black does on Make

AI agents invoke black to trigger actions in Make. 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 black needs a policy

This tool executes the Black code formatter on files, which actively modifies source code files. It runs an external process and can rewrite file contents. While Black is a well-known safe formatter, it still executes code transformations on the filesystem. Severity is medium because it modifies files but is reversible via version control.

From the tool's definition Runs Black code formatter and returns structured results (files changed, unchanged, would reformat)

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

How to control black

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

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

black 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 Make — 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.
RATE-LIMIT THIS TOOL →

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Related tools and policies

Go deeper

Questions about black

What does the black tool do? +

Runs Black code formatter and returns structured results (files changed, unchanged, would reformat). It is categorised as a Execute tool in the Make MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.

How do I enforce a policy on black? +

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

What risk level is black? +

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

Can I rate-limit black? +

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

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

black is provided by the Make MCP server (Dave-London/Pare). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every Make tool call.

Start from Make, 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 Make tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.

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