Create a draft reply to an existing email, threaded in the same conversation. The draft is saved in Drafts and can be reviewed in Outlook before sending.
AI agents use create_reply_draft to create or update resources in Apple Shortcuts — usually the action step of a workflow, after the agent has gathered context. Every call changes real data in your Apple Shortcuts environment.
This tool creates a new email draft, which is a reversible modification to the user's mailbox (Drafts folder). It does not send the email automatically, so it lacks the Execute severity of triggering external communication. However, it does create persistent data. Classified as Write rather than Execute because the actual sending action is deferred to manual user approval.
From the tool's definition Tool description states 'Create a draft reply' and 'draft is saved in Drafts' — these are Write operations that create new data (email draft) reversibly, as drafts can be edited or deleted before sending.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access create_reply_draft gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Apple Shortcuts, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for create_reply_draft:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"create_reply_draft": {
"limits": [
{
"counter": "create_reply_draft_rate",
"window": "minute",
"max": 30,
"scope": "grant"
}
]
}
}
}create_reply_draft stays usable, but capped — an agent stuck in a loop can't make hundreds of changes a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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Create a draft reply to an existing email, threaded in the same conversation. The draft is saved in Drafts and can be reviewed in Outlook before sending. It is categorised as a Write tool in the Apple Shortcuts MCP Server, which means it can create or modify data. Consider rate limits to prevent runaway writes.
Register the Apple Shortcuts MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for create_reply_draft: 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 Apple Shortcuts. Nothing to install.
create_reply_draft is a Write tool with medium risk. Write tools should be rate-limited to prevent accidental bulk modifications.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the create_reply_draft 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 create_reply_draft. 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.
create_reply_draft is provided by the Apple Shortcuts MCP server (@mindstone/mcp-server-apple-shortcuts). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from Apple Shortcuts, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.
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423 Apple Shortcuts tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.