List emails from inbox or a specific folder. Returns subject, sender, date, and preview.
AI agents call list_emails to retrieve information from Apple Shortcuts without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool queries and returns email metadata (subject, sender, date, preview) without creating, modifying, deleting, or executing actions. It is a straightforward read operation with minimal security risk unless the system contains highly sensitive communications, but the tool itself performs no destructive or operational actions.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'list_emails' and description 'List emails from inbox or a specific folder. Returns subject, sender, date, and preview' indicate data retrieval with no modifications or side effects.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access list_emails 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 list_emails:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"list_emails": {}
}
}list_emails is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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List emails from inbox or a specific folder. Returns subject, sender, date, and preview. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Apple Shortcuts MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Apple Shortcuts MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for list_emails: 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.
list_emails 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 list_emails 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 list_emails. 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.
list_emails 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.
Free to start. No card required.
423 Apple Shortcuts tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.