search_messages
Search message content across all chats — semantic + keyword. Use to find what was said: quotes, topics, info exchanged. For chats/threads themselves use search.threads; for files use search.files; for links use search.links.
This record as markdown: /tools/io-github-saloprj-dialogbrain/search-messages.md
What search_messages does on Dialogbrain
AI agents call search_messages to retrieve information from Dialogbrain without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
limit | integer | — | Maximum messages to return. |
query | string | — | What to search for in message content. |
date_to | string | — | ISO8601 date (YYYY-MM-DD) upper bound. OMIT to skip. |
date_from | string | — | ISO8601 date (YYYY-MM-DD) lower bound. OMIT to skip. |
participant_name | string | — | Filter to messages involving this participant/contact name. OMIT to search across everyone (do NOT pass an empty string). |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why search_messages is rated Low
This tool queries and retrieves message data without modifying, deleting, or executing any operations. It is a straightforward read operation that searches existing message content. The narrow scope (searching only, not modifying or deleting) and the fact it operates on a communication platform where searching is a standard low-risk user action justifies 'low' severity.
From the tool's definition Tool description states: "Search message content across all chats" with emphasis on finding and retrieving information (quotes, topics, info exchanged). The verb "search" and the retrieval-only nature indicate no data modification or execution.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs search_messages safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Dialogbrain, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For search_messages, this is the rule to start with:
search_messages is read-only, so it stays allowed. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Dialogbrain, apply this rule, and every search_messages call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about search_messages
Search message content across all chats — semantic + keyword. Use to find what was said: quotes, topics, info exchanged. For chats/threads themselves use search.threads; for files use search.files; for links use search.links. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Dialogbrain MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
search_messages accepts 5 parameters: limit, query, date_to, date_from, participant_name. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Dialogbrain MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for search_messages: 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 Dialogbrain. Nothing to install.
search_messages 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 search_messages 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 search_messages. 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.
search_messages is provided by the Dialogbrain MCP server (https://api.dialogbrain.com/mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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