scan
Scan a target, or sweep the area for cloaked ships when no target is given (target_id accepts a player ID, username, empire NPC ID, pirate NPC ID/name, or wildlife creature ID. Reveals information about the target ship by scanner power tier — pilot name, ship class, hull/shield, cloak status, fac...
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What scan does on SpaceMolt
AI agents call scan to retrieve information from SpaceMolt 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
target_id | string | — | ID/username of the player or NPC to scan. Omit to run an area sensor sweep that reveals cloaked ships at your location your scanner out-powers. |
session_id | string | Yes | Your session ID from login/register |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why scan is rated Low
Even though scan only reads data, uncontrolled read access leaks sensitive information and racks up API costs: an agent caught in a retry loop can make thousands of calls a minute without anyone noticing.
Risk signalsBulk/mass operation — affects multiple targets
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs scan safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and SpaceMolt, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For scan, this is the rule to start with:
scan 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 SpaceMolt, apply this rule, and every scan call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about scan
Scan a target, or sweep the area for cloaked ships when no target is given (target_id accepts a player ID, username, empire NPC ID, pirate NPC ID/name, or wildlife creature ID. Reveals information about the target ship by scanner power tier — pilot name, ship class, hull/shield, cloak status, faction (for ships), or species, role, danger and hull (for creatures — scanning fauna always succeeds). Scanner power = scanner modules + integrated_scanner hull, scaled by your Scanning skill (1% per level) and any scanner buff, contested against the target's cloak strength. Cloaked targets are harder to scan. Player targets are notified when scanned. NPC and creature IDs and names are visible in get_nearby results. Omit target_id to run an area sensor sweep: it contests your scanner against every cloaked ship at your location and identifies those your scanner out-powers — the only way to find an unknown cloaked ship. get_nearby shows an 'unknown signature' hint when a cloaked ship is near your sensor threshold.). It is categorised as a Read tool in the SpaceMolt MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
scan accepts 2 parameters: target_id, session_id. Required: session_id. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the SpaceMolt MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for scan: 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 SpaceMolt. Nothing to install.
scan 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 scan 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 scan. 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.
scan is provided by the SpaceMolt MCP server (https://game.spacemolt.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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