gmail_archive

THE RISK

Medium Risk

Why gmail_archive needs a policy

Archiving moves a message to the archive folder—a reversible action that modifies message visibility/organization but does not delete data. This is a Write operation (modifies state) rather than Destructive (which would require permanent deletion). Severity is low because the action can be undone by the user and has minimal blast radius on broader systems.

From the tool's definition Tool description states it 'Archives a Gmail message by removing it from the inbox.' Archiving is a reversible operation that modifies message state without deletion.

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

POLICY

How to control gmail_archive

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

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "gmail_archive": {
      "limits": [
        {
          "counter": "gmail_archive_rate",
          "window": "minute",
          "max": 30,
          "scope": "grant"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

gmail_archive 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.

Create a free account and register MCP Google Workspace Server — nothing to install.
Add this policy — paste it, or build it visually.
Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.

LIMIT THIS TOOL →

Free to start. No card required.

EXPLORE

Related tools and policies

More MCP Google Workspace Server tools

Destructive calendar_delete_event Deletes an event from the specified Google Calendar. Destructive gmail_delete_draft Deletes a Gmail draft message by its ID. This action cannot be undone. Write calendar_create_event Creates a new event in the specified Google Calendar. Write gmail_bulk_archive Archives multiple Gmail messages by removing them from the inbox. Write gmail_bulk_save_attachments Saves multiple Gmail attachments to disk by their message IDs and attachment IDs in a sing Write gmail_create_draft Creates a draft email message from scratch in Gmail with specified recipient, subject, bod Read calendar_get_events Retrieves calendar events from the user\ Read calendar_list Lists all calendars accessible by the user. Call it before any other tool wheneve

All 16 MCP Google Workspace Server tools →

Write tools on other servers

M-Team MCP Server download_torrent YouTube MCP Server generate_video_title Android Forensics ADB MCP Server combine_reports 0xarchive web3_signup

Go deeper

The MCP Attack Database → Documented attack patterns against MCP deployments — and the policies that stop them.
Argument validation → Checking tool call arguments against schema and policy before they run.
Scoped token → Per-person credentials that grant a defined subset of servers and tools.
Rate Limiting MCP Tool Calls: A Practical Guide →
MCP Security: Why Prompt Guardrails Aren't Enough →

FAQ

Questions about gmail_archive

What does the gmail_archive tool do? +

Archives a Gmail message by removing it from the inbox. It is categorised as a Write tool in the MCP Google Workspace Server MCP Server, which means it can create or modify data. Consider rate limits to prevent runaway writes.

How do I enforce a policy on gmail_archive? +

Register the MCP Google Workspace Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for gmail_archive: 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 MCP Google Workspace Server. Nothing to install.

What risk level is gmail_archive? +

gmail_archive is a Write tool with medium risk. Write tools should be rate-limited to prevent accidental bulk modifications.

Can I rate-limit gmail_archive? +

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

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

gmail_archive is provided by the MCP Google Workspace Server MCP server (j3k0/mcp-google-workspace). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every MCP Google Workspace Server tool call.

Start from MCP Google Workspace Server, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.

CHECK YOUR STACK →