gmail_send · Personal Gmail MCP: Risk & Policy

WHAT IT DOES

What gmail_send does on Personal Gmail

AI agents use gmail_send to create or update resources in Personal Gmail — usually the action step of a workflow, after the agent has gathered context. Every call changes real data in your Personal Gmail environment.

WHY IT NEEDS A POLICY

Why gmail_send needs a policy

This tool creates and sends emails, which modifies external state (recipient inboxes) and cannot be easily undone once sent. While not inherently destructive or financial, sending unsolicited, malicious, or sensitive emails could cause significant harm. Classified as Write rather than Execute because email sending is a discrete communication action, not arbitrary code execution.

From the tool's definition Tool description explicitly states 'Send a new email immediately' and 'Saved to Sent', indicating irreversible email transmission with side effects (emails delivered to recipients).

Attacks that exploit this kind of access

Recommended rule Ready

Verdict

gmail_send Rate-limited

gmail_send 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.

View as policy code

policy.json

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

LIMIT THIS TOOL →

Instant setup, no code required.

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: every tool call is checked against your rule before it reaches Personal Gmail, so you can run agents against it safely.

FAQ

Questions about gmail_send

What does the gmail_send tool do? +

Send a new email immediately. Saved to Sent. Use gmail_create_draft to review before sending. It is categorised as a Write tool in the Personal Gmail 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_send? +

Register the Personal Gmail MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for gmail_send: 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 Personal Gmail. Nothing to install.

What risk level is gmail_send? +

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

Can I rate-limit gmail_send? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the gmail_send 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_send completely? +

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

gmail_send is provided by the Personal Gmail MCP server (jaingxyz/personal-gmail-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.