Retrieve relevant archived context for a conversation
AI agents call retrieve-context to retrieve information from Memory MCP without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves previously archived context from storage without modifying, deleting, or executing any operations. It is a straightforward read operation that queries data (archived contexts) and returns results. No data is created, modified, deleted, or executed.
From the tool's definition Tool description explicitly states 'Retrieve relevant archived context' - a retrieval operation with no side effects. The verb 'retrieve' and the context of querying stored conversation data confirms read-only behavior.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access retrieve-context gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Memory MCP, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for retrieve-context:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"retrieve-context": {}
}
}retrieve-context is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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Retrieve relevant archived context for a conversation. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Memory MCP MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Memory MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for retrieve-context: 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 Memory MCP. Nothing to install.
retrieve-context 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 retrieve-context 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 retrieve-context. 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.
retrieve-context is provided by the Memory MCP server (jamesanz/memory-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from Memory MCP, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.
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10 Memory MCP tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.