prompts_help

THE RISK

Low Risk

Why prompts_help needs a policy

This is a help/documentation tool that retrieves and presents usage information about other tools. It has no side effects, does not modify data, and does not execute code or trigger external operations. It fits the 'Read' category as a query that retrieves static help content.

From the tool's definition Tool returns guidance, examples, and best practices documentation without modifying any data or executing external operations. The description indicates it 'Get[s] help' and 'Returns guidance' — purely informational retrieval.

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

POLICY

How to control prompts_help

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

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "prompts_help": {}
  }
}

prompts_help is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

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

CAP THIS TOOL →

Free to start. No card required.

EXPLORE

Related tools and policies

More Smart Prompts MCP Server tools

Destructive delete_prompt Delete a prompt by name Write add_prompt Add a new prompt to the collection Write create_github_prompt ✨ Create New Prompt: Create a new prompt and save it directly to the GitHub repository. 🎯 Write create_structured_prompt Create a new prompt with guided metadata structure Read check_github_status Check GitHub connection status and write access. Use this to verify GitHub operations are Read compose_prompts 🔗 Combine Prompts: Combine multiple existing prompts into a single prompt. Perfect for cr Read get_prompt 📖 Get Full Prompt: Retrieve a specific prompt by its exact name. ⚠️ IMPORTANT: Use search Read get_prompt_stats Get usage statistics for prompts

All 12 Smart Prompts MCP Server tools →

Read tools on other servers

M-Team MCP Server get_torrent_detail YouTube MCP Server search_channel Android Forensics ADB MCP Server parse_browser_history 0xarchive web3_challenge

Go deeper

The MCP Attack Database → Documented attack patterns against MCP deployments — and the policies that stop them.
Data exfiltration → How read access becomes an exfiltration channel when chained with untrusted content.
MCP token cost → What connecting this server costs in context-window tokens on every request.
Rate Limiting MCP Tool Calls: A Practical Guide →
MCP Security: Why Prompt Guardrails Aren't Enough →

FAQ

Questions about prompts_help

What does the prompts_help tool do? +

Get help understanding how to use the Smart Prompts tools effectively. Returns guidance on tool usage, examples, and best practices. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Smart Prompts MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on prompts_help? +

Register the Smart Prompts MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for prompts_help: 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 Smart Prompts MCP Server. Nothing to install.

What risk level is prompts_help? +

prompts_help is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.

Can I rate-limit prompts_help? +

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

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

prompts_help is provided by the Smart Prompts MCP Server MCP server (jezweb/smart-prompts-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every Smart Prompts MCP Server tool call.

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

CHECK YOUR STACK →