publishNote · Nostr Tools for AI Agents MCP: Risk & Policy

WHAT IT DOES

What publishNote does on Nostr Tools for AI Agents

AI agents use publishNote to create or update resources in Nostr Tools for AI Agents — usually the action step of a workflow, after the agent has gathered context. Every call changes real data in your Nostr Tools for AI Agents environment.

WHY IT NEEDS A POLICY

Why publishNote needs a policy

This tool creates new content on Nostr relays, which is a reversible write operation (notes can be deleted via deleteEvent). While publishing to a public social network has moderate blast radius if misused by an agent (e.g., spam, impersonation, harassment), it is not destructive, financial, or executable code.

From the tool's definition Tool description states it will 'Publish a signed note to relays' — a write operation that creates data (note) on a public network. The server description mentions 'Publish notes, reply, react, repost' confirming write semantics.

Attacks that exploit this kind of access

Recommended rule Ready

Verdict

publishNote Rate-limited

publishNote 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": {
    "publishNote": {
      "limits": [
        {
          "counter": "publishnote_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 Nostr Tools for AI Agents, so you can run agents against it safely.

FAQ

Questions about publishNote

What does the publishNote tool do? +

Publish a signed note to relays. It is categorised as a Write tool in the Nostr Tools for AI Agents MCP Server, which means it can create or modify data. Consider rate limits to prevent runaway writes.

How do I enforce a policy on publishNote? +

Register the Nostr Tools for AI Agents MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for publishNote: 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 Nostr Tools for AI Agents. Nothing to install.

What risk level is publishNote? +

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

Can I rate-limit publishNote? +

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

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

publishNote is provided by the Nostr Tools for AI Agents MCP server (jorgenclaw/nostr-mcp-server). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.