List all applications installed in the /Applications folder
AI agents call list_applications to retrieve information from Mac Apps Launcher without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves information about installed applications without performing any side effects, modifications, or triggering external operations. It is a straightforward enumeration/listing operation, which falls under the Read category.
From the tool's definition Tool description states it "List all applications installed in the /Applications folder" - a query operation with no modification, execution, or deletion of data.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access list_applications gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Mac Apps Launcher, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for list_applications:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"list_applications": {}
}
}list_applications is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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List all applications installed in the /Applications folder. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Mac Apps Launcher MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Mac Apps Launcher MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for list_applications: 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 Mac Apps Launcher. Nothing to install.
list_applications 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 list_applications 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 list_applications. 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.
list_applications is provided by the Mac Apps Launcher MCP server (joshuarileydev/mac-apps-launcher). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from Mac Apps Launcher, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.
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3 Mac Apps Launcher tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.