control · Coolify MCP: Risk & Policy

WHAT IT DOES

What control does on Coolify

AI agents invoke control to trigger actions in Coolify. What it does depends on the arguments the agent supplies, and its effects often reach beyond the immediate call — builds kicked off, notifications sent, workflows started.

WHY IT NEEDS A POLICY

Why control needs a policy

This tool triggers external operations (starting, stopping, restarting) whose side effects depend on what service is targeted. The blast radius is significant: stopping a production database or app could cause service disruption, data loss during restart, or cascade failures. This is Execute rather than Write (not data creation/modification) and lower severity than Destructive (operations are reversible).

From the tool's definition Described as "Start/stop/restart app, database, or service" — these are execution/control operations that trigger state changes in infrastructure services. While not destructive, they directly control operational services.

Attacks that exploit this kind of access

Recommended rule Ready

Verdict

control Rate-limited

control stays usable, but rate-capped — a runaway agent can't fire it dozens of times a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

View as policy code

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "control": {
      "limits": [
        {
          "counter": "control_rate",
          "window": "minute",
          "max": 10,
          "scope": "grant"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

RATE-LIMIT THIS TOOL →

Instant setup, no code required.

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

FAQ

Questions about control

What does the control tool do? +

Start/stop/restart app, database, or service. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the Coolify MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.

How do I enforce a policy on control? +

Register the Coolify MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for control: 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 Coolify. Nothing to install.

What risk level is control? +

control is a Execute tool with high risk. Execute tools should be rate-limited and have argument validation enabled.

Can I rate-limit control? +

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

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

control is provided by the Coolify MCP server (jurislm/coolify-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.