Search files using macOS Spotlight. Searches file names and content across indexed volumes. Scoped to home directory.
AI agents call files.search to retrieve information from Orchard without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves and queries file data through Spotlight search without creating, modifying, or deleting any files. It is a read-only operation. Severity is medium rather than low because searching file content across a home directory could expose sensitive personal information (financial records, health data, private correspondence, credentials, etc.) if an AI agent performs broad searches without user intent,…
From the tool's definition Tool description states it "Search files using macOS Spotlight. Searches file names and content across indexed volumes.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access files.search gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Orchard, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for files.search:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"files.search": {}
}
}files.search is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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Search files using macOS Spotlight. Searches file names and content across indexed volumes. Scoped to home directory. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Orchard MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Orchard MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for files.search: 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 Orchard. Nothing to install.
files.search 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 files.search 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 files.search. 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.
files.search is provided by the Orchard MCP server (l22-io/orchard-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from Orchard, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.
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65 Orchard tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.