kill_process · Agent Bridge MCP: Risk & Policy

WHAT IT DOES

What kill_process does on Agent Bridge

AI agents invoke kill_process to trigger actions in Agent Bridge. 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 kill_process needs a policy

This tool executes a termination command on a background process, which is an external operation whose effects depend on the PID argument provided. While termination itself is irreversible in outcome (the process stops), the tool does not destroy persistent data or files—it halts execution. This makes it Execute rather than Destructive.

From the tool's definition Tool description states: 'Terminate a running AI agent process by PID.' The action of terminating a process is a direct execution of a system operation with immediate effects on running subprocesses.

Attacks that exploit this kind of access

Recommended rule Ready

Verdict

kill_process Rate-limited

kill_process 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": {
    "kill_process": {
      "limits": [
        {
          "counter": "kill_process_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 Agent Bridge, so you can run agents against it safely.

FAQ

Questions about kill_process

What does the kill_process tool do? +

Terminate a running AI agent process by PID. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the Agent Bridge MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.

How do I enforce a policy on kill_process? +

Register the Agent Bridge MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for kill_process: 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 Agent Bridge. Nothing to install.

What risk level is kill_process? +

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

Can I rate-limit kill_process? +

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

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

kill_process is provided by the Agent Bridge MCP server (lailai258/agent-bridge-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.