Medium Risk

help

Returns a complete guide to Local MCP: what it does, how it works, when to use the Cloud MCP connector vs the lmcp CLI, and what each tool in this connector is for. Call this first if you are unsure how to proceed.

Part of the Local MCP MCP server. Enforce policies on this tool with Intercept, the open-source MCP proxy.

local-mcp/local-mcp Write Risk 2/5

AI agents use help to create or modify resources in Local MCP. Write operations carry medium risk because an autonomous agent could trigger bulk unintended modifications. Rate limits prevent a single agent session from making hundreds of changes in rapid succession. Argument validation ensures the agent passes expected values.

Without a policy, an AI agent could call help repeatedly, creating or modifying resources faster than any human could review. Intercept's rate limiting ensures write operations happen at a controlled pace, and argument validation catches malformed or unexpected inputs before they reach Local MCP.

Write tools can modify data. A rate limit prevents runaway bulk operations from AI agents.

local-mcp-local-mcp.yaml
tools:
  help:
    rules:
      - action: allow
        rate_limit:
          max: 30
          window: 60

See the full Local MCP policy for all 7 tools.

Tool Name help
Category Write
Risk Level Medium

Agents calling write-class tools like help have been implicated in these attack patterns. Read the full case and prevention policy for each:

Browse the full MCP Attack Database →

Other tools in the Write risk category across the catalogue. The same policy patterns (rate-limit, validate) apply to each.

What does the help tool do? +

Returns a complete guide to Local MCP: what it does, how it works, when to use the Cloud MCP connector vs the lmcp CLI, and what each tool in this connector is for. Call this first if you are unsure how to proceed.. It is categorised as a Write tool in the Local MCP MCP Server, which means it can create or modify data. Consider rate limits to prevent runaway writes.

How do I enforce a policy on help? +

Add a rule in your Intercept YAML policy under the tools section for help. You can allow, deny, rate-limit, or validate arguments. Then run Intercept as a proxy in front of the Local MCP MCP server.

What risk level is help? +

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

Can I rate-limit help? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the help rule in your Intercept 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 help completely? +

Set action: deny in the Intercept policy for help. 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 help? +

help is provided by the Local MCP MCP server (local-mcp/local-mcp). Intercept sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policies on Local MCP

Open source. One binary. Zero dependencies.

npx -y @policylayer/intercept
github.com/policylayer/intercept →
// GET IN TOUCH

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