browse-apis

THE RISK

Low Risk

Why browse-apis needs a policy

The verb 'browse' denotes inspection or enumeration of existing APIs without side effects. This is a read-only operation that retrieves information about API configurations. While the sibling tools include destructive operations (delete-table), this specific tool performs no data modification, creation, or deletion.

From the tool's definition Tool name 'browse-apis' and description 'Browse APIs in a specific API group' indicate a query/retrieval operation with no modification of data.

Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access browse-apis gives an agent:

POLICY

How to control browse-apis

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Xano MCP Server, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for browse-apis:

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "browse-apis": {}
  }
}

browse-apis is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

Create a free account and register Xano MCP Server — nothing to install.
Add this policy — paste it, or build it visually.
Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.

CAP THIS TOOL →

Free to start. No card required.

EXPLORE

Related tools and policies

More Xano MCP Server tools

Destructive delete-table Delete a table from the Xano workspace Write add-api Add a new API to an API group Write add-table Add a new table to the Xano database Write create-api-group Create a new API group in the Xano workspace Write edit-table-schema Edit the schema of an existing table (add, remove, or modify columns) Read get-api-spec Get and convert Swagger specification for an API group to a minified markdown format Read get-table-schema Browse the schema of a table Read list-api-groups Browse all API groups in the Xano workspace

All 10 Xano MCP Server tools →

Read tools on other servers

M-Team MCP Server get_torrent_detail YouTube MCP Server search_channel Android Forensics ADB MCP Server parse_browser_history 0xarchive web3_challenge

Go deeper

The MCP Attack Database → Documented attack patterns against MCP deployments — and the policies that stop them.
Data exfiltration → How read access becomes an exfiltration channel when chained with untrusted content.
MCP token cost → What connecting this server costs in context-window tokens on every request.
Rate Limiting MCP Tool Calls: A Practical Guide →
MCP Security: Why Prompt Guardrails Aren't Enough →

FAQ

Questions about browse-apis

What does the browse-apis tool do? +

Browse APIs in a specific API group. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Xano MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on browse-apis? +

Register the Xano MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for browse-apis: 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 Xano MCP Server. Nothing to install.

What risk level is browse-apis? +

browse-apis is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.

Can I rate-limit browse-apis? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the browse-apis 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 browse-apis completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for browse-apis. 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 browse-apis? +

browse-apis is provided by the Xano MCP Server MCP server (lowcodelocky2/xano-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every Xano MCP Server tool call.

Start from Xano MCP Server, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.

CHECK YOUR STACK →