Generate CSL-formatted bibliography and BibTeX entries from manuscript context or explicit works.
AI agents call build_reference_list to retrieve information from ScholarMCP without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool generates formatted citation/bibliography output from existing data. It reads manuscript context or explicit works and produces formatted text (CSL/BibTeX). No data is created, modified, deleted, or executed — it is purely a read/transform operation. Misuse potential is very low.
From the tool's definition Generate CSL-formatted bibliography and BibTeX entries from manuscript context or explicit works
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access build_reference_list gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and ScholarMCP, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for build_reference_list:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"build_reference_list": {}
}
}build_reference_list is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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Generate CSL-formatted bibliography and BibTeX entries from manuscript context or explicit works. It is categorised as a Read tool in the ScholarMCP MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Scholar MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for build_reference_list: 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 ScholarMCP. Nothing to install.
build_reference_list 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 build_reference_list 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 build_reference_list. 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.
build_reference_list is provided by the Scholar MCP server (lstudlo/scholarmcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from ScholarMCP, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.
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10 ScholarMCP tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.