gates · Kit MCP: Risk & Policy

WHAT IT DOES

What gates does on Kit

AI agents invoke gates to trigger actions in Kit. 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 gates needs a policy

Although the tool offers read operations ('list, fetch'), the inclusion of 'execute' elevates it to the Execute category per the severity hierarchy. Executing workflow gates could trigger external operations, tests, or approvals whose effects depend on which gate is executed and the workflow state.

From the tool's definition Tool description states 'execute reusable workflow gates' — the word 'execute' indicates the tool runs operations. Gates are control-flow mechanisms that can trigger workflows, run regression tests, or enforce approval logic based on conditions.

Attacks that exploit this kind of access

Recommended rule Ready

Verdict

gates Rate-limited

gates 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": {
    "gates": {
      "limits": [
        {
          "counter": "gates_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 Kit, so you can run agents against it safely.

FAQ

Questions about gates

What does the gates tool do? +

List, fetch, or execute reusable workflow gates (regression, confidence, etc). It is categorised as a Execute tool in the Kit MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.

How do I enforce a policy on gates? +

Register the Kit MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for gates: 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 Kit. Nothing to install.

What risk level is gates? +

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

Can I rate-limit gates? +

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

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

gates is provided by the Kit MCP server (luanpdd/kit-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.