search_dashboards · Mcp Read Only Grafana MCP: Risk & Policy

WHAT IT DOES

What search_dashboards does on Mcp Read Only Grafana

AI agents call search_dashboards to retrieve information from Mcp Read Only Grafana without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

WHY IT NEEDS A POLICY

Why search_dashboards needs a policy

This tool searches or lists dashboards without modifying data. Despite the empty description reducing confidence slightly, the tool name, server architecture (read-only by default), and separation of write operations from this tool all point to a read-only query operation.

From the tool's definition Tool name 'search_dashboards' and server description stating 'read-only access by default' indicate a query/retrieval operation with no side effects.

Attacks that exploit this kind of access

Questions about search_dashboards

What does the search_dashboards tool do? +

search_dashboards. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Mcp Read Only Grafana MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on search_dashboards? +

Register the Mcp Read Only Grafana MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for search_dashboards: 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 Mcp Read Only Grafana. Nothing to install.

What risk level is search_dashboards? +

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

Can I rate-limit search_dashboards? +

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

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

search_dashboards is provided by the Mcp Read Only Grafana MCP server (lukleh/mcp-read-only-grafana). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.