Low Risk

weights_from_shapefile

Create a spatial weights (W) from a shapefile using contiguity. - contiguity: 'queen' or 'rook' (default 'queen') - id_field: optional attribute name to use as observation IDs

How to control weights_from_shapefile ↓

What weights_from_shapefile does on GIS MCP Server

AI agents call weights_from_shapefile to retrieve information from GIS MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

Low Risk

Why weights_from_shapefile needs a policy

The tool reads a shapefile and derives a spatial weights object based on contiguity relationships (queen or rook). This is a computational/analytical read operation with no side effects on external data. The result is a derived in-memory structure. Severity is low as misuse would at worst produce an incorrect weights matrix used in downstream analysis.

From the tool's definition 'Create a spatial weights (W) from a shapefile using contiguity' — reads an existing shapefile and computes a weights matrix; no data is written, deleted, or executed

Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access weights_from_shapefile gives an agent:

How to control weights_from_shapefile

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

policy.json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "weights_from_shapefile": {}
  }
}

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

  1. Create a free account and register GIS MCP Server — nothing to install.
  2. Add this policy — paste it, or build it visually.
  3. Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.
CAP THIS TOOL →

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Related tools and policies

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Questions about weights_from_shapefile

What does the weights_from_shapefile tool do? +

Create a spatial weights (W) from a shapefile using contiguity. - contiguity: 'queen' or 'rook' (default 'queen') - id_field: optional attribute name to use as observation IDs. It is categorised as a Read tool in the GIS MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on weights_from_shapefile? +

Register the GIS MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for weights_from_shapefile: 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 GIS MCP Server. Nothing to install.

What risk level is weights_from_shapefile? +

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

Can I rate-limit weights_from_shapefile? +

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

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

weights_from_shapefile is provided by the GIS MCP Server MCP server (mahdin75/gis-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every GIS MCP Server tool call.

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

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98 GIS MCP Server tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.

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