list_books

THE RISK

Low Risk

Why list_books needs a policy

This tool queries and returns a list of available books from an internal catalogue. It performs a read-only operation that retrieves information without modifying, creating, deleting, or executing any actions. The 'BROWSE' verb and 'list' action are characteristic of Read category tools. The blast radius of misuse is minimal—an agent could only over-query or enumerate the catalogue, not alter or corrupt data.

From the tool's definition Tool name 'list_books' combined with description 'BROWSE — List registered books in the corpus catalogue' indicates a retrieval operation with no side effects.

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

POLICY

How to control list_books

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

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "list_books": {}
  }
}

list_books 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 Iconsult MCP — 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

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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 list_books

What does the list_books tool do? +

BROWSE — List registered books in the corpus catalogue. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Iconsult MCP MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on list_books? +

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

What risk level is list_books? +

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

Can I rate-limit list_books? +

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

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

list_books is provided by the Iconsult MCP server (marcus-waldman/iconsult_mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every Iconsult MCP tool call.

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

CHECK YOUR STACK →