Read a frontmatter property value from a note
AI agents call property_read to retrieve information from Obsidian Local without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves frontmatter metadata from notes without modifying, deleting, or executing any operations. It is a pure read operation with minimal blast radius—even if misused, it only exposes existing note properties without side effects.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'property_read' combined with description 'Read a frontmatter property value from a note' explicitly indicates data retrieval with no modifications.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
Read a frontmatter property value from a note. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Obsidian Local MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Obsidian Local MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for property_read: 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 Obsidian Local. Nothing to install.
property_read 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 property_read 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 property_read. 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.
property_read is provided by the Obsidian Local MCP server (matthewsuazo/obsidian-local-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Every MCP server has a record like this.
Type a name, get the same breakdown: verified identity, auth posture, risk grade, capabilities, recommended policy.
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