Low Risk

compare_notes

Compare two notes: cosine similarity of intros + naive unified diff + shared headings.

How to control compare_notes ↓

What compare_notes does on brainMD

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

Low Risk

Why compare_notes needs a policy

This tool retrieves and analyzes existing note data to produce a comparison report. It performs read-only operations (cosine similarity calculation, diff generation, heading extraction) with no side effects, data modification, or irreversible actions. The low severity reflects minimal blast radius if misused by an AI agent—worst case is unnecessary comparisons consuming resources.

From the tool's definition Tool description specifies 'Compare two notes: cosine similarity of intros + naive unified diff + shared headings' — performs analysis and comparison without creating, modifying, deleting, or executing operations.

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

How to control compare_notes

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

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

compare_notes 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 brainMD — 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.
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Related tools and policies

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Questions about compare_notes

What does the compare_notes tool do? +

Compare two notes: cosine similarity of intros + naive unified diff + shared headings. It is categorised as a Read tool in the brainMD MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on compare_notes? +

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

What risk level is compare_notes? +

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

Can I rate-limit compare_notes? +

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

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

compare_notes is provided by the brainMD MCP server (mi4uu/brain.md). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every brainMD tool call.

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

Free to start. No card required.

17 brainMD tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.

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