Low Risk

find_references

Find all references to a symbol at a specific position (Requires LSP).

How to control find_references ↓

What find_references does on Android Source Explorer MCP Server

AI agents call find_references to retrieve information from Android Source Explorer 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 find_references needs a policy

The tool performs static code analysis to locate where a symbol is referenced within source code. This is a read-only operation with no side effects, no code execution, and no data modification. It retrieves information about code structure and relationships, consistent with other sibling tools like 'search_classes', 'lookup_method', and 'goto_definition' which are all informational queries.

From the tool's definition Tool name is 'find_references' and description states it finds 'all references to a symbol at a specific position'.

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

How to control find_references

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

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

find_references 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 Android Source Explorer 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.
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Related tools and policies

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Questions about find_references

What does the find_references tool do? +

Find all references to a symbol at a specific position (Requires LSP). It is categorised as a Read tool in the Android Source Explorer MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on find_references? +

Register the Android Source Explorer MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for find_references: 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 Android Source Explorer MCP Server. Nothing to install.

What risk level is find_references? +

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

Can I rate-limit find_references? +

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

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

find_references is provided by the Android Source Explorer MCP Server MCP server (mrmike/android-source-explorer-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every Android Source Explorer MCP Server tool call.

Start from Android Source Explorer MCP Server, 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.

11 Android Source Explorer MCP Server tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.

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