delete_corpus

THE RISK

Critical Risk

This tool irreversibly deletes saved corpus data including manifest and packed body. Once removed, the corpus cannot be recovered through the tool's normal operation. While the blast radius is limited to corpus artifacts rather than production data, the destructive nature and permanent loss of potentially significant analysis artifacts (cross-language dependency graphs) justifies 'Destructive' category over 'Write'.

From the tool's definition Tool name is 'delete_corpus' and description states 'Remove a saved corpus (manifest + packed body)'. The use of 'Remove' and the operation's irreversible nature (no undo mechanism mentioned) clearly indicates data deletion.

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

HOW TO CONTROL DELETE_CORPUS

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

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "hide": [
    "delete_corpus"
  ]
}

delete_corpus disappears from the agent's tool list entirely, and any attempt to call it is denied. The rest of the server keeps working.

Create a free account and register Trace — nothing to install.
Add this policy — paste it, or build it visually.
Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.

RESTRICT THIS TOOL →

Free to start. No card required.

EXPLORE

More Trace tools

Destructive remove_dead_code Safely remove a dead symbol from its file. Verifies the symbol is actually dead (multi-sig Destructive repair_index Apply a targeted repair to the local SQLite index. Modes: drop-orphans (delete embedding r Destructive apply_codemod Bulk regex find-and-replace across files. Dry-run by default — first call shows preview, s Execute reindex Trigger (re)indexing of the project or a subdirectory. Mutates the local index (SQLite). U Write change_signature Change a function/method signature (add/remove/rename/reorder parameters) and update all c Write embed_repo Precompute and cache symbol embeddings for semantic / hybrid search. Embeddings are also c Write unpin Remove a ranking pin by target. Pass either symbol_id (for a pinned symbol) or file_path ( Write build_corpus Pack a slice of project context into a persistent corpus on disk so future query_corpus ca

All 178 Trace tools →

Destructive tools on other servers

Frida Game Hacking MCP clear_scan MegaMemory remove_concept Frida Agent MCP kill_app 1MCP Server mcp_uninstall

Go deeper

Critical-risk tools in Trace → Every critical-risk tool this server exposes, in one view.
All critical-risk MCP tools → Every critical-risk tool across the catalogue, and the policy pattern that contains them.
The MCP Attack Database → Documented attack patterns against MCP deployments — and the policies that stop them.
Rate Limiting MCP Tool Calls: A Practical Guide →
MCP Security: Why Prompt Guardrails Aren't Enough →

FAQ

What does the delete_corpus tool do? +

Remove a saved corpus (manifest + packed body). Returns JSON: { deleted: bool, name }. It is categorised as a Destructive tool in the Trace MCP Server, which means it can permanently delete or destroy data. Block by default and require explicit approval.

How do I enforce a policy on delete_corpus? +

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

What risk level is delete_corpus? +

delete_corpus is a Destructive tool with critical risk. Critical-risk tools should be blocked by default and only enabled with explicit human approval.

Can I rate-limit delete_corpus? +

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

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

delete_corpus is provided by the Trace MCP server (nikolai-vysotskyi/trace-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every Trace tool call.

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// WHAT DELETE_CORPUS ON TRACE DOES

// THE RISK

// HOW TO CONTROL DELETE_CORPUS

// EXPLORE