Full change impact report: risk score + mitigations, breaking change detection, enriched dependents (complexity, coverage, exports), module groups, affected tests, co-change hidden couplings. Supports diff-aware mode via symbol_ids to scope analysis to only changed symbols. Use before modifying c...
AI agents call get_change_impact to retrieve information from Trace without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves and analyzes code dependency information to assess potential blast radius of changes, but performs no writes, destructive actions, or external execution. It is purely informational intelligence that helps developers understand impact before taking action. The explicitly stated 'Read-only' nature and JSON return of analysis data confirm Read category classification.
From the tool's definition Tool description explicitly states 'Read-only' and returns JSON analysis of risk/dependents/tests/breaking changes. It 'analyzes' and 'detects' but does not modify code or execute operations.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access get_change_impact gives an agent:
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 get_change_impact:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"get_change_impact": {}
}
}get_change_impact is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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Full change impact report: risk score + mitigations, breaking change detection, enriched dependents (complexity, coverage, exports), module groups, affected tests, co-change hidden couplings. Supports diff-aware mode via symbol_ids to scope analysis to only changed symbols. Use before modifying code to understand blast radius. For quick risk assessment without full report, use assess_change_risk instead. Read-only. Returns JSON: { risk, dependents, affectedTests, breakingChanges, totalAffected }. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Trace MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Trace MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for get_change_impact: 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.
get_change_impact 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 get_change_impact 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 get_change_impact. 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.
get_change_impact 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.
Deterministic rules across all 178 Trace tools. Per-identity grants. Full audit log. Live in minutes. Nothing to install.
Free to start. No card required.
178 Trace tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 42,500+ MCP servers.