download_audio · Notebooklm MCP: Risk & Policy

WHAT IT DOES

What download_audio does on Notebooklm

AI agents use download_audio to create or update resources in Notebooklm — usually the action step of a workflow, after the agent has gathered context. Every call changes real data in your Notebooklm environment.

WHY IT NEEDS A POLICY

Why download_audio needs a policy

This tool saves/downloads audio content to disk, which is a write operation to the local filesystem. The description appears to be truncated ('as a'), reducing confidence slightly. The blast radius is medium as it writes files to disk but does not delete or modify existing data, and has no financial implications.

From the tool's definition 'Save the completed Audio Overview to disk' — writes a file to the local filesystem

Attacks that exploit this kind of access

Recommended rule Ready

Verdict

download_audio Rate-limited

download_audio stays usable, but capped — an agent stuck in a loop can't make hundreds of changes a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

View as policy code

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "download_audio": {
      "limits": [
        {
          "counter": "download_audio_rate",
          "window": "minute",
          "max": 30,
          "scope": "grant"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

LIMIT THIS TOOL →

Instant setup, no code required.

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: every tool call is checked against your rule before it reaches Notebooklm, so you can run agents against it safely.

FAQ

Questions about download_audio

What does the download_audio tool do? +

Save the completed Audio Overview to disk as a. It is categorised as a Write tool in the Notebooklm MCP Server, which means it can create or modify data. Consider rate limits to prevent runaway writes.

How do I enforce a policy on download_audio? +

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

What risk level is download_audio? +

download_audio is a Write tool with medium risk. Write tools should be rate-limited to prevent accidental bulk modifications.

Can I rate-limit download_audio? +

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

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

download_audio is provided by the Notebooklm MCP server (notebooklm-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.