Low Risk

read_recent_entries

Read the full content of your most recent journal entries.

How to control read_recent_entries ↓

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

Low Risk

This tool retrieves existing journal data without side effects. The user owns the journal entries and the operation is a simple read query. No data is created, modified, deleted, or executed. The blast radius of misuse is limited to information disclosure of the user's own private thoughts.

From the tool's definition Tool name contains 'read' and description states 'Read the full content of your most recent journal entries' - explicitly a retrieval operation with no modification or deletion.

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

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

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

read_recent_entries 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 Private Journal — 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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Free to start. No card required.

Go deeper

What does the read_recent_entries tool do? +

Read the full content of your most recent journal entries. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Private Journal MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on read_recent_entries? +

Register the Private Journal MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for read_recent_entries: 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 Private Journal. Nothing to install.

What risk level is read_recent_entries? +

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

Can I rate-limit read_recent_entries? +

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

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

read_recent_entries is provided by the Private Journal MCP server (obra/private-journal-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every Private Journal tool call.

Deterministic rules across all 5 Private Journal tools. Per-identity grants. Full audit log. Live in minutes. Nothing to install.

Free to start. No card required.

5 Private Journal tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 42,500+ MCP servers.

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