permissions_respond
Allow or deny one pending OpenClaw exec or plugin approval request.
This record as markdown: /tools/openclaw/permissions-respond.md
What permissions_respond does on OpenClaw
AI agents invoke permissions_respond to trigger actions in OpenClaw. What it does depends on the arguments the agent supplies, and its effects often reach beyond the immediate call: builds kicked off, notifications sent, workflows started.
Why permissions_respond is rated High
This tool controls the approval gate for execution requests. Approving an exec or plugin request causes code or a plugin to run, making the effective action an execution trigger. Denying is benign, but the tool's ability to allow execution makes Execute the appropriate category. Severity is high because an agent misusing this could approve arbitrary code execution by simply responding 'allow' to any pending request.
From the tool's definition 'Allow or deny one pending OpenClaw exec or plugin approval request' — resolving an 'exec' approval gates code/plugin execution; approving triggers external execution.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs permissions_respond safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and OpenClaw, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For permissions_respond, this is the rule to start with:
permissions_respond stays usable, but rate-capped: a runaway agent can't fire it dozens of times a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect OpenClaw, apply this rule, and every permissions_respond call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about permissions_respond
Allow or deny one pending OpenClaw exec or plugin approval request. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the OpenClaw MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.
Register the OpenClaw MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for permissions_respond: 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 OpenClaw. Nothing to install.
permissions_respond is a Execute tool with high risk. Execute tools should be rate-limited and have argument validation enabled.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the permissions_respond 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 permissions_respond. 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.
permissions_respond is provided by the OpenClaw MCP server (openclaw). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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