Search for books by author name (case-insensitive, partial match).
AI agents call search_by_author to retrieve information from Neolibrarian MCP without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves book metadata from a local Calibre library based on author name matching. It is a simple search/query function with no side effects, no code execution, no data modification, and no ability to delete or move money. The read-only nature of the server and the passive search semantics clearly place this in the Read category with low severity.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'search_by_author' and description 'Search for books by author name' indicate a query operation. Server description states 'read-only access' and 'searching metadata'. No modification, deletion, execution, or financial operations are performed.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
Search for books by author name (case-insensitive, partial match). It is categorised as a Read tool in the Neolibrarian MCP MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Neolibrarian MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for search_by_author: 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 Neolibrarian MCP. Nothing to install.
search_by_author 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 search_by_author 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 search_by_author. 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.
search_by_author is provided by the Neolibrarian MCP server (pshap/mcp-neolibrarian). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Every MCP server has a record like this.
Type a name, get the same breakdown: verified identity, auth posture, risk grade, capabilities, recommended policy.
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