Search for APIs by name, description, provider, or keywords with pagination support
AI agents call search_apis to retrieve information from OpenAPI Directory MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool performs read-only retrieval and filtering of API metadata from the OpenAPI Directory. It supports pagination-based querying across the 3,000+ OpenAPI specifications. The action is informational only; searching does not create, modify, delete, or execute anything. No side effects or irreversible changes occur. This is a straightforward Read category tool with low severity impact.
From the tool's definition Tool description states 'Search for APIs by name, description, provider, or keywords with pagination support' — a pure query/discovery operation with no mutation of data or external side effects.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access search_apis gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and OpenAPI Directory MCP Server, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for search_apis:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"search_apis": {}
}
}search_apis is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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Search for APIs by name, description, provider, or keywords with pagination support. It is categorised as a Read tool in the OpenAPI Directory MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the OpenAPI Directory MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for search_apis: 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 OpenAPI Directory MCP Server. Nothing to install.
search_apis 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_apis 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_apis. 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_apis is provided by the OpenAPI Directory MCP Server MCP server (rawveg/openapi-directory-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from OpenAPI Directory MCP Server, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.
Free to start. No card required.
22 OpenAPI Directory MCP Server tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.