notes · Tome MCP: Risk & Policy

WHAT IT DOES

What notes does on Tome

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

WHY IT NEEDS A POLICY

Why notes needs a policy

Because the tool can delete notes (which is destructive) as well as write them, the most severe applicable category would normally be Destructive. However, notes are typically small, recoverable annotations rather than primary data, and the description suggests this is a lightweight annotation system. The blast radius of deleting a note is lower than deleting a paper or dataset.

From the tool's definition 'Read, write, or delete notes on papers or files' — the tool spans read, write, and delete operations

Attacks that exploit this kind of access

Recommended rule Ready

Verdict

notes Rate-limited

notes 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": {
    "notes": {
      "limits": [
        {
          "counter": "notes_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 Tome, so you can run agents against it safely.

FAQ

Questions about notes

What does the notes tool do? +

Read, write, or delete notes on papers or files. It is categorised as a Write tool in the Tome MCP Server, which means it can create or modify data. Consider rate limits to prevent runaway writes.

How do I enforce a policy on notes? +

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

What risk level is notes? +

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

Can I rate-limit notes? +

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

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

notes is provided by the Tome MCP server (retospect/tome-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.