Get all upcoming todos (those with a start date in the future).
AI agents call get_upcoming to retrieve information from Things 3 MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves scheduled task data from Things 3 without modifying, deleting, or executing any actions. It is a straightforward read operation that queries existing todo items filtered by future start dates. No data is created, modified, or destroyed.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'get_upcoming' and description 'Get all upcoming todos' indicate a retrieval operation with no side effects. The verb 'Get' and context of fetching todos with future start dates align with query/read operations.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access get_upcoming gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Things 3 MCP Server, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for get_upcoming:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"get_upcoming": {}
}
}get_upcoming is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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Get all upcoming todos (those with a start date in the future). It is categorised as a Read tool in the Things 3 MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Things 3 MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for get_upcoming: 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 Things 3 MCP Server. Nothing to install.
get_upcoming 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 get_upcoming 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 get_upcoming. 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.
get_upcoming is provided by the Things 3 MCP Server MCP server (rossshannon/things3-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Deterministic rules across all 24 Things 3 MCP Server tools. Per-identity grants. Full audit log. Live in minutes. Nothing to install.
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24 Things 3 MCP Server tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 42,500+ MCP servers.