Get messages from a channel or direct message by channel_id
AI agents call slack_conversations_history to retrieve information from Sage MCP without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool retrieves historical messages from Slack conversations. It performs a read-only query operation that does not modify, delete, or execute any actions. The only potential concern is that retrieved messages may contain sensitive information, but the tool itself has no destructive or state-changing capability.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'slack_conversations_history' and description 'Get messages from a channel or direct message by channel_id' indicate a retrieval operation with no side effects.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access slack_conversations_history gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Sage MCP, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for slack_conversations_history:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"slack_conversations_history": {}
}
}slack_conversations_history is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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Get messages from a channel or direct message by channel_id. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Sage MCP MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Sage MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for slack_conversations_history: 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 Sage MCP. Nothing to install.
slack_conversations_history 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 slack_conversations_history 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 slack_conversations_history. 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.
slack_conversations_history is provided by the Sage MCP server (sagemcp/sagemcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Deterministic rules across all 359 Sage MCP tools. Per-identity grants. Full audit log. Live in minutes. Nothing to install.
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359 Sage MCP tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 42,500+ MCP servers.