List all available email folders/labels in your account. Use this to see your folder structure and organize emails.
AI agents call folders_list to retrieve information from Email SMTP/IMAP MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool only lists/retrieves metadata about email folders; it performs no side effects, does not modify data, and does not execute commands or access email contents. It is a straightforward informational read operation with minimal risk if misused by an AI agent.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'folders_list' and description 'List all available email folders/labels in your account' indicate a query operation that retrieves folder structure without modification.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
List all available email folders/labels in your account. Use this to see your folder structure and organize emails. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Email SMTP/IMAP MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Email SMTP/IMAP MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for folders_list: 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 Email SMTP/IMAP MCP Server. Nothing to install.
folders_list 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 folders_list 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 folders_list. 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.
folders_list is provided by the Email SMTP/IMAP MCP Server MCP server (samihalawa/email-smtp-imap-mcp). 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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