Fetch the plain-text body of a Project Gutenberg book by numeric id (from search_gutenberg).
AI agents call get_gutenberg_text to retrieve information from Philosophy without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool performs a straightforward data retrieval operation on publicly available, open-access texts. It has no side effects, cannot modify or delete data, and does not execute code or trigger external operations. The blast radius of misuse is minimal—an agent could retrieve texts it shouldn't have access to, but Project Gutenberg texts are already public domain. This is a textbook Read operation.
From the tool's definition Tool fetches plain-text body of a Project Gutenberg book by numeric id. No modification, deletion, or code execution is involved. The description explicitly indicates retrieval ('Fetch') of read-only content.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
Fetch the plain-text body of a Project Gutenberg book by numeric id (from search_gutenberg). It is categorised as a Read tool in the Philosophy MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Philosophy MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for get_gutenberg_text: 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 Philosophy. Nothing to install.
get_gutenberg_text 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_gutenberg_text 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_gutenberg_text. 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_gutenberg_text is provided by the Philosophy MCP server (sea9401/philosophy-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.
Teams ship this data inside their own products. See what a licence covers →