list_available_skills

THE RISK

Low Risk

Why list_available_skills needs a policy

This tool queries and returns information about available skills without creating, modifying, deleting, or executing any operations. It is a read-only information retrieval action with minimal blast radius if misused by an AI agent.

From the tool's definition Tool name is 'list_available_skills' and description states 'List available skills in the registry' — this is a retrieval/query operation with no side effects.

Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access list_available_skills gives an agent:

POLICY

How to control list_available_skills

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and MCP Project Orchestrator, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for list_available_skills:

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "list_available_skills": {}
  }
}

list_available_skills is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

Create a free account and register MCP Project Orchestrator — nothing to install.
Add this policy — paste it, or build it visually.
Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.

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EXPLORE

Related tools and policies

More MCP Project Orchestrator tools

Execute orchestrate_new_project Orchestrate the setup of a new software project from the user's idea. Write deploy_skills_to_cursor Deploy Agent Skills as Cursor configuration. Write apply_project_template Apply a template and create comprehensive documentation. Write create_project_with_skills Create project using Agent Skills orchestration. Read analyze_design_patterns Analyze the user's idea to identify design patterns and architecture concepts. Read aws_best_practices Get AWS best practices for a specific service (s3, ec2, lambda) Read aws_estimate_costs Estimate AWS costs based on usage (JSON format) Read aws_list_ec2_instances List all EC2 instances in the current region

All 15 MCP Project Orchestrator tools →

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Go deeper

The MCP Attack Database → Documented attack patterns against MCP deployments — and the policies that stop them.
Data exfiltration → How read access becomes an exfiltration channel when chained with untrusted content.
MCP token cost → What connecting this server costs in context-window tokens on every request.
Rate Limiting MCP Tool Calls: A Practical Guide →
MCP Security: Why Prompt Guardrails Aren't Enough →

FAQ

Questions about list_available_skills

What does the list_available_skills tool do? +

List available skills in the registry. It is categorised as a Read tool in the MCP Project Orchestrator MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on list_available_skills? +

Register the MCP Project Orchestrator MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for list_available_skills: 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 MCP Project Orchestrator. Nothing to install.

What risk level is list_available_skills? +

list_available_skills is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.

Can I rate-limit list_available_skills? +

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

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

list_available_skills is provided by the MCP Project Orchestrator MCP server (sparesparrow/mcp-project-orchestrator). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every MCP Project Orchestrator tool call.

Start from MCP Project Orchestrator, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.

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