system_shutdown
Shut down the TrueNAS system. This is a DESTRUCTIVE operation — the system will power off and require physical or IPMI intervention to restart. The
This record as markdown: /tools/spranab-truenas-mcp/system-shutdown.md
What system_shutdown does on Truenas
AI agents call system_shutdown to permanently remove resources in Truenas, typically in cleanup and lifecycle workflows. It does its job in a single call, and there is no undo.
Why system_shutdown is rated Critical
Shutting down the system is an irreversible action in the sense that it cannot be undone remotely — it requires physical or out-of-band (IPMI) access to restart. This has maximum blast radius: all services, storage access, and operations are immediately halted, potentially causing data loss and significant downtime.
From the tool's definition 'Shut down the TrueNAS system. This is a DESTRUCTIVE operation — the system will power off and require physical or IPMI intervention to restart.'
Risk signalsAdmin/system-level operation
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs system_shutdown safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Truenas, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For system_shutdown, this is the rule to start with:
system_shutdown is removed from the agent's tool list entirely, so the agent never calls it. The rest of the server keeps working.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Truenas, apply this rule, and every system_shutdown call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about system_shutdown
Shut down the TrueNAS system. This is a DESTRUCTIVE operation — the system will power off and require physical or IPMI intervention to restart. The. It is categorised as a Destructive tool in the Truenas MCP Server, which means it can permanently delete or destroy data. Block by default and require explicit approval.
Register the Truenas MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for system_shutdown: 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 Truenas. Nothing to install.
system_shutdown is a Destructive tool with critical risk. Critical-risk tools should be blocked by default and only enabled with explicit human approval.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the system_shutdown 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 system_shutdown. 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.
system_shutdown is provided by the Truenas MCP server (spranab/truenas-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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