AI agents call pause_project to retrieve information from PostgREST without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
Even though pause_project only reads data, uncontrolled read access leaks sensitive information and racks up API costs — an agent caught in a retry loop can make thousands of calls a minute without anyone noticing.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access pause_project gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and PostgREST, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for pause_project:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"pause_project": {}
}
}pause_project is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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Pauses a project. It is categorised as a Read tool in the PostgREST MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the PostgREST MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for pause_project: 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 PostgREST. Nothing to install.
pause_project 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 pause_project 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 pause_project. 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.
pause_project is provided by the PostgREST MCP server (supabase/mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Deterministic rules across all 32 PostgREST tools. Per-identity grants. Full audit log. Live in minutes. Nothing to install.
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32 PostgREST tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 42,500+ MCP servers.