Check if Vale (vale.sh) is installed and accessible. Use this first if other Vale tools fail. Returns installation status, version if available, and installation instructions for the current platform.
AI agents call vale_status to retrieve information from Vale MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
vale_status performs only information retrieval—checking installation status and returning version/instruction data. It does not modify, execute code, delete data, or affect system state. This is a straightforward diagnostic read operation with minimal security risk.
From the tool's definition Tool description states it 'Check[s] if Vale (vale.sh) is installed and accessible' and 'Returns installation status, version if available, and installation instructions'. This is purely a status query with no side effects.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access vale_status gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Vale MCP Server, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for vale_status:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"vale_status": {}
}
}vale_status is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
Free to start. No card required.
Check if Vale (vale.sh) is installed and accessible. Use this first if other Vale tools fail. Returns installation status, version if available, and installation instructions for the current platform. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Vale MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Vale MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for vale_status: 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 Vale MCP Server. Nothing to install.
vale_status 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 vale_status 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 vale_status. 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.
vale_status is provided by the Vale MCP Server MCP server (theletterf/vale-mcp-server). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from Vale MCP Server, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.
Free to start. No card required.
3 Vale MCP Server tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.