search-by-label

THE RISK

Low Risk

Why search-by-label needs a policy

This tool queries existing emails based on label criteria and returns results without creating, modifying, deleting, or executing any operations. It is a passive information retrieval function with no side effects, placing it firmly in the Read category with low severity.

From the tool's definition Tool name 'search-by-label' and description 'Searches for emails with a specific label' indicate a retrieval operation with no modification or deletion of data.

Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access search-by-label gives an agent:

POLICY

How to control search-by-label

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Enhanced Gmail MCP Server, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for search-by-label:

policy.json

{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "search-by-label": {}
  }
}

search-by-label 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 Enhanced Gmail MCP Server — nothing to install.
Add this policy — paste it, or build it visually.
Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.

CAP THIS TOOL →

Free to start. No card required.

EXPLORE

Related tools and policies

More Enhanced Gmail MCP Server tools

Destructive delete-filter Deletes a specific filter Destructive delete-label Permanently deletes a label Destructive trash-email trash-email Execute open-email Open email in browser Write remove-label Removes a label from an email Write apply-label Applies a label to an email Write archive-email Archives an email (removes from inbox without deleting) Write batch-archive Archives multiple emails matching a search query

All 27 Enhanced Gmail MCP Server tools →

Read tools on other servers

M-Team MCP Server get_torrent_detail YouTube MCP Server search_channel Android Forensics ADB MCP Server parse_browser_history 0xarchive web3_challenge

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 search-by-label

What does the search-by-label tool do? +

Searches for emails with a specific label. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Enhanced Gmail MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on search-by-label? +

Register the Enhanced Gmail MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for search-by-label: 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 Enhanced Gmail MCP Server. Nothing to install.

What risk level is search-by-label? +

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

Can I rate-limit search-by-label? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the search-by-label 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 search-by-label completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for search-by-label. 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 search-by-label? +

search-by-label is provided by the Enhanced Gmail MCP Server MCP server (theposch/gmail-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every Enhanced Gmail MCP Server tool call.

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

CHECK YOUR STACK →