Low Risk

list_folders

List all folders for organizing chats.

How to control list_folders ↓

What list_folders does on Open WebUI MCP Server

AI agents call list_folders to retrieve information from Open WebUI MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.

Low Risk

Why list_folders needs a policy

This tool performs a read-only operation to list existing folders. It retrieves data about chat organization structures without side effects, no data modification, deletion, or execution of arbitrary operations. The scope is limited to folder enumeration within the Open WebUI platform.

From the tool's definition Tool name 'list_folders' and description 'List all folders for organizing chats' indicates a query operation that retrieves folder information without modifying, deleting, or executing any operations.

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

How to control list_folders

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

policy.json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "list_folders": {}
  }
}

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

  1. Create a free account and register Open WebUI MCP Server — nothing to install.
  2. Add this policy — paste it, or build it visually.
  3. Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.
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Related tools and policies

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Questions about list_folders

What does the list_folders tool do? +

List all folders for organizing chats. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Open WebUI MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.

How do I enforce a policy on list_folders? +

Register the Open WebUI MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for list_folders: 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 Open WebUI MCP Server. Nothing to install.

What risk level is list_folders? +

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

Can I rate-limit list_folders? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the list_folders 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_folders completely? +

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

list_folders is provided by the Open WebUI MCP Server MCP server (troylar/open-webui-mcp-server). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every Open WebUI MCP Server tool call.

Start from Open WebUI 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.

82 Open WebUI MCP Server tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.

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