AI agents invoke tab_new to trigger actions in It2mcp. What it does depends on the arguments the agent supplies, and its effects often reach beyond the immediate call — builds kicked off, notifications sent, workflows started.
While the tool itself only creates a tab container, its purpose is to enable terminal command execution. This falls under Execute rather than Write because iTerm2 tabs are not data objects but rather execution contexts.
From the tool's definition Tool creates a new tab in iTerm2, which is a terminal application. Creating terminal tabs enables execution of arbitrary shell commands and external operations whose effects depend on arguments (what commands are subsequently run in that tab).
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
Create a new tab in an iTerm2 window. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the It2mcp MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.
Register the It2 MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for tab_new: 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 It2mcp. Nothing to install.
tab_new is a Execute tool with high risk. Execute tools should be rate-limited and have argument validation enabled.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the tab_new 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 tab_new. 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.
tab_new is provided by the It2 MCP server (urjitbhatia/it2mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
tab_new is one line of It2's registry record.
The record carries the whole server: verified identity, auth posture, risk grade, every tool classified, recommended policy — re-checked continuously.
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