Gets detailed information about a specific work item template. Use this tool when you need to: - View default field values in a template - Understand what a template pre-populates in a work item - Get complete details about a template Args: team_context: Dictionary containing team information wit...
AI agents call get_work_item_template to retrieve information from MCP Azure DevOps Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool purely retrieves and queries template metadata without any side effects. It enables inspection of work item template structure and default values, which is fundamentally a read operation. The parameters only specify context for retrieval (team and project identifiers). No data is created, modified, deleted, or executed.
From the tool's definition Tool description explicitly states 'Gets detailed information' and use cases are all read-only: 'View default field values', 'Understand what a template pre-populates', 'Get complete details about a template'.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access get_work_item_template gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and MCP Azure DevOps Server, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for get_work_item_template:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"get_work_item_template": {}
}
}get_work_item_template is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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Gets detailed information about a specific work item template. Use this tool when you need to: - View default field values in a template - Understand what a template pre-populates in a work item - Get complete details about a template Args: team_context: Dictionary containing team information with keys: project: Project name (Optional if project_id is provided) project_id: Project ID (Optional if project is provided) team: Team name (Optional if team_id is provided) team_id: Team ID (Optional if team is provided) template_id: The ID of the template Returns: Detailed information about the template including default field values. It is categorised as a Read tool in the MCP Azure DevOps Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the MCP Azure DevOps Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for get_work_item_template: 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 MCP Azure DevOps Server. Nothing to install.
get_work_item_template 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 get_work_item_template 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 get_work_item_template. 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.
get_work_item_template is provided by the MCP Azure DevOps Server MCP server (vortiago/mcp-azure-devops). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Deterministic rules across all 21 MCP Azure DevOps Server tools. Per-identity grants. Full audit log. Live in minutes. Nothing to install.
Free to start. No card required.
21 MCP Azure DevOps Server tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 42,500+ MCP servers.