AI agents call search_collections to retrieve information from STAC MCP Server without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool performs a retrieval operation on a STAC catalog to enumerate available collections. It has no side effects—it queries data and returns results without creating, modifying, deleting, or executing external operations. The 'page' return suggests pagination for browsing collections, a typical read pattern.
From the tool's definition Tool name 'search_collections' and description 'Return a page of STAC collections' indicate a read-only query operation that retrieves geospatial collection metadata without modification or deletion.
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access search_collections gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and STAC MCP Server, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for search_collections:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"search_collections": {}
}
}search_collections is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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Return a page of STAC collections. It is categorised as a Read tool in the STAC MCP Server MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the STAC MCP Server MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for search_collections: 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 STAC MCP Server. Nothing to install.
search_collections 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 search_collections 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 search_collections. 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.
search_collections is provided by the STAC MCP Server MCP server (wayfinder-foundry/stac-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from STAC MCP Server, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.
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10 STAC MCP Server tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.