Install a previously built .app bundle onto an iOS simulator.
AI agents invoke bazel_ios_install_app to trigger actions in XcodeBazelMCP. 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.
Installing an app onto a simulator triggers an external operation (modifying simulator state by adding/registering an application). It is not purely a read, and while it modifies simulator state, it is reversible (the app can be uninstalled), placing it in Execute rather than Destructive or Write. Misuse could result in deploying malicious or untested apps to simulators.
From the tool's definition Install a previously built .app bundle onto an iOS simulator
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access bazel_ios_install_app gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and XcodeBazelMCP, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for bazel_ios_install_app:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"bazel_ios_install_app": {
"limits": [
{
"counter": "bazel_ios_install_app_rate",
"window": "minute",
"max": 10,
"scope": "grant"
}
]
}
}
} bazel_ios_install_app stays usable, but rate-capped — a runaway agent can't fire it dozens of times a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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Install a previously built .app bundle onto an iOS simulator. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the XcodeBazelMCP MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.
Register the XcodeBazel MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for bazel_ios_install_app: 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 XcodeBazelMCP. Nothing to install.
bazel_ios_install_app 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 bazel_ios_install_app 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 bazel_ios_install_app. 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.
bazel_ios_install_app is provided by the XcodeBazel MCP server (xcodebazelmcp/xcodebazelmcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from XcodeBazelMCP, 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.
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