Send a macOS notification with optional tmux integration
AI agents invoke send_notification to trigger actions in macOS Notify MCP. 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.
Sending a native OS notification is an external side-effecting operation that goes beyond simple data reads or writes. It triggers system-level UI actions and can manipulate tmux sessions (focusing/switching sessions when clicked). While not destructive or financial, it executes an operation in the external environment with real-world effects, qualifying as Execute.
From the tool's definition Send a macOS notification with optional tmux integration — triggers an external OS-level operation (native macOS notification) and can interact with tmux sessions
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access send_notification gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and macOS Notify MCP, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for send_notification:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"send_notification": {
"limits": [
{
"counter": "send_notification_rate",
"window": "minute",
"max": 10,
"scope": "grant"
}
]
}
}
}send_notification 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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Send a macOS notification with optional tmux integration. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the macOS Notify MCP MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.
Register the macOS Notify MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for send_notification: 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 macOS Notify MCP. Nothing to install.
send_notification 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 send_notification 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 send_notification. 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.
send_notification is provided by the macOS Notify MCP server (yuki-yano/macos-notify-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from macOS Notify MCP, 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.
3 macOS Notify MCP tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.