MCP and Tool Governance

Tool Catalog

A tool catalog is the collection of tools available to an AI agent across one or more MCP servers, representing the full action surface the agent can potentially invoke.

Why this matters for AI agents

A broad tool catalog is a broad attack surface. Agents that can see and call any tool in the catalog are more susceptible to prompt injection, tool misuse, and scope creep.

How AgntID relates

AgntID can filter the tool catalog at the tools/list layer, presenting each agent with only the subset of tools appropriate for its current task.

The static IAM gap

MCP exposes the full tool catalog to authenticated clients. Tool catalog filtering based on agent identity and task context is not a native MCP feature.

Related phrases

tool catalogagent tool libraryavailable toolsMCP tool inventory

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

What is a tool catalog?

A tool catalog is the collection of tools available to an AI agent across one or more MCP servers, representing the full action surface the agent can potentially invoke.

Why is a broad tool catalog a security risk?

A broad tool catalog is a broad attack surface. Agents that can see and call any tool are more susceptible to prompt injection, tool misuse, and scope creep.

How does AgntID reduce the tool catalog?

AgntID can filter the tool catalog at the tools/list layer, presenting each agent with only the subset of tools appropriate for its current task—reducing the agent's action surface to a least-privilege set.

Runtime Enforcement

Secure every agent tool call at execution time.

AgntID gives infrastructure teams scoped, ephemeral access control for AI agents without replacing IAM, MCP servers, tools, or agent frameworks.