[guard-coverage] Guard coverage gap: 2 CLI write operations not modeled in guard

[github-actions]

Summary

The GitHub guard does not fully cover 2 write operation(s) reachable via the GitHub CLI that have no MCP tool counterpart and no guard entry. This means the guard has no pre-emptive classification for these operations if a corresponding MCP tool is added to the GitHub MCP server in the future.

• MCP tools scanned: 80 (from github-mcp-server toolsnaps)
• CLI write command categories scanned: ~12 (pr, issue, repo, release, gist, workflow, run, label, project, secret, variable, run)
• Guard-covered write tools (tools.rs): 42 in WRITE_OPERATIONS + 10 in READ_WRITE_OPERATIONS
• Tools with explicit DIFC rules (tool_rules.rs): all read tools covered; write tools use default handling
• MCP tool classification gaps: 0 — all 80 upstream MCP tools are properly classified
• MCP tool labeling gaps: 0 — all read tools have explicit match arms in apply_tool_labels
• New CLI-only gaps found this run: 2

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GitHub CLI-Only Gaps

These write operations are reachable via the GitHub CLI but have no corresponding MCP tool and no guard entry. The guard has archive_repository as a pre-emptive entry (consistent with the pattern of pre-emptive entries for anticipated future MCP tools), but the symmetric unarchive_repository and the related rename_repository are absent.

CLI Command	REST Endpoint	GitHub API Action	Matches Pattern?	Risk
gh repo rename	POST /repos/{owner}/{repo}/rename	Renames the repository; breaks clone URLs, webhooks, and all references	❌ rename_* unmatched	Medium
gh repo unarchive	PATCH /repos/{owner}/{repo} (archived=false)	Re-enables a previously archived repo for contributions	❌ unarchive_* unmatched	Low–Medium

Why these matter

• rename_repository — does not match any prefix pattern (create_*, delete_*, merge_*, update_*, lock_*, unlock_*). Without an explicit entry, if the MCP server adds a rename_repository tool, it would bypass write-classification and be treated as a read operation.
• unarchive_repository — symmetric to archive_repository, which IS already in WRITE_OPERATIONS as a pre-emptive entry. The lack of the inverse creates an asymmetry: archiving is guarded but un-archiving is not. The unarchive_* prefix is also not matched by any pattern.

Suggested fix for tools.rs

pub const WRITE_OPERATIONS: &[&str] = &[
    // ... existing entries ...

    // Pre-emptive entries for anticipated future MCP tools (no equivalent tool today)
    "archive_repository",    // gh repo archive
    "unarchive_repository",  // gh repo unarchive — symmetric to archive_repository
    "rename_repository",     // gh repo rename — breaks integrations; not matched by update_*
    // ... other pre-emptive entries ...
];

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Stale Guard Entries (bonus)

The following tools are in WRITE_OPERATIONS or READ_WRITE_OPERATIONS but no longer appear in the upstream github-mcp-server toolsnaps. They do have GitHub CLI equivalents (so they are not stale by strict definition), but they may represent tools that were consolidated or renamed in the MCP server:

Tool Name	List	CLI Equivalent	Notes
run_workflow	WRITE_OPERATIONS	gh workflow run	Likely superseded by actions_run_trigger (which IS in snaps)
rerun_workflow_run	WRITE_OPERATIONS	gh run rerun	Not in current MCP snaps
rerun_failed_jobs	WRITE_OPERATIONS	gh run rerun --failed	Not in current MCP snaps
cancel_workflow_run	WRITE_OPERATIONS	gh run cancel	Not in current MCP snaps
delete_workflow_run_logs	WRITE_OPERATIONS	gh run delete	Not in current MCP snaps
add_project_item	WRITE_OPERATIONS	gh project item-add	Likely superseded by projects_write
delete_project_item	WRITE_OPERATIONS	gh project item-delete	Likely superseded by projects_write
update_project_item	READ_WRITE_OPERATIONS	gh project item-edit	Likely superseded by projects_write
update_issue	READ_WRITE_OPERATIONS	gh issue edit	Likely superseded by issue_write
create_pull_request_with_copilot	READ_WRITE_OPERATIONS	(no direct CLI equivalent)	Not in MCP snaps; may be removed or renamed

These entries are harmless (they won't match real tool calls if the tool no longer exists), but cleaning them up would improve maintainability.

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References

• github-mcp-server toolsnaps
• GitHub CLI repo commands
• guard tools.rs
• guard tool_rules.rs
• Run: §23717785343

Generated by GitHub Guard Coverage Checker (MCP + CLI) · ◷

• expires on Apr 12, 2026, 8:09 PM UTC