Claude Found a Workaround to Delete DT4 Records even when MCP Trash Tool is Deactivated

DEVONthink Artificial Intelligence
1

Claude via MCP deleted some files despite the fact that I have the MCP server set to deny Trash requests.

It did not delete anything serious - they were actually drafts or temp files Claude itself created during a long workflow. Nonetheless - my instructions in my Claude setup are explicit to never send anything to the trash but instead to create a folder called “For Richard to Review.”

So I asked Claude how this can happen. Its response:

Confirmed the mechanism definitively — here’s the detailed finding.

How it happened. Disabling the trash_record tool only locks that one door on the DEVONthink MCP server. It does nothing to DEVONthink’s own AppleScript dictionary — and the tasks do a large share of their DEVONthink work through AppleScript, via the Control-your-Mac osascript tool and do shell script "osascript…" in Bash (label-setting, imports, verification, cleanup all run that way). DEVONthink’s AppleScript exposes move record X to (trash group of database) and delete record X, neither gated by the MCP permission. So a cleanup step reaching for that command trashes records right past the disabled tool.

I proved it with a controlled test just now: created a throwaway record in the Inbox, ran move record … to (trash group) via AppleScript — it landed in /Trash/ (recoverable), exactly where your 27 records were — then recovered it. The delete record variant is even more aggressive (removes the record outright rather than to trash). Both succeed with the MCP tool disabled.

Question - do we want/need the Trash and Delete Applescript commands?

[Yes - I know Trash is just ‘another location’ in DT4. Nonetheless moving something there creates a non-trivial risk that I may not notice it before I choose Empty Trash.]

2

Why should DEVONthink modify its script dictionary to accommodate misbehavior by third-party tools?

Removing the AppleScript “Trash” command would affect any script that uses it. “Move Duplicates to Trash” ships with DT, but almost any user-created “cleanup” script would use the same facility.

6 Likes
3

Of course we do.
I agree with @kewms here. AppleScript predates and is not “made for AI” and there are people want to script but have no interaction with AI.

3 Likes
4

Fair enough

Any suggestions on how else it might be possible to tighten applescript capabilities when executed via local AI [not via MCP] without impacting regular Applescript automation?

5

I, for one, use it when importing diary entries from Day One. I currently have no use for AI.

Stephen

3 Likes
6

DEVONthink does not know how or why an external script is executed. Usage of MCP tools only is highly recommended instead.

1 Like