Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already cover read-only, idempotent, closed-world behavior, and the description adds useful negatives: no full body, no private records, no arbitrary URL fetching, and absent IDs are out of snapshot. It does not discuss rate limits or response shape, but the annotations carry the safety profile well.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

A single front-loaded sentence carries purpose, scope, and exclusion constraints with no wasted words.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

Given a simple one-param read-only tool with full annotation coverage and no output schema, the description supplies what the schema lacks about scope and exclusions. The only minor gap is return value shape, though that is partly implied by 'excerpt and disclosed sources'.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

With only one parameter and 0% schema description coverage, the description says 'one selected article ID' and that absent IDs are not in the snapshot, but it adds no format, type, or validation details beyond the implicit integer in the schema. Baseline 3 for a simple single required param is appropriate.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

States a specific verb and resource ('Get the public publisher excerpt and disclosed sources of one selected article ID') and clearly bounds scope against siblings like search_articles by emphasizing a single selected ID and the absence of URL fetching.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Clarifies that this is for one selected article ID and that absent IDs are not in the snapshot, implying use after selection via search_articles. It does not explicitly name search_articles as the alternative, so it stops just short of a 5.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.