Stratum Shifts

Find cover

find_cover

Read-onlyIdempotent

Use this when someone cannot work a shift (sick, a swap, a no-show) or the user asks who could take a shift. Lists who can take it within every rule, fairest first with their hours, then the nearest misses and what stops each. Read-only: hand the shift over with edit_shifts. Name the shift by shift_id, or by person and date.

Tool call template

This tool declares no required parameters. Add optional parameters from the input schema as needed.

{
  "id": 1,
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "arguments": {},
    "name": "find_cover"
  }
}

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`date`	No	The date of that person's shift, YYYY-MM-DD.
`person`	No	Whose shift needs cover, by name or staff id; use with date.
`shift_id`	No	The shift to cover, from the week results.
`workplace_id`	No	Workplace id. Omit to use the first workplace.

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description
`close`	Yes	The nearest misses, with what stops each
`ready`	Yes	People who can take it within every rule, fairest first
`shift`	Yes
`holder`	Yes
`weekStart`	Yes

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

First observedOct 29, 2026

TDQS

A4.7/5.0

Behavior4/5

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

Annotations already declare readOnlyHint, idempotentHint, and destructiveHint=false, so the safety profile is covered; the description reinforces it and routes mutations to edit_shifts. It also discloses the return ordering and that near-miss candidates are included with the blocking rule, which is behavior beyond the annotations. It does not discuss candidate limits or pagination, keeping it just short of a 5.

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

Conciseness5/5

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

Three tight sentences: trigger, output shape, then handoff/identification. Front-loaded with the use case and free of filler despite packing in a lot of information.

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

Completeness5/5

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

An output schema exists so return values needn't be spelled out, and the description still sketches the ranking and near-miss structure. All four optional parameters are covered by the schema plus the description's identification guidance, so an agent has what it needs to call this correctly.

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

Parameters4/5

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

Schema coverage is 100%, so the baseline is 3, but the description adds the important disambiguation that the shift can be identified either by shift_id or by the person+date pair, and warns to use them together. That is genuine semantic value beyond the per-field descriptions.

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

Purpose5/5

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

States a specific verb and resource (find who can cover a shift) and enumerates the triggering situations: sick, swap, no-show, or a direct question. The result shape ('fairest first with their hours, then the nearest misses') further distinguishes it from siblings like show_week or fill_week.

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

Usage Guidelines5/5

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

Gives explicit trigger conditions ('when someone cannot work a shift... or the user asks who could take a shift') and names the follow-up tool edit_shifts for actually handing the shift over. Clear when-to-use and what this tool deliberately does not do.

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

All Stratum Shifts tools Inspect

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