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South Africa Cadastral Parcels (Surveyor-General · Erven & Farms)

by io.github.BumiAtlas
OverviewDiscussionsAdmin

Search South African cadastral parcels

ZA_parcel_search
Read-onlyIdempotent

Find South African cadastral parcels (Chief Surveyor-General) by number and region, farm name, SG key, or location, with each parcel's whole record. query takes an erf or parcel number with its registration region ('erf 13583 East London', '13583 East London'), a farm portion ('portion 11 of 930 Cape'), a bare number (every region's, paged with offset), a 26-character PRCL_KEY or 21-character SG id, or coordinates as 'latitude, longitude' (e.g. -33.9249, 18.4241). Set farm to search parent farms by name ('Waterval'). With coordinates it returns parcels containing the point (distance 0), then the nearest within radius metres, closest first. Each parcel has id, prclKey, sgId, type and typeName, parcelNo, portion, label, province, majRegion, minRegion, farmName, dsgNo, srNo, ssName, ssNo, lstatus, wstatus, updated, comments, area (m²), mapArea and bbox. Set include_geometry for each boundary as GeoJSON (keep limit small). Use ZA_parcel_image to see a parcel and its neighbours.

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": "ZA_parcel_search"
  }
}

Input Schema

NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
farmNoParent farm name or part of it (Waterval), instead of a query
limitNoMaximum results
queryNo'erf 13583 East London', 'portion 11 of 930 Cape', an SG key, or 'latitude, longitude'
offsetNoSkip this many matches of a number or name search, to page through them
radiusNoSearch radius in metres around coordinates
include_geometryNoInclude each boundary as a GeoJSON MultiPolygon

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

  1. First observed

TDQS

A4.6/5.0
Behavior4/5

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

Annotations already declare readOnlyHint, idempotentHint, destructiveHint=false and openWorldHint=false, so safety is covered. Beyond that, the description adds real behavioural detail: coordinate search returns containing parcels at distance 0 first, then nearest within radius ordered closest-first, and geometry inclusion is flagged as heavy ('keep limit small'). It does not mention authorisation or source-freshness characteristics, which keeps it 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.

Conciseness4/5

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

Purpose and the query-form list are front-loaded, and every clause carries information an agent needs to pick an input form. The long enumeration of returned fields is bulky but justified because there is no output schema; the only minor cost is that the single sentence listing query forms is dense to parse.

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?

With no output schema, the description compensates by listing every returned field (id, prclKey, sgId, parcelNo, portion, area, bbox, etc.) and explaining when geometry appears. Combined with the spatial ordering rules and paging guidance, an agent has enough to call the tool correctly on the first attempt.

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; the description nevertheless adds meaning the schema does not, particularly that radius only matters for coordinate queries and that offset pages through multi-region number/name matches. The farm parameter is clarified as a parent-farm name search rather than an alternative query string.

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?

The description opens with a specific verb and resource ('Find South African cadastral parcels (Chief Surveyor-General)') and immediately enumerates the four lookup axes (number/region, farm name, SG key, location). It also names the sibling tool ZA_parcel_image and what it does differently, so an agent can separate the two without opening a schema.

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?

It gives explicit alternative input forms with worked examples ('erf 13583 East London', 'portion 11 of 930 Cape', a 26-character PRCL_KEY), states that a bare number searches every region and is paged with offset, and routes the agent elsewhere ('Use ZA_parcel_image to see a parcel and its neighbours') when boundary visualisation is the goal. There are no exclusions stated, but the routing and form-selection guidance is unusually complete.

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

All South Africa Cadastral Parcels (Surveyor-General · Erven & Farms) toolsInspect
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