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

Annotations already establish readOnly, idempotent, and non-destructive behavior. The description adds valuable behavioral context beyond the annotations: results are bounded, paginated, newest-first, scoped to this agent, and include a has_more signal for continued pagination. This meaningfully enriches the structured annotation data without contradicting it.

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?

The description is a single, front-loaded sentence that states the action, scope, ordering, and pagination behavior without redundancy. Every clause earns its place, and no structured information is needlessly repeated.

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 full schema coverage, rich annotations, and an output schema, the description supplies the remaining practical context: bounded pages, newest-first ordering, this agent's scope, and state-filtering semantics. An agent has enough information to invoke the tool correctly.

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?

The schema already covers 100% of parameters, so baseline is 3. The description adds value beyond the schema by explaining the semantic intent of 'state' (omit/open for unresolved work vs. 'all' for history) and by linking 'page' to the has_more pagination pattern. This helps an agent choose parameter values correctly.

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?

The description states a specific action, resource, and scope: it 'List[s] a bounded page of this agent's Handoffs, newest first.' It clearly differentiates from sibling get_handoff by addressing paged listing of all handoffs rather than fetching a single handoff.

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?

The description gives concrete guidance on when to use different state values: omit state or use 'open' for unresolved work, and use 'all' for history. It also explains pagination with has_more. It does not explicitly name alternative sibling tools or exclusion conditions, but the provided usage context is clear and actionable.

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