search_papers

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

With no annotations provided, the description carries the full burden of behavioral disclosure. It explains the automatic fallback from Semantic Scholar to OpenAlex, on-disk caching behavior, DBLP routing for venue queries, and the structured result format. This gives the agent a strong mental model of the tool's behavior beyond the schema.

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 front-loaded with the tool's purpose and return format, and the subsequent sections for sources and caching are informative rather than padded. It is somewhat long, but every sentence adds useful behavioral or selection detail.

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?

The description covers return shape, source behavior, caching, and venue routing, which is substantial for a search tool. The main omissions are the limit and year-filter parameters, and there is no explicit guidance on when to use sibling tools instead, but the core invocation path is well supported.

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 description compensates for the 0% schema coverage by explaining the query, venue, and source parameters in detail, including source-specific syntax. However, it does not describe the limit, year_start, or year_end parameters, leaving a meaningful gap for a tool with six parameters and no schema descriptions.

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 opens with a specific verb and resource: 'Search academic papers by keyword,' and enumerates the exact return fields (title, year, venue, authors, DOI, abstract, citation count, PDF link). This clearly distinguishes it from sibling tools like paper_details, get_citation_graph, and read_paper_full_text.

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 actionable guidance for source selection, such as marking arXiv as 'best for finding specific recent papers by exact name' and explaining that venue-scoped queries are routed through DBLP automatically. It does not explicitly contrast this tool with sibling tools, but it provides clear context for when to use it and how to choose among internal alternatives.

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