social-research-mcp

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

With no annotations provided, the description carries full burden for behavioral disclosure. It mentions that 'Results are saved to the local timeline database' which reveals persistence behavior, but doesn't cover important aspects like rate limits, authentication requirements, data freshness, error handling, or whether this is a read-only vs write operation. The description provides minimal behavioral context beyond the basic action.

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 appropriately concise with two sentences that efficiently convey the core functionality and outcome. The first sentence states the action and search methods, the second reveals the persistence behavior. No wasted words, though it could be slightly more structured.

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?

For a scraping tool with 4 parameters, no annotations, and no output schema, the description is incomplete. It doesn't explain what format the results take, how pagination works, error conditions, authentication needs, or rate limiting. The mention of saving to database adds some context but leaves many operational questions unanswered.

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?

Schema description coverage is 100%, so the schema already fully documents all 4 parameters. The description adds marginal value by mentioning the three search approaches (subreddit, keyword, URL) which map to the parameters, but doesn't provide additional semantic context beyond what's in the schema descriptions. Baseline 3 is appropriate when schema does the heavy lifting.

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 clearly states the tool's purpose: 'Scrape posts from Reddit' with specific search methods (subreddit, keyword, URL). It distinguishes from sibling tools like scrape_facebook or scrape_twitter by specifying the Reddit platform. However, it doesn't explicitly differentiate from timeline_query/timeline_search which might also retrieve saved data.

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 implies usage context by listing search methods (subreddit, keyword, URL) but doesn't provide explicit guidance on when to use this vs alternatives like timeline_query (for saved data) or other scraping tools for different platforms. No when-not-to-use or prerequisite information is included.

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