Fetch current AL.com headlines for news, sports, or life sections from public RSS feeds, returning brief teaser summaries rather than full article text.
Get AL.com section headlines. Returns current headlines from one of AL.com's public Arc RSS section feeds. Summaries are brief publisher teasers, not full article text.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| section | Yes | AL.com editorial section |
Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.
v1.17.7Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?
With no annotations, the description carries the full burden and partially meets it: it discloses the data source (public Arc RSS section feeds) and the content limitation (brief teasers, not full article text). It says nothing about caching, rate limits, freshness, or item count, so behavioral coverage is only partial.
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?
Three tight sentences, each earning its place: what it does, where the data comes from, and what the content actually is. Purpose is front-loaded with no filler.
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 one-parameter, no-output-schema headline fetcher, the description covers origin and content nature adequately. A brief note on recency or result volume would close the remaining gap, but nothing essential is missing.
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% and the single 'section' parameter is fully enumerated, so the schema already documents the input. The description adds only the framing that sections come from RSS feeds, no new semantics about the enum values themselves — baseline 3 applies.
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?
Specific verb+resource: 'Get AL.com section headlines' — unambiguous about what it returns and from where. It does not, however, distinguish itself from its close siblings alcom_news and alcom_sections, leaving the agent to infer the boundary.
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?
Provides no explicit when-to-use guidance or named alternatives. The clause 'Summaries are brief publisher teasers, not full article text' faintly signals that a different tool is needed for full text, but the agent is left to find alcom_news/alcom_sections on its own.
Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.