Fetch AL.com top stories as brief publisher teaser summaries for quick current headlines; full article text is not included.
Get AL.com top stories. Returns current AL.com News stories. Summaries are brief publisher teasers, not full article text.
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Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.
v1.17.7Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?
With no annotations provided, the description carries the full behavioral burden. It usefully discloses content fidelity ('summaries are brief publisher teasers, not full article text'), which is genuinely helpful for an agent deciding whether to fetch full articles. It omits freshness/update cadence, result count, and pagination behavior.
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 short sentences, front-loaded with the core action and free of filler. The first two sentences are somewhat redundant ('Get AL.com top stories' / 'Returns current AL.com News stories'), a minor overlap that keeps it just short of a 5.
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?
No annotations and no output schema exist, so the description must cover the essentials, and it does: what it returns and the nature of the summaries. It is still missing freshness, list size, and the relationship to sibling news/headline tools, which would round out an agent's ability to call it confidently.
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 tool takes zero parameters, so there are no parameter semantics to document. The baseline for a parameterless tool is 4, and there is no misleading parameter language in the description.
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?
States a specific verb and resource ('Get AL.com top stories') and clarifies the content type ('current AL.com News stories'). However, it never distinguishes itself from the closely-named siblings alcom_headlines and alcom_sections, leaving the agent to guess which endpoint returns what.
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?
There is no when-to-use guidance, no exclusions, and no mention of the sibling tools (alcom_headlines, alcom_sections) that serve overlapping needs. The second sentence describes output rather than usage context.
Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.