Fetch 30 recent IOL top stories from Independent Online South Africa, returning titles, article URLs, summaries, publication times, authors, and lead images for news monitoring.
Get IOL top stories. Returns the 30 newest stories from IOL (Independent Online, South Africa), with no parameters. Each item has its title, canonical article URL, short summary, publication time, author byline and lead image.
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Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.
v1.17.5Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?
With no annotations, the description carries the full burden and does a solid job: it discloses the fixed result count (30), the recency basis (newest), and that the call takes no parameters, so the agent knows there is no filtering or pagination control. It does not discuss auth, rate limits, or failure behavior, which keeps it short of a 5.
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 sentences, front-loaded with purpose followed by scope and payload shape. Every clause carries information and there is no padding or repetition.
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 output schema exists, so the description usefully enumerates the returned fields (title, canonical URL, summary, publication time, byline, lead image), which is the key thing an agent needs to plan downstream use. It is nearly complete; only the absence of any freshness/caching note keeps it from a 5.
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 has zero parameters, so the baseline is 4. The description reinforces this by explicitly stating 'with no parameters', removing any doubt that filtering must be done client-side.
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 IOL top stories') and pins the scope precisely: the 30 newest stories from Independent Online, South Africa. It is distinguishable from iol_article and iol_sections by scope, but it never names or contrasts with its close sibling iol_headlines, which an agent could easily confuse with this feed.
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?
Usage is only implied: 'top stories' and 'no parameters' tell the agent this is a call-anytime latest-news feed. There is no explicit statement of when to prefer this over iol_headlines, iol_sections, or iol_article, and no exclusions or prerequisites are given.
Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.