slack_show_home

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

With no annotations, the description carries full burden, and it discloses two substantive traits: the call blocks until the sidebar appears, and presses fail silently unless the accessibility flag is set. That silent-failure warning is exactly the kind of context structured fields don't provide. It stops short of describing recovery or verification steps.

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?

Two sentences, zero waste: the action is front-loaded and the critical prerequisite follows. Both sentences earn their place.

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 zero-parameter, no-annotation, no-output-schema tool, the description covers what it does, that it blocks, and the key environment prerequisite. Only minor gaps remain, such as how failure manifests beyond the silent-ignore caveat.

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 the baseline of 4 applies. There is no parameter semantics to clarify and the description sensibly adds nothing here.

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 ("Select") and a precise resource ("the Home tab in Slack's navigation rail"), plus the observable outcome ("wait for the sidebar to appear"). An agent can clearly distinguish this navigation action from siblings like slack_filter_channels.

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?

It gives an important precondition (Slack must run with --force-renderer-accessibility), which is genuine usage context. However, it never says when to choose this over an alternative or in what workflow context the Home tab is needed, so alternatives remain implicit.

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