analyze_home

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

With no annotations, the description must carry the full behavioral burden. It adds useful details—health covers offline and battery issues, orphans are broken links, semantic_audit returns SemanticIssue objects with safeFix suggestions, and voice_exposure maps Google/Alexa—but it does not clarify read-only status, permissions, side effects, or outputs for most actions.

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 front-loaded with the core purpose and then provides the action catalog. It is dense but not wasteful; the single long sentence is slightly harder to parse than a structured list, but every clause contributes useful information.

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?

This is a complex multi-action tool with no annotations and no output schema, so the description should ideally explain more about outputs and safety behavior. It provides a useful action catalog and some output detail for semantic_audit, but it leaves most action-specific return formats and behavioral constraints unspecified.

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 coverage is 75%, but the action enum lacks per-value descriptions in the schema, and the description supplies meaning for several action values. It also clarifies that find_equipment uses room and type, while the days parameter meaning is left to the schema.

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 that this is a home-wide analysis tool and enumerates the available analysis actions. It does not explicitly differentiate it from sibling tools such as get_system_summary or query_rules, but the purpose is still clear from the action catalog.

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 action list implies when to use each mode, and the description names the kind of analysis provided by several actions. However, it does not state when to use analyze_home versus alternatives like query_rules, diagnose_item, or get_system_summary, nor does it provide any when-not guidance.

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