umich-dining-mcp

Get dining hall hours

get_hours

Read-onlyIdempotent

Retrieve published service periods and weekly schedules for one or more University of Michigan dining halls on a requested date, with cache age noted.

Instructions

Get the service periods published for a dining hall on the requested day, plus the regular weekly schedule. Accepts one hall, a list, or none for all (like filter_dishes). today is the day's published service periods and regular is the weekly schedule. A hall that cannot be read is reported in the failures and the other halls are still returned. The response carries the weekday name of the requested date. stale means the data is from cache and may be slightly old, but is still the best available; asOf is the age. Re-call only if you need guaranteed-fresh data.

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`date`	No	The day to read. Defaults to today.
`hall`	No	Halls: one, a list, or none for all.

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`asOf`	No
`date`	Yes
`halls`	Yes
`weekly`	No
`weekday`	No
`failures`	Yes

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed17 schema fields changedv0.1.1Oct 23, 2026

addedInput schema / additionalProperties
```
Added value: +false
```

changedInput schema / properties / date / description

Previous value: -"Calendar date in YYYY-MM-DD. The site publishes menus for today-3 days to today+14 days."New value: +"The day to read. Defaults to today."

addedInput schema / properties / hall / anyOf

Added value: +[
+  {
+    "enum": [
+      "bursley",
+      "east-quad",
+      "markley",
+      "mosher-jordan",
+      "north-quad",
+      "south-quad",
+      "twigs-at-oxford",
+      "wolverine-village",
+      "lawyers-club",
+      "martha-cook"
+    ],
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  {
+    "items": {
+      "enum": [
+        "bursley",
+        "east-quad",
+        "markley",
+        "mosher-jordan",
+        "north-quad",
+        "south-quad",
+        "twigs-at-oxford",
+        "wolverine-village",
+        "lawyers-club",
+        "martha-cook"
+      ],
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "maxItems": 10,
+    "type": "array"
+  }
+]

addedInput schema / properties / hall / description

Added value: +"Halls: one, a list, or none for all."

removedInput schema / properties / hall / enum

Removed value: -[
-  "bursley",
-  "east-quad",
-  "markley",
-  "mosher-jordan",
-  "north-quad",
-  "south-quad",
-  "twigs-at-oxford",
-  "wolverine-village",
-  "lawyers-club",
-  "martha-cook"
-]

removedInput schema / properties / hall / type
```
Removed value: -"string"
```
addedOutput schema / properties / asOf
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "string"
+}
```

addedOutput schema / properties / failures

Added value: +{
+  "items": {
+    "additionalProperties": false,
+    "properties": {
+      "error": {
+        "type": "string"
+      },
+      "hall": {
+        "enum": [
+          "bursley",
+          "east-quad",
+          "markley",
+          "mosher-jordan",
+          "north-quad",
+          "south-quad",
+          "twigs-at-oxford",
+          "wolverine-village",
+          "lawyers-club",
+          "martha-cook"
+        ],
+        "type": "string"
+      },
+      "hallName": {
+        "type": "string"
+      }
+    },
+    "required": [
+      "hall",
+      "hallName",
+      "error"
+    ],
+    "type": "object"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / halls / items / properties / asOf
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "string"
+}
```

removedOutput schema / properties / halls / items / properties / regular

Removed value: -{
-  "anyOf": [
-    {
-      "additionalProperties": false,
-      "properties": {
-        "hall": {
-          "enum": [
-            "bursley",
-            "east-quad",
-            "markley",
-            "mosher-jordan",
-            "north-quad",
-            "south-quad",
-            "twigs-at-oxford",
-            "wolverine-village",
-            "lawyers-club",
-            "martha-cook"
-          ],
-          "type": "string"
-        },
-        "name": {
-          "type": "string"
-        },
-        "url": {
-          "type": [
-            "string",
-            "null"
-          ]
-        },
-        "weekly": {
-          "items": {
-            "additionalProperties": false,
-            "properties": {
-              "closed": {
-                "type": "boolean"
-              },
-              "days": {
-                "items": {
-                  "type": "string"
-                },
-                "type": "array"
-              },
-              "periods": {
-                "items": {
-                  "additionalProperties": false,
-                  "properties": {
-                    "closed": {
-                      "type": "boolean"
-                    },
-                    "label": {
-                      "type": "string"
-                    },
-                    "times": {
-                      "type": "string"
-                    }
-                  },
-                  "required": [
-                    "label",
-                    "times",
-                    "closed"
-                  ],
-                  "type": "object"
-                },
-                "type": "array"
-              }
-            },
-            "required": [
-              "days",
-              "periods",
-              "closed"
-            ],
-            "type": "object"
-          },
-          "type": "array"
-        }
-      },
-      "required": [
-        "hall",
-        "name",
-        "url",
-        "weekly"
-      ],
-      "type": "object"
-    },
-    {
-      "type": "null"
-    }
-  ]
-}

changedOutput schema / properties / halls / items / properties / today / items / required

Previous value: -[
-  "label",
-  "times",
-  "closed"
-]New value: +[
+  "label",
+  "times"
+]

addedOutput schema / properties / halls / items / properties / weekday
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "string"
+}
```
addedOutput schema / properties / halls / items / properties / weekly
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": [
+    "string",
+    "null"
+  ]
+}
```

changedOutput schema / properties / halls / items / required

Previous value: -[
-  "hall",
-  "name",
-  "date",
-  "today",
-  "regular",
-  "stale"
-]New value: +[
+  "hall",
+  "name",
+  "date",
+  "today",
+  "weekly",
+  "stale"
+]

addedOutput schema / properties / weekday
```
Added value: +{
+  "type": "string"
+}
```

addedOutput schema / properties / weekly

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": {
+    "items": {
+      "additionalProperties": false,
+      "properties": {
+        "closed": {
+          "type": "boolean"
+        },
+        "days": {
+          "items": {
+            "type": "string"
+          },
+          "type": "array"
+        },
+        "periods": {
+          "items": {
+            "additionalProperties": false,
+            "properties": {
+              "closed": {
+                "type": "boolean"
+              },
+              "label": {
+                "type": "string"
+              },
+              "times": {
+                "type": "string"
+              }
+            },
+            "required": [
+              "label",
+              "times"
+            ],
+            "type": "object"
+          },
+          "type": "array"
+        }
+      },
+      "required": [
+        "days",
+        "periods"
+      ],
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "type": "array"
+  },
+  "propertyNames": {
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  "type": "object"
+}

changedOutput schema / required

Previous value: -[
-  "date",
-  "halls"
-]New value: +[
+  "date",
+  "halls",
+  "failures"
+]

First observedv0.1.0Oct 21, 2026

TDQS

A4.1/5.0

Behavior5/5

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

Adds substantial behavior beyond the annotations: partial-failure semantics ('A hall that cannot be read is reported in the failures and the other halls are still returned'), cache staleness semantics ('stale means the data is from cache... asOf is the age'), and a response detail the agent would otherwise have to derive (weekday name). Annotations already cover safety, and this fills in the operation-specific context.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Purpose is front-loaded and the density is high with little filler; each sentence carries operational meaning (failures, stale/asOf, weekday name). It is slightly run-on, mixing output details and cache semantics in a single block, but remains readable and efficient.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

Given an output schema and full annotation coverage, the description supplies the non-obvious pieces: failure behavior, cache staleness interpretation, and the today-vs-regular distinction. The one gap is the missing routing guidance relative to 'find_open_now', which matters for a tool whose answer overlaps with 'what is open now'.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100%, so the schema already explains 'date' (defaults to today) and 'hall' (one, a list, or none for all). The description mostly repeats those semantics rather than adding format or edge-case detail, so baseline 3 applies.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose4/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

Uses a specific verb and resource ('Get the service periods published for a dining hall on the requested day, plus the regular weekly schedule') and clearly separates the 'today' view from the 'regular' weekly view. It does not, however, differentiate itself from the sibling 'find_open_now', which an agent could easily confuse with a hours lookup.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Gives clear context for the hall parameter ('like filter_dishes') and explicit retry guidance ('Re-call only if you need guaranteed-fresh data'), which is actionable. It stops short of stating when to prefer this over 'find_open_now' or 'get_menu', so it lacks alternatives/exclusions that a 5 would require.

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

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