Server Quality Checklist

Tool Scores

• listFilesC
  2.9/5.0
  Behavior2/5

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

  With no annotations provided, the description carries full burden for behavioral disclosure. It states the action but lacks details on permissions needed, whether it's read-only or has side effects, error handling, or output format. This is a significant gap for a tool with no annotation coverage.

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

  Conciseness5/5

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

  The description is a single, clear sentence with zero waste. It's appropriately sized and front-loaded, efficiently conveying the core functionality without unnecessary elaboration.

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

  Completeness2/5

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

  Given the tool has no annotations, no output schema, and the description lacks behavioral details, it's incomplete. For a file listing tool, the description should address aspects like recursion, filtering, or output structure to be fully helpful to an AI agent.

  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 documents the 'directoryPath' parameter. The description adds no additional meaning beyond what the schema provides, such as path format examples or constraints. Baseline 3 is appropriate when schema does the heavy lifting.

  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?

  The description clearly states the verb ('List') and resource ('files in a directory'), making the purpose immediately understandable. However, it doesn't differentiate from sibling tools like 'listTools' or specify what types of files are included (e.g., all files vs. filtered).

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

  Usage Guidelines2/5

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

  The description provides no guidance on when to use this tool versus alternatives like 'readFile' or 'tailFile', nor does it mention prerequisites or constraints. It simply states what the tool does without context about appropriate usage scenarios.

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

• readFileC
  2.9/5.0
  Behavior2/5

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

  With no annotations provided, the description carries full burden for behavioral disclosure. While 'Read' implies a read-only operation, it doesn't specify whether this requires file permissions, how it handles large files, encoding issues, or what happens on non-existent paths. For a file I/O tool with zero annotation coverage, this leaves significant behavioral gaps.

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

  Conciseness5/5

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

  The description is a single, efficient sentence that directly states the tool's function without unnecessary words. It's appropriately sized for a simple tool and front-loads the core purpose immediately.

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

  Completeness2/5

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

  Given the complexity of file operations (permissions, encoding, size limits) and the absence of both annotations and output schema, the description is insufficiently complete. It doesn't explain what the tool returns (text content, binary data, error formats) or address common file system considerations, leaving the agent with inadequate context for reliable use.

  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 documents the 'filePath' parameter adequately. The description adds no additional parameter semantics beyond what the schema provides, such as path format examples or supported file types. This meets the baseline for high schema coverage.

  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?

  The description clearly states the verb ('Read') and resource ('contents of a file'), making the purpose immediately understandable. However, it doesn't differentiate from sibling tools like 'tailFile' (which also reads files but with a streaming approach) or 'listFiles' (which lists metadata rather than contents), so it doesn't achieve full sibling differentiation.

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

  Usage Guidelines2/5

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

  The description provides no guidance on when to use this tool versus alternatives like 'tailFile' for streaming or 'listFiles' for metadata. There's no mention of prerequisites, file size limitations, or error conditions, leaving the agent with insufficient context for optimal tool selection.

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

• writeFileC
  2.9/5.0
  Behavior2/5

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

  No annotations are provided, so the description carries the full burden of behavioral disclosure. 'Write content to a file' implies a mutation operation, but it doesn't specify whether this creates new files, overwrites existing ones, requires specific permissions, handles errors, or has side effects like file locking. For a write tool with zero annotation coverage, this leaves critical behavioral traits unaddressed.

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

  Conciseness5/5

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

  The description is extremely concise with a single, direct sentence that front-loads the core action. There is no wasted language or unnecessary elaboration, making it efficient for quick understanding. Every word earns its place by clearly conveying the tool's function.

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

  Completeness2/5

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

  Given the tool's complexity as a write operation with no annotations and no output schema, the description is incomplete. It lacks information on behavioral traits, error handling, return values, and usage context. For a mutation tool that modifies files, more detail is needed to ensure safe and correct invocation by an AI agent.

  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?

  The description adds no parameter semantics beyond what the input schema provides. The schema has 100% description coverage with clear definitions for 'content' and 'filePath', so the baseline score of 3 is appropriate. The description doesn't elaborate on parameter usage, constraints, or examples, but the schema adequately documents them.

  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?

  The description clearly states the action ('Write content') and target resource ('to a file'), making the purpose immediately understandable. It distinguishes from sibling tools like 'readFile' and 'listFiles' by specifying a write operation rather than read or list operations. However, it doesn't specify file creation vs. overwriting, which could provide more precise differentiation.

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

  Usage Guidelines2/5

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

  The description provides no guidance on when to use this tool versus alternatives. It doesn't mention when to choose 'writeFile' over other file operations like 'readFile' or 'tailFile', nor does it specify prerequisites, constraints, or typical use cases. The agent must infer usage from the tool name alone.

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

• listToolsB
  3.2/5.0
  Behavior2/5

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

  No annotations are provided, so the description carries full burden. It states the action but doesn't disclose behavioral traits like whether this is a read-only operation, if it requires authentication, rate limits, or what the return format looks like. For a tool with zero annotation coverage, this is a significant gap in transparency.

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

  Conciseness5/5

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

  The description is a single, clear sentence with zero wasted words. It's front-loaded with the essential action and resource, making it highly efficient and easy to parse. Every word earns its place.

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

  Completeness3/5

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

  Given the tool's simplicity (0 parameters, no output schema), the description is adequate but incomplete. It lacks behavioral context that would be crucial without annotations, such as return format or operational constraints. For a basic list tool, it meets minimum viability but leaves gaps in understanding how to interpret results.

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

  Parameters4/5

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

  The tool has 0 parameters, and schema description coverage is 100%, so there's no need for parameter documentation in the description. The description appropriately doesn't mention parameters, which is correct for this case. A baseline of 4 is applied since no parameters exist.

  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?

  The description clearly states the verb ('List') and resource ('all available tools in this MCP server'), making the purpose immediately understandable. However, it doesn't explicitly differentiate from sibling tools like listFiles, which also lists resources but of a different type. The distinction is implied but not stated.

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

  Usage Guidelines2/5

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

  The description provides no guidance on when to use this tool versus alternatives. It doesn't mention any prerequisites, context for usage, or comparison to siblings like listFiles. The agent must infer usage from the tool name alone, which is insufficient for optimal selection.

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

• tailFileB
  3.4/5.0
  Behavior2/5

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

  No annotations are provided, so the description carries full burden. While 'Read' implies a read-only operation, it doesn't disclose behavioral traits like file access permissions, error handling (e.g., if file doesn't exist), encoding considerations, or performance characteristics. The description is minimal and lacks context beyond the basic action.

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

  Conciseness5/5

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

  The description is a single, efficient sentence with zero waste. It's front-loaded with the core action and resource, making it immediately understandable without unnecessary elaboration.

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

  Completeness2/5

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

  Given no annotations and no output schema, the description is incomplete for a tool with 2 parameters. It doesn't explain what the tool returns (e.g., lines as text, error messages), behavioral aspects like file locking or performance, or how it differs from similar tools. For a file operation tool, this leaves significant gaps in understanding.

  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%, with clear descriptions for both parameters (filePath and lines). The description adds minimal value beyond the schema by implying the relationship between 'last N lines' and the lines parameter, but doesn't provide additional syntax, format details, or constraints beyond what's already documented in the schema.

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

  Purpose5/5

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

  The description clearly states the specific action ('Read the last N lines') and resource ('from a file'), distinguishing it from sibling tools like readFile (which presumably reads the entire file) and writeFile (which modifies files). It uses precise terminology ('tail') that implies reading from the end.

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

  Usage Guidelines3/5

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

  The description implies usage for reading recent file content, but provides no explicit guidance on when to use this tool versus alternatives like readFile (for full file reading) or listFiles (for file listing). There's no mention of prerequisites, error conditions, or specific use cases.

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