Tesla List Vehicles

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

Annotations already cover the read-only/idempotent safety profile, but the description adds two non-obvious behavioral facts: VINs are masked in the response, and the call avoids the side effect of waking the vehicle. That is valuable context beyond structured fields, though pagination or account-permission behavior is unaddressed.

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 short sentences with zero waste. The purpose comes first, and the two caveats (masked VINs, no wake) follow immediately.

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?

With an output schema present and no parameters, the description carries little burden and covers the key non-obvious behaviors. Only the absence of any note on multi-vehicle/account-scoping ambiguity 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 takes zero parameters, so the baseline is 4; there is nothing for the description to disambiguate beyond confirming the call is unscoped.

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 ('List vehicles on the Tesla account'), which is clearly distinguishable from siblings like tesla_get_status or tesla_get_odometer. It does not explicitly name a sibling to differentiate against, keeping it just below a 5.

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?

'This does not wake the car' implicitly tells the agent to prefer this call over tesla_wake_and_refresh when it just wants a cheap read. It gives a clear usage context but states no explicit exclusions or prerequisites.

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