Taobao Self-Check

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

The description goes well beyond annotations by explaining that it renders a live search page in the operator's Chrome, that CDP failures or login walls are inconclusive, and that only a rendered page yielding zero items counts as drift. It also discloses the tri-state semantics, which is critical for interpreting the tool's output.

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 well-structured and front-loads the core purpose and tri-state behavior. It is slightly wordy with the return format block, but every sentence provides useful information and the format is compact.

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?

The description is complete for a zero-parameter health-check tool: it explains what the tool does, how it operates, how to interpret the tri-state result, and what the response contains. The output schema and annotations cover the remaining structured details.

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 has zero parameters and the schema describes an empty object with 100% coverage, so there are no parameter semantics for the description to add. The baseline of 4 applies here because no parameter documentation burden exists.

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 identifies the tool as a structural drift canary for Taobao, with a specific verb ('checks'), resource ('extractor'), and tri-state outcome. It differentiates itself from sibling search/card tools by focusing on health-check behavior rather than data retrieval.

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 description gives clear context that this is a monitoring/health-check tool, not a search tool, and explains when results should be classified as inconclusive versus drift. It does not explicitly name alternative tools, but the canary purpose and sibling naming pattern make the intended usage unambiguous.

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