Get Cloudflare Records

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

Annotations already cover the safety profile (readOnly, idempotent, non-destructive, open-world), yet the description still adds real value: it discloses the ZONE_NOT_READY failure mode and describes the per-record return fields. It stops short of stating ordering, pagination, or result-size behavior, which keeps it below a 5.

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 tight sentences: what it returns, when it is authoritative vs. the sibling, and the error case — ordered by importance with zero filler. The emphasis caps on LIVE and THIS are doing real disambiguation work.

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?

For a single-parameter read tool with full annotation coverage and no output schema, the description covers return content, sibling routing, and the main error condition. An agent has everything needed to select and invoke it correctly.

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?

With one parameter at 100% schema coverage, the schema already carries the semantics and the baseline is 4. The description adds the notion of a Cloudflare 'zone' being inspected, reinforcing what 'domain' means here, but no format or validation detail beyond 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?

States a specific verb and resource ('List a domain's LIVE DNS records as Cloudflare holds them') and adds the distinguishing payload details (orange-cloud proxied state, proxiable). It also explicitly names the sibling it is not — list_dns_records — so an agent can route between them without opening either schema.

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?

Gives an explicit when-to-use condition ('Once a domain has moved to Cloudflare THIS is the authoritative record set') and names the alternative plus why it is wrong there ('list_dns_records reads the Porkbun zone, which is no longer answering queries for it'). Nothing is left to inference.

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