unsplash-mcp
Server Quality Checklist
Latest release: v0.1.0
- Disambiguation5/5
The two search tools clearly target different entities (photos vs collections), and the two download tools are distinguished by single vs batch operation. Even though download and batch download overlap in purpose, their descriptions make the distinction explicit.
Naming Consistency5/5All tool names follow a consistent verb_noun pattern (search_unsplash_* and download_unsplash_*), using snake_case throughout. The naming clearly indicates both the action and the target, and the batch tool follows the same convention with a suffix.
Tool Count5/5With 4 tools, the server is well-scoped for searching and downloading Unsplash content. Each tool serves a distinct, necessary function, and the count feels appropriate for a focused media-access server.
Completeness5/5The domain of Unsplash photo search and download is fully covered: users can search photos and collections, and download individual or multiple images. There are no obvious dead ends, as the search tools return URLs that feed directly into the download tools.
Average 3.9/5 across 4 of 4 tools scored.
See the Tool Scores section below for per-tool breakdowns.
- No community issues in the last 6 months
- 2 commits in the last 12 weeks
- No stable releases found
- No critical vulnerability alerts
- No high-severity vulnerability alerts
- No code scanning findings
- CI status not available
This repository is licensed under MIT License.
This repository includes a README.md file.
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How is the quality score calculated?
The overall quality score combines two components: Tool Definition Quality (70%) and Server Coherence (30%).
Tool Definition Quality measures how well each tool describes itself to AI agents. Every tool is scored 1–5 across six dimensions: Purpose Clarity (25%), Usage Guidelines (20%), Behavioral Transparency (20%), Parameter Semantics (15%), Conciseness & Structure (10%), and Contextual Completeness (10%). The server-level definition quality score is calculated as 60% mean TDQS + 40% minimum TDQS, so a single poorly described tool pulls the score down.
Server Coherence evaluates how well the tools work together as a set, scoring four dimensions equally: Disambiguation (can agents tell tools apart?), Naming Consistency, Tool Count Appropriateness, and Completeness (are there gaps in the tool surface?).
Tiers are derived from the overall score: A (≥3.5), B (≥3.0), C (≥2.0), D (≥1.0), F (<1.0). B and above is considered passing.
Tool Scores
- Behavior3/5
Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?
With no annotations, the description carries the burden. It discloses the output structure (title, description, total photos, cover photo URLs, curator info), which is helpful. However, it does not mention authentication, rate limits, or pagination behavior beyond what the schema already provides.
Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.
Conciseness5/5Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?
Two sentences, zero fluff. The first sentence states the purpose, the second lists key return data. Every word contributes.
Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.
Completeness4/5Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?
Given the simple search tool, complete parameter documentation, and presence of an output schema, the description is adequate. It could have added a note about when to use it, but the core function is well covered.
Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.
Parameters3/5Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?
Schema coverage is 100%, so the schema already documents all three parameters. The description does not add extra meaning to the parameters; it only mentions the search itself. Baseline of 3 is appropriate.
Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.
Purpose5/5Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?
The description clearly states a specific action ('Search for collections on Unsplash') and lists the return fields. It distinguishes from the sibling 'search_unsplash_photos' by explicitly targeting collections.
Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.
Usage Guidelines2/5Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?
There is no guidance on when to use this tool versus the sibling tools (e.g., search_unsplash_photos for photos, download tools for downloading media). No alternatives or exclusions are mentioned.
Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.
- Behavior3/5
Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?
With no annotations provided, the description carries the full burden for behavioral disclosure. It reveals that results are royalty-free and lists the return fields (resolutions, dimensions, etc.), which is helpful. However, it does not mention behavioral aspects such as pagination behavior, rate limits, or whether the operation is read-only.
Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.
Conciseness5/5Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?
The description is a single, well-structured sentence that front-loads the primary purpose and then concisely lists key return attributes. Every word contributes meaningful information, with no redundancy or filler.
Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.
Completeness4/5Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?
The description is sufficient for selecting the tool correctly, covering the main purpose and key return data. With a comprehensive input schema and an output schema present, the description does not need to detail all parameters or return schema. It lacks explicit usage guidance but that is handled separately in the usage dimension.
Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.
Parameters3/5Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?
The input schema has descriptive text for all 8 parameters, achieving 100% coverage. The tool description adds no additional parameter-level meaning beyond what the schema already provides, so it meets the baseline of 3 for high schema coverage without exceeding it.
Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.
Purpose5/5Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?
The description clearly states the tool's purpose with a specific verb ('Search') and resource ('photos on Unsplash'), and distinguishes it from sibling tools by focusing on photo search rather than downloads or collection search. It also lists valuable return data attributes.
Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.
Usage Guidelines3/5Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?
The description implies this tool is for finding photos, but it does not explicitly state when to use it versus sibling tools like search_unsplash_collections or download_unsplash_media. No exclusions or alternative recommendations are provided, leaving usage guidance implicit rather than explicit.
Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.
- Behavior3/5
Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?
With no annotations, the description carries the full burden. It discloses parallel execution and per-file result reporting (success status and size), which are useful behavioral traits. However, it does not mention failure handling, rate limits, authentication requirements, or whether partial failures abort the batch, leaving gaps for a network operation.
Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.
Conciseness5/5Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?
The description is two sentences, front-loading the core function ('Download multiple photos from Unsplash URLs in parallel') and efficiently adds input format and output summary. Every word earns its place, with no redundant fluff.
Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.
Completeness4/5Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?
Given the simple structure (one parameter, array of objects), the description is sufficient for an agent to understand purpose, input, and output. It mentions return results with status and size, and the existing output schema would cover the details. It lacks mention of error semantics, but not fatally. Loses one point for omitting clear differentiators from the single-download sibling.
Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.
Parameters3/5Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?
Schema coverage is 100% so the description doesn't need to add much. It reinforces that 'files' is a list of URL/destination path pairs, matching the schema property descriptions. No additional semantic depth is provided beyond what the schema already states, so baseline 3 is appropriate.
Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.
Purpose5/5Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?
The description clearly states the tool downloads multiple photos from Unsplash URLs in parallel, using a specific verb-object-resource structure. It distinguishes itself from the sibling download_unsplash_media (likely single) and search tools by emphasizing batch and parallel behavior.
Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.
Usage Guidelines4/5Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?
The description provides clear context for use: when you need to download multiple photos in parallel. It implies this is the batch variant, but does not explicitly contrast with download_unsplash_media for single downloads or mention when not to use it. Still, the parallel/multiple framing gives adequate situational guidance.
Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.
- Behavior3/5
Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?
No annotations are provided, so the description carries the full burden. It discloses a useful side effect ('Creates parent directories automatically') and makes clear this is a disk-writing operation. However, it does not disclose overwrite behavior for existing files, error handling for invalid URLs, or any permission requirements, leaving notable 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.
Conciseness5/5Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?
Three sentences, each earning its place: core purpose, input provenance, and a side-effect disclosure. Front-loaded with the primary action, no redundant or filler wording.
Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.
Completeness4/5Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?
This is a low-complexity tool (2 required params, no enums, output schema present), and the description covers purpose, input source, and a side effect. The main gap is overwrite/error behavior for the destination file; with that disclosed it would be a 5.
Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.
Parameters4/5Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?
Schema description coverage is 100%, so the baseline is 3. The description adds value beyond the schema by revealing that URLs should come from search_unsplash_photos, giving the agent provenance guidance for the url parameter that the schema does not include.
Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.
Purpose5/5Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?
The description states a specific verb+resource: 'Download a single photo from an Unsplash URL to a local file.' The word 'single' explicitly distinguishes this tool from the sibling download_unsplash_media_batch, and referencing search_unsplash_photos as the URL source further clarifies its role.
Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.
Usage Guidelines4/5Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?
The description gives clear context by instructing agents to use URLs returned by search_unsplash_photos (e.g. urls.regular). It implies single-item scope via 'a single photo,' which contrasts with the batch sibling, but it does not explicitly name the batch tool as the alternative or state when not to use this tool.
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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