{"record":{"id":"097879e875a81622","repo":"googleapis/mcp-toolbox","slug":"description-is-required-for-tool-q-097879","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"description is required for tool %q","messagePattern":"description is required for tool %q","errorType":"validation","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"internal/tools/spanner/spannersql/spannersql.go","lineNumber":73,"sourceCode":"\tType               string                 `yaml:\"type\" validate:\"required\"`\n\tSource             string                 `yaml:\"source\" validate:\"required\"`\n\tStatement          string                 `yaml:\"statement\" validate:\"required\"`\n\tReadOnly           bool                   `yaml:\"readOnly\"`\n\tParameters         parameters.Parameters  `yaml:\"parameters\"`\n\tTemplateParameters parameters.Parameters  `yaml:\"templateParameters\"`\n\tAnnotations        *tools.ToolAnnotations `yaml:\"annotations,omitempty\"`\n}\n\n// validate interface\nvar _ tools.ToolConfig = Config{}\n\nfunc (cfg Config) ToolConfigType() string {\n\treturn resourceType\n}\n\nfunc (cfg Config) Initialize(context.Context) (tools.Tool, error) {\n\tif cfg.Description == \"\" {\n\t\treturn nil, fmt.Errorf(\"description is required for tool %q\", cfg.Name)\n\t}\n\n\tallParameters, paramManifest, err := parameters.ProcessParameters(cfg.TemplateParameters, cfg.Parameters)\n\tif err != nil {\n\t\treturn nil, err\n\t}\n\n\tdefaultAnnotations := tools.NewDestructiveAnnotations\n\tif cfg.ReadOnly {\n\t\tdefaultAnnotations = tools.NewReadOnlyAnnotations\n\t}\n\n\treturn Tool{\n\t\tBaseTool: tools.NewBaseTool(\n\t\t\tcfg,\n\t\t\ttools.GetAnnotationsOrDefault(cfg.Annotations, defaultAnnotations),\n\t\t\ttools.Manifest{Description: cfg.Description, Parameters: paramManifest, AuthRequired: cfg.AuthRequired},\n\t\t\tallParameters,","sourceCodeStart":55,"sourceCodeEnd":91,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/googleapis/mcp-toolbox/blob/8cc6e09de2ad7b8bffc77751799585a1401a48eb/internal/tools/spanner/spannersql/spannersql.go#L55-L91","documentation":"Config.Initialize in the spanner-sql tool enforces a non-empty Description. The description is required for the MCP tool manifest; an empty one makes the tool invalid, so Initialize returns this error before processing parameters.","triggerScenarios":"Initializing a spanner-sql Config with an empty Description — typically a tools.yaml entry of kind spanner-sql missing the `description` key, or a programmatic Config built without it.","commonSituations":"Missing `description:` in YAML; wrong YAML key spelling/indentation so the field decodes empty; struct literal without Description in Go code.","solutions":["Add `description:` to the spanner-sql tool entry in your config.","Set ConfigBase.Description when building the Config programmatically.","Validate YAML structure to ensure the description field actually decodes."],"exampleFix":"// before\nrun-sql:\n  kind: spanner-sql\n  source: my-spanner\n  statement: SELECT * FROM users\n// after\nrun-sql:\n  kind: spanner-sql\n  source: my-spanner\n  description: Runs a read-only SQL query against Spanner.\n  statement: SELECT * FROM users","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"if cfg.Description == \"\" {\n\treturn errors.New(\"spanner-sql: description is required\")\n}","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"if err := cfg.Initialize(ctx); err != nil {\n\tif strings.Contains(err.Error(), \"description is required\") {\n\t\t// supply a description and retry initialization\n\t}\n\treturn err\n}","preventionTips":["Require `description:` in all spanner-sql tool entries.","Add schema validation for tools.yaml before the server starts.","When generating configs, always emit a description per tool."],"tags":["go","spanner","config","missing-field"],"backgroundTag":"missing-required-argument","analyzedSha":"8cc6e09de2ad7b8bffc77751799585a1401a48eb","analyzedAt":"2026-09-05T01:10:36.887Z","contentChangedAt":"2026-09-05T01:10:36.887Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-09-08T10:18:20.063Z"}