{"record":{"id":"578040779c0f46f4","repo":"googleapis/mcp-toolbox","slug":"description-is-required-for-tool-q-578040","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/firestore/firestorelistcollections/firestorelistcollections.go","lineNumber":69,"sourceCode":"}\n\ntype Config struct {\n\ttools.ConfigBase `yaml:\",inline\"`\n\tType             string                 `yaml:\"type\" validate:\"required\"`\n\tSource           string                 `yaml:\"source\" validate:\"required\"`\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\temptyString := \"\"\n\tparentPathParameter := parameters.NewStringParameter(parentPathKey, \"Relative parent document path to list subcollections from (e.g., 'users/userId'). If not provided, lists root collections. Note: This is a relative path, NOT an absolute path like 'projects/{project_id}/databases/{database_id}/documents/...'\", parameters.WithStringDefault(emptyString))\n\tparams := parameters.Parameters{parentPathParameter}\n\n\treturn Tool{\n\t\tBaseTool: tools.NewBaseTool(\n\t\t\tcfg,\n\t\t\ttools.GetAnnotationsOrDefault(cfg.Annotations, tools.NewReadOnlyAnnotations),\n\t\t\ttools.Manifest{Description: cfg.Description, Parameters: params.Manifest(), AuthRequired: cfg.AuthRequired},\n\t\t\tparams,\n\t\t),\n\t}, nil\n}\n\n// validate interface\nvar _ tools.Tool = Tool{}","sourceCodeStart":51,"sourceCodeEnd":87,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/googleapis/mcp-toolbox/blob/8cc6e09de2ad7b8bffc77751799585a1401a48eb/internal/tools/firestore/firestorelistcollections/firestorelistcollections.go#L51-L87","documentation":"Config.Initialize for firestore-list-collections enforces a non-empty description. Because descriptions feed the MCP tool manifest used by LLM clients, an empty value is rejected at initialization time.","triggerScenarios":"Loading a firestore-list-collections tool config whose `description:` key is absent or empty.","commonSituations":"Minimal hand-rolled configs omitting description; generated configs where the description placeholder was never filled.","solutions":["Add a non-empty `description:` field to the tool's YAML entry.","If the description comes from a template/env var, verify it is populated."],"exampleFix":"// before\n  list_collections:\n    kind: firestore-list-collections\n    source: my-fs\n// after\n  list_collections:\n    kind: firestore-list-collections\n    source: my-fs\n    description: List Firestore collections under a parent document path","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"if t.Kind == \"firestore-list-collections\" && strings.TrimSpace(t.Description) == \"\" {\n\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"tool %q: description must be set\", name)\n}","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"tool, err := cfg.Initialize(ctx)\nif err != nil {\n\t// description missing/empty\n\treturn fmt.Errorf(\"failed to init tool %q: %w\", name, err)\n}","preventionTips":["Make `description` a required field in your config templates.","Fail fast in CI by parsing and validating tool YAML before deploy.","Never ship placeholder descriptions like \"TODO\"; write real ones upfront."],"tags":["firestore","config","missing-field"],"backgroundTag":"missing-description-field","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"}