{"record":{"id":"8928e0d382dd95c6","repo":"googleapis/mcp-toolbox","slug":"description-is-required-for-tool-q-8928e0","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/firebird/firebirdsql/firebirdsql.go","lineNumber":71,"sourceCode":"\ttools.ConfigBase   `yaml:\",inline\"`\n\tType               string                 `yaml:\"type\" validate:\"required\"`\n\tSource             string                 `yaml:\"source\" validate:\"required\"`\n\tStatement          string                 `yaml:\"statement\" validate:\"required\"`\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\treturn Tool{\n\t\tBaseTool: tools.NewBaseTool(\n\t\t\tcfg,\n\t\t\ttools.GetAnnotationsOrDefault(cfg.Annotations, tools.NewDestructiveAnnotations),\n\t\t\ttools.Manifest{Description: cfg.Description, Parameters: paramManifest, AuthRequired: cfg.AuthRequired},\n\t\t\tallParameters,\n\t\t),\n\t}, nil\n}\n\n// validate interface","sourceCodeStart":53,"sourceCodeEnd":89,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/googleapis/mcp-toolbox/blob/8cc6e09de2ad7b8bffc77751799585a1401a48eb/internal/tools/firebird/firebirdsql/firebirdsql.go#L53-L89","documentation":"Firebird SQL tool configuration validation: Config.Initialize rejects the tool when the description field is empty. The description is required for the tool manifest exposed to LLM clients. The error includes the tool's configured name.","triggerScenarios":"Declaring a firebird-sql tool in the tools config without a 'description' (or empty string) and loading the config, triggering Initialize.","commonSituations":"Omitting description in hand-authored YAML; templated description resolving to empty; converting configs from other tool kinds and dropping required fields.","solutions":["Add a non-empty 'description' to the firebird-sql tool config.","Check any env/parameter substitution feeding description isn't empty.","Reload the toolbox config after the fix."],"exampleFix":"// before\n  my_query:\n    kind: firebird-sql\n    source: my-firebird\n// after\n  my_query:\n    kind: firebird-sql\n    source: my-firebird\n    description: Runs a parameterized Firebird SQL query.","handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":"# Pre-flight check\nfor name, t in cfg.get('tools', {}).items():\n    if t.get('kind') == 'firebird-sql' and not t.get('description'):\n        raise SystemExit(f\"{name}: description is required\")","typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":"if err != nil {\n    if strings.Contains(err.Error(), \"description is required\") {\n        return fmt.Errorf(\"fix tools.yaml: %w\", err)\n    }\n    return err\n}","preventionTips":["Include descriptions for every declared tool.","Add schema validation for tool configs (required keys).","Beware of empty template substitutions for description.","Test config load locally before deploying."],"tags":["firebird","config","validation"],"backgroundTag":"tool-description-required","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"}