googleapis/mcp-toolbox · error

description is required for tool %q

Error message

description is required for tool %q

What it means

Configuration-time validation in Initialize: the firestore-update-document tool entry in tools.yaml omits its description, which Toolbox requires for the tool manifest.

Source

Thrown at internal/tools/firestore/firestoreupdatedocument/firestoreupdatedocument.go:73

}

type Config struct {
	tools.ConfigBase `yaml:",inline"`
	Type             string                 `yaml:"type" validate:"required"`
	Source           string                 `yaml:"source" validate:"required"`
	Annotations      *tools.ToolAnnotations `yaml:"annotations,omitempty"`
}

// validate interface
var _ tools.ToolConfig = Config{}

func (cfg Config) ToolConfigType() string {
	return resourceType
}

func (cfg Config) Initialize(context.Context) (tools.Tool, error) {
	if cfg.Description == "" {
		return nil, fmt.Errorf("description is required for tool %q", cfg.Name)
	}

	// Create parameters
	documentPathParameter := parameters.NewStringParameter(
		documentPathKey,
		"The relative path of the document which needs to be updated (e.g., 'users/userId' or 'users/userId/posts/postId'). Note: This is a relative path, NOT an absolute path like 'projects/{project_id}/databases/{database_id}/documents/...'",
	)

	documentDataParameter := parameters.NewMapParameter(
		documentDataKey,
		`The document data in Firestore's native JSON format. Each field must be wrapped with a type indicator:
- Strings: {"stringValue": "text"}
- Integers: {"integerValue": "123"} or {"integerValue": 123}
- Doubles: {"doubleValue": 123.45}
- Booleans: {"booleanValue": true}
- Timestamps: {"timestampValue": "2025-01-07T10:00:00Z"}
- GeoPoints: {"geoPointValue": {"latitude": 34.05, "longitude": -118.24}}
- Arrays: {"arrayValue": {"values": [{"stringValue": "item1"}, {"integerValue": "2"}]}}

View on GitHub (pinned to 8cc6e09de2)

Solutions

1. Add a non-empty description to the tool entry in tools.yaml
2. Check YAML indentation so description parses as a string rather than null

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at internal/tools/firestore/firestoreupdatedocument/firestoreupdatedocument.go:73 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of googleapis/mcp-toolbox@8cc6e09de2 (2026-09-05). Data as JSON: /api/errors/5fdcfedcd3d15056. Report an issue: GitHub.