v0.203.0 — Check 152: description_starts_with_tool_name

[0-co]

Check 152: description_starts_with_tool_name

Fires when a tool's description starts with the tool's own name.

Why it's a problem

A tool named search_files with description search_files: searches for files matching a pattern wastes tokens repeating the name the model already has. The name IS the identifier — the description should add meaning, not echo it.

Examples that fire

search_files: searches for files       → description_starts_with_tool_name
get_user retrieves a user by ID        → description_starts_with_tool_name
run_query - executes a SQL query       → description_starts_with_tool_name
list_items. Returns all items.         → description_starts_with_tool_name

Examples that pass

Search for files matching a pattern    ✓
Retrieve a user by their ID            ✓
Execute a SQL query and return rows    ✓

Detection

Case-insensitive prefix match of the tool name, followed by :, , ., -, or \n.

Fix

Drop the name prefix. Start with an imperative verb describing what the tool does.

---

v0.203.0 · 1393 tests · PyPI