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scan_gmail

Trigger a background Gmail scan to discover and process receipt emails from the last ~60 days (default). Runs asynchronously — returns immediately, user gets an email summary when done. Like clicking "Find Receipts in Gmail" in the UI. For whole PAST YEARS (e.g. 2023, or 2020-2022) use scan_gmail_years instead; to check a scan's progress use get_scan_status.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema
NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
endDateNoOptional: explicit end date (YYYY-MM-DD)
startDateNoOptional: explicit start date (YYYY-MM-DD) instead of lookbackDays
accountEmailNoOptional: which Gmail account to scan
lookbackDaysNoHow many days back to scan (default 60, max depends on subscription)

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections. Dates show when Glama detected each change.

  1. Changed1 schema field changed
    • changedOutput schema / (root)
      Previous value: -{
      -  "additionalProperties": true,
      -  "description": "Standard ExpenseBot tool result envelope. `message` is the human-readable summary the AI cites; `data` is the structured payload (totals, breakdowns, ids, etc.). On failure, `success` is false and `error` carries a code/message/hint triple.",
      -  "properties": {
      -    "data": {
      -      "additionalProperties": true,
      -      "description": "Structured payload. Shape varies per tool — common keys: total, breakdown, comparison, sampleMeta, ids, expenseId, reportId, signupUrl, results.",
      -      "type": "object"
      -    },
      -    "error": {
      -      "additionalProperties": true,
      -      "description": "Present only when success === false.",
      -      "properties": {
      -        "code": {
      -          "type": "string"
      -        },
      -        "hint": {
      -          "type": "string"
      -        },
      -        "message": {
      -          "type": "string"
      -        }
      -      },
      -      "type": "object"
      -    },
      -    "message": {
      -      "description": "Human-readable result text. Always present on success; prefer rendering this verbatim before any further reasoning.",
      -      "type": "string"
      -    },
      -    "sampleMeta": {
      -      "additionalProperties": true,
      -      "description": "Set when the underlying dataset was truncated. isTruncated=true means the agent saw a sample of `sampleCount` of `totalCount` rows; aggregate totals are still accurate.",
      -      "properties": {
      -        "isTruncated": {
      -          "type": "boolean"
      -        },
      -        "sampleCount": {
      -          "type": "integer"
      -        },
      -        "totalCount": {
      -          "type": "integer"
      -        }
      -      },
      -      "type": "object"
      -    },
      -    "success": {
      -      "description": "False on tool errors; check before reading `data`.",
      -      "type": "boolean"
      -    }
      -  },
      -  "type": "object"
      -}New value: +null
  2. First observed

TDQS

A4.5/5.0
Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

The description adds valuable behavioral context beyond annotations: it run asynchronously, returns immediately, and delivers a summary email when complete. It does not contradict annotations. It could go further by explaining what 'process receipt emails' concretely does to the user's data, but the asynchronous behavior and notification mechanism are well covered.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

The description is dense and well-structured: it states the action, default scope, async behavior, UI analogy, and relevant alternatives in four short sentences. No sentence is wasted or redundant.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

For a complex async tool with no output schema, the description sufficiently explains what will happen, what the user can expect, and how to follow up. It names the relevant sibling tools for progress-checking and long-range scans, making the complete enough for an agent to act correctly.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Input schema coverage is 100%, so the schema already describes all four optional parameters clearly. The description adds a small amount of semantic context around the default range and year-scale usage, but does not meaningfully expand parameter understanding beyond what the schema already provides.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

The description clearly states the specific action: triggering a background Gmail scan to discover and process receipt emails over a default ~60-day window. It distinguishes this tool from scan_gmail_years and get_scan_status by naming exactly what those alternatives are for.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

It gives explicit usage guidance: use this for recent receipts by default, use scan_gmail_years for whole past years, and use get_scan_status to check progress. This routes the agent to the correct sibling tools without leaving the decision to inference.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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TDQS

A3.6/5.0
Disambiguation3/5

Most tools are explicitly scoped, but several analytics/retrieval tools overlap in purpose, such as get_spending_summary vs get_deep_analytics vs get_monthly_books_review, and generic search vs search_expenses vs search_knowledge. The detailed descriptions help, but an agent still has to carefully choose between near-equivalent options like correct_expenses vs update_expense and the three add_income variants.

Naming Consistency5/5

Tool names consistently use lower_snake_case with a recognizable verb prefix: get_*, list_*, add_*, create_*, check_*, scan_*, search_*, and whatif_*. Minor exceptions like fetch and search are still terse retrieval verbs rather than a different naming style, so the overall pattern is predictable.

Tool Count1/5

With 59 tools, this exceeds the 50+ threshold for an extreme tool count and creates a heavy selection surface for an agent. Even though ExpenseBot covers many subdomains, many get_/list_/add_ variants could be consolidated into fewer parameterized tools. The count undermines the otherwise clear naming structure.

Completeness3/5

The surface is strong for creating, reading, and updating expenses, reports, invoices, and Gmail scans, but there are notable lifecycle gaps: no delete/void tools for expenses, income, reports, or invoices, and no update tool for income. Several descriptions explicitly redirect unsupported edits to the web app, confirming that the assistant cannot complete those workflows directly.