diff --git a/tools/goctl/api/swagger/annotation.go b/tools/goctl/api/swagger/annotation.go
index 7b21bb650..cd6736ea9 100644
--- a/tools/goctl/api/swagger/annotation.go
+++ b/tools/goctl/api/swagger/annotation.go
@@ -24,10 +24,15 @@ func getFirstUsableString(def ...string) string {
 	}
 
 	for _, val := range def {
-		str, err := strconv.Unquote(val)
-		if err == nil && len(str) != 0 {
+		// Try to unquote if it's a quoted string
+		if str, err := strconv.Unquote(val); err == nil && len(str) != 0 {
 			return str
 		}
+
+		// Otherwise, use the value as-is if it's not empty
+		if len(val) != 0 {
+			return val
+		}
 	}
 
 	return ""
diff --git a/tools/goctl/api/swagger/annotation_test.go b/tools/goctl/api/swagger/annotation_test.go
index f26b97f93..9f94d8895 100644
--- a/tools/goctl/api/swagger/annotation_test.go
+++ b/tools/goctl/api/swagger/annotation_test.go
@@ -89,3 +89,108 @@ func Test_getListFromInfoOrDefault(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, []string{"query"}, getListFromInfoOrDefault(unquotedProperties, "tags", []string{"default"}))
 	assert.Equal(t, []string{"default"}, getListFromInfoOrDefault(unquotedProperties, "empty", []string{"default"}))
 }
+
+func Test_getFirstUsableString(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Run("empty input", func(t *testing.T) {
+		result := getFirstUsableString()
+		assert.Equal(t, "", result, "should return empty string for no arguments")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("single plain string", func(t *testing.T) {
+		result := getFirstUsableString("Check server health status.")
+		assert.Equal(t, "Check server health status.", result)
+	})
+
+	t.Run("single quoted string", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// This is how Go would represent a quoted string literal
+		result := getFirstUsableString(`"Check server health status."`)
+		assert.Equal(t, "Check server health status.", result, "should unquote quoted strings")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("multiple plain strings", func(t *testing.T) {
+		result := getFirstUsableString("", "second", "third")
+		assert.Equal(t, "second", result, "should return first non-empty string")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("handler name fallback", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// Simulates the real use case: @doc text, handler name
+		result := getFirstUsableString("", "HealthCheck")
+		assert.Equal(t, "HealthCheck", result, "should fallback to handler name")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("doc text over handler name", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// Simulates the real use case with @doc text
+		result := getFirstUsableString("Check server health status.", "HealthCheck")
+		assert.Equal(t, "Check server health status.", result, "should use doc text over handler name")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("empty strings before valid", func(t *testing.T) {
+		result := getFirstUsableString("", "", "valid")
+		assert.Equal(t, "valid", result, "should skip empty strings")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("all empty strings", func(t *testing.T) {
+		result := getFirstUsableString("", "", "")
+		assert.Equal(t, "", result, "should return empty if all are empty")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("quoted then plain", func(t *testing.T) {
+		result := getFirstUsableString(`"quoted"`, "plain")
+		assert.Equal(t, "quoted", result, "should unquote first quoted string")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("plain then quoted", func(t *testing.T) {
+		result := getFirstUsableString("plain", `"quoted"`)
+		assert.Equal(t, "plain", result, "should use first plain string")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("invalid quoted string", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// String that looks quoted but isn't valid Go syntax
+		result := getFirstUsableString(`"incomplete`, "fallback")
+		assert.Equal(t, `"incomplete`, result, "should use as-is if unquote fails but not empty")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("whitespace only", func(t *testing.T) {
+		result := getFirstUsableString("   ", "fallback")
+		assert.Equal(t, "   ", result, "should not trim whitespace, return as-is")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("real world API doc scenario", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// This is the actual bug scenario from issue #5229
+		atDocText := "Check server health status."
+		handlerName := "HealthCheck"
+		
+		result := getFirstUsableString(atDocText, handlerName)
+		assert.Equal(t, "Check server health status.", result, 
+			"should use @doc text for API summary")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("real world with empty doc", func(t *testing.T) {
+		// When @doc is empty, should fall back to handler name
+		atDocText := ""
+		handlerName := "HealthCheck"
+		
+		result := getFirstUsableString(atDocText, handlerName)
+		assert.Equal(t, "HealthCheck", result, 
+			"should fallback to handler name when @doc is empty")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("complex summary with special characters", func(t *testing.T) {
+		result := getFirstUsableString("Get user by ID: /users/{id}")
+		assert.Equal(t, "Get user by ID: /users/{id}", result, 
+			"should handle special characters in plain strings")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("multiline string", func(t *testing.T) {
+		result := getFirstUsableString("Line 1\nLine 2")
+		assert.Equal(t, "Line 1\nLine 2", result, 
+			"should handle multiline strings")
+	})
+
+	t.Run("unicode characters", func(t *testing.T) {
+		result := getFirstUsableString("健康检查", "HealthCheck")
+		assert.Equal(t, "健康检查", result, 
+			"should handle unicode characters")
+	})
+}
+