Grep and Glob tools missing from registry on Linux VSCode extension v2.1.117

Grep and Glob tools missing from registry on Linux VSCode extension v2.1.117

Summary

Since upgrading to VSCode extension anthropic.claude-code-2.1.117-linux-x64, the Grep and Glob integrated tools are no longer registered. They are absent from both the top-level tool manifest and the deferred-tool registry reachable via ToolSearch.

The v2.1.117 CHANGELOG entry:

Fixed Grep tool ENOENT when the embedded ripgrep binary path becomes stale (VS Code extension auto-update, macOS App Translocation); now falls back to system rg and self-heals mid-session.

— implies Grep should still exist as a tool. On Linux native builds it does not appear at all.

Environment

• Extension: anthropic.claude-code-2.1.117-linux-x64 (VSCode extension, bundled CLI — no standalone claude on $PATH)
• Bundled CLI version (per session metadata): 2.1.117
• OS: Linux (kernel 6.8.x)
• System rg: present at /usr/bin/rg
• System bfs, ugrep: not installed
• Extension's resources/native-binary/ directory: contains only the claude binary — no bundled rg, ripgrep, ugrep, or bfs

Reproduction

1. Start a fresh Claude Code session in VSCode on Linux with extension 2.1.117.
2. Inspect the session's initial deferred-tool list (from the system-reminder at session start). Observed contents: AskUserQuestion, CronCreate, CronDelete, CronList, EnterPlanMode, EnterWorktree, ExitPlanMode, ExitWorktree, Monitor, NotebookEdit, PushNotification, RemoteTrigger, TaskOutput, TaskStop, TodoWrite, WebFetch, WebSearch, plus several mcp__claude_ai_* auth tools. No Grep, no Glob.
3. Top-level tools loaded: Agent, Bash, Edit, Read, ScheduleWakeup, Skill, ToolSearch, Write. Grep/Glob also absent here.
4. Try to retrieve them via ToolSearch:

• {"query": "select:Grep,Glob"} → "No matching deferred tools found"
• {"query": "grep search files content"} → returns unrelated tools (WebSearch, TodoWrite, etc.) — no Grep/Glob
• {"query": "+glob"} → returns only EnterPlanMode (false match on the word "Glob" appearing in its description text, not a tool schema)

Expected: Grep and Glob either appear top-level or are retrievable via ToolSearch select:Grep,Glob.

Timeline evidence from local session logs

Session transcripts under Claude Code's per-project session directory include a version tag on every event and record every tool invocation. Aggregating across 166 sessions on one install:

| Version | First event (UTC) | Last event (UTC) | Sessions | Grep/Glob used? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1.74 … 2.1.114 | 2026-03-13 | 2026-04-21 | 145 | yes, routinely (82% of sessions used Grep) |
| 2.1.116 | 2026-04-21 19:18 | 2026-04-22 07:34:02 | 12 | yes — last successful Glob call 2026-04-22 07:33:49 UTC, last successful Grep call 2026-04-21 21:43:37 UTC |
| 2.1.117 | 2026-04-22 07:35:11 UTC | (current) | 6 | zero Grep or Glob tool_use calls; 5 of 6 sessions contain "No matching deferred tools found" from ToolSearch |

The 2.1.116 → 2.1.117 auto-update on one machine happened in a ~69-second gap (last 2.1.116 event at 07:34:02 UTC, first 2.1.117 event at 07:35:11 UTC on 2026-04-22). Grep/Glob were fully functional up to that moment and absent from every session afterward.

Related

• v2.1.116 CHANGELOG: "Native builds on macOS and Linux: the Glob and Grep tools are replaced by embedded bfs and ugrep available through the Bash tool — faster searches without a separate tool round-trip (Windows and npm-installed builds unchanged)" — but session evidence shows Grep/Glob still registered and callable as tools on 2.1.116, and no bfs/ugrep binaries are bundled in the 2.1.117 extension. Something about the replacement path did not ship as described.
• #31002 describes v2.1.69 moving built-in tools behind ToolSearch. That mechanism (deferred-but-reachable) is working for other tools (Bash, Read, Edit, Write, Agent). The issue here is different: Grep/Glob are not in the deferred registry at all.

Hypothesis

The v2.1.117 self-healing rg fallback code path appears to either (a) unregister the Grep tool before it can rebind to system rg, or (b) not fire at all on Linux native builds — since /usr/bin/rg is present on the machine in question and should satisfy the fallback, yet Grep remains absent from every 2.1.117 session.

Impact

Users whose agent instructions or permission policies prefer integrated Grep/Glob over Bash(grep|rg|find) are left without a code-search path. On fully locked-down installs (bash grep/rg/find denied by permission policy), the agent can reach neither the integrated tools nor a shell equivalent.

Workaround

Relax the permission policy to allow Bash(grep *), Bash(rg *), Bash(find *) until the integrated tools are restored. /usr/bin/rg is fast enough that the ergonomic cost is small; the main cost is that agent instructions saying "use Grep, not bash grep" have to be temporarily waived.