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:

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.