diff --git a/packages/codemode/src/tool-runtime.ts b/packages/codemode/src/tool-runtime.ts
index 5c39703bee0b..f6fedee00294 100644
--- a/packages/codemode/src/tool-runtime.ts
+++ b/packages/codemode/src/tool-runtime.ts
@@ -409,7 +409,13 @@ export const make = <R>(
     keys: (path) => namespaceKeys(root, path),
     search: (args) => Effect.suspend(() => executeTool("search", searchTool, args)),
     execute: (path, args) =>
-      Effect.suspend(() => executeTool(canonicalSegments(path).join("."), resolve(root, path), args)),
+      Effect.suspend(() => {
+        const segments = canonicalSegments(path)
+        // Models often write `tools.search(...)` for the bare `search(...)`; honor it unless a tool owns that path.
+        if (segments.length === 1 && segments[0] === "search" && lookup(root, segments) === undefined)
+          return executeTool("search", searchTool, args)
+        return executeTool(segments.join("."), resolve(root, path), args)
+      }),
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/codemode/test/tool-paths.test.ts b/packages/codemode/test/tool-paths.test.ts
index 3e384f4e0389..63e1e2bed99f 100644
--- a/packages/codemode/test/tool-paths.test.ts
+++ b/packages/codemode/test/tool-paths.test.ts
@@ -337,3 +337,17 @@ describe("tool arguments cross in a useful form where JSON.stringify would give
     expect(seen).toEqual({ s: [1, 2], r: {}, p: "a=1&b=2", m: {} })
   })
 })
+
+describe("tools.search alias", () => {
+  test("tools.search(...) behaves like the bare search(...) when no tool owns that path", async () => {
+    const runtime = CodeMode.make({ tools: { api: { list: echo("List things", "listed") } } })
+    const direct = await value(runtime, `return search({ query: "list" })`)
+    expect(await value(runtime, `return tools.search({ query: "list" })`)).toStrictEqual(direct)
+    expect(await value(runtime, `return (await tools.search({ query: "list" })).items[0].path`)).toBe("tools.api.list")
+  })
+
+  test("a registered root-level search tool takes precedence", async () => {
+    const runtime = CodeMode.make({ tools: { search: echo("Custom search", "custom") } })
+    expect(await value(runtime, `return await tools.search({})`)).toBe("custom")
+  })
+})