diff --git a/src/cliproxy/executor/__tests__/claude-launcher.test.ts b/src/cliproxy/executor/__tests__/claude-launcher.test.ts
index 3e587ca9..2afe136f 100644
--- a/src/cliproxy/executor/__tests__/claude-launcher.test.ts
+++ b/src/cliproxy/executor/__tests__/claude-launcher.test.ts
@@ -47,7 +47,10 @@ mock.module('../../config/config-generator', () => ({
 }));
 
 mock.module('../../../utils/websearch-manager', () => ({
-  appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs: (args: string[]) => args,
+  appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs: (args: string[], enabled = true) =>
+    enabled
+      ? [...args, '--append-system-prompt', 'CCS WebSearch steering']
+      : [...args, '--disallowedTools', 'WebSearch'],
   createWebSearchTraceContext: jest.fn().mockReturnValue({}),
   ensureWebSearchMcpOrThrow: jest.fn(),
   displayWebSearchStatus: jest.fn(),
@@ -124,6 +127,11 @@ function baseContext(overrides: object = {}) {
     skipLocalAuth: true,
     sessionId: undefined,
     imageAnalysisMcpReady: false,
+    webSearchLaunch: {
+      config: { enabled: true },
+      enabled: true,
+      hookEnv: { CCS_WEBSEARCH_ENABLED: '1' },
+    },
     browserRuntimeEnv: undefined,
     inheritedClaudeConfigDir: undefined,
     codexReasoningProxy: null,
@@ -193,6 +201,22 @@ describe('launchClaude', () => {
     expect(spawnArgs).toContain('--browser');
   });
 
+  it('disallows native WebSearch without CCS steering when the launch snapshot is disabled', async () => {
+    await launchClaude(
+      baseContext({
+        webSearchLaunch: {
+          config: { enabled: false },
+          enabled: false,
+          hookEnv: { CCS_WEBSEARCH_ENABLED: '0', CCS_WEBSEARCH_SKIP: '1' },
+        },
+      })
+    );
+    const spawnArgs = mockSpawn.mock.calls[0][1] as string[];
+    expect(spawnArgs).toContain('--disallowedTools');
+    expect(spawnArgs).toContain('WebSearch');
+    expect(spawnArgs).not.toContain('CCS WebSearch steering');
+  });
+
   it('registers cleanup handlers after spawn', async () => {
     await launchClaude(baseContext());
     expect(mockSetupCleanupHandlers).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
diff --git a/tests/unit/copilot/copilot-executor-env.test.ts b/tests/unit/copilot/copilot-executor-env.test.ts
index 982287eb..3b4f7289 100644
--- a/tests/unit/copilot/copilot-executor-env.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/copilot/copilot-executor-env.test.ts
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from 'bun:test';
 import {
+  buildCopilotClaudeLaunchArgs,
   generateCopilotEnv,
   resolveCopilotImageAnalysisEnv,
 } from '../../../src/copilot/copilot-executor';
@@ -15,6 +16,13 @@ const baseConfig: CopilotConfig = {
   model: 'gpt-4.1',
 };
 
+it('disallows native WebSearch without CCS steering when the Copilot snapshot is disabled', () => {
+  const args = buildCopilotClaudeLaunchArgs(['smoke'], false, false);
+  expect(args).toContain('--disallowedTools');
+  expect(args).toContain('WebSearch');
+  expect(args).not.toContain('--append-system-prompt');
+});
+
 describe('generateCopilotEnv', () => {
   it('normalizes deprecated raptor-mini model selections to the safe default', () => {
     const env = generateCopilotEnv({
diff --git a/tests/unit/cursor/cursor-profile-executor.test.ts b/tests/unit/cursor/cursor-profile-executor.test.ts
index 1f144896..40c6fdd6 100644
--- a/tests/unit/cursor/cursor-profile-executor.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/cursor/cursor-profile-executor.test.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import * as os from 'os';
 import * as path from 'path';
 
 import {
+  buildCursorClaudeLaunchArgs,
   executeCursorProfile,
   generateCursorEnv,
   resolveCursorImageAnalysisEnv,
@@ -19,6 +20,13 @@ const BASE_CONFIG: CursorConfig = {
   model: 'gpt-5.3-codex',
 };
 
+it('disallows native WebSearch without CCS steering when the Cursor snapshot is disabled', () => {
+  const args = buildCursorClaudeLaunchArgs(['smoke'], false);
+  expect(args).toContain('--disallowedTools');
+  expect(args).toContain('WebSearch');
+  expect(args).not.toContain('--append-system-prompt');
+});
+
 describe('cursor-profile-executor', () => {
   let originalCcsHome: string | undefined;
   let tempDir: string;
diff --git a/tests/unit/targets/settings-profile-websearch-launch.test.ts b/tests/unit/targets/settings-profile-websearch-launch.test.ts
index 7e3f5346..feabb164 100644
--- a/tests/unit/targets/settings-profile-websearch-launch.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/targets/settings-profile-websearch-launch.test.ts
@@ -136,7 +136,7 @@ exit 0
     expect(fs.existsSync(claudeArgsLogPath)).toBe(false);
   });
 
-  it('keeps launch non-fatal when WebSearch is disabled', () => {
+  it('keeps native WebSearch disallowed without CCS steering when WebSearch is disabled', () => {
     if (process.platform === 'win32') return;
 
     fs.writeFileSync(
@@ -154,8 +154,26 @@ exit 0
     const launchedArgs = fs.readFileSync(claudeArgsLogPath, 'utf8');
     expect(launchedArgs).toContain('--disallowedTools');
     expect(launchedArgs).toContain('WebSearch');
-    expect(launchedArgs).toContain('--append-system-prompt');
-    expect(launchedArgs).toContain(STEERING_PROMPT_SNIPPET);
+    expect(launchedArgs).not.toContain(STEERING_PROMPT_SNIPPET);
+  });
+
+  it('keeps native WebSearch disallowed without CCS steering for disabled headless launches', () => {
+    if (process.platform === 'win32') return;
+
+    fs.writeFileSync(
+      path.join(ccsDir, 'config.yaml'),
+      ['version: 12', 'websearch:', '  enabled: false', ''].join('\n'),
+      'utf8'
+    );
+
+    const result = runCcs(['glm', '-p', 'smoke'], baseEnv);
+
+    expect(result.status).toBe(0);
+    expect(fs.existsSync(claudeArgsLogPath)).toBe(true);
+    const launchedArgs = fs.readFileSync(claudeArgsLogPath, 'utf8');
+    expect(launchedArgs).toContain('--disallowedTools');
+    expect(launchedArgs).toContain('WebSearch');
+    expect(launchedArgs).not.toContain(STEERING_PROMPT_SNIPPET);
   });
 
   it('writes a source-side launch trace for settings profiles when tracing is enabled', () => {
@@ -187,7 +205,7 @@ exit 0
 
     expect(launchEvent?.launcher).toBe('ccs.settings-profile');
     expect(launchEvent?.nativeWebSearchDisallowed).toBe(true);
-    expect(launchEvent?.steeringPromptApplied).toBe(true);
+    expect(launchEvent?.steeringPromptApplied).toBe(false);
     expect(launchEvent?.settingsPath).toBe(settingsPath);
   });
 });
diff --git a/tests/unit/utils/websearch/claude-tool-args.test.ts b/tests/unit/utils/websearch/claude-tool-args.test.ts
index 59d484c0..6b3ed3df 100644
--- a/tests/unit/utils/websearch/claude-tool-args.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/utils/websearch/claude-tool-args.test.ts
@@ -4,9 +4,13 @@ import { appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs } from '../../../../src/utils/websear
 const STEERING_PROMPT =
   'For web lookup or current-information requests, prefer the CCS MCP tool WebSearch instead of Bash/curl/http fetches. If the user explicitly wants shell commands, or WebSearch is unavailable or fails, you may fall back to Bash/network tools.';
 
+function appendEnabledWebSearchArgs(args: string[]): string[] {
+  return appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs(args, true);
+}
+
 describe('appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs', () => {
   it('appends native WebSearch suppression and inline steering prompt when no prompt flags are present', () => {
-    expect(appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs(['smoke'])).toEqual([
+    expect(appendEnabledWebSearchArgs(['smoke'])).toEqual([
       'smoke',
       '--disallowedTools',
       'WebSearch',
@@ -17,7 +21,7 @@ describe('appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs', () => {
 
   it('does not append duplicate suppression or steering prompt when both are already present', () => {
     expect(
-      appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs([
+      appendEnabledWebSearchArgs([
         'smoke',
         '--disallowedTools',
         'WebSearch',
@@ -34,9 +38,7 @@ describe('appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs', () => {
   });
 
   it('detects comma-separated disallowed tool values', () => {
-    expect(
-      appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs(['smoke', '--disallowedTools=Read,WebSearch'])
-    ).toEqual([
+    expect(appendEnabledWebSearchArgs(['smoke', '--disallowedTools=Read,WebSearch'])).toEqual([
       'smoke',
       '--disallowedTools=Read,WebSearch',
       '--append-system-prompt',
@@ -45,7 +47,7 @@ describe('appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs', () => {
   });
 
   it('merges WebSearch into an existing space-separated disallowed tool flag', () => {
-    expect(appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs(['smoke', '--disallowedTools', 'Read'])).toEqual([
+    expect(appendEnabledWebSearchArgs(['smoke', '--disallowedTools', 'Read'])).toEqual([
       'smoke',
       '--disallowedTools',
       'Read,WebSearch',
@@ -55,7 +57,7 @@ describe('appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs', () => {
   });
 
   it('merges WebSearch into an existing equals-form disallowed tool flag', () => {
-    expect(appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs(['smoke', '--disallowedTools=Read'])).toEqual([
+    expect(appendEnabledWebSearchArgs(['smoke', '--disallowedTools=Read'])).toEqual([
       'smoke',
       '--disallowedTools=Read,WebSearch',
       '--append-system-prompt',
@@ -65,11 +67,7 @@ describe('appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs', () => {
 
   it('preserves user-supplied append-system-prompt values and adds the CCS steering hint once', () => {
     expect(
-      appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs([
-        'smoke',
-        '--append-system-prompt',
-        'User-provided instruction',
-      ])
+      appendEnabledWebSearchArgs(['smoke', '--append-system-prompt', 'User-provided instruction'])
     ).toEqual([
       'smoke',
       '--append-system-prompt',
@@ -83,7 +81,7 @@ describe('appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs', () => {
 
   it('does not duplicate the steering prompt when it already exists in equals form', () => {
     expect(
-      appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs([
+      appendEnabledWebSearchArgs([
         'smoke',
         '--disallowedTools',
         'WebSearch',
@@ -98,9 +96,7 @@ describe('appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs', () => {
   });
 
   it('does not consume positional args after a disallowed-tools flag value', () => {
-    expect(
-      appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs(['--disallowedTools', 'Read', 'latest AI news'])
-    ).toEqual([
+    expect(appendEnabledWebSearchArgs(['--disallowedTools', 'Read', 'latest AI news'])).toEqual([
       '--disallowedTools',
       'Read,WebSearch',
       'latest AI news',
@@ -110,7 +106,7 @@ describe('appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs', () => {
   });
 
   it('injects synthetic flags before an end-of-options marker', () => {
-    expect(appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs(['--', 'latest AI news'])).toEqual([
+    expect(appendEnabledWebSearchArgs(['--', 'latest AI news'])).toEqual([
       '--disallowedTools',
       'WebSearch',
       '--append-system-prompt',
@@ -121,7 +117,7 @@ describe('appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs', () => {
   });
 
   it('inserts the WebSearch disallow value when the flag is present without one', () => {
-    expect(appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs(['--disallowedTools', '--verbose'])).toEqual([
+    expect(appendEnabledWebSearchArgs(['--disallowedTools', '--verbose'])).toEqual([
       '--disallowedTools',
       'WebSearch',
       '--verbose',
@@ -133,7 +129,7 @@ describe('appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs', () => {
   // File mode: --append-system-prompt-file when user passes --append-system-prompt-file
 
   it('uses --append-system-prompt-file when user passes --append-system-prompt-file', () => {
-    const result = appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs([
+    const result = appendEnabledWebSearchArgs([
       'smoke',
       '--append-system-prompt-file',
       '/tmp/user-prompt.txt',
@@ -147,26 +143,54 @@ describe('appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs', () => {
   });
 
   it('uses --append-system-prompt-file when user passes --append-system-prompt-file= form', () => {
-    const result = appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs([
+    const result = appendEnabledWebSearchArgs([
       'smoke',
       '--append-system-prompt-file=/tmp/user-prompt.txt',
     ]);
     const fileFlags = result.filter(
-      (arg) => arg === '--append-system-prompt-file' || arg.startsWith('--append-system-prompt-file=')
+      (arg) =>
+        arg === '--append-system-prompt-file' || arg.startsWith('--append-system-prompt-file=')
     );
     expect(fileFlags.length).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(2);
     expect(result).not.toContain('--append-system-prompt');
   });
 
   it('does not treat unrelated user prompt files as the managed CCS steering prompt', () => {
-    const result = appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs([
+    const result = appendEnabledWebSearchArgs([
       'smoke',
       '--append-system-prompt-file',
       '/tmp/user-ccs-prompt-websearch-tool-notes.txt',
     ]);
 
-    const filePaths = result.filter((arg, index) => result[index - 1] === '--append-system-prompt-file');
+    const filePaths = result.filter(
+      (arg, index) => result[index - 1] === '--append-system-prompt-file'
+    );
     expect(filePaths).toContain('/tmp/user-ccs-prompt-websearch-tool-notes.txt');
-    expect(filePaths.some((filePath) => filePath.endsWith('/ccs-prompt-websearch-tool.txt'))).toBe(true);
+    expect(filePaths.some((filePath) => filePath.endsWith('/ccs-prompt-websearch-tool.txt'))).toBe(
+      true
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('keeps native WebSearch disallowed but skips CCS steering when WebSearch is disabled', () => {
+    expect(appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs(['smoke'], false)).toEqual([
+      'smoke',
+      '--disallowedTools',
+      'WebSearch',
+    ]);
+  });
+
+  it('preserves user prompt args when WebSearch is disabled', () => {
+    expect(
+      appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs(
+        ['smoke', '--append-system-prompt', 'User-provided instruction'],
+        false
+      )
+    ).toEqual([
+      'smoke',
+      '--append-system-prompt',
+      'User-provided instruction',
+      '--disallowedTools',
+      'WebSearch',
+    ]);
   });
 });
diff --git a/tests/unit/utils/websearch/launch-state.test.ts b/tests/unit/utils/websearch/launch-state.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..b56061ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/utils/websearch/launch-state.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+import { afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it } from 'bun:test';
+import * as fs from 'fs';
+import * as os from 'os';
+import * as path from 'path';
+
+import { appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs } from '../../../../src/utils/websearch/claude-tool-args';
+import { resolveWebSearchLaunchState } from '../../../../src/utils/websearch/launch-state';
+import { ensureWebSearchMcpForLaunch } from '../../../../src/utils/websearch/mcp-installer';
+
+describe('WebSearch launch state', () => {
+  let originalCcsHome: string | undefined;
+  let tempHome = '';
+  let configPath = '';
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    originalCcsHome = process.env.CCS_HOME;
+    tempHome = fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'ccs-websearch-launch-state-'));
+    const ccsDir = path.join(tempHome, '.ccs');
+    configPath = path.join(ccsDir, 'config.yaml');
+    fs.mkdirSync(ccsDir, { recursive: true });
+    process.env.CCS_HOME = tempHome;
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    if (originalCcsHome === undefined) {
+      delete process.env.CCS_HOME;
+    } else {
+      process.env.CCS_HOME = originalCcsHome;
+    }
+    fs.rmSync(tempHome, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  it('keeps provisioning, hook env, and steering on one snapshot when config changes', () => {
+    fs.writeFileSync(configPath, 'version: 12\nwebsearch:\n  enabled: false\n', 'utf8');
+    const launch = resolveWebSearchLaunchState();
+
+    ensureWebSearchMcpForLaunch(launch.config);
+    fs.writeFileSync(configPath, 'version: 12\nwebsearch:\n  enabled: true\n', 'utf8');
+
+    const args = appendThirdPartyWebSearchToolArgs(['smoke'], launch.enabled);
+    expect(launch.enabled).toBe(false);
+    expect(launch.hookEnv.CCS_WEBSEARCH_ENABLED).toBe('0');
+    expect(launch.hookEnv.CCS_WEBSEARCH_SKIP).toBe('1');
+    expect(args).toContain('--disallowedTools');
+    expect(args).toContain('WebSearch');
+    expect(args).not.toContain('--append-system-prompt');
+  });
+});