diff --git a/agent/codex_runtime.py b/agent/codex_runtime.py
index 901638ffb07..394ada176e2 100644
--- a/agent/codex_runtime.py
+++ b/agent/codex_runtime.py
@@ -287,10 +287,23 @@ def _record_codex_app_server_compaction(
 # therefore deserve a tool_progress bubble pair). The projector lives in
 # agent/transports/codex_event_projector.py — keep these in sync so the
 # tool name shown in the UI matches the name recorded in messages.
+# webSearch is codex's built-in web search tool — it has no projector
+# entry (codex handles it internally) but still deserves a bubble.
 _CODEX_TOOL_ITEM_TYPES = frozenset(
-    {"commandExecution", "fileChange", "mcpToolCall", "dynamicToolCall"}
+    {"commandExecution", "fileChange", "mcpToolCall", "dynamicToolCall", "webSearch"}
 )
 
+# Internal MCP server that wraps Hermes' native tools for codex. When
+# codex calls back through it, the inner dispatch runs in a SEPARATE
+# hermes-tools-mcp-server subprocess that has no access to the parent
+# agent's tool_progress_callback — so the inner call can never surface
+# its own native progress event. The codex-level mcpToolCall event IS
+# the display event for those calls; we strip the mcp.hermes-tools.*
+# namespacing and emit the bare tool name (web_search, browser_navigate,
+# vision_analyze, ...) since the user thinks of these as Hermes tools,
+# not as MCP calls.
+_INTERNAL_MCP_SERVER = "hermes-tools"
+
 
 def _codex_item_to_tool_name(item: dict) -> str:
     """Synthetic Hermes tool name for a codex item. Mirrors
@@ -304,9 +317,13 @@ def _codex_item_to_tool_name(item: dict) -> str:
     if item_type == "mcpToolCall":
         server = item.get("server") or "mcp"
         tool = item.get("tool") or "unknown"
+        if server == _INTERNAL_MCP_SERVER:
+            return tool
         return f"mcp.{server}.{tool}"
     if item_type == "dynamicToolCall":
         return item.get("tool") or "dynamic"
+    if item_type == "webSearch":
+        return "web_search"
     return item_type or "unknown"
 
 
@@ -327,6 +344,8 @@ def _codex_item_to_args(item: dict) -> dict:
     if item_type in {"mcpToolCall", "dynamicToolCall"}:
         args = item.get("arguments") or {}
         return args if isinstance(args, dict) else {"arguments": args}
+    if item_type == "webSearch":
+        return {"query": item.get("query") or ""}
     return {}
 
 
@@ -354,6 +373,9 @@ def _codex_item_to_preview(item: dict) -> Any:
             return json.dumps(args, ensure_ascii=False)[:120]
         except (TypeError, ValueError):
             return None
+    if item_type == "webSearch":
+        query = item.get("query") or ""
+        return query[:120] if query else None
     return None
 
 
diff --git a/tests/agent/test_codex_app_server_event_bridge.py b/tests/agent/test_codex_app_server_event_bridge.py
index e02748cfa69..05032c1c88e 100644
--- a/tests/agent/test_codex_app_server_event_bridge.py
+++ b/tests/agent/test_codex_app_server_event_bridge.py
@@ -79,6 +79,22 @@ class TestCodexItemToToolName:
             {"type": "dynamicToolCall", "tool": "web_search"}
         ) == "web_search"
 
+    def test_hermes_tools_mcp_server_emits_bare_tool_name(self):
+        """The hermes-tools MCP server wraps Hermes' own tools for codex;
+        the inner dispatch subprocess can't fire native progress events,
+        so the codex-level event IS the display event — shown without the
+        mcp.hermes-tools.* namespacing (from #26541 by @simpolism)."""
+        assert _codex_item_to_tool_name(
+            {"type": "mcpToolCall", "server": "hermes-tools", "tool": "web_search"}
+        ) == "web_search"
+        assert _codex_item_to_tool_name(
+            {"type": "mcpToolCall", "server": "hermes-tools", "tool": "browser_navigate"}
+        ) == "browser_navigate"
+
+    def test_web_search_builtin_maps_to_web_search(self):
+        """Codex's built-in webSearch tool gets a bubble too (#26541)."""
+        assert _codex_item_to_tool_name({"type": "webSearch"}) == "web_search"
+
     def test_unknown_type_returns_type_string(self):
         assert _codex_item_to_tool_name(
             {"type": "plan"}
@@ -368,6 +384,27 @@ class TestToolProgressDispatch:
         assert completed.kwargs["is_error"] is False
         assert "results" in completed.kwargs["result"]
 
+    def test_web_search_builtin_fires_started_and_completed(self):
+        """Codex's built-in webSearch produces a start/complete bubble pair
+        with the query as preview and args (#26541)."""
+        agent = _make_stub_agent()
+        bridge = make_codex_app_server_event_bridge(agent)
+        bridge(_item_started({
+            "type": "webSearch",
+            "id": "ws-1",
+            "query": "hermes agent docs",
+        }))
+        bridge(_item_completed({
+            "type": "webSearch",
+            "id": "ws-1",
+            "query": "hermes agent docs",
+        }))
+        calls = agent.tool_progress_callback.call_args_list
+        assert [c.args[0] for c in calls] == ["tool.started", "tool.completed"]
+        assert calls[0].args[1] == "web_search"
+        assert calls[0].args[2] == "hermes agent docs"
+        assert calls[0].args[3] == {"query": "hermes agent docs"}
+
     def test_duration_falls_back_to_wall_time_when_codex_missing_ms(self):
         agent = _make_stub_agent()
         bridge = make_codex_app_server_event_bridge(agent)