diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d5fb98efca..601e2a261a 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -839,6 +839,9 @@ The admin MCP cache reset advances a durable generation marker in the writable c
 The parsed extensions configuration and its recorded content digest come from the same read, so a racing edit followed by a timestamp-preserving backup restore cannot leave a different revision cached indefinitely.
 
 `extensions_config.json` accepts UTF-8 with or without a leading byte-order mark (BOM), including files saved as UTF-8 with BOM by an editor.
+
+When deferred MCP tool discovery is enabled, `tool_search` supports opt-in literal keyword queries such as `keywords:notebook jupyter`. Keywords match names and descriptions in any order, ranked by distinct term coverage and then name hits; ties retain catalog order. This mode uses the first 256 characters after the prefix and at most 16 unique whitespace-separated terms, returning up to five tools. Punctuation stays literal. Bare queries and `+required` ranking keep their existing regular-expression semantics; `select:tool_a,tool_b` still fetches all exact, case-sensitive name matches.
+
 MCP routing hints can also prefer a specific MCP tool for matching requests without forbidding other tools. When `tool_search` defers MCP schemas, matching routing metadata can auto-promote up to `tool_search.auto_promote_top_k` deferred schemas before the model call.
 
 OpenViking users can register the official Streamable HTTP endpoint at `/mcp`
diff --git a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/tools/AGENTS.md b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/tools/AGENTS.md
index 5d2720dfc4..5358ac55f1 100644
--- a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/tools/AGENTS.md
+++ b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/tools/AGENTS.md
@@ -101,3 +101,10 @@ from captured child tool messages only when the final/partial report cites those
 opaque source links. This preserves retrieval evidence across the delegation
 boundary without placing provider IDs in model-visible text. Never reconstruct
 source records from the child's prose or replace them with fresh provider reads.
+
+`DeferredToolCatalog.search` reserves `keywords:` for opt-in literal, casefolded,
+whitespace-separated terms (256 query characters, 16 unique terms). Rank by term
+coverage across name/description, then name hits; ties preserve catalog order and
+results stay capped at five. Keyword matching never invokes the regex helpers.
+Bare queries and `+required` keep regex semantics; `select:` stays exact and
+uncapped. Keep query grammar and examples in the `tool_search` description aligned.
diff --git a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/tools/builtins/tool_search.py b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/tools/builtins/tool_search.py
index 656ade5f06..bd95516547 100644
--- a/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/tools/builtins/tool_search.py
+++ b/backend/packages/harness/deerflow/tools/builtins/tool_search.py
@@ -40,6 +40,8 @@ if TYPE_CHECKING:
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
 MAX_RESULTS = 5  # Max tools returned per search
+MAX_KEYWORD_QUERY_CHARS = 256
+MAX_KEYWORD_QUERY_TERMS = 16
 
 
 def _compile_catalog_regex(pattern: str) -> re.Pattern[str]:
@@ -89,6 +91,9 @@ class DeferredToolCatalog:
             wanted = {n.strip() for n in query[7:].split(",")}
             return [t for t in self.tools if t.name in wanted]
 
+        if query.startswith("keywords:"):
+            return _rank_catalog_keywords(query[len("keywords:") :], self.tools)
+
         if query.startswith("+"):
             parts = query[1:].split(None, 1)
             if not parts:
@@ -109,6 +114,28 @@ class DeferredToolCatalog:
         return [t for _, t in scored][:MAX_RESULTS]
 
 
+def _rank_catalog_keywords(query: str, tools: tuple[BaseTool, ...]) -> list[BaseTool]:
+    """Rank literal terms by coverage, then name hits, preserving catalog ties.
+
+    Bound the query before case folding or splitting. Unlike skill intent
+    search, punctuation stays literal so tool names such as ``c++`` and dotted
+    namespaces remain searchable without interpreting model text as regex.
+    """
+    terms = tuple(dict.fromkeys(query[:MAX_KEYWORD_QUERY_CHARS].casefold().split()))[:MAX_KEYWORD_QUERY_TERMS]
+    if not terms:
+        return []
+    scored: list[tuple[tuple[int, int], BaseTool]] = []
+    for candidate in tools:
+        name = candidate.name.casefold()
+        description = (candidate.description or "").casefold()
+        name_hits = sum(term in name for term in terms)
+        coverage = sum(term in name or term in description for term in terms)
+        if coverage:
+            scored.append(((coverage, name_hits), candidate))
+    scored.sort(key=lambda item: item[0], reverse=True)
+    return [candidate for _, candidate in scored[:MAX_RESULTS]]
+
+
 def _catalog_regex_score(pattern: str, t: BaseTool) -> int:
     regex = _compile_catalog_regex(pattern)
     return len(regex.findall(f"{t.name} {t.description or ''}"))
@@ -153,8 +180,13 @@ def build_tool_search_tool(catalog: DeferredToolCatalog) -> BaseTool:
 
         Query forms:
           - "select:Read,Edit" -- fetch these exact tools by name
-          - "notebook jupyter" -- keyword search, up to max_results best matches
-          - "+slack send" -- require "slack" in the name, rank by remaining terms
+          - "keywords:notebook jupyter" -- literal terms in any order; rank by
+            term coverage, then name hits; up to 5 matches. Uses the first 256
+            characters after the prefix and at most 16 unique whitespace-separated
+            terms, case-insensitively. Punctuation is literal; ties keep catalog order.
+          - "jupyter.*notebook" -- regex on name and description, name matches first
+          - "+slack send" -- require "slack" in the name, rank by the remaining regex
+        Queries without a prefix keep regex semantics (invalid regex is literal).
         """
         matched = catalog.search(query)
         if not matched:
diff --git a/backend/tests/test_deferred_keyword_search.py b/backend/tests/test_deferred_keyword_search.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..0c4848146a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tests/test_deferred_keyword_search.py
@@ -0,0 +1,82 @@
+"""Opt-in literal intent search for deferred tools."""
+
+import pytest
+from langchain_core.tools import StructuredTool
+
+from deerflow.tools.builtins.tool_search import DeferredToolCatalog, build_tool_search_tool
+
+
+def make_tool(name, description="A deferred tool."):
+    return StructuredTool.from_function(lambda query="": query, name=name, description=description)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("query", ["keywords:notebook jupyter", "keywords:JUPYTER notebook", "keywords: notebook\tJupyter notebook "])
+def test_keywords_find_reordered_notebook_intent(query):
+    notebook = make_tool("jupyter_notebook", "Create and edit notebooks in Jupyter")
+    catalog = DeferredToolCatalog((make_tool("unrelated"), notebook))
+    assert catalog.search(query) == [notebook]
+
+
+def test_keywords_rank_coverage_then_name_hits_with_stable_ties():
+    partial = make_tool("notebook")
+    description = make_tool("editor", "Jupyter notebook")
+    mixed = make_tool("jupyter", "Edit a notebook")
+    first = make_tool("jupyter_notebook")
+    second = make_tool("notebook_jupyter")
+    catalog = DeferredToolCatalog((partial, description, mixed, first, second))
+    expected = [first, second, mixed, description, partial]
+    assert catalog.search("keywords:notebook jupyter") == expected
+    assert catalog.search("keywords:jupyter notebook") == expected
+    assert catalog.search("keywords:jupyter jupyter notebook") == expected
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("query", ["keywords:", "keywords:   ", "keywords:unmatched"])
+def test_keywords_empty_and_unmatched_return_empty(query):
+    assert DeferredToolCatalog((make_tool("jupyter_notebook"),)).search(query) == []
+
+
+def test_keywords_treat_regex_metacharacters_literally():
+    literal = make_tool("literal", "Use a+b and [draft]")
+    other = make_tool("aaab", "draft")
+    catalog = DeferredToolCatalog((other, literal))
+    assert catalog.search("keywords:a+b [draft]") == [literal]
+    assert catalog.search("keywords:.*") == []
+    assert catalog.search("a+b") == [other]
+
+
+def test_keywords_casefold_unicode():
+    tool = make_tool("strasse", "笔记本")
+    assert DeferredToolCatalog((tool,)).search("keywords:STRAẞE 笔记本") == [tool]
+
+
+def test_keywords_cap_preserves_catalog_order():
+    tools = tuple(make_tool(f"notebook_{i}") for i in range(8))
+    catalog = DeferredToolCatalog(tools)
+    assert catalog.search("keywords:notebook") == list(tools[:5])
+    assert catalog.search("select:" + ",".join(t.name for t in tools)) == list(tools)
+    assert catalog.search("select:NOTEBOOK_0") == []
+
+
+def test_keywords_bound_query_characters_and_unique_terms():
+    target = make_tool("target")
+    catalog = DeferredToolCatalog((target,))
+    assert catalog.search("keywords:" + "x" * 256 + " target") == []
+    assert catalog.search("keywords:" + " ".join(f"x{i}" for i in range(16)) + " target") == []
+    assert catalog.search("keywords:" + "x " * 16 + "target") == [target]
+
+
+def test_keywords_do_not_change_legacy_required_name_or_regex():
+    tool = make_tool("jupyter_notebook", "Create and edit notebooks in Jupyter")
+    catalog = DeferredToolCatalog((tool,))
+    assert catalog.search("notebook jupyter") == []
+    assert catalog.search("jupyter.*notebook") == [tool]
+    assert catalog.search("+jupyter notebook") == [tool]
+
+
+def test_keywords_promote_full_schema_through_tool_call():
+    notebook = make_tool("jupyter_notebook", "Create and edit notebooks in Jupyter")
+    catalog = DeferredToolCatalog((notebook,))
+    search = build_tool_search_tool(catalog)
+    result = search.invoke({"type": "tool_call", "id": "keyword-call", "name": "tool_search", "args": {"query": "keywords:notebook jupyter"}})
+    assert result.update["promoted"] == {"catalog_hash": catalog.hash, "names": [notebook.name]}
+    assert '"name": "jupyter_notebook"' in result.update["messages"][0].content