diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/prompts/tools/read.md b/packages/coding-agent/src/prompts/tools/read.md
index 4dafa54b5..d8b0aab25 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/prompts/tools/read.md
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/prompts/tools/read.md
@@ -46,7 +46,11 @@ Extracts text from PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, RTF, and EPUB. Notebooks (`.ipy
 
 # Images
 
+{{#if INSPECT_IMAGE_ENABLED}}
 Reading an image path returns metadata (mime, bytes, dimensions, channels, alpha). For actual visual analysis, call `inspect_image` with the path and a question describing what to inspect.
+{{else}}
+Reading an image path returns the decoded image inline (PNG, JPEG, GIF, WEBP) for direct visual analysis.
+{{/if}}
 
 # Archives
 
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/src/tools/read.ts b/packages/coding-agent/src/tools/read.ts
index 20efd4e98..64cd32d37 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/src/tools/read.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/src/tools/read.ts
@@ -689,6 +689,7 @@ export class ReadTool implements AgentTool<typeof readSchema, ReadToolDetails> {
 			DEFAULT_MAX_LINES: String(DEFAULT_MAX_LINES),
 			IS_HL_MODE: displayMode.hashLines,
 			IS_LINE_NUMBER_MODE: !displayMode.hashLines && displayMode.lineNumbers,
+			INSPECT_IMAGE_ENABLED: this.#inspectImageEnabled,
 		});
 	}
 
diff --git a/packages/coding-agent/test/tools.test.ts b/packages/coding-agent/test/tools.test.ts
index 954c9a188..ba64d65f3 100644
--- a/packages/coding-agent/test/tools.test.ts
+++ b/packages/coding-agent/test/tools.test.ts
@@ -711,6 +711,19 @@ describe("Coding Agent Tools", () => {
 			expect(result.content.some(c => c.type === "image")).toBe(false);
 		});
 
+		it("omits inspect_image from the description when the tool is disabled", () => {
+			const enabled = new ReadTool(
+				createTestToolSession(testDir, Settings.isolated({ "inspect_image.enabled": true })),
+			);
+			const disabled = new ReadTool(
+				createTestToolSession(testDir, Settings.isolated({ "inspect_image.enabled": false })),
+			);
+
+			expect(enabled.description).toContain("inspect_image");
+			expect(disabled.description).not.toContain("inspect_image");
+			expect(disabled.description).toContain("inline");
+		});
+
 		it("should treat files with image extension but non-image content as text", async () => {
 			const testFile = path.join(testDir, "not-an-image.png");
 			fs.writeFileSync(testFile, "definitely not a png");