diff --git a/src/services/tools/file_edit_insert.test.ts b/src/services/tools/file_edit_insert.test.ts
index 94113cae5..b3fad60a8 100644
--- a/src/services/tools/file_edit_insert.test.ts
+++ b/src/services/tools/file_edit_insert.test.ts
@@ -96,13 +96,12 @@ describe("file_edit_insert tool", () => {
     }
   });
 
-  it("creates new file when create flag is provided", async () => {
+  it("creates a new file without requiring create flag or guards", async () => {
     const newFile = path.join(testDir, "new.txt");
     const tool = createTestTool(testDir);
     const args: FileEditInsertToolArgs = {
       file_path: path.relative(testDir, newFile),
       content: "Hello world!\n",
-      create: true,
     };
 
     const result = (await tool.execute!(args, mockToolCallOptions)) as FileEditInsertToolResult;
diff --git a/src/services/tools/file_edit_insert.ts b/src/services/tools/file_edit_insert.ts
index 524a634ce..6f0c49d1e 100644
--- a/src/services/tools/file_edit_insert.ts
+++ b/src/services/tools/file_edit_insert.ts
@@ -48,7 +48,7 @@ export const createFileEditInsertTool: ToolFactory = (config: ToolConfiguration)
     description: TOOL_DEFINITIONS.file_edit_insert.description,
     inputSchema: TOOL_DEFINITIONS.file_edit_insert.schema,
     execute: async (
-      { file_path, content, before, after, create }: FileEditInsertToolArgs,
+      { file_path, content, before, after }: FileEditInsertToolArgs,
       { abortSignal }
     ): Promise<FileEditInsertToolResult> => {
       try {
@@ -71,14 +71,6 @@ export const createFileEditInsertTool: ToolFactory = (config: ToolConfiguration)
         const exists = await fileExists(config.runtime, resolvedPath, abortSignal);
 
         if (!exists) {
-          if (!create) {
-            return {
-              success: false,
-              error: `File not found: ${file_path}. Set create: true to create it.`,
-              note: `${EDIT_FAILED_NOTE_PREFIX} File does not exist. Set create: true to create it, or check the file path.`,
-            };
-          }
-
           try {
             await writeFileString(config.runtime, resolvedPath, content, abortSignal);
           } catch (err) {
@@ -139,7 +131,7 @@ function insertContent(
   }
 
   if (before === undefined && after === undefined) {
-    return guardFailure("Provide either a before or after guard to anchor the insertion point.");
+    return guardFailure("Provide either a before or after guard when editing existing files.");
   }
 
   return insertWithGuards(originalContent, contentToInsert, { before, after });
diff --git a/src/telemetry/utils.ts b/src/telemetry/utils.ts
index be35a1d00..b6b30008f 100644
--- a/src/telemetry/utils.ts
+++ b/src/telemetry/utils.ts
@@ -9,8 +9,15 @@ import { VERSION } from "../version";
  * Get base telemetry properties included with all events
  */
 export function getBaseTelemetryProperties(): BaseTelemetryProperties {
+  const gitDescribe =
+    typeof VERSION === "object" &&
+    VERSION !== null &&
+    typeof (VERSION as Record<string, unknown>).git_describe === "string"
+      ? (VERSION as { git_describe: string }).git_describe
+      : "unknown";
+
   return {
-    version: String(VERSION.git_describe),
+    version: gitDescribe,
     platform: window.api?.platform || "unknown",
     electronVersion: window.api?.versions?.electron || "unknown",
   };
diff --git a/src/types/tools.ts b/src/types/tools.ts
index 7a060b233..633d151f7 100644
--- a/src/types/tools.ts
+++ b/src/types/tools.ts
@@ -74,8 +74,6 @@ export interface FileEditErrorResult {
 export interface FileEditInsertToolArgs {
   file_path: string;
   content: string;
-  /** When true, create the file if it doesn't exist */
-  create?: boolean;
   /** Optional substring that must appear immediately before the insertion point */
   before?: string;
   /** Optional substring that must appear immediately after the insertion point */
diff --git a/src/utils/tools/toolDefinitions.ts b/src/utils/tools/toolDefinitions.ts
index e63f7f221..b8c838e8a 100644
--- a/src/utils/tools/toolDefinitions.ts
+++ b/src/utils/tools/toolDefinitions.ts
@@ -116,13 +116,12 @@ export const TOOL_DEFINITIONS = {
     description:
       "Insert content into a file using substring guards. " +
       "Provide exactly one of before or after to anchor the operation when editing an existing file. " +
-      "Set create: true to write a brand new file without guards. " +
+      "When the file does not exist, it is created automatically without guards. " +
       `Optional before/after substrings must uniquely match surrounding content. ${TOOL_EDIT_WARNING}`,
     schema: z
       .object({
         file_path: FILE_EDIT_FILE_PATH,
         content: z.string().describe("The content to insert"),
-        create: z.boolean().optional().describe("If true, create the file if it does not exist"),
         before: z
           .string()
           .min(1)
@@ -134,14 +133,6 @@ export const TOOL_DEFINITIONS = {
           .optional()
           .describe("Optional substring that must appear immediately after the insertion point"),
       })
-      .refine(
-        (data) => data.create === true || data.before !== undefined || data.after !== undefined,
-        {
-          message:
-            "Provide before or after when editing existing files, or set create: true to write a new file.",
-          path: ["before"],
-        }
-      )
       .refine((data) => !(data.before !== undefined && data.after !== undefined), {
         message: "Provide only one of before or after (not both).",
         path: ["before"],
diff --git a/tests/ipcMain/runtimeExecuteBash.test.ts b/tests/ipcMain/runtimeExecuteBash.test.ts
index dcb99484e..1decaa388 100644
--- a/tests/ipcMain/runtimeExecuteBash.test.ts
+++ b/tests/ipcMain/runtimeExecuteBash.test.ts
@@ -33,6 +33,7 @@ import {
   type SSHServerConfig,
 } from "../runtime/ssh-fixture";
 import type { RuntimeConfig } from "../../src/types/runtime";
+import type { WorkspaceChatMessage } from "../../src/types/ipc";
 import type { ToolPolicy } from "../../src/utils/tools/toolPolicy";
 
 // Tool policy: Only allow bash tool
@@ -41,6 +42,16 @@ const BASH_ONLY: ToolPolicy = [
   { regex_match: "file_.*", action: "disable" },
 ];
 
+function collectToolOutputs(events: WorkspaceChatMessage[], toolName: string): string {
+  return events
+    .filter((event: any) => event.type === "tool-call-end" && event.toolName === toolName)
+    .map((event: any) => {
+      const output = event.result?.output;
+      return typeof output === "string" ? output : "";
+    })
+    .join("\n");
+}
+
 // Skip all tests if TEST_INTEGRATION is not set
 const describeIntegration = shouldRunIntegrationTests() ? describe : describe.skip;
 
@@ -264,7 +275,8 @@ describeIntegration("Runtime Bash Execution", () => {
 
               // Verify command completed successfully (not timeout)
               expect(responseText).toContain("test");
-              expect(responseText).toContain("data");
+              const bashOutput = collectToolOutputs(events, "bash");
+              expect(bashOutput).toContain('"test": "data"');
 
               // Verify command completed quickly (not hanging until timeout)
               // With tokenizer preloading, both local and SSH complete in ~8s total