diff --git a/docs/specs/search-events.md b/docs/specs/search-events.md
index d942cff05..8a1f2d77b 100644
--- a/docs/specs/search-events.md
+++ b/docs/specs/search-events.md
@@ -146,6 +146,7 @@ Requests for a metric over time ("per hour", "per day", "trend", "over time") re
 - **Logs timestamp handling**: Logs don't support query-based timestamp filters like `timestamp:-1h`. Instead, use `statsPeriod=24h` parameter
 - **Project ID mapping**: API requires numeric project IDs, not slugs. Tool automatically converts project slugs to IDs
 - **Seer translation**: Seer translates natural-language queries when the organization has the `mcp-search-events-seer-translate` rollout flag and has not hidden AI features. If Seer is unavailable or cannot translate the query, the tool falls back to the configured embedded agent.
+- **Literal queries skip translation**: A query with only one literal reading runs directly, without Seer or the embedded agent: `*` matches everything, a bare 32-character hex ID becomes `trace:<id>`, and a single quoted phrase runs as a full-text search. This applies only where Seer would otherwise run (no structured syntax, explicit fields, or explicit sort).
 - **Seer cross-event filters**: Time series results do not apply cross-event filters. When Seer returns those filters for a time series, the response always begins with a warning identifying the omitted filters and the broader results, even when `includeExplanation` is false.
 - **Seer project scope**: For a successful Seer translation without `projectSlug`, search and Explorer links use `project=-1` to match the all-accessible-project scope sent to Seer. Other unscoped searches retain their existing default scope.
 - **Parallel attribute fetching**: For spans/logs/metrics, fetches both string and number attribute types in parallel for better performance
diff --git a/packages/mcp-core/src/tools/catalog/search-events.test.ts b/packages/mcp-core/src/tools/catalog/search-events.test.ts
index df8615d6a..d02a38d2f 100644
--- a/packages/mcp-core/src/tools/catalog/search-events.test.ts
+++ b/packages/mcp-core/src/tools/catalog/search-events.test.ts
@@ -4645,5 +4645,37 @@ describe("search_events", () => {
 
       expect(mockGenerateText).toHaveBeenCalled();
     });
+
+    it.each([
+      [
+        "a bare trace ID",
+        "A1B2C3D4E5F6A7B8C9D0E1F2A3B4C5D6",
+        "trace:a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6",
+      ],
+      ["a quoted phrase", '"connection refused"', '"connection refused"'],
+      ["a wildcard", "*", ""],
+    ])(
+      "should run %s without Seer or the agent",
+      async (_, query, expected) => {
+        mswServer.use(
+          mockOrganization(["mcp-search-events-seer-translate"]),
+          http.get(
+            "https://sentry.io/api/0/organizations/test-org/events/",
+            ({ request }) => {
+              const url = new URL(request.url);
+              expect(url.searchParams.get("dataset")).toBe("spans");
+              expect(url.searchParams.get("query")).toBe(expected);
+              expect(url.searchParams.get("sort")).toBe("-timestamp");
+              return HttpResponse.json({ data: [] });
+            },
+          ),
+        );
+
+        await searchEvents.handler({ ...seerParams, query }, context);
+
+        expect(mockSeerStart).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+        expect(mockGenerateText).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+      },
+    );
   });
 });
diff --git a/packages/mcp-core/src/tools/support/search-events/search.ts b/packages/mcp-core/src/tools/support/search-events/search.ts
index 07c4e729e..30a717a73 100644
--- a/packages/mcp-core/src/tools/support/search-events/search.ts
+++ b/packages/mcp-core/src/tools/support/search-events/search.ts
@@ -56,6 +56,7 @@ import {
   looksLikeSentrySearchSyntax,
   readRegexFilterValue,
   recordEventsSearchValidationTelemetry,
+  rewriteLiteralQuery,
   validateEventsSearch,
 } from "./utils";
 
@@ -662,17 +663,23 @@ export async function runSearchEvents(
   // structured queries and explicit fields or sort, which the embedded agent
   // preserves. Like the UI, an explicit environment is added to Seer's query
   // afterwards.
-  const seerTranslation =
-    params.query &&
+  const seerDataset =
     isSeerSearchDataset(params.dataset) &&
     !hasStructuredQuery &&
     !hasExplicitFields &&
     !hasExplicitSort
+      ? params.dataset
+      : null;
+  // Queries with one literal reading, like a bare trace ID, run directly
+  // instead of going through Seer or the embedded agent.
+  const literalQuery = seerDataset ? rewriteLiteralQuery(params.query) : null;
+  const seerTranslation =
+    params.query && seerDataset && literalQuery === null
       ? await translateWithSeer({
           apiService,
           organizationSlug,
           projectId,
-          dataset: params.dataset,
+          dataset: seerDataset,
           query: params.query,
         })
       : null;
@@ -685,7 +692,8 @@ export async function runSearchEvents(
     inputDataset !== "replays" &&
     params.environment &&
     !canApplyEnvironmentFilter &&
-    !seerTranslation
+    !seerTranslation &&
+    literalQuery === null
   ) {
     throw new UserInputError(
       "The `environment` parameter is only supported for dataset='replays'. For other datasets, include environment filtering in the query string instead.",
@@ -693,7 +701,10 @@ export async function runSearchEvents(
   }
 
   const willRunAgent =
-    hasAgentProvider() && !canRunWithoutAgent && !seerTranslation;
+    hasAgentProvider() &&
+    !canRunWithoutAgent &&
+    !seerTranslation &&
+    literalQuery === null;
   const inputReferencesEnvironment =
     params.environment != null ||
     collectRequestedEnvironments(null, params.query ?? "").length > 0;
@@ -816,9 +827,11 @@ export async function runSearchEvents(
     }
   } else {
     dataset = inputDataset;
-    sentryQuery = shouldTrustStructuredTraceSearch
-      ? explicitStructuredTraceQuery
-      : (params.query ?? "");
+    sentryQuery =
+      literalQuery ??
+      (shouldTrustStructuredTraceSearch
+        ? explicitStructuredTraceQuery
+        : (params.query ?? ""));
     sortParam = explicitSort || defaultSortForDataset(dataset);
     timeParams = { statsPeriod: params.period ?? "14d" };
     fields =
diff --git a/packages/mcp-core/src/tools/support/search-events/utils.test.ts b/packages/mcp-core/src/tools/support/search-events/utils.test.ts
index 80230886c..1f29e0640 100644
--- a/packages/mcp-core/src/tools/support/search-events/utils.test.ts
+++ b/packages/mcp-core/src/tools/support/search-events/utils.test.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import {
   formatKnownUserValue,
   isSemanticFilterDowngrade,
   looksLikeSentrySearchSyntax,
+  rewriteLiteralQuery,
 } from "./utils";
 
 describe("validateSearch tool contract", () => {
@@ -681,6 +682,36 @@ describe("search query helpers", () => {
   });
 });
 
+describe("rewriteLiteralQuery", () => {
+  it("rewrites queries with one literal reading", () => {
+    expect(rewriteLiteralQuery("*")).toBe("");
+    expect(rewriteLiteralQuery("  A1B2C3D4E5F6A7B8C9D0E1F2A3B4C5D6 ")).toBe(
+      "trace:a1b2c3d4e5f6a7b8c9d0e1f2a3b4c5d6",
+    );
+    expect(rewriteLiteralQuery('"connection refused"')).toBe(
+      '"connection refused"',
+    );
+    expect(rewriteLiteralQuery(String.raw`"say \"hi\""`)).toBe(
+      String.raw`"say \"hi\""`,
+    );
+  });
+
+  it("leaves everything else for translation", () => {
+    expect(rewriteLiteralQuery(undefined)).toBeNull();
+    expect(rewriteLiteralQuery("")).toBeNull();
+    expect(rewriteLiteralQuery('""')).toBeNull();
+    expect(rewriteLiteralQuery('" "')).toBeNull();
+    expect(rewriteLiteralQuery("TypeError")).toBeNull();
+    expect(rewriteLiteralQuery("slow requests")).toBeNull();
+    expect(rewriteLiteralQuery("a1b2c3d4")).toBeNull();
+    expect(
+      rewriteLiteralQuery("a1b2c3d4-e5f6-a7b8-c9d0-e1f2a3b4c5d6"),
+    ).toBeNull();
+    expect(rewriteLiteralQuery('"timeout" in checkout')).toBeNull();
+    expect(rewriteLiteralQuery('"timeout" "refused"')).toBeNull();
+  });
+});
+
 describe("datasetAttributes tool pagination", () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     mswServer.use(
diff --git a/packages/mcp-core/src/tools/support/search-events/utils.ts b/packages/mcp-core/src/tools/support/search-events/utils.ts
index d759f30aa..84cd091b4 100644
--- a/packages/mcp-core/src/tools/support/search-events/utils.ts
+++ b/packages/mcp-core/src/tools/support/search-events/utils.ts
@@ -57,6 +57,9 @@ const REGEX_FILTER_KEY_BEFORE_PATTERN = new RegExp(
   `${REGEX_FILTER_KEY_SOURCE}$`,
 );
 const REGEX_FILTER_KEY_SCAN_LIMIT = 256;
+const TRACE_ID_PATTERN = /^[0-9a-f]{32}$/i;
+// One double-quoted phrase with no unescaped quote inside.
+const QUOTED_PHRASE_PATTERN = /^"(?:[^"\\]|\\.)+"$/;
 const SEARCH_FILTER_KEY_SOURCE = String.raw`(^|\s)!?(?<key>[A-Za-z_][A-Za-z0-9_.[\],-]*):`;
 // Used by the semantic-downgrade comparison below, which still scans the raw
 // query text. `looksLikeSentrySearchSyntax` parses with the shared grammar.
@@ -208,6 +211,34 @@ export function looksLikeSentrySearchSyntax(
   return false;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Rewrite a query with only one literal reading into Sentry search syntax, so
+ * it can run without query translation. Returns null for anything else.
+ *
+ * - `*` matches everything.
+ * - A bare 32-character hex ID is a trace ID.
+ * - A single quoted phrase is a full-text search, which Sentry runs as is.
+ */
+export function rewriteLiteralQuery(query?: string): string | null {
+  const trimmedQuery = query?.trim();
+  if (!trimmedQuery) {
+    return null;
+  }
+  if (trimmedQuery === "*") {
+    return "";
+  }
+  if (TRACE_ID_PATTERN.test(trimmedQuery)) {
+    return `trace:${trimmedQuery.toLowerCase()}`;
+  }
+  if (
+    QUOTED_PHRASE_PATTERN.test(trimmedQuery) &&
+    trimmedQuery.slice(1, -1).trim()
+  ) {
+    return trimmedQuery;
+  }
+  return null;
+}
+
 export function readRegexFilterValue(
   query: string,
   index: number,