diff --git a/docs/channel-package-guide.md b/docs/channel-package-guide.md
index d53904b3..1ea4cb97 100644
--- a/docs/channel-package-guide.md
+++ b/docs/channel-package-guide.md
@@ -618,7 +618,7 @@ async def send(self, msg: OutboundMessage) -> None:
     await self._send_message(msg.chat_id, msg.content, media=msg.media)
 ```
 
-Tool hints are off by default for most channels. Users can enable them globally or per channel:
+Tool hints are on by default. Users can disable them globally or per channel:
 
 ```json
 {
@@ -626,7 +626,7 @@ Tool hints are off by default for most channels. Users can enable them globally
     "sendToolHints": true,
     "webhook": {
       "enabled": true,
-      "sendToolHints": true
+      "sendToolHints": false
     }
   }
 }
diff --git a/docs/configuration.md b/docs/configuration.md
index 3f461a07..ed80cf62 100644
--- a/docs/configuration.md
+++ b/docs/configuration.md
@@ -1555,7 +1555,7 @@ Global settings that apply to all channels. Configure under the `channels` secti
 {
   "channels": {
     "sendProgress": true,
-    "sendToolHints": false,
+    "sendToolHints": true,
     "extractDocumentText": true,
     "sendMaxRetries": 3,
     "telegram": {
@@ -1568,7 +1568,7 @@ Global settings that apply to all channels. Configure under the `channels` secti
 | Setting | Default | Description |
 |---------|---------|-------------|
 | `sendProgress` | `true` | Stream agent's text progress to the channel |
-| `sendToolHints` | `false` | Stream tool-call hints (e.g. `read_file("…")`) |
+| `sendToolHints` | `true` | Stream tool-call hints (e.g. `read_file("…")`) |
 | `showReasoning` | `true` | Allow channels to surface model reasoning/thinking content (DeepSeek-R1 `reasoning_content`, Anthropic `thinking_blocks`, inline `<think>` tags). Reasoning flows as a dedicated stream with `_reasoning_delta` / `_reasoning_end` markers — channels override `send_reasoning_delta` / `send_reasoning_end` to render in-place updates. Even with `true`, channels without those overrides stay no-op silently. Currently surfaced on CLI and WebSocket/WebUI (italic shimmer header, auto-collapses after the stream ends); Telegram / Slack / Discord / Feishu / WeChat / Matrix / Mattermost keep the base no-op until their bubble UI is adapted. Independent of `sendProgress`. |
 | `extractDocumentText` | `true` | Extract supported document/text attachments into the model prompt. PDF, DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX readers are included in the standard installation. Set to `false` to keep document content out of the prompt and include attachment path references instead. |
 | `sendMaxRetries` | `3` | Max delivery attempts per outbound message, including the initial send (0-10 configured, minimum 1 actual attempt) |
@@ -1581,10 +1581,11 @@ Global settings that apply to all channels. Configure under the `channels` secti
 {
   "channels": {
     "sendProgress": true,
-    "sendToolHints": false,
+    "sendToolHints": true,
     "telegram": {
       "enabled": true,
-      "sendProgress": false
+      "sendProgress": false,
+      "sendToolHints": false
     },
     "websocket": {
       "enabled": true,
diff --git a/nanobot/channels/base.py b/nanobot/channels/base.py
index 4dcbbf96..c4f51b7a 100644
--- a/nanobot/channels/base.py
+++ b/nanobot/channels/base.py
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ class BaseChannel(ABC):
     name: str = "base"
     display_name: str = "Base"
     send_progress: bool = True
-    send_tool_hints: bool = False
+    send_tool_hints: bool = True
     show_reasoning: bool = True
 
     def __init__(self, config: Any, bus: MessageBus):
diff --git a/nanobot/channels/mattermost/runtime.py b/nanobot/channels/mattermost/runtime.py
index 1a229731..756daed7 100644
--- a/nanobot/channels/mattermost/runtime.py
+++ b/nanobot/channels/mattermost/runtime.py
@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ class MattermostConfig(Base):
     react_emoji: str = "eyes"
     done_emoji: str = "white_check_mark"
     send_progress: bool = True
-    send_tool_hints: bool = False
+    send_tool_hints: bool = True
     dm: MattermostDMConfig = Field(default_factory=MattermostDMConfig)
 
 
diff --git a/nanobot/channels/mattermost/tests/test_mattermost_channel.py b/nanobot/channels/mattermost/tests/test_mattermost_channel.py
index 2371fef3..3b27ccf1 100644
--- a/nanobot/channels/mattermost/tests/test_mattermost_channel.py
+++ b/nanobot/channels/mattermost/tests/test_mattermost_channel.py
@@ -119,6 +119,7 @@ def test_config_defaults():
     assert config.token == ""
     assert config.streaming is True
     assert config.streaming_max_chars == 16000
+    assert config.send_tool_hints is True
     assert config.dm.enabled is True
     assert config.dm.policy == "open"
     assert config.reply_in_thread is True
@@ -131,6 +132,7 @@ def test_config_camelcase_aliases():
         "allowFromMatchMode": "username",
         "streamingMaxChars": 8000,
         "replyInThread": False,
+        "sendToolHints": False,
     }
     config = MattermostConfig.model_validate(raw)
     assert config.server_url == "https://mm.example.com"
@@ -138,11 +140,13 @@ def test_config_camelcase_aliases():
     assert config.allow_from_match_mode == "username"
     assert config.streaming_max_chars == 8000
     assert config.reply_in_thread is False
+    assert config.send_tool_hints is False
 
 
 def test_config_default_config_classmethod():
     d = MattermostChannel.default_config()
     assert d["enabled"] is False
+    assert d["sendToolHints"] is True
     assert d["serverUrl"] == ""
     assert d["token"] == ""
 
diff --git a/nanobot/config/schema.py b/nanobot/config/schema.py
index fef6c261..8d264ce6 100644
--- a/nanobot/config/schema.py
+++ b/nanobot/config/schema.py
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ class ChannelsConfig(Base):
     model_config = ConfigDict(extra="allow")
 
     send_progress: bool = True  # stream agent's text progress to the channel
-    send_tool_hints: bool = False  # stream tool-call hints (e.g. read_file("…"))
+    send_tool_hints: bool = True  # stream tool-call hints (e.g. read_file("…"))
     show_reasoning: bool = True  # surface model reasoning when channel implements it
     extract_document_text: bool = True  # extract text from document attachments before sending to the model
     send_max_retries: int = Field(default=3, ge=0, le=10)  # Max delivery attempts (initial send included)
diff --git a/tests/channels/test_channel_manager_delta_coalescing.py b/tests/channels/test_channel_manager_delta_coalescing.py
index 6e03df5e..de60124e 100644
--- a/tests/channels/test_channel_manager_delta_coalescing.py
+++ b/tests/channels/test_channel_manager_delta_coalescing.py
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@ def bus():
 @pytest.fixture
 def manager(config, bus):
     manager = ChannelManager(config, bus)
-    manager.channels["mock"] = MockChannel({}, bus)
+    manager.channels["mock"] = manager._build_channel("mock", MockChannel, {})
     return manager
 
 
@@ -284,14 +284,17 @@ class TestProgressFiltering:
 
     def test_progress_visibility_uses_global_defaults(self, manager):
         assert manager._should_send_progress("mock", tool_hint=False) is True
-        assert manager._should_send_progress("mock", tool_hint=True) is False
+        assert manager._should_send_progress("mock", tool_hint=True) is True
 
-    def test_progress_visibility_uses_channel_overrides(self, manager):
-        manager.channels["mock"].send_progress = False
-        manager.channels["mock"].send_tool_hints = True
+    def test_progress_visibility_uses_channel_overrides(self, manager, bus):
+        manager.channels["mock"] = manager._build_channel(
+            "mock",
+            MockChannel,
+            {"sendProgress": False, "sendToolHints": False},
+        )
 
         assert manager._should_send_progress("mock", tool_hint=False) is False
-        assert manager._should_send_progress("mock", tool_hint=True) is True
+        assert manager._should_send_progress("mock", tool_hint=True) is False
 
     def test_progress_visibility_returns_false_for_missing_channel(self, manager):
         assert manager._should_send_progress("nonexistent", tool_hint=False) is False
diff --git a/tests/channels/test_channel_plugins.py b/tests/channels/test_channel_plugins.py
index 8399242f..50ff6905 100644
--- a/tests/channels/test_channel_plugins.py
+++ b/tests/channels/test_channel_plugins.py
@@ -269,9 +269,12 @@ def test_channels_config_has_no_per_channel_fields():
     cfg = ChannelsConfig()
     assert not hasattr(cfg, "telegram")
     assert cfg.send_progress is True
-    assert cfg.send_tool_hints is False
+    assert cfg.send_tool_hints is True
     assert cfg.extract_document_text is True
 
+    opted_out = ChannelsConfig.model_validate({"sendToolHints": False})
+    assert opted_out.send_tool_hints is False
+
 
 def test_channels_config_extract_document_text_accepts_camel_alias():
     cfg = ChannelsConfig.model_validate({"extractDocumentText": False})