diff --git a/src/vs/base/common/fuzzyScorer.ts b/src/vs/base/common/fuzzyScorer.ts
index d11929f7aae..65f94a78032 100644
--- a/src/vs/base/common/fuzzyScorer.ts
+++ b/src/vs/base/common/fuzzyScorer.ts
@@ -322,7 +322,7 @@ function doScoreFuzzy2Multiple(target: string, query: IPreparedQueryPiece[], pat
 }
 
 function doScoreFuzzy2Single(target: string, query: IPreparedQueryPiece, patternStart: number, wordStart: number): FuzzyScore2 {
-	const score = fuzzyScore(query.original, query.originalLowercase, patternStart, target, target.toLowerCase(), wordStart, { firstMatchCanBeWeak: true, boostFullMatch: true });
+	const score = fuzzyScore(query.normalized, query.normalizedLowercase, patternStart, target, target.toLowerCase(), wordStart, { firstMatchCanBeWeak: true, boostFullMatch: true });
 	if (!score) {
 		return NO_SCORE2;
 	}
@@ -811,7 +811,7 @@ export interface IPreparedQueryPiece {
 
 	/**
 	 * In addition to the normalized path, will have
-	 * whitespace and wildcards removed.
+	 * whitespace, wildcards, quotes, ellipsis, and trailing hash characters removed.
 	 */
 	normalized: string;
 	normalizedLowercase: string;
@@ -905,7 +905,8 @@ function normalizeQuery(original: string): { pathNormalized: string; normalized:
 	// - wildcards: are used for fuzzy matching
 	// - whitespace: are used to separate queries
 	// - ellipsis: sometimes used to indicate any path segments
-	const normalized = pathNormalized.replace(/[\*\u2026\s"]/g, '');
+	// - trailing hash: used by some language servers (e.g. rust-analyzer) as query modifiers
+	const normalized = pathNormalized.replace(/[\*\u2026\s"]/g, '').replace(/(?<=.)#$/, '');
 
 	return {
 		pathNormalized,
diff --git a/src/vs/base/test/common/fuzzyScorer.test.ts b/src/vs/base/test/common/fuzzyScorer.test.ts
index 81a3773baa7..f120298e22b 100644
--- a/src/vs/base/test/common/fuzzyScorer.test.ts
+++ b/src/vs/base/test/common/fuzzyScorer.test.ts
@@ -1141,6 +1141,10 @@ suite('Fuzzy Scorer', () => {
 	test('prepareQuery', () => {
 		assert.strictEqual(prepareQuery(' f*a ').normalized, 'fa');
 		assert.strictEqual(prepareQuery(' f…a ').normalized, 'fa');
+		assert.strictEqual(prepareQuery('main#').normalized, 'main');
+		assert.strictEqual(prepareQuery('main#').original, 'main#');
+		assert.strictEqual(prepareQuery('foo*').normalized, 'foo');
+		assert.strictEqual(prepareQuery('foo*').original, 'foo*');
 		assert.strictEqual(prepareQuery('model Tester.ts').original, 'model Tester.ts');
 		assert.strictEqual(prepareQuery('model Tester.ts').originalLowercase, 'model Tester.ts'.toLowerCase());
 		assert.strictEqual(prepareQuery('model Tester.ts').normalized, 'modelTester.ts');
@@ -1295,5 +1299,59 @@ suite('Fuzzy Scorer', () => {
 		assert.strictEqual(score[1][1], 8);
 	});
 
+	test('Workspace symbol search with special characters (#, *)', function () {
+		// Simulates the scenario from the issue where rust-analyzer uses # and * as query modifiers
+		// The original query (with special chars) should reach the language server
+		// but normalized query (without special chars) should be used for fuzzy matching
+
+		// Test #: User types "main#", language server returns "main" symbol
+		let query = prepareQuery('main#');
+		assert.strictEqual(query.original, 'main#'); // Sent to language server
+		assert.strictEqual(query.normalized, 'main'); // Used for fuzzy matching
+		let [score, matches] = _doScore2('main', 'main#');
+		assert.ok(typeof score === 'number' && score > 0, 'Should match "main" symbol when query is "main#"');
+		assert.ok(matches.length > 0);
+
+		// Test *: User types "foo*", language server returns "foo" symbol
+		query = prepareQuery('foo*');
+		assert.strictEqual(query.original, 'foo*'); // Sent to language server
+		assert.strictEqual(query.normalized, 'foo'); // Used for fuzzy matching
+		[score, matches] = _doScore2('foo', 'foo*');
+		assert.ok(typeof score === 'number' && score > 0, 'Should match "foo" symbol when query is "foo*"');
+		assert.ok(matches.length > 0);
+
+		// Test both: User types "MyClass#*", should match "MyClass"
+		query = prepareQuery('MyClass#*');
+		assert.strictEqual(query.original, 'MyClass#*');
+		assert.strictEqual(query.normalized, 'MyClass');
+		[score, matches] = _doScore2('MyClass', 'MyClass#*');
+		assert.ok(typeof score === 'number' && score > 0, 'Should match "MyClass" symbol when query is "MyClass#*"');
+		assert.ok(matches.length > 0);
+
+		// Test fuzzy matching still works: User types "MC#", should match "MyClass"
+		query = prepareQuery('MC#');
+		assert.strictEqual(query.original, 'MC#');
+		assert.strictEqual(query.normalized, 'MC');
+		[score, matches] = _doScore2('MyClass', 'MC#');
+		assert.ok(typeof score === 'number' && score > 0, 'Should fuzzy match "MyClass" symbol when query is "MC#"');
+		assert.ok(matches.length > 0);
+
+		// Make sure leading # or # in the middle are not removed.
+		query = prepareQuery('#SpecialFunction');
+		assert.strictEqual(query.original, '#SpecialFunction');
+		assert.strictEqual(query.normalized, '#SpecialFunction');
+		[score, matches] = _doScore2('#SpecialFunction', '#SpecialFunction');
+		assert.ok(typeof score === 'number' && score > 0, 'Should match "#SpecialFunction" symbol when query is "#SpecialFunction"');
+		assert.ok(matches.length > 0);
+
+		// Make sure standalone # is not removed
+		query = prepareQuery('#');
+		assert.strictEqual(query.original, '#');
+		assert.strictEqual(query.normalized, '#', 'Standalone # should not be removed');
+		[score, matches] = _doScore2('#', '#');
+		assert.ok(typeof score === 'number' && score > 0, 'Should match "#" symbol when query is "#"');
+		assert.ok(matches.length > 0);
+	});
+
 	ensureNoDisposablesAreLeakedInTestSuite();
 });
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/terminal/browser/chatTerminalCommandMirror.ts b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/terminal/browser/chatTerminalCommandMirror.ts
index 9f8048c1a6f..4b91cd3f2d7 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/terminal/browser/chatTerminalCommandMirror.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/terminal/browser/chatTerminalCommandMirror.ts
@@ -175,8 +175,6 @@ export class DetachedTerminalCommandMirror extends DetachedTerminalMirror implem
 			return { lineCount: 0 };
 		}
 		const detached = await this._getTerminal();
-		detached.xterm.clearBuffer();
-		detached.xterm.clearSearchDecorations?.();
 		await new Promise<void>(resolve => {
 			detached.xterm.write(vt.text, () => resolve());
 		});
@@ -238,8 +236,6 @@ export class DetachedTerminalSnapshotMirror extends DetachedTerminalMirror {
 			return { lineCount: this._lastRenderedLineCount ?? output.lineCount };
 		}
 		const terminal = await this._getTerminal();
-		terminal.xterm.clearBuffer();
-		terminal.xterm.clearSearchDecorations?.();
 		if (this._container) {
 			this._applyTheme(this._container);
 		}