diff --git a/cmd/mcpcurl/main.go b/cmd/mcpcurl/main.go
index f35e6926c..0dad1ea1a 100644
--- a/cmd/mcpcurl/main.go
+++ b/cmd/mcpcurl/main.go
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 package main
 
 import (
-	"bytes"
+	"bufio"
 	"crypto/rand"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
@@ -376,8 +376,8 @@ func buildJSONRPCRequest(method, toolName string, arguments map[string]any) (str
 	return string(jsonData), nil
 }
 
-// executeServerCommand runs the specified command, sends the JSON request to stdin,
-// and returns the response from stdout
+// executeServerCommand runs the specified command, performs the MCP initialization
+// handshake, sends the JSON request to stdin, and returns the response from stdout.
 func executeServerCommand(cmdStr, jsonRequest string) (string, error) {
 	// Split the command string into command and arguments
 	cmdParts := strings.Fields(cmdStr)
@@ -393,9 +393,14 @@ func executeServerCommand(cmdStr, jsonRequest string) (string, error) {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to create stdin pipe: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	// Setup stdout and stderr pipes
-	var stdout, stderr bytes.Buffer
-	cmd.Stdout = &stdout
+	// Setup stdout pipe for line-by-line reading
+	stdoutPipe, err := cmd.StdoutPipe()
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to create stdout pipe: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Stderr still uses a buffer
+	var stderr strings.Builder
 	cmd.Stderr = &stderr
 
 	// Start the command
@@ -403,18 +408,112 @@ func executeServerCommand(cmdStr, jsonRequest string) (string, error) {
 		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to start command: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	// Write the JSON request to stdin
+	// Ensure the child process is cleaned up on any error after Start()
+	cleanup := func() {
+		_ = stdin.Close()
+		_ = cmd.Wait()
+	}
+
+	// Use a scanner with a large buffer for reading JSON-RPC responses
+	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(stdoutPipe)
+	scanner.Buffer(make([]byte, 0, 1024*1024), 1024*1024) // 1MB max line size
+
+	// Step 1: Send MCP initialize request
+	initReq, err := buildInitializeRequest()
+	if err != nil {
+		cleanup()
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to build initialize request: %w", err)
+	}
+	if _, err := io.WriteString(stdin, initReq+"\n"); err != nil {
+		cleanup()
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to write initialize request: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Step 2: Read initialize response (skip any server notifications)
+	if _, err := readJSONRPCResponse(scanner); err != nil {
+		cleanup()
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to read initialize response: %w, stderr: %s", err, stderr.String())
+	}
+
+	// Step 3: Send initialized notification
+	if _, err := io.WriteString(stdin, buildInitializedNotification()+"\n"); err != nil {
+		cleanup()
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to write initialized notification: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// Step 4: Send the actual request
 	if _, err := io.WriteString(stdin, jsonRequest+"\n"); err != nil {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to write to stdin: %w", err)
+		cleanup()
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to write request: %w", err)
 	}
-	_ = stdin.Close()
 
-	// Wait for the command to complete
-	if err := cmd.Wait(); err != nil {
-		return "", fmt.Errorf("command failed: %w, stderr: %s", err, stderr.String())
+	// Step 5: Read the actual response (skip any server notifications)
+	response, err := readJSONRPCResponse(scanner)
+	if err != nil {
+		cleanup()
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to read response: %w, stderr: %s", err, stderr.String())
 	}
 
-	return stdout.String(), nil
+	// Close stdin and wait for process to exit. The server will see EOF and
+	// exit with a non-zero status, which is expected — we already have the response.
+	cleanup()
+
+	return response, nil
+}
+
+// buildInitializeRequest creates the MCP initialize handshake request.
+func buildInitializeRequest() (string, error) {
+	id, err := rand.Int(rand.Reader, big.NewInt(10000))
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to generate random ID: %w", err)
+	}
+	msg := map[string]any{
+		"jsonrpc": "2.0",
+		"id":      int(id.Int64()),
+		"method":  "initialize",
+		"params": map[string]any{
+			"protocolVersion": "2024-11-05",
+			"capabilities":    map[string]any{},
+			"clientInfo": map[string]any{
+				"name":    "mcpcurl",
+				"version": "0.1.0",
+			},
+		},
+	}
+	data, err := json.Marshal(msg)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to marshal initialize request: %w", err)
+	}
+	return string(data), nil
+}
+
+// buildInitializedNotification creates the MCP initialized notification.
+func buildInitializedNotification() string {
+	return `{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"notifications/initialized"}`
+}
+
+// readJSONRPCResponse reads lines from the scanner, skipping server-initiated
+// notifications (messages without an "id" field), and returns the first response.
+func readJSONRPCResponse(scanner *bufio.Scanner) (string, error) {
+	for scanner.Scan() {
+		line := scanner.Text()
+		// JSON-RPC responses have an "id" field; notifications do not.
+		var msg map[string]json.RawMessage
+		if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(line), &msg); err != nil {
+			return "", fmt.Errorf("failed to parse JSON-RPC message: %w", err)
+		}
+		if _, hasID := msg["id"]; hasID {
+			if errField, hasErr := msg["error"]; hasErr {
+				return "", fmt.Errorf("server returned error: %s", string(errField))
+			}
+			return line, nil
+		}
+		// No "id" — this is a notification, skip it
+	}
+	if err := scanner.Err(); err != nil {
+		return "", err
+	}
+	return "", fmt.Errorf("unexpected end of output")
 }
 
 func printResponse(response string, prettyPrint bool) error {
diff --git a/cmd/mcpcurl/main_test.go b/cmd/mcpcurl/main_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3d0b00d2a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/mcpcurl/main_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,178 @@
+package main
+
+import (
+	"bufio"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+func TestReadJSONRPCResponse_DirectResponse(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	input := `{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"result":{"tools":[]}}` + "\n"
+	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(strings.NewReader(input))
+
+	got, err := readJSONRPCResponse(scanner)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+	if got != `{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"result":{"tools":[]}}` {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected response: %s", got)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestReadJSONRPCResponse_SkipsNotifications(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	input := strings.Join([]string{
+		`{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"notifications/resources/list_changed","params":{}}`,
+		`{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"notifications/tools/list_changed"}`,
+		`{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":42,"result":{"content":[{"type":"text","text":"hello"}]}}`,
+	}, "\n") + "\n"
+	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(strings.NewReader(input))
+
+	got, err := readJSONRPCResponse(scanner)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var msg map[string]json.RawMessage
+	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(got), &msg); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("response is not valid JSON: %v", err)
+	}
+	// Verify we got the response with id:42, not a notification
+	var id int
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(msg["id"], &id); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to parse id: %v", err)
+	}
+	if id != 42 {
+		t.Fatalf("expected id 42, got %d", id)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestReadJSONRPCResponse_NoResponse(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	// Only notifications, no response
+	input := `{"jsonrpc":"2.0","method":"notifications/resources/list_changed","params":{}}` + "\n"
+	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(strings.NewReader(input))
+
+	_, err := readJSONRPCResponse(scanner)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected error for missing response, got nil")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "unexpected end of output") {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 'unexpected end of output' error, got: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestReadJSONRPCResponse_EmptyInput(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(strings.NewReader(""))
+
+	_, err := readJSONRPCResponse(scanner)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected error for empty input, got nil")
+	}
+}
+
+func TestReadJSONRPCResponse_InvalidJSON(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	input := "not valid json\n"
+	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(strings.NewReader(input))
+
+	_, err := readJSONRPCResponse(scanner)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected error for invalid JSON, got nil")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "failed to parse JSON-RPC message") {
+		t.Fatalf("expected parse error, got: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestReadJSONRPCResponse_ServerError(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	input := `{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"error":{"code":-32601,"message":"method not found"}}` + "\n"
+	scanner := bufio.NewScanner(strings.NewReader(input))
+
+	_, err := readJSONRPCResponse(scanner)
+	if err == nil {
+		t.Fatal("expected error for server error response, got nil")
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "server returned error") {
+		t.Fatalf("expected 'server returned error', got: %v", err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(err.Error(), "method not found") {
+		t.Fatalf("expected error to contain server message, got: %v", err)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBuildInitializeRequest(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	got, err := buildInitializeRequest()
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("unexpected error: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	var msg map[string]json.RawMessage
+	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(got), &msg); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("result is not valid JSON: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Verify required fields
+	for _, field := range []string{"jsonrpc", "id", "method", "params"} {
+		if _, ok := msg[field]; !ok {
+			t.Errorf("missing required field %q", field)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Verify method
+	var method string
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(msg["method"], &method); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to parse method: %v", err)
+	}
+	if method != "initialize" {
+		t.Errorf("expected method 'initialize', got %q", method)
+	}
+
+	// Verify params contain protocolVersion and clientInfo
+	var params map[string]json.RawMessage
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(msg["params"], &params); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to parse params: %v", err)
+	}
+	for _, field := range []string{"protocolVersion", "capabilities", "clientInfo"} {
+		if _, ok := params[field]; !ok {
+			t.Errorf("missing params field %q", field)
+		}
+	}
+
+	var version string
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(params["protocolVersion"], &version); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to parse protocolVersion: %v", err)
+	}
+	if version != "2024-11-05" {
+		t.Errorf("expected protocolVersion '2024-11-05', got %q", version)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestBuildInitializedNotification(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+	got := buildInitializedNotification()
+
+	var msg map[string]json.RawMessage
+	if err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(got), &msg); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("result is not valid JSON: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// Must have jsonrpc and method
+	var method string
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(msg["method"], &method); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("failed to parse method: %v", err)
+	}
+	if method != "notifications/initialized" {
+		t.Errorf("expected method 'notifications/initialized', got %q", method)
+	}
+
+	// Must NOT have an id (it's a notification)
+	if _, hasID := msg["id"]; hasID {
+		t.Error("notification should not have an 'id' field")
+	}
+}