diff --git a/src/eval/discovery-harness.ts b/src/eval/discovery-harness.ts
index 8ca2aa9..5b86677 100644
--- a/src/eval/discovery-harness.ts
+++ b/src/eval/discovery-harness.ts
@@ -429,6 +429,9 @@ export async function evaluateDiscoveryFixture({
 
   for (const task of fixture.tasks) {
     const runner = runners[task.surface];
+    if (!runner) {
+      throw new Error(`No runner registered for surface: ${task.surface}`);
+    }
     const payload = await runner(task, rootPath);
     results.push(evaluateDiscoveryTask(task, payload));
   }
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index 9ae677d..48b53c6 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -1748,8 +1748,7 @@ async function main() {
   const transport = new StdioServerTransport();
   await server.connect(transport);
 
-  // Register cleanup before any handler that calls process.exit(), so the
-  // exit listener is always in place when stdin/onclose/signals fire.
+  // ── Cleanup guards (normal MCP lifecycle) ──────────────────────────────────
   const stopAllWatchers = () => {
     for (const project of getAllProjects()) {
       project.stopWatcher?.();
@@ -1770,27 +1769,58 @@ async function main() {
     process.exit(0);
   });
 
-  // Detect stdin pipe closure — the primary signal that the MCP client is gone.
-  // StdioServerTransport only listens for 'data'/'error', never 'end'.
   process.stdin.on('end', () => process.exit(0));
   process.stdin.on('close', () => process.exit(0));
-
-  // Handle graceful MCP protocol-level disconnect.
-  // Fires after SDK internal cleanup when transport.close() is called.
   server.onclose = () => process.exit(0);
 
-  if (process.env.CODEBASE_CONTEXT_DEBUG) console.error('[DEBUG] Server ready');
+  // ── Zombie process prevention ──────────────────────────────────────────────
+  // If no MCP client sends an `initialize` message within 30 seconds, this
+  // process was started incorrectly (e.g. `npx codebase-context <path>` from
+  // a shell or AI agent without a subcommand). Exit cleanly to avoid a zombie.
+  const HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT_MS =
+    Number.parseInt(process.env.CODEBASE_CONTEXT_HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT_MS ?? '', 10) || 30_000;
+  let mcpClientInitialized = false;
+
+  const handshakeTimer = setTimeout(() => {
+    if (!mcpClientInitialized) {
+      console.error(
+        'No MCP client connected within ' +
+          Math.round(HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT_MS / 1000) +
+          's - exiting.\n' +
+          'If you meant to use CLI commands:\n' +
+          '  npx codebase-context memory list\n' +
+          '  npx codebase-context search --query "..."\n' +
+          '  npx codebase-context --help'
+      );
+      process.exit(1);
+    }
+  }, HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT_MS);
+  handshakeTimer.unref();
 
-  await refreshKnownRootsFromClient();
+  // ── Deferred project initialization ────────────────────────────────────────
+  // Don't start CPU-heavy indexing or file-watchers until the MCP handshake
+  // completes. A misfire (no real client) consumes near-zero resources during
+  // the timeout window and exits cleanly.
+  server.oninitialized = async () => {
+    mcpClientInitialized = true;
+    clearTimeout(handshakeTimer);
 
-  // Keep the current single-project auto-select behavior when exactly one startup project is known.
-  const startupRoots = getKnownRootPaths();
-  if (startupRoots.length === 1) {
-    await initProject(startupRoots[0], watcherDebounceMs, { enableWatcher: true });
-    setActiveProject(startupRoots[0]);
-  }
+    if (process.env.CODEBASE_CONTEXT_DEBUG) console.error('[DEBUG] Server ready');
+
+    try {
+      await refreshKnownRootsFromClient();
+
+      const startupRoots = getKnownRootPaths();
+      if (startupRoots.length === 1) {
+        await initProject(startupRoots[0], watcherDebounceMs, { enableWatcher: true });
+        setActiveProject(startupRoots[0]);
+      }
+    } catch (error) {
+      console.error('[codebase-context] Project initialization failed:', error);
+    }
+  };
 
-  // Subscribe to root changes
+  // Subscribe to root changes (lightweight — no project init cost)
   server.setNotificationHandler(RootsListChangedNotificationSchema, async () => {
     try {
       await refreshKnownRootsFromClient();
diff --git a/tests/zombie-guard.test.ts b/tests/zombie-guard.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..7e755f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/zombie-guard.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,122 @@
+/**
+ * Integration tests for zombie process prevention.
+ *
+ * These tests verify that the MCP server exits cleanly when no client connects
+ * (handshake timeout) and that project initialization is deferred until after
+ * the MCP handshake completes.
+ *
+ * The tests spawn real child processes to exercise the actual startup path.
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll } from 'vitest';
+import { spawn } from 'node:child_process';
+import { existsSync } from 'node:fs';
+import path from 'node:path';
+import os from 'node:os';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
+
+const __dirname = path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+const ENTRY_POINT = path.resolve(__dirname, '..', 'dist', 'index.js');
+
+/**
+ * Spawn the MCP server as a child process and wait for it to exit.
+ * Returns { code, stderr, elapsed } where elapsed is in milliseconds.
+ */
+function spawnServer(
+  args: string[],
+  env: Record<string, string> = {},
+  timeoutMs = 45_000
+): Promise<{ code: number | null; signal: string | null; stderr: string; elapsed: number }> {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const start = Date.now();
+    let stderr = '';
+
+    const child = spawn(process.execPath, [ENTRY_POINT, ...args], {
+      stdio: ['pipe', 'pipe', 'pipe'],
+      env: { ...process.env, ...env },
+      timeout: timeoutMs
+    });
+
+    child.stderr?.on('data', (chunk: Buffer) => {
+      stderr += chunk.toString();
+    });
+
+    child.on('error', reject);
+    child.on('close', (code, signal) => {
+      resolve({ code, signal, stderr, elapsed: Date.now() - start });
+    });
+
+    // Don't write anything to stdin — simulate the zombie scenario
+    // where no MCP client sends an `initialize` message.
+  });
+}
+
+describe('zombie process prevention', () => {
+  beforeAll(() => {
+    if (!existsSync(ENTRY_POINT)) {
+      throw new Error(
+        `dist/index.js not found - run \`npm run build\` before the zombie-guard tests.`
+      );
+    }
+  });
+
+  it('exits with code 1 when no MCP client connects within timeout', async () => {
+    // Use a short timeout for the test (2 seconds instead of the default 30).
+    // Use os.tmpdir() as a real existing directory so path validation passes —
+    // this tests the realistic scenario where a valid path IS provided but no
+    // MCP client connects (which is exactly the Codex zombie scenario).
+    const result = await spawnServer(
+      [os.tmpdir()],
+      { CODEBASE_CONTEXT_HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT_MS: '2000' }
+    );
+
+    expect(result.code).toBe(1);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain('No MCP client connected within');
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain('npx codebase-context --help');
+    // Should exit roughly around the timeout (2s), not hang forever
+    expect(result.elapsed).toBeLessThan(10_000);
+  }, 15_000);
+
+  it('exits with code 1 even when invoked with no arguments at all', async () => {
+    const result = await spawnServer(
+      [],
+      { CODEBASE_CONTEXT_HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT_MS: '2000' }
+    );
+
+    expect(result.code).toBe(1);
+    expect(result.stderr).toContain('No MCP client connected within');
+    expect(result.elapsed).toBeLessThan(10_000);
+  }, 15_000);
+
+  it('does not start indexing or file watchers before handshake', async () => {
+    // With DEBUG on, the server logs "[DEBUG] Server ready" inside oninitialized.
+    // Since no client ever connects, that log must never appear.
+    // Use os.tmpdir() so path validation passes before the handshake timer runs.
+    const result = await spawnServer(
+      [os.tmpdir()],
+      {
+        CODEBASE_CONTEXT_HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT_MS: '2000',
+        CODEBASE_CONTEXT_DEBUG: '1'
+      }
+    );
+
+    expect(result.code).toBe(1);
+    // "[DEBUG] Server ready" is printed inside oninitialized — should NOT appear
+    // because no client ever sends `initialize`.
+    expect(result.stderr).not.toContain('[DEBUG] Server ready');
+  }, 15_000);
+
+  it('respects custom timeout via environment variable', async () => {
+    const start = Date.now();
+    const result = await spawnServer(
+      [],
+      { CODEBASE_CONTEXT_HANDSHAKE_TIMEOUT_MS: '1000' }
+    );
+    const elapsed = Date.now() - start;
+
+    expect(result.code).toBe(1);
+    // Should exit around 1 second, definitely under 5
+    expect(elapsed).toBeGreaterThan(800);
+    expect(elapsed).toBeLessThan(5_000);
+  }, 10_000);
+});