diff --git a/internal/mcp/command_executor.go b/internal/mcp/command_executor.go
index 59db1526..029f2fd9 100644
--- a/internal/mcp/command_executor.go
+++ b/internal/mcp/command_executor.go
@@ -134,8 +134,15 @@ func (c *FlowCLIExecutor) ExecuteContext(ctx context.Context, args ...string) (s
 	}
 	output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput()
 	if err != nil {
-		// Only return an error if it's not an exit error.
-		var exitErr exec.ExitError
+		// Only return an error if it's not an exit error: a non-zero exit is a
+		// normal outcome whose detail is already in the captured output.
+		//
+		// The target must be *exec.ExitError, not exec.ExitError. ExitError's
+		// Error method has a pointer receiver, so the value type does not
+		// implement error and errors.As panics on it - which killed the tool
+		// handler's goroutine before it could reply, leaving the MCP client
+		// waiting on a request that never got a response.
+		var exitErr *exec.ExitError
 		if !errors.As(err, &exitErr) {
 			return string(output), err
 		}
diff --git a/internal/mcp/command_executor_internal_test.go b/internal/mcp/command_executor_internal_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..caf26175
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/mcp/command_executor_internal_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+package mcp
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// fakeFlowBinary writes a script that echoes to both streams and exits with the
+// given code, then points FLOW_CLI_BINARY at it so FlowCLIExecutor runs it in
+// place of the real CLI.
+func fakeFlowBinary(t *testing.T, exitCode int) {
+	t.Helper()
+	if runtime.GOOS == "windows" {
+		t.Skip("shell script stand-in is not portable to Windows")
+	}
+
+	path := filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "fake-flow")
+	script := "#!/bin/sh\necho stdout-line\necho stderr-line >&2\nexit " +
+		strings.TrimSpace(string(rune('0'+exitCode))) + "\n"
+	if err := os.WriteFile(path, []byte(script), 0700); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("writing fake binary: %v", err)
+	}
+	t.Setenv(cliBinaryEnvKey, path)
+}
+
+// A non-zero exit is a normal outcome for a flow command (a failing test, a
+// script that raises). It must come back as output with a nil error, not as a
+// panic: a panic here kills the tool handler's goroutine before it replies, and
+// the MCP client then waits on a request that never gets a response.
+func TestExecuteContext_NonZeroExitReturnsOutputNotPanic(t *testing.T) {
+	fakeFlowBinary(t, 1)
+
+	defer func() {
+		if r := recover(); r != nil {
+			t.Fatalf("ExecuteContext panicked on a non-zero exit: %v", r)
+		}
+	}()
+
+	out, err := (&FlowCLIExecutor{}).ExecuteContext(context.Background(), "anything")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Errorf("err = %v, want nil for a non-zero exit", err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(out, "stdout-line") || !strings.Contains(out, "stderr-line") {
+		t.Errorf("output = %q, want both streams captured", out)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestExecuteContext_SuccessReturnsOutput(t *testing.T) {
+	fakeFlowBinary(t, 0)
+
+	out, err := (&FlowCLIExecutor{}).ExecuteContext(context.Background(), "anything")
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("err = %v, want nil", err)
+	}
+	if !strings.Contains(out, "stdout-line") {
+		t.Errorf("output = %q, want stdout captured", out)
+	}
+}
+
+// A missing binary is a real failure, not an exit status, so it must surface as
+// an error rather than being swallowed alongside exit codes.
+func TestExecuteContext_MissingBinaryReturnsError(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Setenv(cliBinaryEnvKey, filepath.Join(t.TempDir(), "does-not-exist"))
+
+	if _, err := (&FlowCLIExecutor{}).ExecuteContext(context.Background(), "anything"); err == nil {
+		t.Error("err = nil, want an error when the binary cannot be run")
+	}
+}