diff --git a/src/contextseek/mcp/server.py b/src/contextseek/mcp/server.py
index a43210e..c68ef5a 100644
--- a/src/contextseek/mcp/server.py
+++ b/src/contextseek/mcp/server.py
@@ -15,6 +15,11 @@ class ContextSeekMCPServer:
 
     client: ContextSeek
 
+    @classmethod
+    def with_default_client(cls) -> "ContextSeekMCPServer":
+        """Create a server backed by the default ContextSeek settings."""
+        return cls(client=ContextSeek.from_settings())
+
     def list_tools(self) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
         """Return MCP tool definitions."""
         return [
diff --git a/tests/unit_tests/test_mcp_runtime.py b/tests/unit_tests/test_mcp_runtime.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3b5d98e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit_tests/test_mcp_runtime.py
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+"""Tests for MCP runtime/server construction."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from io import StringIO
+
+from contextseek.mcp.runtime import run_stdio_server
+from contextseek.mcp.server import ContextSeekMCPServer
+
+
+def test_mcp_server_with_default_client_builds_tools() -> None:
+    server = ContextSeekMCPServer.with_default_client()
+
+    assert isinstance(server, ContextSeekMCPServer)
+    assert any(tool["name"] == "contextseek_retrieve" for tool in server.list_tools())
+
+
+def test_stdio_server_falls_back_to_default_client_without_daemon(monkeypatch) -> None:
+    monkeypatch.setattr("contextseek.mcp.runtime._daemon_available", lambda base: False)
+    monkeypatch.setattr("sys.stdin", StringIO(""))
+    monkeypatch.setattr("sys.stdout", StringIO())
+
+    assert run_stdio_server() == 0