diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index cafe249c..bbe65807 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -75,6 +75,10 @@ dev = [
 [tool.pytest.ini_options]
 asyncio_mode = "auto"
 asyncio_default_fixture_loop_scope = "function"
+# Integration tests spin up real external MCP servers (e.g. `uvx
+# mcp-server-sqlite`) and are deselected by default so the standard test run
+# stays hermetic and green. Run them explicitly with `pytest -m integration`.
+addopts = "-m 'not integration'"
 markers = [
     "integration: end-to-end tests requiring external MCP servers",
 ]
diff --git a/server_config.json b/server_config.json
index 1b841920..0366a4a3 100644
--- a/server_config.json
+++ b/server_config.json
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   "mcpServers": {
     "sqlite": {
       "command": "uvx",
-      "args": ["mcp-server-sqlite", "--db-path", "test.db"]
+      "args": ["--with", "mcp<2", "mcp-server-sqlite", "--db-path", "test.db"]
     },
     "echo": {
       "command": "uvx",
diff --git a/tests/integration/conftest.py b/tests/integration/conftest.py
index 1a59cc8b..73920a82 100644
--- a/tests/integration/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/integration/conftest.py
@@ -27,8 +27,15 @@ async def tool_manager_sqlite(tmp_path):
         initialization_timeout=30.0,
     )
     ok = await tm.initialize()
-    if not ok:
-        pytest.skip("Could not initialize sqlite server (not available)")
+    # ToolManager.initialize() can report success even when the external server
+    # failed to start (e.g. `uvx mcp-server-sqlite` is unavailable or resolves a
+    # version incompatible with the installed MCP SDK), leaving zero tools
+    # discovered. Skip rather than fail so a broken/missing external server can
+    # never turn a hermetic run red.
+    tools = await tm.get_unique_tools() if ok else []
+    if not ok or not tools:
+        await tm.close()
+        pytest.skip("sqlite MCP server unavailable (no tools discovered)")
     try:
         yield tm
     finally: