diff --git a/tools/server/server-tools.cpp b/tools/server/server-tools.cpp
index 81e360de46..5078d92e73 100644
--- a/tools/server/server-tools.cpp
+++ b/tools/server/server-tools.cpp
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 #include <atomic>
 #include <cstring>
 #include <climits>
+#include <algorithm>
 
 namespace fs = std::filesystem;
 
@@ -714,6 +715,24 @@ void server_tools::setup(const std::vector<std::string> & enabled_tools) {
         std::unordered_set<std::string> enabled_set(enabled_tools.begin(), enabled_tools.end());
         auto all_tools = build_tools();
 
+        // collect all known tool names for validation
+        std::vector<std::string> known_names;
+        known_names.reserve(all_tools.size());
+        for (const auto & t : all_tools) {
+            known_names.push_back(t->name);
+        }
+
+        // validate that every requested tool is known
+        for (const auto & name : enabled_tools) {
+            if (name == "all") continue;
+            if (std::find(known_names.begin(), known_names.end(), name) == known_names.end()) {
+                throw std::runtime_error(string_format(
+                    "unknown tool \"%s\". available tools: %s",
+                    name.c_str(),
+                    string_join(known_names, ", ").c_str()));
+            }
+        }
+
         tools.clear();
         for (auto & t : all_tools) {
             if (enabled_set.count(t->name) > 0 || enabled_set.count("all") > 0) {
diff --git a/tools/server/server.cpp b/tools/server/server.cpp
index 6566949edf..0508f79d73 100644
--- a/tools/server/server.cpp
+++ b/tools/server/server.cpp
@@ -215,7 +215,12 @@ int main(int argc, char ** argv) {
     }
     // EXPERIMENTAL built-in tools
     if (!params.server_tools.empty()) {
-        tools.setup(params.server_tools);
+        try {
+            tools.setup(params.server_tools);
+        } catch (const std::exception & e) {
+            LOG_ERR("%s: tools setup failed: %s\n", __func__, e.what());
+            return 1;
+        }
         SRV_WRN("%s", "-----------------\n");
         SRV_WRN("%s", "Built-in tools are enabled, do not expose server to untrusted environments\n");
         SRV_WRN("%s", "This feature is EXPERIMENTAL and may be changed in the future\n");