diff --git a/src/argv.test.ts b/src/argv.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..37b86e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/argv.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+import { detectInitInvocation, firstOperand } from './argv.js';
+
+const argv = (...args: string[]): string[] => ['/node', '/bitrefill', ...args];
+
+describe('firstOperand', () => {
+    it('returns the first non-option token', () => {
+        expect(firstOperand(argv('--json', 'search-products'))).toBe(
+            'search-products'
+        );
+    });
+
+    it('returns undefined when there is no operand', () => {
+        expect(firstOperand(argv('--json'))).toBeUndefined();
+        expect(firstOperand(argv())).toBeUndefined();
+    });
+});
+
+describe('detectInitInvocation', () => {
+    it('detects the init subcommand', () => {
+        expect(detectInitInvocation(argv('init')).isInit).toBe(true);
+        expect(detectInitInvocation(argv('init', '--openclaw')).isInit).toBe(
+            true
+        );
+        expect(detectInitInvocation(argv('--json', 'init')).isInit).toBe(true);
+    });
+
+    it('reports --help and -h on the init subcommand', () => {
+        expect(detectInitInvocation(argv('init', '--help'))).toEqual({
+            isInit: true,
+            hasHelp: true,
+        });
+        expect(detectInitInvocation(argv('init', '-h'))).toEqual({
+            isInit: true,
+            hasHelp: true,
+        });
+        expect(detectInitInvocation(argv('init')).hasHelp).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('does not treat an option value of "init" as the subcommand', () => {
+        expect(
+            detectInitInvocation(argv('search-products', '--query', 'init'))
+                .isInit
+        ).toBe(false);
+        expect(
+            detectInitInvocation(argv('llm-context', '-o', 'init')).isInit
+        ).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('leaves `help init` to the help command', () => {
+        expect(detectInitInvocation(argv('help', 'init')).isInit).toBe(false);
+    });
+
+    it('returns false without arguments', () => {
+        expect(detectInitInvocation(argv()).isInit).toBe(false);
+    });
+});
diff --git a/src/argv.ts b/src/argv.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0d02870
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/argv.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+/**
+ * Subcommand detection for the pre-connect dispatch in `index.ts`, kept here
+ * so it can be unit tested without importing the CLI entry point.
+ */
+export interface InitInvocation {
+    isInit: boolean;
+    hasHelp: boolean;
+}
+
+/** The subcommand is the first operand; an option value is never one. */
+export function firstOperand(argv: readonly string[]): string | undefined {
+    return argv.slice(2).find((arg) => !arg.startsWith('-'));
+}
+
+export function detectInitInvocation(argv: readonly string[]): InitInvocation {
+    const args = argv.slice(2);
+    return {
+        isInit: firstOperand(argv) === 'init',
+        hasHelp: args.includes('--help') || args.includes('-h'),
+    };
+}
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index 8a5b0d0..368212f 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ import { buildOptionsForTool, parseToolArgs } from './tools.js';
 import { generateLlmContextMarkdown } from './llm-context.js';
 import { buildManifest } from './manifest.js';
 import { runInit } from './init.js';
+import { detectInitInvocation } from './argv.js';
 import { BASE_MCP_URL, IS_DEFAULT_BASE_MCP_URL } from './config.js';
 
 import { VERSION } from './version.js';
@@ -248,13 +249,6 @@ Options:
   --openclaw          Force OpenClaw integration even if not auto-detected
   -h, --help          Display help for command`;
 
-function detectInitInvocation(): { isInit: boolean; hasHelp: boolean } {
-    const isInit = process.argv.some((arg, i) => arg === 'init' && i >= 2);
-    const hasHelp =
-        process.argv.includes('--help') || process.argv.includes('-h');
-    return { isInit, hasHelp };
-}
-
 async function handleInit(): Promise<void> {
     const formatter = createOutputFormatter(resolveJsonMode());
     try {
@@ -484,7 +478,7 @@ function getClientId(serverUrl: string): string | undefined {
 // --- Main ---
 
 async function main(): Promise<void> {
-    const init = detectInitInvocation();
+    const init = detectInitInvocation(process.argv);
     if (init.isInit && init.hasHelp) {
         console.log(INIT_HELP);
         return;