diff --git a/crates/kebab-mcp/src/lib.rs b/crates/kebab-mcp/src/lib.rs
index 009a1d3..1bca86b 100644
--- a/crates/kebab-mcp/src/lib.rs
+++ b/crates/kebab-mcp/src/lib.rs
@@ -96,7 +96,15 @@ impl ServerHandler for KebabHandler {
                             return Ok(error::to_tool_error(&anyhow::Error::from(e)));
                         }
                     };
-                Ok(tools::search::handle(&self.state, input))
+                let state = self.state.clone();
+                let result = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
+                    tools::search::handle(&state, input)
+                })
+                .await
+                .map_err(|e| {
+                    ErrorData::internal_error(e.to_string(), None)
+                })?;
+                Ok(result)
             }
             "ask" => {
                 let args = request.arguments.unwrap_or_default();
@@ -107,7 +115,15 @@ impl ServerHandler for KebabHandler {
                             return Ok(error::to_tool_error(&anyhow::Error::from(e)));
                         }
                     };
-                Ok(tools::ask::handle(&self.state, input))
+                let state = self.state.clone();
+                let result = tokio::task::spawn_blocking(move || {
+                    tools::ask::handle(&state, input)
+                })
+                .await
+                .map_err(|e| {
+                    ErrorData::internal_error(e.to_string(), None)
+                })?;
+                Ok(result)
             }
             _other => Err(ErrorData::method_not_found::<
                 rmcp::model::CallToolRequestMethod,
diff --git a/crates/kebab-mcp/src/tools/ask.rs b/crates/kebab-mcp/src/tools/ask.rs
index 5f6eebd..96c74f7 100644
--- a/crates/kebab-mcp/src/tools/ask.rs
+++ b/crates/kebab-mcp/src/tools/ask.rs
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 //! `ask` tool — wraps `kebab_app::ask_with_config` (single-shot) or
 //! `kebab_app::ask_with_session_with_config` when `session_id` is provided.
-//! Input: { query, session_id? }. Output: answer.v1 JSON.
+//! Input: { query, session_id?, mode? }. Output: answer.v1 JSON.
 //!
 //! `Answer` (kebab-core) does NOT carry a `schema_version` field; we tag
 //! it inline here, matching the pattern from `search.rs`.
@@ -18,18 +18,20 @@ pub struct AskInput {
     pub query: String,
     /// Optional session id for multi-turn RAG context.
     pub session_id: Option<String>,
+    /// Optional retrieval mode override ("lexical" / "vector" / "hybrid"). Default "hybrid".
+    pub mode: Option<String>,
 }
 
 pub fn handle(state: &KebabAppState, input: AskInput) -> CallToolResult {
-    // Default to Lexical mode — the MCP server is typically called by
-    // agent hosts that may not have an embedding provider configured.
-    // Hybrid/vector retrieval would hard-error when embeddings are
-    // disabled; lexical FTS is always available and covers the common
-    // RAG case well.
+    let mode = match input.mode.as_deref() {
+        Some("lexical") => kebab_core::SearchMode::Lexical,
+        Some("vector") => kebab_core::SearchMode::Vector,
+        _ => kebab_core::SearchMode::Hybrid, // default + "hybrid" + unknown
+    };
     let opts = kebab_app::AskOpts {
         k: 10,
         explain: false,
-        mode: kebab_core::SearchMode::Lexical,
+        mode,
         temperature: None,
         seed: None,
         stream_sink: None,
diff --git a/crates/kebab-mcp/tests/tools_call_ask.rs b/crates/kebab-mcp/tests/tools_call_ask.rs
index 9b40676..09657d1 100644
--- a/crates/kebab-mcp/tests/tools_call_ask.rs
+++ b/crates/kebab-mcp/tests/tools_call_ask.rs
@@ -52,6 +52,9 @@ async fn ask_tool_returns_answer_v1_with_refusal_on_empty_kb() {
             kebab_mcp::tools::ask::AskInput {
                 query: "what is the meaning of life".to_string(),
                 session_id: None,
+                // Test env uses provider="none" — Hybrid would hard-error on embedding.
+                // Pass Lexical explicitly so the test stays functional.
+                mode: Some("lexical".to_string()),
             },
         )
     })