diff --git a/internal/mcp/connect_timeout_test.go b/internal/mcp/connect_timeout_test.go
index c5509353..7e313ac9 100644
--- a/internal/mcp/connect_timeout_test.go
+++ b/internal/mcp/connect_timeout_test.go
@@ -98,3 +98,37 @@ func TestDefaultConnectTimeout_Value(t *testing.T) {
 	assert.Equal(t, 30*time.Second, defaultConnectTimeout,
 		"defaultConnectTimeout must remain 30 s to stay in sync with config.DefaultConnectTimeout")
 }
+
+func TestNormalizeConnectTimeout(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Parallel()
+
+	testCases := []struct {
+		name     string
+		input    time.Duration
+		expected time.Duration
+	}{
+		{
+			name:     "zero input uses default",
+			input:    0,
+			expected: defaultConnectTimeout,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "negative input uses default",
+			input:    -1 * time.Second,
+			expected: defaultConnectTimeout,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "positive input is unchanged",
+			input:    15 * time.Second,
+			expected: 15 * time.Second,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tc := range testCases {
+		tc := tc
+		t.Run(tc.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			t.Parallel()
+			assert.Equal(t, tc.expected, normalizeConnectTimeout(tc.input))
+		})
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/mcp/connection.go b/internal/mcp/connection.go
index 8ff4b35a..05953f8a 100644
--- a/internal/mcp/connection.go
+++ b/internal/mcp/connection.go
@@ -29,6 +29,15 @@ var logConn = logger.New("mcp:connection")
 // Kept in sync with config.DefaultConnectTimeout (30 s) to avoid importing the config package.
 const defaultConnectTimeout = 30 * time.Second
 
+// normalizeConnectTimeout returns defaultConnectTimeout when the input timeout is
+// non-positive, otherwise it returns the input timeout unchanged.
+func normalizeConnectTimeout(timeout time.Duration) time.Duration {
+	if timeout <= 0 {
+		return defaultConnectTimeout
+	}
+	return timeout
+}
+
 // ContextKey for session ID
 type ContextKey string
 
@@ -203,9 +212,7 @@ func NewConnection(ctx context.Context, serverID, command string, args []string,
 // This ensures compatibility with all types of HTTP MCP servers.
 func NewHTTPConnection(ctx context.Context, serverID, url string, headers map[string]string, oidcProvider *oidc.Provider, oidcAudience string, keepAlive time.Duration, connectTimeout time.Duration) (*Connection, error) {
 	// Apply default connect timeout when not specified
-	if connectTimeout <= 0 {
-		connectTimeout = defaultConnectTimeout
-	}
+	connectTimeout = normalizeConnectTimeout(connectTimeout)
 	logger.LogInfo("backend", "Creating HTTP MCP connection with transport fallback, url=%s, connectTimeout=%v", url, connectTimeout)
 	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(ctx)
 
@@ -383,10 +390,7 @@ func (c *Connection) reconnectSDKTransport() error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("cannot reconnect: unsupported transport type %s", c.httpTransportType)
 	}
 
-	timeout := c.connectTimeout
-	if timeout <= 0 {
-		timeout = defaultConnectTimeout
-	}
+	timeout := normalizeConnectTimeout(c.connectTimeout)
 	connectCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(c.ctx, timeout)
 	defer cancel()
 
@@ -468,29 +472,15 @@ func (c *Connection) SendRequestWithServerID(ctx context.Context, method string,
 		// For plain JSON-RPC transport, use manual HTTP requests
 		if c.httpTransportType == HTTPTransportPlainJSON {
 			result, err = c.sendHTTPRequest(ctx, method, params)
-			// Log the response from backend server
-			var responsePayload []byte
-			if result != nil {
-				responsePayload, _ = json.Marshal(result)
-			}
-			logInboundRPCResponse(serverID, responsePayload, err, shouldAttachAgentTags, snapshot)
-			return result, err
-		}
-
-		// For streamable and SSE transports, use SDK session methods
-		result, err = c.callSDKMethodWithReconnect(method, params)
-		// Log the response from backend server
-		var responsePayload []byte
-		if result != nil {
-			responsePayload, _ = json.Marshal(result)
+		} else {
+			// For streamable and SSE transports, use SDK session methods
+			result, err = c.callSDKMethodWithReconnect(method, params)
 		}
-		logInboundRPCResponse(serverID, responsePayload, err, shouldAttachAgentTags, snapshot)
-		return result, err
+	} else {
+		// Handle stdio connections using SDK client
+		result, err = c.callSDKMethod(method, params)
 	}
 
-	// Handle stdio connections using SDK client
-	result, err = c.callSDKMethod(method, params)
-
 	// Log the response from backend server
 	var responsePayload []byte
 	if result != nil {