diff --git a/internal/cmd/root.go b/internal/cmd/root.go
index 7319c84d..66402935 100644
--- a/internal/cmd/root.go
+++ b/internal/cmd/root.go
@@ -27,30 +27,30 @@ const (
 	// DefaultListenIPv4 is the default interface used by the HTTP server.
 	DefaultListenIPv4 = "127.0.0.1"
 	// DefaultListenPort is the default port used by the HTTP server.
-	DefaultListenPort     = "3000"
-	defaultListenAddr     = DefaultListenIPv4 + ":" + DefaultListenPort
-	defaultRoutedMode     = false
-	defaultUnifiedMode    = false
-	defaultEnvFile        = ""
-	defaultEnableDIFC     = false
-	defaultLogDir         = "/tmp/gh-aw/mcp-logs"
-	defaultParallelLaunch = true
+	DefaultListenPort       = "3000"
+	defaultListenAddr       = DefaultListenIPv4 + ":" + DefaultListenPort
+	defaultRoutedMode       = false
+	defaultUnifiedMode      = false
+	defaultEnvFile          = ""
+	defaultEnableDIFC       = false
+	defaultLogDir           = "/tmp/gh-aw/mcp-logs"
+	defaultSequentialLaunch = false
 )
 
 var (
-	configFile     string
-	configStdin    bool
-	listenAddr     string
-	routedMode     bool
-	unifiedMode    bool
-	envFile        string
-	enableDIFC     bool
-	logDir         string
-	validateEnv    bool
-	parallelLaunch bool
-	verbosity      int // Verbosity level: 0 (default), 1 (-v info), 2 (-vv debug), 3 (-vvv trace)
-	debugLog       = logger.New("cmd:root")
-	version        = "dev" // Default version, overridden by SetVersion
+	configFile       string
+	configStdin      bool
+	listenAddr       string
+	routedMode       bool
+	unifiedMode      bool
+	envFile          string
+	enableDIFC       bool
+	logDir           string
+	validateEnv      bool
+	sequentialLaunch bool
+	verbosity        int // Verbosity level: 0 (default), 1 (-v info), 2 (-vv debug), 3 (-vvv trace)
+	debugLog         = logger.New("cmd:root")
+	version          = "dev" // Default version, overridden by SetVersion
 )
 
 var rootCmd = &cobra.Command{
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ func init() {
 	rootCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&enableDIFC, "enable-difc", defaultEnableDIFC, "Enable DIFC enforcement and session requirement (requires sys___init call before tool access)")
 	rootCmd.Flags().StringVar(&logDir, "log-dir", getDefaultLogDir(), "Directory for log files (falls back to stdout if directory cannot be created)")
 	rootCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&validateEnv, "validate-env", false, "Validate execution environment (Docker, env vars) before starting")
-	rootCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&parallelLaunch, "parallel-launch", defaultParallelLaunch, "Launch MCP servers in parallel during startup (enabled by default)")
+	rootCmd.Flags().BoolVar(&sequentialLaunch, "sequential-launch", defaultSequentialLaunch, "Launch MCP servers sequentially during startup (parallel launch is default)")
 	rootCmd.Flags().CountVarP(&verbosity, "verbose", "v", "Increase verbosity level (use -v for info, -vv for debug, -vvv for trace)")
 
 	// Mark mutually exclusive flags
@@ -241,17 +241,17 @@ func run(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
 
 	// Apply command-line flags to config
 	cfg.EnableDIFC = enableDIFC
-	cfg.ParallelLaunch = parallelLaunch
+	cfg.SequentialLaunch = sequentialLaunch
 	if enableDIFC {
 		log.Println("DIFC enforcement and session requirement enabled")
 	} else {
 		log.Println("DIFC enforcement disabled (sessions auto-created for standard MCP client compatibility)")
 	}
 
-	if parallelLaunch {
-		log.Println("Parallel server launching enabled")
-	} else {
+	if sequentialLaunch {
 		log.Println("Sequential server launching enabled")
+	} else {
+		log.Println("Parallel server launching enabled (default)")
 	}
 
 	// Determine mode (default to unified if neither flag is set)
diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index b5a0bbbe..9142fed2 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -24,10 +24,10 @@ const (
 
 // Config represents the MCPG configuration
 type Config struct {
-	Servers        map[string]*ServerConfig `toml:"servers"`
-	EnableDIFC     bool                     `toml:"enable_difc"`     // When true, enables DIFC enforcement and requires sys___init call before tool access. Default is false for standard MCP client compatibility.
-	ParallelLaunch bool                     `toml:"parallel_launch"` // When true (default), launches MCP servers in parallel during startup.
-	Gateway        *GatewayConfig           `toml:"gateway"`         // Gateway configuration (port, API key, etc.)
+	Servers          map[string]*ServerConfig `toml:"servers"`
+	EnableDIFC       bool                     `toml:"enable_difc"`       // When true, enables DIFC enforcement and requires sys___init call before tool access. Default is false for standard MCP client compatibility.
+	SequentialLaunch bool                     `toml:"sequential_launch"` // When true, launches MCP servers sequentially during startup. Default is false (parallel launch).
+	Gateway          *GatewayConfig           `toml:"gateway"`           // Gateway configuration (port, API key, etc.)
 }
 
 // GatewayConfig represents gateway-level configuration
diff --git a/internal/server/unified.go b/internal/server/unified.go
index 9002dcee..3c560472 100644
--- a/internal/server/unified.go
+++ b/internal/server/unified.go
@@ -74,15 +74,15 @@ type ToolInfo struct {
 
 // UnifiedServer implements a unified MCP server that aggregates multiple backend servers
 type UnifiedServer struct {
-	launcher       *launcher.Launcher
-	sysServer      *sys.SysServer
-	ctx            context.Context
-	server         *sdk.Server
-	sessions       map[string]*Session // mcp-session-id -> Session
-	sessionMu      sync.RWMutex
-	tools          map[string]*ToolInfo // prefixed tool name -> tool info
-	toolsMu        sync.RWMutex
-	parallelLaunch bool // When true (default), launches MCP servers in parallel during startup
+	launcher         *launcher.Launcher
+	sysServer        *sys.SysServer
+	ctx              context.Context
+	server           *sdk.Server
+	sessions         map[string]*Session // mcp-session-id -> Session
+	sessionMu        sync.RWMutex
+	tools            map[string]*ToolInfo // prefixed tool name -> tool info
+	toolsMu          sync.RWMutex
+	sequentialLaunch bool // When true, launches MCP servers sequentially during startup. Default is false (parallel launch).
 
 	// DIFC components
 	guardRegistry *guard.Registry
@@ -102,16 +102,16 @@ type UnifiedServer struct {
 
 // NewUnified creates a new unified MCP server
 func NewUnified(ctx context.Context, cfg *config.Config) (*UnifiedServer, error) {
-	logUnified.Printf("Creating new unified server: enableDIFC=%v, parallelLaunch=%v, servers=%d", cfg.EnableDIFC, cfg.ParallelLaunch, len(cfg.Servers))
+	logUnified.Printf("Creating new unified server: enableDIFC=%v, sequentialLaunch=%v, servers=%d", cfg.EnableDIFC, cfg.SequentialLaunch, len(cfg.Servers))
 	l := launcher.New(ctx, cfg)
 
 	us := &UnifiedServer{
-		launcher:       l,
-		sysServer:      sys.NewSysServer(l.ServerIDs()),
-		ctx:            ctx,
-		sessions:       make(map[string]*Session),
-		tools:          make(map[string]*ToolInfo),
-		parallelLaunch: cfg.ParallelLaunch,
+		launcher:         l,
+		sysServer:        sys.NewSysServer(l.ServerIDs()),
+		ctx:              ctx,
+		sessions:         make(map[string]*Session),
+		tools:            make(map[string]*ToolInfo),
+		sequentialLaunch: cfg.SequentialLaunch,
 
 		// Initialize DIFC components
 		guardRegistry: guard.NewRegistry(),
@@ -168,12 +168,12 @@ func (us *UnifiedServer) registerAllTools() error {
 
 	serverIDs := us.launcher.ServerIDs()
 
-	if us.parallelLaunch {
-		// Launch servers in parallel
-		return us.registerAllToolsParallel(serverIDs)
-	} else {
-		// Launch servers sequentially (original behavior)
+	if us.sequentialLaunch {
+		// Launch servers sequentially
 		return us.registerAllToolsSequential(serverIDs)
+	} else {
+		// Launch servers in parallel (default behavior)
+		return us.registerAllToolsParallel(serverIDs)
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/server/unified_test.go b/internal/server/unified_test.go
index 8124c746..a011ae52 100644
--- a/internal/server/unified_test.go
+++ b/internal/server/unified_test.go
@@ -493,10 +493,10 @@ func TestRequireSession_EdgeCases(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
-func TestUnifiedServer_ParallelLaunch_Enabled(t *testing.T) {
+func TestUnifiedServer_SequentialLaunch_Enabled(t *testing.T) {
 	cfg := &config.Config{
-		Servers:        map[string]*config.ServerConfig{},
-		ParallelLaunch: true,
+		Servers:          map[string]*config.ServerConfig{},
+		SequentialLaunch: true,
 	}
 
 	ctx := context.Background()
@@ -504,13 +504,13 @@ func TestUnifiedServer_ParallelLaunch_Enabled(t *testing.T) {
 	require.NoError(t, err, "NewUnified() failed")
 	defer us.Close()
 
-	assert.True(t, us.parallelLaunch, "ParallelLaunch should be enabled when configured")
+	assert.True(t, us.sequentialLaunch, "SequentialLaunch should be enabled when configured")
 }
 
-func TestUnifiedServer_ParallelLaunch_Disabled(t *testing.T) {
+func TestUnifiedServer_SequentialLaunch_Disabled(t *testing.T) {
 	cfg := &config.Config{
-		Servers:        map[string]*config.ServerConfig{},
-		ParallelLaunch: false,
+		Servers:          map[string]*config.ServerConfig{},
+		SequentialLaunch: false,
 	}
 
 	ctx := context.Background()
@@ -518,5 +518,5 @@ func TestUnifiedServer_ParallelLaunch_Disabled(t *testing.T) {
 	require.NoError(t, err, "NewUnified() failed")
 	defer us.Close()
 
-	assert.False(t, us.parallelLaunch, "ParallelLaunch should be disabled when configured")
+	assert.False(t, us.sequentialLaunch, "SequentialLaunch should be disabled (parallel launch is default) when configured")
 }