diff --git a/packages/mcp-exec/src/schema.ts b/packages/mcp-exec/src/schema.ts
index 8ca0652..adc1a67 100644
--- a/packages/mcp-exec/src/schema.ts
+++ b/packages/mcp-exec/src/schema.ts
@@ -2,101 +2,114 @@ import { z } from 'zod';
 import type { Command } from './types';
 
 // --- Redirect: structured output redirection ---
-export const RedirectSchema = z.object({
-  path: z
-    .string()
-    .describe('File path to redirect output to. Supports ~ and $VAR expansion.')
-    .meta({ examples: ['/tmp/output.txt', '~/build.log'] }),
-  stream: z.enum(['stdout', 'stderr', 'both']).default('stdout').describe('Which output stream to redirect'),
-  append: z.boolean().default(false).describe('Append to file instead of overwriting'),
-});
+export const RedirectSchema = z
+  .object({
+    path: z
+      .string()
+      .describe('File path to redirect output to. Supports ~ and $VAR expansion.')
+      .meta({ examples: ['/tmp/output.txt', '~/build.log'] }),
+    stream: z.enum(['stdout', 'stderr', 'both']).default('stdout').describe('Which output stream to redirect'),
+    append: z.boolean().default(false).describe('Append to file instead of overwriting'),
+  })
+  .strict();
 
 // --- Atomic command: one program invocation ---
-export const CommandSchema = z.object({
-  program: z
-    .string()
-    .describe(
-      'The program, binary, or script path to execute. Supports ~ and $VAR expansion. Must be on $PATH or an absolute path — no shell expansion of globs or operators.',
-    )
-    .meta({ examples: ['git', 'node', '~/.local/bin/script.sh'] }),
-  args: z
-    .array(z.string())
-    .default([])
-    .describe(
-      'Arguments to the program. Each argument is a separate string — no shell quoting or escaping needed. Note: ~ and $VAR are NOT expanded in args. Use absolute paths or let the program resolve them.',
-    )
-    .meta({ examples: [['status'], ['commit', '-m', 'Fix bug'], ['--filter', 'mcp-exec', 'build']] }),
-  stdin: z
-    .string()
-    .optional()
-    .describe('Content to pipe to stdin. Use instead of heredocs.')
-    .meta({ examples: ['console.log(process.version)', '{"key":"value"}'] }),
-  redirect: RedirectSchema.optional().describe('Redirect output to a file'),
-  cwd: z
-    .string()
-    .optional()
-    .describe('Working directory for this command. Supports ~ and $VAR expansion.')
-    .meta({ examples: ['~/projects/my-app', '/home/user/repos/api', '$HOME/workspace'] }),
-  env: z
-    .record(z.string(), z.string())
-    .optional()
-    .describe('Environment variables to set for this command.')
-    .meta({ examples: [{ NODE_ENV: 'production' }, { NO_COLOR: '1', FORCE_COLOR: '0' }] }),
-  merge_stderr: z
-    .boolean()
-    .default(false)
-    .describe(
-      'Merge stderr into stdout (equivalent to 2>&1). Combined output appears in stdout; stderr will be empty.',
-    ),
-});
+export const CommandSchema = z
+  .object({
+    program: z
+      .string()
+      .describe(
+        'The program, binary, or script path to execute. Supports ~ and $VAR expansion. Must be on $PATH or an absolute path — no shell expansion of globs or operators.',
+      )
+      .meta({ examples: ['git', 'node', '~/.local/bin/script.sh'] }),
+    args: z
+      .array(z.string())
+      .default([])
+      .describe(
+        'Arguments to the program. Each argument is a separate string — no shell quoting or escaping needed. Note: ~ and $VAR are NOT expanded in args. Use absolute paths or let the program resolve them.',
+      )
+      .meta({ examples: [['status'], ['commit', '-m', 'Fix bug'], ['--filter', 'mcp-exec', 'build']] }),
+    stdin: z
+      .string()
+      .optional()
+      .describe('Content to pipe to stdin. Use instead of heredocs.')
+      .meta({ examples: ['console.log(process.version)', '{"key":"value"}'] }),
+    redirect: RedirectSchema.optional().describe('Redirect output to a file'),
+    cwd: z
+      .string()
+      .optional()
+      .describe('Working directory for this command. Supports ~ and $VAR expansion.')
+      .meta({ examples: ['~/projects/my-app', '/home/user/repos/api', '$HOME/workspace'] }),
+    env: z
+      .record(z.string(), z.string())
+      .optional()
+      .describe('Environment variables to set for this command.')
+      .meta({ examples: [{ NODE_ENV: 'production' }, { NO_COLOR: '1', FORCE_COLOR: '0' }] }),
+    merge_stderr: z
+      .boolean()
+      .default(false)
+      .describe(
+        'Merge stderr into stdout (equivalent to 2>&1). Combined output appears in stdout; stderr will be empty.',
+      ),
+  })
+  .strict();
 
 // --- Step: one or more commands (1 = single command, 2+ = pipeline) ---
-export const StepSchema = z.object({
-  commands: z
-    .array(CommandSchema)
-    .min(1)
-    .transform((x) => x as [Command, ...Command[]])
-    .describe(
-      'Commands to execute. A single command runs directly; two or more commands are connected as a pipeline (stdout → stdin).',
-    )
-    .meta({
-      examples: [
-        [{ program: 'git', args: ['status'] }],
-        [
-          { program: 'echo', args: ['hello'] },
-          { program: 'wc', args: ['-w'] },
+export const StepSchema = z
+  .object({
+    commands: z
+      .array(CommandSchema)
+      .min(1)
+      .transform((x) => x as [Command, ...Command[]])
+      .describe(
+        'Commands to execute. A single command runs directly; two or more commands are connected as a pipeline (stdout → stdin).',
+      )
+      .meta({
+        examples: [
+          [{ program: 'git', args: ['status'] }],
+          [
+            { program: 'echo', args: ['hello'] },
+            { program: 'wc', args: ['-w'] },
+          ],
         ],
-      ],
-    }),
-});
+      }),
+  })
+  .strict();
 
 // --- Tool-level description (passed to registerTool, not embedded in inputSchema) ---
 export const ExecToolDescription = `Use this instead of the \`Bash\` tool.
-Execute commands with structured input. No shell syntax needed.`;
+Execute commands with structured input. No shell syntax needed.
+Example: {"description": "Human readable description","steps": [{"commands": [{ "program": "git", "args": ["status"], "cwd": "/path" }]}]}`;
 
 // --- The full tool input schema ---
-export const ExecInputSchema = z.object({
-  description: z
-    .string()
-    .describe('Human-readable summary of what these commands do, so the user can understand the intent at a glance.')
-    .meta({ examples: ['Check git status', 'Build and run tests', 'Find all TypeScript errors'] }),
-  steps: z.array(StepSchema).min(1).describe('Commands to execute in order'),
-  chaining: z
-    .enum(['sequential', 'independent', 'bail_on_error'])
-    .default('bail_on_error')
-    .describe('sequential: run all (;). bail_on_error: stop on first failure (&&). independent: run all, report each.'),
-  timeout: z
-    .number()
-    .max(600000)
-    .optional()
-    .describe('Timeout in ms (max 600000)')
-    .meta({ examples: [30000, 120000, 300000] }),
-  background: z.boolean().default(false).describe('Run in background, collect results later'),
-  stripAnsi: z
-    .boolean()
-    .default(true)
-    .describe('Strip ANSI escape codes from output (default: true). Set false to preserve raw color/formatting codes.'),
-});
+export const ExecInputSchema = z
+  .object({
+    description: z
+      .string()
+      .describe('Human-readable summary of what these commands do, so the user can understand the intent at a glance.')
+      .meta({ examples: ['Check git status', 'Build and run tests', 'Find all TypeScript errors'] }),
+    steps: z.array(StepSchema).min(1).describe('Commands to execute in order'),
+    chaining: z
+      .enum(['sequential', 'independent', 'bail_on_error'])
+      .default('bail_on_error')
+      .describe(
+        'sequential: run all (;). bail_on_error: stop on first failure (&&). independent: run all, report each.',
+      ),
+    timeout: z
+      .number()
+      .max(600000)
+      .optional()
+      .describe('Timeout in ms (max 600000)')
+      .meta({ examples: [30000, 120000, 300000] }),
+    background: z.boolean().default(false).describe('Run in background, collect results later'),
+    stripAnsi: z
+      .boolean()
+      .default(true)
+      .describe(
+        'Strip ANSI escape codes from output (default: true). Set false to preserve raw color/formatting codes.',
+      ),
+  })
+  .strict();
 
 export const StepResultSchema = z.object({
   stdout: z.string(),
diff --git a/packages/mcp-exec/test/executor.spec.ts b/packages/mcp-exec/test/executor.spec.ts
index 764ac09..7d4f7ee 100644
--- a/packages/mcp-exec/test/executor.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/mcp-exec/test/executor.spec.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ function input(steps: Step[], chaining: ExecInput['chaining'] = 'bail_on_error')
 
 /** Helper: single command step */
 function step(...commands: Command[]): Step {
-  return { commands };
+  return { commands: commands as [Command, ...Command[]] };
 }
 
 /** Helper: single command */