diff --git a/cli.py b/cli.py
index 096ab9ec44..883258d0c3 100644
--- a/cli.py
+++ b/cli.py
@@ -1257,8 +1257,11 @@ class HermesCLI:
         # Parse and validate toolsets
         self.enabled_toolsets = toolsets
         if toolsets and "all" not in toolsets and "*" not in toolsets:
-            # Validate each toolset
-            invalid = [t for t in toolsets if not validate_toolset(t)]
+            # Validate each toolset — MCP server names are added by
+            # _get_platform_tools() but aren't registered in TOOLSETS yet
+            # (that happens later in _sync_mcp_toolsets), so exclude them.
+            mcp_names = set((CLI_CONFIG.get("mcp_servers") or {}).keys())
+            invalid = [t for t in toolsets if not validate_toolset(t) and t not in mcp_names]
             if invalid:
                 self.console.print(f"[bold red]Warning: Unknown toolsets: {', '.join(invalid)}[/]")