diff --git a/src/create/tokio.rs b/src/create/tokio.rs
index ff2a5494..f5402679 100644
--- a/src/create/tokio.rs
+++ b/src/create/tokio.rs
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ use tokio_util::compat::{
 
 use crate::{
   create::{unbuffered_stdout, Spawner},
-  error::LoopError,
+  error::{HandshakeError, LoopError},
   neovim::Neovim,
   Handler,
 };
@@ -213,3 +213,46 @@ where
 
   Ok((neovim, io_handle))
 }
+
+/// Connect to a neovim instance by spawning a new one and send a handshake
+/// message. Unlike `new_child_cmd`, this function is tolerant to extra
+/// data in the reader before the handshake response is received.
+///
+/// `message` should be a unique string that is normally not found in the
+/// stdout. Due to the way Neovim packs strings, the length has to be either
+/// less than 20 characters or more than 31 characters long.
+/// See https://github.com/neovim/neovim/issues/32784 for more information.
+pub async fn new_child_handshake_cmd<H>(
+  cmd: &mut Command,
+  handler: H,
+  message: &str,
+) -> Result<
+  (
+    Neovim<Compat<ChildStdin>>,
+    JoinHandle<Result<(), Box<LoopError>>>,
+    Child,
+  ),
+  Box<HandshakeError>,
+>
+where
+  H: Handler<Writer = Compat<ChildStdin>> + Send + 'static,
+{
+  let mut child = cmd.stdin(Stdio::piped()).stdout(Stdio::piped()).spawn()?;
+  let stdout = child
+    .stdout
+    .take()
+    .ok_or_else(|| Error::new(ErrorKind::Other, "Can't open stdout"))?
+    .compat();
+  let stdin = child
+    .stdin
+    .take()
+    .ok_or_else(|| Error::new(ErrorKind::Other, "Can't open stdin"))?
+    .compat_write();
+
+  let (neovim, io) =
+    Neovim::<Compat<ChildStdin>>::handshake(stdout, stdin, handler, message)
+      .await?;
+  let io_handle = spawn(io);
+
+  Ok((neovim, io_handle, child))
+}
diff --git a/src/error.rs b/src/error.rs
index d7e5e9e0..8ac4f555 100644
--- a/src/error.rs
+++ b/src/error.rs
@@ -426,3 +426,81 @@ impl From<u64> for Box<LoopError> {
     Box::new(LoopError::MsgidNotFound(i))
   }
 }
+
+#[derive(Debug)]
+pub enum HandshakeError {
+  /// Sending the request to neovim has failed.
+  ///
+  /// Fields:
+  ///
+  /// 0. The underlying error
+  SendError(EncodeError),
+  /// Sending the request to neovim has failed.
+  ///
+  /// Fields:
+  ///
+  /// 0. The underlying error
+  /// 1. The data read so far
+  RecvError(io::Error, String),
+  /// Unexpected response received
+  ///
+  /// Fields:
+  ///
+  /// 0. The data read so far
+  UnexpectedResponse(String),
+  /// The launch of Neovim failed
+  ///
+  /// Fields:
+  ///
+  /// 0. The underlying error
+  LaunchError(io::Error),
+}
+
+impl From<Box<EncodeError>> for Box<HandshakeError> {
+  fn from(v: Box<EncodeError>) -> Box<HandshakeError> {
+    Box::new(HandshakeError::SendError(*v))
+  }
+}
+
+impl From<(io::Error, String)> for Box<HandshakeError> {
+  fn from(v: (io::Error, String)) -> Box<HandshakeError> {
+    Box::new(HandshakeError::RecvError(v.0, v.1))
+  }
+}
+
+impl From<io::Error> for Box<HandshakeError> {
+  fn from(v: io::Error) -> Box<HandshakeError> {
+    Box::new(HandshakeError::LaunchError(v))
+  }
+}
+
+impl Error for HandshakeError {
+  fn source(&self) -> Option<&(dyn Error + 'static)> {
+    match *self {
+      Self::SendError(ref s) => Some(s),
+      Self::RecvError(ref s, _) => Some(s),
+      Self::LaunchError(ref s) => Some(s),
+      Self::UnexpectedResponse(_) => None,
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+impl Display for HandshakeError {
+  fn fmt(&self, fmt: &mut fmt::Formatter) -> Result<(), fmt::Error> {
+    match *self {
+      Self::SendError(ref s) => write!(fmt, "Error sending handshake '{s}'"),
+      Self::RecvError(ref s, ref output) => {
+        write!(
+          fmt,
+          "Error receiving handshake response '{s}'\n\
+             Unexpected output:\n{output}"
+        )
+      }
+      Self::LaunchError(ref s) => write!(fmt, "Error launching nvim '{s}'"),
+      Self::UnexpectedResponse(ref output) => write!(
+        fmt,
+        "Error receiving handshake response, unexpected output:\n{output}"
+      ),
+    }
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/neovim.rs b/src/neovim.rs
index 6825a23c..d421b696 100644
--- a/src/neovim.rs
+++ b/src/neovim.rs
@@ -12,16 +12,17 @@ use futures::{
     mpsc::{unbounded, UnboundedReceiver, UnboundedSender},
     oneshot,
   },
-  io::{AsyncRead, AsyncWrite,},
+  future,
+  io::{AsyncRead, AsyncReadExt, AsyncWrite},
   lock::Mutex,
   sink::SinkExt,
   stream::StreamExt,
-  future, TryFutureExt,
+  TryFutureExt,
 };
 
 use crate::{
   create::Spawner,
-  error::{CallError, DecodeError, EncodeError, LoopError},
+  error::{CallError, DecodeError, EncodeError, HandshakeError, LoopError},
   rpc::{
     handler::Handler,
     model,
@@ -108,13 +109,110 @@ where
     let (sender, receiver) = unbounded();
     let fut = future::try_join(
       req.clone().io_loop(reader, sender),
-      req.clone().handler_loop(handler, receiver)
+      req.clone().handler_loop(handler, receiver),
     )
     .map_ok(|_| ());
 
     (req, fut)
   }
 
+  /// Create a new instance, immediately send a handshake message and
+  /// wait for the response. Unlike `new`, this function is tolerant to extra
+  /// data in the reader before the handshake response is received.
+  ///
+  /// `message` should be a unique string that is normally not found in the
+  /// stdout. Due to the way Neovim packs strings, the length has to be either
+  /// less than 20 characters or more than 31 characters long.
+  /// See https://github.com/neovim/neovim/issues/32784 for more information.
+  pub async fn handshake<H, R>(
+    mut reader: R,
+    writer: W,
+    handler: H,
+    message: &str,
+  ) -> Result<
+    (
+      Neovim<<H as Handler>::Writer>,
+      impl Future<Output = Result<(), Box<LoopError>>>,
+    ),
+    Box<HandshakeError>,
+  >
+  where
+    R: AsyncRead + Send + Unpin + 'static,
+    H: Handler<Writer = W> + Spawner,
+  {
+    let instance = Neovim {
+      writer: Arc::new(Mutex::new(writer)),
+      msgid_counter: Arc::new(AtomicU64::new(0)),
+      queue: Arc::new(Mutex::new(Vec::new())),
+    };
+
+    let msgid = instance.msgid_counter.fetch_add(1, Ordering::SeqCst);
+    // Nvim encodes fixed size strings with a length of 20-31 bytes wrong, so
+    // avoid that
+    let msg_len = message.len();
+    assert!(
+      !(20..=31).contains(&msg_len),
+      "The message should be less than 20 characters or more than 31 characters
+      long, but the length is {msg_len}."
+    );
+
+    let req = RpcMessage::RpcRequest {
+      msgid,
+      method: "nvim_exec_lua".to_owned(),
+      params: call_args![format!("return '{message}'"), Vec::<Value>::new()],
+    };
+    model::encode(instance.writer.clone(), req).await?;
+
+    let expected_resp = RpcMessage::RpcResponse {
+      msgid,
+      error: rmpv::Value::Nil,
+      result: rmpv::Value::String(message.into()),
+    };
+    let mut expected_data = Vec::new();
+    model::encode_sync(&mut expected_data, expected_resp)
+      .expect("Encoding static data can't fail");
+    let mut actual_data = Vec::new();
+    let mut start = 0;
+    let mut end = 0;
+    while end - start != expected_data.len() {
+      actual_data.resize(start + expected_data.len(), 0);
+
+      let bytes_read =
+        reader
+          .read(&mut actual_data[start..])
+          .await
+          .map_err(|err| {
+            (
+              err,
+              String::from_utf8_lossy(&actual_data[..end]).to_string(),
+            )
+          })?;
+      if bytes_read == 0 {
+        // The end of the stream has been reached when the reader returns Ok(0).
+        // Since we haven't detected a suitable response yet, return an error.
+        return Err(Box::new(HandshakeError::UnexpectedResponse(
+          String::from_utf8_lossy(&actual_data[..end]).to_string(),
+        )));
+      }
+      end += bytes_read;
+      while end - start > 0 {
+        if actual_data[start..end] == expected_data[..end - start] {
+          break;
+        }
+        start += 1;
+      }
+    }
+
+    let (sender, receiver) = unbounded();
+    let fut = future::try_join(
+      instance.clone().io_loop(reader, sender),
+      instance.clone().handler_loop(handler, receiver),
+    )
+    .map_ok(|_| ());
+
+    Ok((instance, fut))
+  }
+
   async fn send_msg(
     &self,
     method: &str,
diff --git a/src/rpc/model.rs b/src/rpc/model.rs
index bf5f0ff8..a97c0eb6 100644
--- a/src/rpc/model.rs
+++ b/src/rpc/model.rs
@@ -2,12 +2,12 @@
 use std::{
   self,
   convert::TryInto,
-  io::{self, Cursor, ErrorKind, Read},
+  io::{self, Cursor, ErrorKind, Read, Write},
   sync::Arc,
 };
 
 use futures::{
-  io::{AsyncRead, AsyncReadExt, AsyncWrite, AsyncWriteExt,},
+  io::{AsyncRead, AsyncReadExt, AsyncWrite, AsyncWriteExt},
   lock::Mutex,
 };
 use rmpv::{decode::read_value, encode::write_value, Value};
@@ -162,13 +162,11 @@ fn decode_buffer<R: Read>(
   }
 }
 
-/// Encode the given message into the `BufWriter`. Flushes the writer when
-/// finished.
-pub async fn encode<W: AsyncWrite + Send + Unpin + 'static>(
-  writer: Arc<Mutex<W>>,
+/// Encode the given message into the `writer`.
+pub fn encode_sync<W: Write>(
+  writer: &mut W,
   msg: RpcMessage,
 ) -> std::result::Result<(), Box<EncodeError>> {
-  let mut v: Vec<u8> = vec![];
   match msg {
     RpcMessage::RpcRequest {
       msgid,
@@ -176,7 +174,7 @@ pub async fn encode<W: AsyncWrite + Send + Unpin + 'static>(
       params,
     } => {
       let val = rpc_args!(0, msgid, method, params);
-      write_value(&mut v, &val)?;
+      write_value(writer, &val)?;
     }
     RpcMessage::RpcResponse {
       msgid,
@@ -184,14 +182,26 @@ pub async fn encode<W: AsyncWrite + Send + Unpin + 'static>(
       result,
     } => {
       let val = rpc_args!(1, msgid, error, result);
-      write_value(&mut v, &val)?;
+      write_value(writer, &val)?;
     }
     RpcMessage::RpcNotification { method, params } => {
       let val = rpc_args!(2, method, params);
-      write_value(&mut v, &val)?;
+      write_value(writer, &val)?;
     }
   };
 
+  Ok(())
+}
+
+/// Encode the given message into the `BufWriter`. Flushes the writer when
+/// finished.
+pub async fn encode<W: AsyncWrite + Send + Unpin + 'static>(
+  writer: Arc<Mutex<W>>,
+  msg: RpcMessage,
+) -> std::result::Result<(), Box<EncodeError>> {
+  let mut v: Vec<u8> = vec![];
+  encode_sync(&mut v, msg)?;
+
   let mut writer = writer.lock().await;
   writer.write_all(&v).await?;
   writer.flush().await?;
diff --git a/tests/connecting/handshake.rs b/tests/connecting/handshake.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2d29263e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/connecting/handshake.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+use nvim_rs::rpc::handler::Dummy as DummyHandler;
+
+#[cfg(feature = "use_tokio")]
+use nvim_rs::create::tokio as create;
+#[cfg(feature = "use_tokio")]
+use tokio::process::Command;
+#[cfg(feature = "use_tokio")]
+use tokio::test as atest;
+
+#[cfg(feature = "use_async-std")]
+use async_std::test as atest;
+#[cfg(feature = "use_async-std")]
+use nvim_rs::create::async_std as create;
+#[cfg(feature = "use_async-std")]
+use std::process::Command;
+
+#[path = "../common/mod.rs"]
+mod common;
+use common::*;
+
+use nvim_rs::error::HandshakeError;
+
+#[atest]
+async fn successful_handshake() {
+  let handler = DummyHandler::new();
+
+  create::new_child_handshake_cmd(
+    Command::new(nvim_path()).args(&["-u", "NONE", "--embed"]),
+    handler,
+    "handshake_message",
+  )
+  .await
+  .expect("Should launch correctly");
+}
+
+#[cfg(unix)]
+#[atest]
+async fn successful_handshake_with_extra_output() {
+  let handler = DummyHandler::new();
+  let nvim = nvim_path();
+
+  create::new_child_handshake_cmd(
+    Command::new("/bin/sh").args(&[
+      "-c",
+      &format!(
+        "echo 'extra output';{} -u NONE --embed",
+        nvim.to_string_lossy()
+      ),
+    ]),
+    handler,
+    "handshake_message",
+  )
+  .await
+  .expect("Should launch correctly");
+}
+
+#[cfg(unix)]
+#[atest]
+async fn unsuccessful_handshake_with_wrong_output() {
+  let handler = DummyHandler::new();
+
+  // NOTE: This has to match the exact length of the message sent
+  let expected_request_len = 46;
+
+  // Make sure that the command is alive for long enough by reading the request
+  // message from stdin with dd
+  let res = create::new_child_handshake_cmd(
+    Command::new("/bin/sh").args(&[
+        "-c",
+        &format!("echo 'wrong output';
+                  timeout 5 dd bs=1 count={expected_request_len} > /dev/null 2>&1")]),
+    handler,
+    "handshake_message",
+  )
+  .await;
+
+  match res {
+    Err(err) => match *err {
+      HandshakeError::UnexpectedResponse(output) => {
+        assert_eq!(output, "wrong output\n");
+      }
+      _ => {
+        panic!("Unexpected error returned {}", err);
+      }
+    },
+    _ => panic!("No error returned"),
+  }
+}
diff --git a/tests/connecting/mod.rs b/tests/connecting/mod.rs
index d40592d1..7fd970c6 100644
--- a/tests/connecting/mod.rs
+++ b/tests/connecting/mod.rs
@@ -2,3 +2,6 @@
 pub mod conns;
 #[cfg(feature = "use_async-std")]
 pub mod conns;
+
+#[cfg(feature = "use_tokio")]
+pub mod handshake;