diff --git a/src/main/java/com/giovds/QueryClient.java b/src/main/java/com/giovds/QueryClient.java
index 40f7565..e545d33 100644
--- a/src/main/java/com/giovds/QueryClient.java
+++ b/src/main/java/com/giovds/QueryClient.java
@@ -6,22 +6,29 @@
 import org.apache.maven.plugin.MojoExecutionException;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
-import java.io.InputStream;
 import java.net.URI;
 import java.net.http.HttpClient;
 import java.net.http.HttpRequest;
 import java.net.http.HttpResponse;
 import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
+import java.time.Duration;
 import java.util.HashSet;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Set;
+import java.util.concurrent.Executors;
 
 /**
  * Search Maven Central with a Lucene query
  */
 public class QueryClient {
     private final String main_uri;
-    private static final HttpClient client = HttpClient.newHttpClient();
+    private static final HttpClient client = HttpClient.newBuilder()
+            .version(HttpClient.Version.HTTP_1_1)
+            .connectTimeout(Duration.ofSeconds(50))
+            .executor(Executors.newFixedThreadPool(8))
+            .build();
+    private static final int MAX_RETRIES = 5;
+    private static final Duration INITIAL_RETRY_DELAY = Duration.ofSeconds(1);
 
     /**
      * Visible for testing purposes
@@ -45,24 +52,52 @@ public QueryClient() {
      * @throws MojoExecutionException when something failed when sending the request
      */
     public Set<DependencyResponse> search(final List<String> queries) throws MojoExecutionException {
-        try {
-            final Set<DependencyResponse> allDependencies = new HashSet<>();
-            for (final String query : queries) {
+        final Set<DependencyResponse> allDependencies = new HashSet<>();
+        for (final String query : queries) {
+            allDependencies.addAll(searchWithRetry(query));
+        }
+        return allDependencies;
+    }
+
+    private Set<DependencyResponse> searchWithRetry(final String query) throws MojoExecutionException {
+        Exception lastException = null;
+
+        for (int attempt = 0; attempt < MAX_RETRIES; attempt++) {
+            try {
                 final HttpRequest request = buildHttpRequest(query);
-                allDependencies.addAll(client.send(request, new SearchResponseBodyHandler()).body());
+                return client.send(request, new SearchResponseBodyHandler()).body();
+            } catch (IOException | InterruptedException e) {
+                lastException = e;
+
+                if (Thread.interrupted()) {
+                    Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
+                    throw new MojoExecutionException("Query interrupted", e);
+                }
+
+                // Don't retry on last attempt
+                if (attempt < MAX_RETRIES - 1) {
+                    final long delayMillis = INITIAL_RETRY_DELAY.toMillis() * (long) Math.pow(2, attempt);
+                    try {
+                        Thread.sleep(delayMillis);
+                    } catch (InterruptedException ie) {
+                        Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
+                        throw new MojoExecutionException("Query interrupted during retry", ie);
+                    }
+                }
             }
-            return allDependencies;
-        } catch (Exception e) {
-            throw new MojoExecutionException("Failed to connect.", e);
         }
+
+        throw new MojoExecutionException("Failed to query Maven Central after " + MAX_RETRIES + " attempts", lastException);
     }
 
     private HttpRequest buildHttpRequest(final String query) {
         final String uri = String.format("%s?q=%s&wt=json", main_uri, query);
         return HttpRequest.newBuilder()
                 .GET()
-                .version(HttpClient.Version.HTTP_2)
                 .uri(URI.create(uri))
+                .timeout(Duration.ofSeconds(60))
+                .header("Accept", "application/json")
+                .header("User-Agent", "outdated-maven-plugin/1.5.0")
                 .build();
     }
 
@@ -70,20 +105,26 @@ private static class SearchResponseBodyHandler implements HttpResponse.BodyHandl
         @Override
         public HttpResponse.BodySubscriber<Set<DependencyResponse>> apply(final HttpResponse.ResponseInfo responseInfo) {
             if (responseInfo.statusCode() > 201) {
-                return HttpResponse.BodySubscribers.mapping(HttpResponse.BodySubscribers.ofString(StandardCharsets.UTF_8), s -> {
-                    throw new RuntimeException("Search failed: status: " + responseInfo.statusCode() + " body: " + s);
-                });
+                return HttpResponse.BodySubscribers.mapping(
+                        HttpResponse.BodySubscribers.ofString(StandardCharsets.UTF_8),
+                        s -> {
+                            throw new RuntimeException("Search failed: status: " + responseInfo.statusCode() + " body: " + s);
+                        }
+                );
             }
-            HttpResponse.BodySubscriber<InputStream> stream = HttpResponse.BodySubscribers.ofInputStream();
-            return HttpResponse.BodySubscribers.mapping(stream, this::toSearchResponse);
+            // Buffer entire response before processing - avoids stream lifecycle issues
+            return HttpResponse.BodySubscribers.mapping(
+                    HttpResponse.BodySubscribers.ofByteArray(),
+                    this::toSearchResponse
+            );
         }
 
-        Set<DependencyResponse> toSearchResponse(final InputStream inputStream) {
-            try (final InputStream input = inputStream) {
-                final MavenCentralResponse mavenCentralResponse = JSON.std.beanFrom(MavenCentralResponse.class, input);
+        Set<DependencyResponse> toSearchResponse(final byte[] responseBytes) {
+            try {
+                final MavenCentralResponse mavenCentralResponse = JSON.std.beanFrom(MavenCentralResponse.class, responseBytes);
                 return new HashSet<>(mavenCentralResponse.response().docs());
             } catch (IOException e) {
-                throw new RuntimeException(e);
+                throw new RuntimeException("Failed to parse Maven Central response", e);
             }
         }