diff --git a/jinja2_renderer.go b/jinja2_renderer.go
index 1d29550..604775a 100644
--- a/jinja2_renderer.go
+++ b/jinja2_renderer.go
@@ -58,6 +58,13 @@ func newPythonJinja2Renderer(j2 *Jinja2) (*pythonJinja2Renderer, error) {
 
 	j2r.stdoutReader = bufio.NewReader(j2r.stdout)
 
+	_, err = j2r.runCmd(&jinja2Cmd{
+		Cmd: "init",
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to initialize renderer: %w", err)
+	}
+
 	isOk = true
 
 	return j2r, nil
diff --git a/python_src/main.py b/python_src/main.py
index 4a44db1..a98c242 100644
--- a/python_src/main.py
+++ b/python_src/main.py
@@ -15,7 +15,9 @@ def main():
         r = Jinja2Renderer(opts)
 
         result = {}
-        if cmd["cmd"] == "render-strings":
+        if cmd["cmd"] == "init":
+            pass
+        elif cmd["cmd"] == "render-strings":
             result = {
                 "templateResults": r.RenderStrings(cmd["templates"])
             }