diff --git a/firebase-vscode/src/core/env.ts b/firebase-vscode/src/core/env.ts
index 2d9701be7d2..f8489d6be7a 100644
--- a/firebase-vscode/src/core/env.ts
+++ b/firebase-vscode/src/core/env.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ export const env = globalSignal<Environment>({
 export function registerEnv(broker: ExtensionBrokerImpl): Disposable {
   const sub = broker.on("getInitialData", async () => {
     pluginLogger.debug(
-      `Value of process.env.MONOSPACE_ENV: ` + `${process.env.MONOSPACE_ENV}`
+      `Value of process.env.MONOSPACE_ENV: ` + `${process.env.MONOSPACE_ENV}`,
     );
 
     broker.send("notifyEnv", {
diff --git a/src/env.ts b/src/env.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..637dfb7084d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/env.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+import { dirExistsSync } from "./fsutils";
+
+let googleIdxFolderExists: boolean | undefined;
+export function isFirebaseStudio() {
+  if (googleIdxFolderExists === true || process.env.MONOSPACE_ENV) return true;
+  if (googleIdxFolderExists === false) return false;
+  googleIdxFolderExists = dirExistsSync("/google/idx");
+  return googleIdxFolderExists;
+}
+
+export function isFirebaseMcp() {
+  return !!process.env.IS_FIREBASE_MCP;
+}
diff --git a/src/mcp/index.ts b/src/mcp/index.ts
index 4a32b27588e..bfc9e09beba 100644
--- a/src/mcp/index.ts
+++ b/src/mcp/index.ts
@@ -27,10 +27,13 @@ import { Emulators } from "../emulator/types.js";
 import { existsSync } from "node:fs";
 import { ensure, check } from "../ensureApiEnabled.js";
 import * as api from "../api.js";
+import { LoggingStdioServerTransport } from "./logging-transport.js";
+import { isFirebaseStudio } from "../env.js";
+import { timeoutFallback } from "../timeout.js";
 
-const SERVER_VERSION = "0.1.0";
+const SERVER_VERSION = "0.2.0";
 
-const cmd = new Command("experimental:mcp").before(requireAuth);
+const cmd = new Command("experimental:mcp");
 
 const orderedLogLevels = [
   "debug",
@@ -56,7 +59,7 @@ export class FirebaseMcpServer {
 
   // logging spec:
   // https://modelcontextprotocol.io/specification/2025-03-26/server/utilities/logging
-  currentLogLevel?: LoggingLevel;
+  currentLogLevel?: LoggingLevel = process.env.FIREBASE_MCP_DEBUG_LOG ? "debug" : undefined;
   // the api of logging from a consumers perspective looks like `server.logger.warn("my warning")`.
   public readonly logger = Object.fromEntries(
     orderedLogLevels.map((logLevel) => [
@@ -65,6 +68,20 @@ export class FirebaseMcpServer {
     ]),
   ) as Record<LoggingLevel, (message: unknown) => Promise<void>>;
 
+  /** Create a special tracking function to avoid blocking everything on initialization notification. */
+  private async trackGA4(
+    event: Parameters<typeof trackGA4>[0],
+    params: Parameters<typeof trackGA4>[1] = {},
+  ): Promise<void> {
+    // wait until ready or until 2s has elapsed
+    if (!this.clientInfo) await timeoutFallback(this.ready(), null, 2000);
+    const clientInfoParams = {
+      mcp_client_name: this.clientInfo?.name || "<unknown-client>",
+      mcp_client_version: this.clientInfo?.version || "<unknown-version>",
+    };
+    trackGA4(event, { ...params, ...clientInfoParams });
+  }
+
   constructor(options: { activeFeatures?: ServerFeature[]; projectRoot?: string }) {
     this.activeFeatures = options.activeFeatures;
     this.startupRoot = options.projectRoot || process.env.PROJECT_ROOT;
@@ -76,10 +93,7 @@ export class FirebaseMcpServer {
       const clientInfo = this.server.getClientVersion();
       this.clientInfo = clientInfo;
       if (clientInfo?.name) {
-        trackGA4("mcp_client_connected", {
-          mcp_client_name: clientInfo.name,
-          mcp_client_version: clientInfo.version,
-        });
+        this.trackGA4("mcp_client_connected");
       }
       if (!this.clientInfo?.name) this.clientInfo = { name: "<unknown-client>" };
 
@@ -106,8 +120,12 @@ export class FirebaseMcpServer {
     });
   }
 
+  get clientName(): string {
+    return this.clientInfo?.name ?? (isFirebaseStudio() ? "Firebase Studio" : "<unknown-client>");
+  }
+
   private get clientConfigKey() {
-    return `mcp.clientConfigs.${this.clientInfo?.name || "<unknown-client>"}:${this.startupRoot || process.cwd()}`;
+    return `mcp.clientConfigs.${this.clientName}:${this.startupRoot || process.cwd()}`;
   }
 
   getStoredClientConfig(): ClientConfig {
@@ -122,15 +140,17 @@ export class FirebaseMcpServer {
   }
 
   async detectProjectRoot(): Promise<string> {
-    await this.ready();
+    await timeoutFallback(this.ready(), null, 2000);
     if (this.cachedProjectRoot) return this.cachedProjectRoot;
     const storedRoot = this.getStoredClientConfig().projectRoot;
     this.cachedProjectRoot = storedRoot || this.startupRoot || process.cwd();
+    this.log("debug", "detected and cached project root: " + this.cachedProjectRoot);
     return this.cachedProjectRoot;
   }
 
   async detectActiveFeatures(): Promise<ServerFeature[]> {
     if (this.detectedFeatures?.length) return this.detectedFeatures; // memoized
+    this.log("debug", "detecting active features of Firebase MCP server...");
     const options = await this.resolveOptions();
     const projectId = await this.getProjectId();
     const detected = await Promise.all(
@@ -140,6 +160,10 @@ export class FirebaseMcpServer {
       }),
     );
     this.detectedFeatures = detected.filter((f) => !!f) as ServerFeature[];
+    this.log(
+      "debug",
+      "detected features of Firebase MCP server: " + (this.detectedFeatures.join(", ") || "<none>"),
+    );
     return this.detectedFeatures;
   }
 
@@ -204,11 +228,14 @@ export class FirebaseMcpServer {
     return getProjectId(await this.resolveOptions());
   }
 
-  async getAuthenticatedUser(): Promise<string | null> {
+  async getAuthenticatedUser(skipAutoAuth: boolean = false): Promise<string | null> {
     try {
-      const email = await requireAuth(await this.resolveOptions());
-      return email ?? "Application Default Credentials";
+      this.log("debug", `calling requireAuth`);
+      const email = await requireAuth(await this.resolveOptions(), skipAutoAuth);
+      this.log("debug", `detected authenticated account: ${email || "<none>"}`);
+      return email ?? skipAutoAuth ? null : "Application Default Credentials";
     } catch (e) {
+      this.log("debug", `error in requireAuth: ${e}`);
       return null;
     }
   }
@@ -216,16 +243,15 @@ export class FirebaseMcpServer {
   async mcpListTools(): Promise<ListToolsResult> {
     await Promise.all([this.detectActiveFeatures(), this.detectProjectRoot()]);
     const hasActiveProject = !!(await this.getProjectId());
-    await trackGA4("mcp_list_tools", {
-      mcp_client_name: this.clientInfo?.name,
-      mcp_client_version: this.clientInfo?.version,
-    });
+    await this.trackGA4("mcp_list_tools");
+    const skipAutoAuthForStudio = isFirebaseStudio();
+    this.log("debug", `skip auto-auth in studio environment: ${skipAutoAuthForStudio}`);
     return {
       tools: this.availableTools.map((t) => t.mcp),
       _meta: {
         projectRoot: this.cachedProjectRoot,
         projectDetected: hasActiveProject,
-        authenticatedUser: await this.getAuthenticatedUser(),
+        authenticatedUser: await this.getAuthenticatedUser(skipAutoAuthForStudio),
         activeFeatures: this.activeFeatures,
         detectedFeatures: this.detectedFeatures,
       },
@@ -283,26 +309,24 @@ export class FirebaseMcpServer {
     };
     try {
       const res = await tool.fn(toolArgs, toolsCtx);
-      await trackGA4("mcp_tool_call", {
+      await this.trackGA4("mcp_tool_call", {
         tool_name: toolName,
         error: res.isError ? 1 : 0,
-        mcp_client_name: this.clientInfo?.name,
-        mcp_client_version: this.clientInfo?.version,
       });
       return res;
     } catch (err: unknown) {
-      await trackGA4("mcp_tool_call", {
+      await this.trackGA4("mcp_tool_call", {
         tool_name: toolName,
         error: 1,
-        mcp_client_name: this.clientInfo?.name,
-        mcp_client_version: this.clientInfo?.version,
       });
       return mcpError(err);
     }
   }
 
   async start(): Promise<void> {
-    const transport = new StdioServerTransport();
+    const transport = process.env.FIREBASE_MCP_DEBUG_LOG
+      ? new LoggingStdioServerTransport(process.env.FIREBASE_MCP_DEBUG_LOG)
+      : new StdioServerTransport();
     await this.server.connect(transport);
   }
 
@@ -323,6 +347,6 @@ export class FirebaseMcpServer {
       return;
     }
 
-    await this.server.sendLoggingMessage({ level, data });
+    if (this._ready) await this.server.sendLoggingMessage({ level, data });
   }
 }
diff --git a/src/mcp/logging-transport.ts b/src/mcp/logging-transport.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..749a34a1a80
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/mcp/logging-transport.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+import { StdioServerTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/stdio.js";
+import { JSONRPCMessage } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/types.js";
+import { appendFileSync } from "fs";
+import { appendFile } from "fs/promises";
+
+export class LoggingStdioServerTransport extends StdioServerTransport {
+  path: string;
+
+  constructor(path: string) {
+    super();
+    this.path = path;
+    appendFileSync(path, "--- new process start ---\n");
+    const origOnData = this._ondata;
+    this._ondata = (chunk: Buffer) => {
+      origOnData(chunk);
+      appendFileSync(path, chunk.toString(), { encoding: "utf8" });
+    };
+  }
+
+  async send(message: JSONRPCMessage) {
+    await super.send(message);
+    await appendFile(this.path, JSON.stringify(message) + "\n");
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/mcp/util.ts b/src/mcp/util.ts
index 256e139a91d..0f44cf9cddd 100644
--- a/src/mcp/util.ts
+++ b/src/mcp/util.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import {
   crashlyticsApiOrigin,
 } from "../api";
 import { check } from "../ensureApiEnabled";
+import { timeoutFallback } from "../timeout";
 
 /**
  * Converts data to a CallToolResult.
@@ -104,7 +105,12 @@ export async function checkFeatureActive(
   if (feature in (options?.config?.data || {})) return true;
   // if the feature's api is active in the project, it's active
   try {
-    if (projectId) return await check(projectId, SERVER_FEATURE_APIS[feature], "", true);
+    if (projectId)
+      return await timeoutFallback(
+        check(projectId, SERVER_FEATURE_APIS[feature], "", true),
+        true,
+        3000,
+      );
   } catch (e) {
     // if we don't have network or something, better to default to on
     return true;
diff --git a/src/requireAuth.ts b/src/requireAuth.ts
index a4f7795ba88..e212f6c2aab 100644
--- a/src/requireAuth.ts
+++ b/src/requireAuth.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@ import * as scopes from "./scopes";
 import { Tokens, TokensWithExpiration, User } from "./types/auth";
 import { setRefreshToken, setActiveAccount, setGlobalDefaultAccount, isExpired } from "./auth";
 import type { Options } from "./options";
+import { isFirebaseMcp, isFirebaseStudio } from "./env";
+import { timeoutError } from "./timeout";
 
 const AUTH_ERROR_MESSAGE = `Command requires authentication, please run ${clc.bold(
   "firebase login",
@@ -44,13 +46,20 @@ async function autoAuth(options: Options, authScopes: string[]): Promise<null |
 
   let clientEmail;
   try {
-    const credentials = await client.getCredentials();
+    const timeoutMillis = isFirebaseMcp() ? 5000 : 15000;
+    const credentials = await timeoutError(
+      client.getCredentials(),
+      new FirebaseError(
+        `Authenticating with default credentials timed out after ${timeoutMillis / 1000} seconds. Please try running \`firebase login\` instead.`,
+      ),
+      timeoutMillis,
+    );
     clientEmail = credentials.client_email;
   } catch (e) {
     // Make sure any error here doesn't block the CLI, but log it.
     logger.debug(`Error getting account credentials.`);
   }
-  if (process.env.MONOSPACE_ENV && token && clientEmail) {
+  if (isFirebaseStudio() && token && clientEmail) {
     // Within monospace, this a OAuth token for the user, so we make it the active user.
     const activeAccount = {
       user: { email: clientEmail },
@@ -82,7 +91,10 @@ export async function refreshAuth(): Promise<Tokens> {
  * if the user is not authenticated
  * @param options CLI options.
  */
-export async function requireAuth(options: any): Promise<string | null> {
+export async function requireAuth(
+  options: any,
+  skipAutoAuth: boolean = false,
+): Promise<string | null> {
   lastOptions = options;
   api.setScopes([scopes.CLOUD_PLATFORM, scopes.FIREBASE_PLATFORM]);
   options.authScopes = api.getScopes();
@@ -104,6 +116,8 @@ export async function requireAuth(options: any): Promise<string | null> {
     );
   } else if (user && (!isExpired(tokens) || tokens?.refresh_token)) {
     logger.debug(`> authorizing via signed-in user (${user.email})`);
+  } else if (skipAutoAuth) {
+    return null;
   } else {
     try {
       return await autoAuth(options, options.authScopes);
diff --git a/src/timeout.ts b/src/timeout.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..acf3e172c68
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/timeout.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+/**
+ * Races a promise against a timer, returns a fallback value (without rejecting) when time expires.
+ */
+export async function timeoutFallback<T, V>(
+  promise: Promise<T>,
+  value: V,
+  timeoutMillis = 2000,
+): Promise<T | V> {
+  return Promise.race([
+    promise,
+    new Promise<V>((resolve) => setTimeout(() => resolve(value), timeoutMillis)),
+  ]);
+}
+
+export async function timeoutError<T>(
+  promise: Promise<T>,
+  error?: string | Error,
+  timeoutMillis = 5000,
+): Promise<T> {
+  if (typeof error === "string") error = new Error(error);
+  return Promise.race<T>([
+    promise,
+    new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+      setTimeout(() => reject(error || new Error("Operation timed out.")), timeoutMillis);
+    }),
+  ]);
+}
diff --git a/src/track.ts b/src/track.ts
index 7b58973e23e..55c7dbbb498 100644
--- a/src/track.ts
+++ b/src/track.ts
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import { getGlobalDefaultAccount } from "./auth";
 
 import { configstore } from "./configstore";
 import { logger } from "./logger";
+import { isFirebaseStudio } from "./env";
 const pkg = require("../package.json");
 
 type cliEventNames =
@@ -78,7 +79,7 @@ const GA4_USER_PROPS = {
     value: process.env.FIREPIT_VERSION || "none",
   },
   is_firebase_studio: {
-    value: process.env.MONOSPACE_ENV ?? "false",
+    value: isFirebaseStudio().toString(),
   },
 };