diff --git a/packages/server/src/server/agent/provider-snapshot-manager.test.ts b/packages/server/src/server/agent/provider-snapshot-manager.test.ts
index b28accd07..6939089b6 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/server/agent/provider-snapshot-manager.test.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/server/agent/provider-snapshot-manager.test.ts
@@ -156,6 +156,90 @@ describe("ProviderSnapshotManager public surface", () => {
     }
   });
 
+  test("refreshTimeoutMs option overrides the default and yields a timeout error", async () => {
+    // never-resolving isAvailable forces the timeout path
+    const isAvailable = vi.fn(() => new Promise<boolean>(() => {}));
+    const manager = new ProviderSnapshotManager({
+      logger: createTestLogger(),
+      refreshTimeoutMs: 1,
+      providerOverrides: {
+        claude: { enabled: false },
+        copilot: { enabled: false },
+        opencode: { enabled: false },
+        pi: { enabled: false },
+      },
+      extraClients: { codex: createExtraClient("codex", { isAvailable }) },
+    });
+    try {
+      const entry = await manager.getProvider({
+        cwd: "/tmp/project",
+        provider: "codex",
+        wait: true,
+      });
+      expect(entry.provider).toBe("codex");
+      expect(entry.status).toBe("error");
+      expect(entry.error).toMatch(/after 1ms/);
+    } finally {
+      manager.destroy();
+    }
+  });
+
+  test("PASEO_PROVIDER_REFRESH_TIMEOUT_MS env var is honored when no option is given", async () => {
+    vi.stubEnv("PASEO_PROVIDER_REFRESH_TIMEOUT_MS", "1");
+    const isAvailable = vi.fn(() => new Promise<boolean>(() => {}));
+    const manager = new ProviderSnapshotManager({
+      logger: createTestLogger(),
+      providerOverrides: {
+        claude: { enabled: false },
+        copilot: { enabled: false },
+        opencode: { enabled: false },
+        pi: { enabled: false },
+      },
+      extraClients: { codex: createExtraClient("codex", { isAvailable }) },
+    });
+    try {
+      const entry = await manager.getProvider({
+        cwd: "/tmp/project",
+        provider: "codex",
+        wait: true,
+      });
+      expect(entry.status).toBe("error");
+      expect(entry.error).toMatch(/after 1ms/);
+    } finally {
+      manager.destroy();
+      vi.unstubAllEnvs();
+    }
+  });
+
+  test("PASEO_PROVIDER_REFRESH_TIMEOUT_MS env var is ignored when option is provided", async () => {
+    vi.stubEnv("PASEO_PROVIDER_REFRESH_TIMEOUT_MS", "1");
+    const isAvailable = vi.fn(() => new Promise<boolean>(() => {}));
+    const manager = new ProviderSnapshotManager({
+      logger: createTestLogger(),
+      refreshTimeoutMs: 5,
+      providerOverrides: {
+        claude: { enabled: false },
+        copilot: { enabled: false },
+        opencode: { enabled: false },
+        pi: { enabled: false },
+      },
+      extraClients: { codex: createExtraClient("codex", { isAvailable }) },
+    });
+    try {
+      const entry = await manager.getProvider({
+        cwd: "/tmp/project",
+        provider: "codex",
+        wait: true,
+      });
+      expect(entry.status).toBe("error");
+      // explicit option (5) wins over env var (1)
+      expect(entry.error).toMatch(/after 5ms/);
+    } finally {
+      manager.destroy();
+      vi.unstubAllEnvs();
+    }
+  });
+
   test("listProviders returns an entry per registered provider", async () => {
     const manager = new ProviderSnapshotManager({
       logger: createTestLogger(),
diff --git a/packages/server/src/server/agent/provider-snapshot-manager.ts b/packages/server/src/server/agent/provider-snapshot-manager.ts
index 08a51c2c5..0acbc3fe8 100644
--- a/packages/server/src/server/agent/provider-snapshot-manager.ts
+++ b/packages/server/src/server/agent/provider-snapshot-manager.ts
@@ -29,6 +29,25 @@ import { applyMutableProviderConfigToOverrides } from "../daemon-config-store.js
 import type { MutableDaemonConfig } from "../daemon-config-store.js";
 
 const DEFAULT_REFRESH_TIMEOUT_MS = 30_000;
+const REFRESH_TIMEOUT_ENV_VAR = "PASEO_PROVIDER_REFRESH_TIMEOUT_MS";
+
+// Provider refresh probes can be slow on cold starts (e.g. Copilot's first
+// `copilot --acp` invocation, OpenCode workspace probes with many MCP servers).
+// Allow operators to bump the ceiling via env var without rebuilding.
+function resolveRefreshTimeoutMs(option: number | undefined): number {
+  if (typeof option === "number" && Number.isFinite(option) && option > 0) {
+    return option;
+  }
+  const fromEnv = process.env[REFRESH_TIMEOUT_ENV_VAR];
+  if (fromEnv) {
+    // Number() handles scientific notation (e.g. "6e4") which parseInt would silently truncate.
+    const parsed = Number(fromEnv);
+    if (Number.isFinite(parsed) && parsed > 0) {
+      return parsed;
+    }
+  }
+  return DEFAULT_REFRESH_TIMEOUT_MS;
+}
 
 type ProviderSnapshotChangeListener = (entries: ProviderSnapshotEntry[], cwd: string) => void;
 
@@ -124,7 +143,7 @@ export class ProviderSnapshotManager {
     this.runtimeSettings = options.runtimeSettings;
     this.providerOverrides = options.providerOverrides;
     this.baseProviderOverrides = options.providerOverrides;
-    this.refreshTimeoutMs = options.refreshTimeoutMs ?? DEFAULT_REFRESH_TIMEOUT_MS;
+    this.refreshTimeoutMs = resolveRefreshTimeoutMs(options.refreshTimeoutMs);
     this.providerRegistry = this.buildRegistry();
     this.providerClients = { ...this.extraClients } as Record<AgentProvider, AgentClient>;
   }