diff --git a/packages/cli/src/config/config.ts b/packages/cli/src/config/config.ts
index dc34f50c4a..2cbeb00975 100755
--- a/packages/cli/src/config/config.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/config/config.ts
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ import { annotateActiveExtensions } from './extension.js';
 import { getCliVersion } from '../utils/version.js';
 import { loadSandboxConfig } from './sandboxConfig.js';
 import { resolvePath } from '../utils/resolvePath.js';
+import { appEvents } from '../utils/events.js';
 
 import { isWorkspaceTrusted } from './trustedFolders.js';
 
@@ -568,6 +569,7 @@ export async function loadCliConfig(
     shouldUseNodePtyShell: settings.tools?.usePty,
     skipNextSpeakerCheck: settings.model?.skipNextSpeakerCheck,
     enablePromptCompletion: settings.general?.enablePromptCompletion ?? false,
+    eventEmitter: appEvents,
   });
 }
 
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/gemini.tsx b/packages/cli/src/gemini.tsx
index 9f023a3da6..b11b0f29ec 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/gemini.tsx
+++ b/packages/cli/src/gemini.tsx
@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@
  * SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
  */
 
-import React from 'react';
-import { render } from 'ink';
+import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';
+import { render, Box, Text } from 'ink';
+import Spinner from 'ink-spinner';
 import { AppWrapper } from './ui/App.js';
 import { loadCliConfig, parseArguments } from './config/config.js';
 import { readStdin } from './utils/readStdin.js';
@@ -105,6 +106,39 @@ async function relaunchWithAdditionalArgs(additionalArgs: string[]) {
   await new Promise((resolve) => child.on('close', resolve));
   process.exit(0);
 }
+
+const InitializingComponent = ({ initialTotal }: { initialTotal: number }) => {
+  const [total, setTotal] = useState(initialTotal);
+  const [connected, setConnected] = useState(0);
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const onStart = ({ count }: { count: number }) => setTotal(count);
+    const onChange = () => {
+      setConnected((val) => val + 1);
+    };
+
+    appEvents.on('mcp-servers-discovery-start', onStart);
+    appEvents.on('mcp-server-connected', onChange);
+    appEvents.on('mcp-server-error', onChange);
+
+    return () => {
+      appEvents.off('mcp-servers-discovery-start', onStart);
+      appEvents.off('mcp-server-connected', onChange);
+      appEvents.off('mcp-server-error', onChange);
+    };
+  }, []);
+
+  const message = `Connecting to MCP servers... (${connected}/${total})`;
+
+  return (
+    <Box>
+      <Text>
+        <Spinner /> {message}
+      </Text>
+    </Box>
+  );
+};
+
 import { runZedIntegration } from './zed-integration/zedIntegration.js';
 
 export function setupUnhandledRejectionHandler() {
@@ -238,8 +272,25 @@ export async function main() {
 
   setMaxSizedBoxDebugging(config.getDebugMode());
 
+  const mcpServers = config.getMcpServers();
+  const mcpServersCount = mcpServers ? Object.keys(mcpServers).length : 0;
+
+  let spinnerInstance;
+  if (config.isInteractive() && mcpServersCount > 0) {
+    spinnerInstance = render(
+      <InitializingComponent initialTotal={mcpServersCount} />,
+    );
+  }
+
   await config.initialize();
 
+  if (spinnerInstance) {
+    // Small UX detail to show the completion message for a bit before unmounting.
+    await new Promise((f) => setTimeout(f, 100));
+    spinnerInstance.clear();
+    spinnerInstance.unmount();
+  }
+
   if (config.getIdeMode()) {
     await config.getIdeClient().connect();
     logIdeConnection(config, new IdeConnectionEvent(IdeConnectionType.START));
diff --git a/packages/core/src/config/config.ts b/packages/core/src/config/config.ts
index 686c14e5f3..0b7b9cdc7b 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/config/config.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/config/config.ts
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ import type { AnyToolInvocation } from '../tools/tools.js';
 import { WorkspaceContext } from '../utils/workspaceContext.js';
 import { Storage } from './storage.js';
 import { FileExclusions } from '../utils/ignorePatterns.js';
+import type { EventEmitter } from 'node:events';
 
 export enum ApprovalMode {
   DEFAULT = 'default',
@@ -207,6 +208,7 @@ export interface ConfigParameters {
   skipNextSpeakerCheck?: boolean;
   extensionManagement?: boolean;
   enablePromptCompletion?: boolean;
+  eventEmitter?: EventEmitter;
 }
 
 export class Config {
@@ -282,6 +284,7 @@ export class Config {
   private initialized: boolean = false;
   readonly storage: Storage;
   private readonly fileExclusions: FileExclusions;
+  private readonly eventEmitter?: EventEmitter;
 
   constructor(params: ConfigParameters) {
     this.sessionId = params.sessionId;
@@ -356,6 +359,7 @@ export class Config {
     this.storage = new Storage(this.targetDir);
     this.enablePromptCompletion = params.enablePromptCompletion ?? false;
     this.fileExclusions = new FileExclusions(this);
+    this.eventEmitter = params.eventEmitter;
 
     if (params.contextFileName) {
       setGeminiMdFilename(params.contextFileName);
@@ -803,7 +807,7 @@ export class Config {
   }
 
   async createToolRegistry(): Promise<ToolRegistry> {
-    const registry = new ToolRegistry(this);
+    const registry = new ToolRegistry(this, this.eventEmitter);
 
     // helper to create & register core tools that are enabled
     // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
diff --git a/packages/core/src/tools/mcp-client-manager.ts b/packages/core/src/tools/mcp-client-manager.ts
index 0468fff42a..182977efe6 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/tools/mcp-client-manager.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/tools/mcp-client-manager.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import {
   populateMcpServerCommand,
 } from './mcp-client.js';
 import { getErrorMessage } from '../utils/errors.js';
+import type { EventEmitter } from 'node:events';
 import type { WorkspaceContext } from '../utils/workspaceContext.js';
 
 /**
@@ -29,6 +30,7 @@ export class McpClientManager {
   private readonly debugMode: boolean;
   private readonly workspaceContext: WorkspaceContext;
   private discoveryState: MCPDiscoveryState = MCPDiscoveryState.NOT_STARTED;
+  private readonly eventEmitter?: EventEmitter;
 
   constructor(
     mcpServers: Record<string, MCPServerConfig>,
@@ -37,6 +39,7 @@ export class McpClientManager {
     promptRegistry: PromptRegistry,
     debugMode: boolean,
     workspaceContext: WorkspaceContext,
+    eventEmitter?: EventEmitter,
   ) {
     this.mcpServers = mcpServers;
     this.mcpServerCommand = mcpServerCommand;
@@ -44,6 +47,7 @@ export class McpClientManager {
     this.promptRegistry = promptRegistry;
     this.debugMode = debugMode;
     this.workspaceContext = workspaceContext;
+    this.eventEmitter = eventEmitter;
   }
 
   /**
@@ -53,14 +57,28 @@ export class McpClientManager {
    */
   async discoverAllMcpTools(): Promise<void> {
     await this.stop();
-    this.discoveryState = MCPDiscoveryState.IN_PROGRESS;
+
     const servers = populateMcpServerCommand(
       this.mcpServers,
       this.mcpServerCommand,
     );
 
-    const discoveryPromises = Object.entries(servers).map(
-      async ([name, config]) => {
+    const serverEntries = Object.entries(servers);
+    const total = serverEntries.length;
+
+    this.eventEmitter?.emit('mcp-servers-discovery-start', { count: total });
+
+    this.discoveryState = MCPDiscoveryState.IN_PROGRESS;
+
+    const discoveryPromises = serverEntries.map(
+      async ([name, config], index) => {
+        const current = index + 1;
+        this.eventEmitter?.emit('mcp-server-connecting', {
+          name,
+          current,
+          total,
+        });
+
         const client = new McpClient(
           name,
           config,
@@ -70,10 +88,22 @@ export class McpClientManager {
           this.debugMode,
         );
         this.clients.set(name, client);
+
         try {
           await client.connect();
           await client.discover();
+          this.eventEmitter?.emit('mcp-server-connected', {
+            name,
+            current,
+            total,
+          });
         } catch (error) {
+          this.eventEmitter?.emit('mcp-server-error', {
+            name,
+            current,
+            total,
+            error,
+          });
           // Log the error but don't let a single failed server stop the others
           console.error(
             `Error during discovery for server '${name}': ${getErrorMessage(
diff --git a/packages/core/src/tools/tool-registry.ts b/packages/core/src/tools/tool-registry.ts
index 07f9230975..ec054d1821 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/tools/tool-registry.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/tools/tool-registry.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ import { DiscoveredMCPTool } from './mcp-tool.js';
 import { parse } from 'shell-quote';
 import { ToolErrorType } from './tool-error.js';
 import { safeJsonStringify } from '../utils/safeJsonStringify.js';
+import type { EventEmitter } from 'node:events';
 
 type ToolParams = Record<string, unknown>;
 
@@ -170,7 +171,7 @@ export class ToolRegistry {
   private config: Config;
   private mcpClientManager: McpClientManager;
 
-  constructor(config: Config) {
+  constructor(config: Config, eventEmitter?: EventEmitter) {
     this.config = config;
     this.mcpClientManager = new McpClientManager(
       this.config.getMcpServers() ?? {},
@@ -179,6 +180,7 @@ export class ToolRegistry {
       this.config.getPromptRegistry(),
       this.config.getDebugMode(),
       this.config.getWorkspaceContext(),
+      eventEmitter,
     );
   }