diff --git a/service/src/main/java/us/kbase/workspace/kbase/InitWorkspaceServer.java b/service/src/main/java/us/kbase/workspace/kbase/InitWorkspaceServer.java
index bcc56026..fc1df3c7 100644
--- a/service/src/main/java/us/kbase/workspace/kbase/InitWorkspaceServer.java
+++ b/service/src/main/java/us/kbase/workspace/kbase/InitWorkspaceServer.java
@@ -232,7 +232,7 @@ private static WorkspaceInitResults buildWorkspace(
     rep.reportInfo("MongoDB initialized.");
 
     rep.reportInfo("Setting up BlobStore...");
-    final BlobStore bs = setupBlobStore(db, cfg);
+    final BlobStore bs = setupBlobStore(db, cfg, rep);
     rep.reportInfo("BlobStore setup complete.");
 
     rep.reportInfo("Checking TypeDelegation...");
@@ -537,38 +537,66 @@ private static AuthToken getToken(
 		}
 	}
 
-	private static BlobStore setupBlobStore(
-			final MongoDatabase db,
-			final KBaseWorkspaceConfig cfg)
-			throws WorkspaceInitException {
-		
-		if (cfg.getBackendType().equals(BackendType.GridFS)) {
-			return new GridFSBlobStore(db);
-		}
-		if (cfg.getBackendType().equals(BackendType.S3)) {
-			try {
-				final S3ClientWithPresign cli = new S3ClientWithPresign(
-						cfg.getBackendURL(),
-						cfg.getBackendUser(),
-						cfg.getBackendToken(),
-						cfg.getBackendRegion(),
-						cfg.getBackendTrustAllCerts());
-				return new S3BlobStore(
-						db.getCollection(COL_S3_OBJECTS),
-						cli,
-						cfg.getBackendContainer());
-			} catch (URISyntaxException e) {
-				throw new WorkspaceInitException("S3 url is not a valid URI: " +
-						e.getMessage(), e);
-			} catch (BlobStoreCommunicationException e) {
-				throw new WorkspaceInitException("Error communicating with the blob store: " +
-						e.getMessage(), e);
-			} catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
-				throw new WorkspaceInitException("Illegal S3 bucket name: " + e.getMessage(), e);
-			}
-		}
-		throw new WorkspaceInitException("Unknown backend type: " + cfg.getBackendType().name());
-	}
+private static BlobStore setupBlobStore(
+        final MongoDatabase db,
+        final KBaseWorkspaceConfig cfg,
+        final InitReporter rep) // Added rep to track progress
+        throws WorkspaceInitException {
+    
+    rep.reportInfo("Entering setupBlobStore...");
+
+    // Check what backend type is being used
+    rep.reportInfo("Backend type: " + cfg.getBackendType().name());
+
+    if (cfg.getBackendType().equals(BackendType.GridFS)) {
+        rep.reportInfo("Initializing GridFSBlobStore...");
+        BlobStore store = new GridFSBlobStore(db);
+        rep.reportInfo("GridFSBlobStore initialized successfully.");
+        return store;
+    }
+
+    if (cfg.getBackendType().equals(BackendType.S3)) {
+        rep.reportInfo("Initializing S3BlobStore...");
+        try {
+            rep.reportInfo("Creating S3 client with the following parameters:");
+            rep.reportInfo("Backend URL: " + cfg.getBackendURL());
+            rep.reportInfo("Backend User: " + cfg.getBackendUser());
+            rep.reportInfo("Backend Region: " + cfg.getBackendRegion());
+            rep.reportInfo("Trust All Certs: " + cfg.getBackendTrustAllCerts());
+
+            final S3ClientWithPresign cli = new S3ClientWithPresign(
+                    cfg.getBackendURL(),
+                    cfg.getBackendUser(),
+                    cfg.getBackendToken(),
+                    cfg.getBackendRegion(),
+                    cfg.getBackendTrustAllCerts());
+
+            rep.reportInfo("S3 client created successfully.");
+
+            rep.reportInfo("Fetching collection: " + COL_S3_OBJECTS);
+            BlobStore store = new S3BlobStore(
+                    db.getCollection(COL_S3_OBJECTS),
+                    cli,
+                    cfg.getBackendContainer());
+
+            rep.reportInfo("S3BlobStore initialized successfully.");
+            return store;
+        } catch (URISyntaxException e) {
+            rep.reportInfo("Error: Invalid S3 URL: " + e.getMessage());
+            throw new WorkspaceInitException("S3 url is not a valid URI: " + e.getMessage(), e);
+        } catch (BlobStoreCommunicationException e) {
+            rep.reportInfo("Error: BlobStore communication issue: " + e.getMessage());
+            throw new WorkspaceInitException("Error communicating with the blob store: " + e.getMessage(), e);
+        } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
+            rep.reportInfo("Error: Illegal S3 bucket name: " + e.getMessage());
+            throw new WorkspaceInitException("Illegal S3 bucket name: " + e.getMessage(), e);
+        }
+    }
+
+    rep.reportInfo("Error: Unknown backend type: " + cfg.getBackendType().name());
+    throw new WorkspaceInitException("Unknown backend type: " + cfg.getBackendType().name());
+}
+
 
 	private static TempFilesManager initTempFilesManager(
 			final String tempDir,