diff --git a/extensions/cli/src/ui/FreeTrialStatus.test.tsx b/extensions/cli/src/ui/FreeTrialStatus.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7b76ae82a02
--- /dev/null
+++ b/extensions/cli/src/ui/FreeTrialStatus.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+import { render } from "ink-testing-library";
+import React from "react";
+import { afterEach, describe, expect, it, vi } from "vitest";
+
+import { FreeTrialStatus } from "./FreeTrialStatus.js";
+
+describe("FreeTrialStatus", () => {
+  const originalNodeEnv = process.env.NODE_ENV;
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    process.env.NODE_ENV = originalNodeEnv;
+    vi.useRealTimers();
+    vi.clearAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it("does not fetch or poll for non-free-trial models", async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    const getFreeTrialStatus = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+      optedInToFreeTrial: true,
+      chatCount: 1,
+      chatLimit: 10,
+    });
+
+    render(
+      <FreeTrialStatus
+        apiClient={{ getFreeTrialStatus } as any}
+        model={{ provider: "anthropic", model: "claude-sonnet-4-5" } as any}
+      />,
+    );
+
+    await vi.runAllTimersAsync();
+
+    expect(getFreeTrialStatus).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it("fetches immediately and polls every five seconds for free-trial models", async () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers();
+    process.env.NODE_ENV = "development";
+    const getFreeTrialStatus = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({
+      optedInToFreeTrial: true,
+      chatCount: 1,
+      chatLimit: 10,
+    });
+
+    render(
+      <FreeTrialStatus
+        apiClient={{ getFreeTrialStatus } as any}
+        model={
+          {
+            provider: "continue-proxy",
+            model: "test-model",
+            apiKeyLocation: "free_trial:test",
+          } as any
+        }
+      />,
+    );
+
+    await Promise.resolve();
+    await Promise.resolve();
+    expect(getFreeTrialStatus).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(5000);
+    expect(getFreeTrialStatus).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(2);
+
+    await vi.advanceTimersByTimeAsync(10000);
+    expect(getFreeTrialStatus).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(4);
+  });
+});
diff --git a/extensions/cli/src/ui/FreeTrialStatus.tsx b/extensions/cli/src/ui/FreeTrialStatus.tsx
index 5a2c7c78d0b..a275b0820bf 100644
--- a/extensions/cli/src/ui/FreeTrialStatus.tsx
+++ b/extensions/cli/src/ui/FreeTrialStatus.tsx
@@ -28,39 +28,50 @@ const FreeTrialStatus: React.FC<FreeTrialStatusProps> = ({
     null,
   );
   const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
+  const shouldFetchStatus = !!apiClient && isModelUsingFreeTrial(model);
 
-  const fetchStatus = async () => {
-    try {
-      if (!apiClient) {
-        setStatus(null);
-        setLoading(false);
-        return;
-      }
-
-      const response = await apiClient.getFreeTrialStatus();
-      setStatus(response);
-      setLoading(false);
-    } catch {
-      // Silently handle errors - component returns null if no status
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!shouldFetchStatus) {
       setStatus(null);
       setLoading(false);
+      return;
     }
-  };
 
-  useEffect(() => {
-    // Initial fetch
-    fetchStatus();
+    let isMounted = true;
+
+    const fetchStatus = async () => {
+      try {
+        const response = await apiClient.getFreeTrialStatus();
+        if (!isMounted) {
+          return;
+        }
+        setStatus(response);
+        setLoading(false);
+      } catch {
+        if (!isMounted) {
+          return;
+        }
+        setStatus(null);
+        setLoading(false);
+      }
+    };
+
+    setLoading(true);
+    void fetchStatus();
 
-    // Don't poll in test environment
     if (process.env.NODE_ENV === "test") {
-      return;
+      return () => {
+        isMounted = false;
+      };
     }
 
-    // Poll every 5 seconds
     const interval = setInterval(fetchStatus, 5000);
 
-    return () => clearInterval(interval);
-  }, []);
+    return () => {
+      isMounted = false;
+      clearInterval(interval);
+    };
+  }, [apiClient, shouldFetchStatus]);
 
   // Check if user has maxed out their free trial and notify parent
   useEffect(() => {
@@ -85,12 +96,7 @@ const FreeTrialStatus: React.FC<FreeTrialStatusProps> = ({
   }, [status, loading, onTransitionStateChange, model]);
 
   // Don't render anything while loading or if no status
-  if (
-    loading ||
-    !status ||
-    !status.optedInToFreeTrial ||
-    !isModelUsingFreeTrial(model)
-  ) {
+  if (loading || !status || !status.optedInToFreeTrial || !shouldFetchStatus) {
     return null;
   }
 
diff --git a/extensions/vscode/e2e/install-marketplace-extensions.mjs b/extensions/vscode/e2e/install-marketplace-extensions.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..dbb3b05aac2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/extensions/vscode/e2e/install-marketplace-extensions.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+import { execFileSync } from "node:child_process";
+
+const extensionsDir = "./e2e/.test-extensions";
+const storageDir = "./e2e/storage";
+const remoteExtensions = [
+  "ms-vscode-remote.remote-ssh",
+  "ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers",
+  "ms-vscode-remote.remote-wsl",
+];
+
+if (process.env.IGNORE_SSH_TESTS === "true") {
+  console.log(
+    "Skipping Remote-* marketplace extension installs because IGNORE_SSH_TESTS=true.",
+  );
+  process.exit(0);
+}
+
+const extestCommand = process.platform === "win32" ? "extest.cmd" : "extest";
+
+for (const extensionId of remoteExtensions) {
+  console.log(`Installing ${extensionId} from the VS Code marketplace...`);
+  execFileSync(
+    extestCommand,
+    [
+      "install-from-marketplace",
+      extensionId,
+      "--extensions_dir",
+      extensionsDir,
+      "--storage",
+      storageDir,
+    ],
+    { stdio: "inherit" },
+  );
+}
diff --git a/extensions/vscode/package.json b/extensions/vscode/package.json
index cfe48996f18..e13bc1f3ad1 100644
--- a/extensions/vscode/package.json
+++ b/extensions/vscode/package.json
@@ -685,7 +685,7 @@
     "e2e:sign-vscode": "codesign --entitlements entitlements.plist --deep --force -s - './e2e/storage/Visual Studio Code.app'",
     "e2e:copy-vsix": "chmod +x ./e2e/get-latest-vsix.sh && bash ./e2e/get-latest-vsix.sh",
     "e2e:install-vsix": "extest install-vsix -f ./e2e/vsix/continue.vsix --extensions_dir ./e2e/.test-extensions --storage ./e2e/storage",
-    "e2e:install-extensions": "extest install-from-marketplace ms-vscode-remote.remote-ssh --extensions_dir ./e2e/.test-extensions --storage ./e2e/storage && extest install-from-marketplace ms-vscode-remote.remote-containers --extensions_dir ./e2e/.test-extensions --storage ./e2e/storage && extest install-from-marketplace ms-vscode-remote.remote-wsl --extensions_dir ./e2e/.test-extensions --storage ./e2e/storage",
+    "e2e:install-extensions": "node ./e2e/install-marketplace-extensions.mjs",
     "e2e:test": "NODE_ENV=e2e extest run-tests ${TEST_FILE:-'./e2e/_output/tests/*.test.js'} --code_settings settings.json --extensions_dir ./e2e/.test-extensions --storage ./e2e/storage",
     "e2e:clean": "rm -rf ./e2e/_output ./e2e/storage",
     "e2e:all": "npm run e2e:build && npm run e2e:compile && npm run e2e:create-storage && npm run e2e:get-chromedriver && npm run e2e:get-vscode && npm run e2e:sign-vscode && npm run e2e:copy-vsix && npm run e2e:install-vsix && npm run e2e:install-extensions && CONTINUE_GLOBAL_DIR=e2e/test-continue npm run e2e:test && npm run e2e:clean",