diff --git a/api/server/services/Config/loadAsyncEndpoints.js b/api/server/services/Config/loadAsyncEndpoints.js
index bf19e2ea29..b88744e9ad 100644
--- a/api/server/services/Config/loadAsyncEndpoints.js
+++ b/api/server/services/Config/loadAsyncEndpoints.js
@@ -22,8 +22,7 @@ async function loadAsyncEndpoints(req) {
   } else {
     /** Only attempt to load service key if GOOGLE_KEY is not provided */
     const serviceKeyPath =
-      process.env.GOOGLE_SERVICE_KEY_FILE_PATH ||
-      path.join(__dirname, '../../..', 'data', 'auth.json');
+      process.env.GOOGLE_SERVICE_KEY_FILE || path.join(__dirname, '../../..', 'data', 'auth.json');
 
     try {
       serviceKey = await loadServiceKey(serviceKeyPath);
diff --git a/api/server/services/Endpoints/google/initialize.js b/api/server/services/Endpoints/google/initialize.js
index 4e56cccb3b..75a31a8c09 100644
--- a/api/server/services/Endpoints/google/initialize.js
+++ b/api/server/services/Endpoints/google/initialize.js
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ const initializeClient = async ({ req, res, endpointOption, overrideModel, optio
     /** Only attempt to load service key if GOOGLE_KEY is not provided */
     try {
       const serviceKeyPath =
-        process.env.GOOGLE_SERVICE_KEY_FILE_PATH ||
+        process.env.GOOGLE_SERVICE_KEY_FILE ||
         path.join(__dirname, '../../../..', 'data', 'auth.json');
       serviceKey = await loadServiceKey(serviceKeyPath);
       if (!serviceKey) {
diff --git a/packages/api/src/files/mistral/crud.ts b/packages/api/src/files/mistral/crud.ts
index 5aef8edc2b..eac8433103 100644
--- a/packages/api/src/files/mistral/crud.ts
+++ b/packages/api/src/files/mistral/crud.ts
@@ -442,7 +442,7 @@ async function loadGoogleAuthConfig(): Promise<{
 }> {
   /** Path from environment variable or default location */
   const serviceKeyPath =
-    process.env.GOOGLE_SERVICE_KEY_FILE_PATH ||
+    process.env.GOOGLE_SERVICE_KEY_FILE ||
     path.join(__dirname, '..', '..', '..', 'api', 'data', 'auth.json');
 
   const serviceKey = await loadServiceKey(serviceKeyPath);
diff --git a/packages/api/src/utils/key.test.ts b/packages/api/src/utils/key.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..aa55cfbedf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/api/src/utils/key.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,97 @@
+import fs from 'fs';
+import path from 'path';
+import axios from 'axios';
+import { loadServiceKey } from './key';
+
+jest.mock('fs');
+jest.mock('axios');
+jest.mock('@librechat/data-schemas', () => ({
+  logger: {
+    error: jest.fn(),
+  },
+}));
+
+describe('loadServiceKey', () => {
+  const mockServiceKey = {
+    type: 'service_account',
+    project_id: 'test-project',
+    private_key_id: 'test-key-id',
+    private_key: '-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----\ntest-key\n-----END PRIVATE KEY-----',
+    client_email: 'test@test-project.iam.gserviceaccount.com',
+    client_id: '123456789',
+    auth_uri: 'https://accounts.google.com/o/oauth2/auth',
+    token_uri: 'https://oauth2.googleapis.com/token',
+    auth_provider_x509_cert_url: 'https://www.googleapis.com/oauth2/v1/certs',
+    client_x509_cert_url:
+      'https://www.googleapis.com/robot/v1/metadata/x509/test%40test-project.iam.gserviceaccount.com',
+  };
+
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    jest.clearAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it('should return null if keyPath is empty', async () => {
+    const result = await loadServiceKey('');
+    expect(result).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('should parse stringified JSON directly', async () => {
+    const jsonString = JSON.stringify(mockServiceKey);
+    const result = await loadServiceKey(jsonString);
+    expect(result).toEqual(mockServiceKey);
+  });
+
+  it('should parse stringified JSON with leading/trailing whitespace', async () => {
+    const jsonString = `  ${JSON.stringify(mockServiceKey)}  `;
+    const result = await loadServiceKey(jsonString);
+    expect(result).toEqual(mockServiceKey);
+  });
+
+  it('should load from file path', async () => {
+    const filePath = '/path/to/service-key.json';
+    (fs.readFileSync as jest.Mock).mockReturnValue(JSON.stringify(mockServiceKey));
+
+    const result = await loadServiceKey(filePath);
+    expect(fs.readFileSync).toHaveBeenCalledWith(path.resolve(filePath), 'utf8');
+    expect(result).toEqual(mockServiceKey);
+  });
+
+  it('should load from URL', async () => {
+    const url = 'https://example.com/service-key.json';
+    (axios.get as jest.Mock).mockResolvedValue({ data: mockServiceKey });
+
+    const result = await loadServiceKey(url);
+    expect(axios.get).toHaveBeenCalledWith(url);
+    expect(result).toEqual(mockServiceKey);
+  });
+
+  it('should handle invalid JSON string', async () => {
+    const invalidJson = '{ invalid json }';
+    const result = await loadServiceKey(invalidJson);
+    expect(result).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('should handle file read errors', async () => {
+    const filePath = '/path/to/nonexistent.json';
+    (fs.readFileSync as jest.Mock).mockImplementation(() => {
+      throw new Error('File not found');
+    });
+
+    const result = await loadServiceKey(filePath);
+    expect(result).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('should handle URL fetch errors', async () => {
+    const url = 'https://example.com/service-key.json';
+    (axios.get as jest.Mock).mockRejectedValue(new Error('Network error'));
+
+    const result = await loadServiceKey(url);
+    expect(result).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('should validate service key format', async () => {
+    const invalidServiceKey = { invalid: 'key' };
+    const result = await loadServiceKey(JSON.stringify(invalidServiceKey));
+    expect(result).toEqual(invalidServiceKey); // It returns the object as-is, validation is minimal
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/api/src/utils/key.ts b/packages/api/src/utils/key.ts
index 7d603afd3f..f0ccb3e451 100644
--- a/packages/api/src/utils/key.ts
+++ b/packages/api/src/utils/key.ts
@@ -18,8 +18,8 @@ export interface GoogleServiceKey {
 }
 
 /**
- * Load Google service key from file path or URL
- * @param keyPath - The path or URL to the service key file
+ * Load Google service key from file path, URL, or stringified JSON
+ * @param keyPath - The path to the service key file, URL to fetch it from, or stringified JSON
  * @returns The parsed service key object or null if failed
  */
 export async function loadServiceKey(keyPath: string): Promise<GoogleServiceKey | null> {
@@ -29,8 +29,17 @@ export async function loadServiceKey(keyPath: string): Promise<GoogleServiceKey
 
   let serviceKey: unknown;
 
+  // Check if it's a stringified JSON (starts with '{')
+  if (keyPath.trim().startsWith('{')) {
+    try {
+      serviceKey = JSON.parse(keyPath);
+    } catch (error) {
+      logger.error('Failed to parse service key from stringified JSON', error);
+      return null;
+    }
+  }
   // Check if it's a URL
-  if (/^https?:\/\//.test(keyPath)) {
+  else if (/^https?:\/\//.test(keyPath)) {
     try {
       const response = await axios.get(keyPath);
       serviceKey = response.data;