diff --git a/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/handler.go b/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/handler.go
index 684fdd75e..18534e446 100644
--- a/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/handler.go
+++ b/weed/mq/kafka/protocol/handler.go
@@ -1613,12 +1613,14 @@ func (h *Handler) HandleMetadataV3V4(correlationID uint32, requestBody []byte) (
 	var topicsToReturn []string
 	if len(requestedTopics) == 0 {
 		topicsToReturn = h.seaweedMQHandler.ListTopics()
+		glog.Warningf("🟡 Metadata v3/v4: No specific topics requested, returning ALL topics: %v", topicsToReturn)
 	} else {
 		for _, name := range requestedTopics {
 			if h.seaweedMQHandler.TopicExists(name) {
 				topicsToReturn = append(topicsToReturn, name)
 			}
 		}
+		glog.Warningf("🟡 Metadata v3/v4: Requested topics: %v, matched topics: %v", requestedTopics, topicsToReturn)
 	}
 
 	var buf bytes.Buffer
@@ -1639,6 +1641,7 @@ func (h *Handler) HandleMetadataV3V4(correlationID uint32, requestBody []byte) (
 	nodeID := h.GetNodeID() // Get consistent node ID for this gateway
 
 	// Broker: node_id(4) + host(STRING) + port(4) + rack(STRING) + cluster_id(NULLABLE_STRING)
+	glog.Warningf("🟡 Metadata v3/v4: Returning broker - nodeID=%d, host=%s, port=%d", nodeID, host, port)
 	binary.Write(&buf, binary.BigEndian, nodeID)
 
 	// Host (STRING: 2 bytes length + data) - validate length fits in int16
@@ -1777,6 +1780,8 @@ func (h *Handler) handleMetadataV5ToV8(correlationID uint32, requestBody []byte,
 	// NOTE: Correlation ID is handled by writeResponseWithCorrelationID
 	// Do NOT include it in the response body
 
+	glog.Warningf("🟡 Metadata v%d: About to build response with topics=%v", apiVersion, topicsToReturn)
+
 	// ThrottleTimeMs (4 bytes) - v3+ addition
 	binary.Write(&buf, binary.BigEndian, int32(0)) // No throttling
 
@@ -1789,6 +1794,7 @@ func (h *Handler) handleMetadataV5ToV8(correlationID uint32, requestBody []byte,
 	nodeID := h.GetNodeID() // Get consistent node ID for this gateway
 
 	// Broker: node_id(4) + host(STRING) + port(4) + rack(STRING) + cluster_id(NULLABLE_STRING)
+	glog.Warningf("🟡 Metadata v%d: Returning broker - nodeID=%d, host=%s, port=%d", apiVersion, nodeID, host, port)
 	binary.Write(&buf, binary.BigEndian, nodeID)
 
 	// Host (STRING: 2 bytes length + data) - validate length fits in int16
@@ -2877,26 +2883,39 @@ func (h *Handler) buildUnsupportedVersionResponse(correlationID uint32, apiKey,
 
 // handleMetadata routes to the appropriate version-specific handler
 func (h *Handler) handleMetadata(correlationID uint32, apiVersion uint16, requestBody []byte) ([]byte, error) {
+	glog.Warningf("🟡 handleMetadata ENTRY: apiVersion=%d, correlationID=%d, requestBodyLen=%d", apiVersion, correlationID, len(requestBody))
+	
+	var response []byte
+	var err error
+	
 	switch apiVersion {
 	case 0:
-		return h.HandleMetadataV0(correlationID, requestBody)
+		response, err = h.HandleMetadataV0(correlationID, requestBody)
 	case 1:
-		return h.HandleMetadataV1(correlationID, requestBody)
+		response, err = h.HandleMetadataV1(correlationID, requestBody)
 	case 2:
-		return h.HandleMetadataV2(correlationID, requestBody)
+		response, err = h.HandleMetadataV2(correlationID, requestBody)
 	case 3, 4:
-		return h.HandleMetadataV3V4(correlationID, requestBody)
+		response, err = h.HandleMetadataV3V4(correlationID, requestBody)
 	case 5, 6:
-		return h.HandleMetadataV5V6(correlationID, requestBody)
+		response, err = h.HandleMetadataV5V6(correlationID, requestBody)
 	case 7:
-		return h.HandleMetadataV7(correlationID, requestBody)
+		response, err = h.HandleMetadataV7(correlationID, requestBody)
 	default:
 		// For versions > 7, use the V7 handler (flexible format)
 		if apiVersion > 7 {
-			return h.HandleMetadataV7(correlationID, requestBody)
+			response, err = h.HandleMetadataV7(correlationID, requestBody)
+		} else {
+			err = fmt.Errorf("metadata version %d not implemented yet", apiVersion)
 		}
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("metadata version %d not implemented yet", apiVersion)
 	}
+	
+	if err != nil {
+		glog.Warningf("🟡 handleMetadata EXIT ERROR: apiVersion=%d, correlationID=%d, err=%v", apiVersion, correlationID, err)
+	} else {
+		glog.Warningf("🟡 handleMetadata EXIT OK: apiVersion=%d, correlationID=%d, responseLen=%d", apiVersion, correlationID, len(response))
+	}
+	return response, err
 }
 
 // getAPIName returns a human-readable name for Kafka API keys (for debugging)