diff --git a/supabase/functions/_shared/authHelpers.ts b/supabase/functions/_shared/authHelpers.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..6c455498
--- /dev/null
+++ b/supabase/functions/_shared/authHelpers.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+/**
+ * Authentication Helper Functions
+ * 
+ * Utilities for extracting user information from requests,
+ * handling JWTs, and generating rate limit keys.
+ */
+
+import { createClient } from 'jsr:@supabase/supabase-js@2';
+
+/**
+ * Extract user ID from Authorization header JWT
+ * Returns null if not authenticated or invalid token
+ */
+export function extractUserIdFromAuth(req: Request): string | null {
+  try {
+    const authHeader = req.headers.get('Authorization');
+    if (!authHeader || !authHeader.startsWith('Bearer ')) {
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    const token = authHeader.substring(7);
+    
+    // Decode JWT (just the payload, no verification needed for ID extraction)
+    const parts = token.split('.');
+    if (parts.length !== 3) {
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    const payload = JSON.parse(atob(parts[1]));
+    return payload.sub || null;
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error('Error extracting user ID from auth:', error);
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Get client IP address from request
+ * Handles various proxy headers
+ */
+export function getClientIP(req: Request): string {
+  // Check common proxy headers in order of preference
+  const forwardedFor = req.headers.get('x-forwarded-for');
+  if (forwardedFor) {
+    // x-forwarded-for can contain multiple IPs, take the first one
+    return forwardedFor.split(',')[0].trim();
+  }
+
+  const realIP = req.headers.get('x-real-ip');
+  if (realIP) {
+    return realIP.trim();
+  }
+
+  const cfConnectingIP = req.headers.get('cf-connecting-ip');
+  if (cfConnectingIP) {
+    return cfConnectingIP.trim();
+  }
+
+  // Fallback to a default value
+  return 'unknown';
+}
+
+/**
+ * Generate a rate limit key for the request
+ * Prefers user ID, falls back to IP
+ */
+export function getRateLimitKey(req: Request, prefix: string = 'user'): string {
+  const userId = extractUserIdFromAuth(req);
+  if (userId) {
+    return `${prefix}:${userId}`;
+  }
+  
+  const clientIP = getClientIP(req);
+  return `${prefix}:ip:${clientIP}`;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Verify JWT token and get user ID using Supabase client
+ * More robust than manual decoding, verifies signature
+ */
+export async function verifyAuthAndGetUserId(
+  req: Request,
+  supabaseUrl: string,
+  supabaseServiceKey: string
+): Promise<string | null> {
+  try {
+    const authHeader = req.headers.get('Authorization');
+    if (!authHeader || !authHeader.startsWith('Bearer ')) {
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    const token = authHeader.substring(7);
+    
+    // Create a Supabase client for verification
+    const supabase = createClient(supabaseUrl, supabaseServiceKey);
+    
+    // Verify the JWT
+    const { data: { user }, error } = await supabase.auth.getUser(token);
+    
+    if (error || !user) {
+      return null;
+    }
+
+    return user.id;
+  } catch (error) {
+    console.error('Error verifying auth token:', error);
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Check if request has valid authentication
+ */
+export function hasValidAuth(req: Request): boolean {
+  const authHeader = req.headers.get('Authorization');
+  return authHeader !== null && authHeader.startsWith('Bearer ');
+}
+
+/**
+ * Extract request metadata for logging
+ */
+export interface RequestMetadata {
+  userId: string | null;
+  clientIP: string;
+  userAgent: string | null;
+  referer: string | null;
+  method: string;
+  path: string;
+}
+
+export function extractRequestMetadata(req: Request): RequestMetadata {
+  const url = new URL(req.url);
+  
+  return {
+    userId: extractUserIdFromAuth(req),
+    clientIP: getClientIP(req),
+    userAgent: req.headers.get('user-agent'),
+    referer: req.headers.get('referer'),
+    method: req.method,
+    path: url.pathname,
+  };
+}
diff --git a/supabase/functions/_shared/rateLimitMetrics.ts b/supabase/functions/_shared/rateLimitMetrics.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d22d4cd3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/supabase/functions/_shared/rateLimitMetrics.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,144 @@
+/**
+ * Rate Limit Metrics Tracking
+ * 
+ * In-memory metrics collection for rate limiting operations.
+ * Tracks accepted/rejected requests, patterns, and provides analytics.
+ */
+
+export interface RateLimitMetric {
+  timestamp: number;
+  functionName: string;
+  clientIP: string;
+  userId?: string;
+  allowed: boolean;
+  remaining: number;
+  retryAfter?: number;
+  tier: string;
+}
+
+export interface MetricsStats {
+  totalRequests: number;
+  allowedRequests: number;
+  blockedRequests: number;
+  blockRate: number;
+  uniqueIPs: number;
+  uniqueUsers: number;
+  topBlockedIPs: Array<{ ip: string; count: number }>;
+  topBlockedUsers: Array<{ userId: string; count: number }>;
+  tierDistribution: Record<string, number>;
+}
+
+// In-memory storage for metrics
+const metricsStore: RateLimitMetric[] = [];
+const MAX_METRICS = 10000; // Keep last 10k metrics
+
+/**
+ * Record a rate limit check result
+ */
+export function recordRateLimitMetric(metric: RateLimitMetric): void {
+  metricsStore.push(metric);
+  
+  // Trim oldest metrics if we exceed max
+  if (metricsStore.length > MAX_METRICS) {
+    metricsStore.splice(0, metricsStore.length - MAX_METRICS);
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Get recent metrics
+ */
+export function getRecentMetrics(limit: number = 100): RateLimitMetric[] {
+  return metricsStore.slice(-limit);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Get aggregated statistics for a time window
+ */
+export function getMetricsStats(timeWindowMs: number = 60000): MetricsStats {
+  const now = Date.now();
+  const cutoff = now - timeWindowMs;
+  const recentMetrics = metricsStore.filter(m => m.timestamp >= cutoff);
+
+  const allowedRequests = recentMetrics.filter(m => m.allowed).length;
+  const blockedRequests = recentMetrics.filter(m => !m.allowed).length;
+  const totalRequests = recentMetrics.length;
+
+  // Track unique IPs and users
+  const uniqueIPs = new Set(recentMetrics.map(m => m.clientIP)).size;
+  const uniqueUsers = new Set(
+    recentMetrics.filter(m => m.userId).map(m => m.userId)
+  ).size;
+
+  // Find top blocked IPs
+  const ipBlockCounts = new Map<string, number>();
+  const userBlockCounts = new Map<string, number>();
+  const tierCounts = new Map<string, number>();
+
+  recentMetrics.forEach(metric => {
+    if (!metric.allowed) {
+      ipBlockCounts.set(metric.clientIP, (ipBlockCounts.get(metric.clientIP) || 0) + 1);
+      if (metric.userId) {
+        userBlockCounts.set(metric.userId, (userBlockCounts.get(metric.userId) || 0) + 1);
+      }
+    }
+    tierCounts.set(metric.tier, (tierCounts.get(metric.tier) || 0) + 1);
+  });
+
+  const topBlockedIPs = Array.from(ipBlockCounts.entries())
+    .map(([ip, count]) => ({ ip, count }))
+    .sort((a, b) => b.count - a.count)
+    .slice(0, 10);
+
+  const topBlockedUsers = Array.from(userBlockCounts.entries())
+    .map(([userId, count]) => ({ userId, count }))
+    .sort((a, b) => b.count - a.count)
+    .slice(0, 10);
+
+  const tierDistribution = Object.fromEntries(tierCounts);
+
+  return {
+    totalRequests,
+    allowedRequests,
+    blockedRequests,
+    blockRate: totalRequests > 0 ? blockedRequests / totalRequests : 0,
+    uniqueIPs,
+    uniqueUsers,
+    topBlockedIPs,
+    topBlockedUsers,
+    tierDistribution,
+  };
+}
+
+/**
+ * Clear all metrics (useful for testing)
+ */
+export function clearMetrics(): void {
+  metricsStore.length = 0;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Get metrics for a specific function
+ */
+export function getFunctionMetrics(functionName: string, limit: number = 100): RateLimitMetric[] {
+  return metricsStore
+    .filter(m => m.functionName === functionName)
+    .slice(-limit);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Get metrics for a specific user
+ */
+export function getUserMetrics(userId: string, limit: number = 100): RateLimitMetric[] {
+  return metricsStore
+    .filter(m => m.userId === userId)
+    .slice(-limit);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Get metrics for a specific IP
+ */
+export function getIPMetrics(clientIP: string, limit: number = 100): RateLimitMetric[] {
+  return metricsStore
+    .filter(m => m.clientIP === clientIP)
+    .slice(-limit);
+}