diff --git a/app/scripts/first-time-state.js b/app/scripts/first-time-state.js
index 3196981ba..46fcde998 100644
--- a/app/scripts/first-time-state.js
+++ b/app/scripts/first-time-state.js
@@ -1,11 +1,14 @@
+// test and development environment variables
+const env = process.env.METAMASK_ENV
+const METAMASK_DEBUG = 'GULP_METAMASK_DEBUG'
+
 //
 // The default state of MetaMask
 //
-
 module.exports = {
   config: {
     provider: {
-      type: 'testnet',
+      type: (METAMASK_DEBUG || env === 'test') ? 'testnet' : 'mainnet',
     },
   },
-}
\ No newline at end of file
+}