diff --git a/packages/web_ui/src/components/InstanceViewPage.tsx b/packages/web_ui/src/components/InstanceViewPage.tsx
index 6bfa9759..e83e206d 100644
--- a/packages/web_ui/src/components/InstanceViewPage.tsx
+++ b/packages/web_ui/src/components/InstanceViewPage.tsx
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import { useHost } from "../model/host";
 import InstanceStatusTag from "./InstanceStatusTag";
 import Link from "./Link";
 import { instancePublicAddress } from "../util/instance";
+import useLocalStorage from "../util/useLocalStorage";
 import { MetricRelativeDate } from "./system_metrics";
 
 type MenuItem = Required<MenuProps>["items"][number];
@@ -180,9 +181,7 @@ export default function InstanceViewPage() {
 	let params = useParams();
 	let instanceId = Number(params.id);
 	const [maxLevel, setMaxLevel] = useState<keyof typeof lib.levels>("server");
-	const [actionsOnly, setActionsOnly] = useState<boolean>(
-		() => localStorage.getItem(consoleActionsOnlyKey) !== "false"
-	);
+	const [actionsOnly, setActionsOnly] = useLocalStorage(consoleActionsOnlyKey, true);
 
 	let navigate = useNavigate();
 
@@ -239,10 +238,7 @@ export default function InstanceViewPage() {
 							checkedChildren="Chat"
 							unCheckedChildren="Log"
 							checked={actionsOnly}
-							onChange={value => {
-								setActionsOnly(value);
-								localStorage.setItem(consoleActionsOnlyKey, String(value));
-							}}
+							onChange={setActionsOnly}
 						/>
 						<SelectMaxLogLevel
 							value={maxLevel}
diff --git a/packages/web_ui/src/util/useLocalStorage.ts b/packages/web_ui/src/util/useLocalStorage.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..26a59cd9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/web_ui/src/util/useLocalStorage.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+import { useState } from "react";
+
+/**
+ * Persist a JSON-serialisable value in localStorage. Behaves like useState, but
+ * seeds the initial value from localStorage and writes changes back. The write
+ * is deferred to a later task so it never blocks the state update / re-render.
+ */
+export default function useLocalStorage<T>(key: string, defaultValue: T): [T, (value: T) => void] {
+	const [value, setValue] = useState<T>(() => {
+		const stored = localStorage.getItem(key);
+		if (stored === null) {
+			return defaultValue;
+		}
+		try {
+			return JSON.parse(stored) as T;
+		} catch {
+			return defaultValue;
+		}
+	});
+
+	function set(next: T) {
+		setValue(next);
+		setTimeout(() => {
+			try {
+				localStorage.setItem(key, JSON.stringify(next));
+			} catch {
+				// Ignore storage errors (e.g. quota exceeded or storage disabled).
+			}
+		}, 0);
+	}
+
+	return [value, set];
+}