diff --git a/.github/workflows/build-server.yml b/.github/workflows/build-server.yml
index 939ed434..560ae243 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build-server.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build-server.yml
@@ -34,6 +34,23 @@ jobs:
           cd client
           npm run build
 
+      - name: Setup Node.js (V3)
+        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
+        with:
+          node-version: '24'
+          cache: 'npm'
+          cache-dependency-path: 'client-v3/package-lock.json'
+
+      - name: Install dependencies (V3)
+        run: |
+          cd client-v3
+          npm ci
+
+      - name: Build frontend (V3)
+        run: |
+          cd client-v3
+          npm run build
+
       - name: Upload frontend build
         uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
         with:
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index abe78178..f1203f4c 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
-FROM node:24-bookworm AS node_build
+FROM node:24-bookworm AS build_v2
 
-# npm 11 bundled with Node 24, no separate install needed
 RUN mkdir -p /server/static
-
 COPY /client/package.json /client/package.json
 COPY /client/package-lock.json /client/package-lock.json
 COPY /client/.npmrc /client/.npmrc
@@ -12,7 +10,15 @@ COPY /client /client
 COPY /docs /docs
 RUN npm run build
 
-COPY /server /server
+FROM node:24-bookworm AS build_v3
+
+RUN mkdir -p /server/static/ui-new
+COPY /client-v3/package.json /client-v3/package.json
+COPY /client-v3/package-lock.json /client-v3/package-lock.json
+WORKDIR /client-v3
+RUN npm ci
+COPY /client-v3 /client-v3
+RUN npm run build
 
 FROM python:3.13-bookworm
 
@@ -22,8 +28,10 @@ RUN pip install -r requirements.txt
 RUN apt update
 RUN apt install -y nano
 
-COPY --from=node_build /server /server
+COPY /server /server
+COPY --from=build_v2 /server/static /server/static
+COPY --from=build_v3 /server/static/ui-new /server/static/ui-new
 WORKDIR /server
 RUN mkdir conf
 EXPOSE 8080
-ENTRYPOINT ["python3", "main.py"]
\ No newline at end of file
+ENTRYPOINT ["python3", "main.py"]
diff --git a/client-v3/src/App.vue b/client-v3/src/App.vue
index da462fa4..85e32afa 100644
--- a/client-v3/src/App.vue
+++ b/client-v3/src/App.vue
@@ -94,6 +94,7 @@
           </BNavItem>
         </BNavbarNav>
         <BNavbarNav class="ms-auto">
+          <BNavItem href="/?_switch=1"> Switch to Classic UI </BNavItem>
           <BNavItem to="/help"> Help </BNavItem>
           <BNavItem to="/about"> About </BNavItem>
           <BNavItemDropdown v-if="isElectronEnv" text="Server">
@@ -193,6 +194,7 @@ import { useConfirm } from '@/composables/useConfirm';
 import ConfirmDialog from '@/components/common/ConfirmDialog.vue';
 import CreateUser from '@/components/user/CreateUser.vue';
 import { useUserStore } from '@/stores/user';
+import type { UserSettings } from '@/types/api/user';
 import { useSystemStore } from '@/stores/system';
 import { useShowStore } from '@/stores/show';
 import { useWebSocketStore } from '@/stores/websocket';
@@ -275,6 +277,14 @@ async function awaitWSConnect(): Promise<void> {
     if (userStore.authToken) {
       await userStore.getCurrentUser();
       await Promise.all([userStore.getCurrentRbac(), userStore.getUserSettings()]);
+      const switching = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search).has('_switch');
+      if (!switching && (userStore.userSettings as UserSettings).preferred_ui === 'old') {
+        window.location.href = '/?_switch=1';
+        return;
+      }
+      if (switching) {
+        await router.replace(router.currentRoute.value.path);
+      }
     }
     if (systemStore.currentShow != null) {
       await showStore.getShowSessionData();
diff --git a/client-v3/src/components/user/settings/UserSettingsConfig.vue b/client-v3/src/components/user/settings/UserSettingsConfig.vue
index 6039c09f..3cf69f8e 100644
--- a/client-v3/src/components/user/settings/UserSettingsConfig.vue
+++ b/client-v3/src/components/user/settings/UserSettingsConfig.vue
@@ -101,9 +101,18 @@
               />
             </BFormGroup>
 
+            <BFormGroup label-cols="4" label="Preferred UI Version" label-for="preferred-ui-input">
+              <BFormSelect
+                id="preferred-ui-input"
+                v-model="state.preferred_ui"
+                name="preferred-ui-input"
+                :options="preferredUiOptions"
+              />
+            </BFormGroup>
+
             <BButtonGroup size="md" style="float: right">
-              <BButton type="reset" variant="danger" :disabled="!v$.$anyDirty">Reset</BButton>
-              <BButton type="submit" variant="primary" :disabled="!v$.$anyDirty || v$.$anyError">
+              <BButton type="reset" variant="danger" :disabled="!formDirty">Reset</BButton>
+              <BButton type="submit" variant="primary" :disabled="!formDirty || v$.$anyError">
                 Submit
               </BButton>
             </BButtonGroup>
@@ -119,6 +128,7 @@
 
 <script setup lang="ts">
 import { ref, computed, watch, onMounted } from 'vue';
+
 import { useVuelidate } from '@vuelidate/core';
 import { required, integer, minValue } from '@vuelidate/validators';
 import log from 'loglevel';
@@ -143,6 +153,7 @@ const defaultState = (): UserSettings => ({
   console_log_level: 'WARN',
   character_mru_sort: false,
   character_combined_dropdown: false,
+  preferred_ui: null,
 });
 
 const state = ref<UserSettings>(defaultState());
@@ -162,6 +173,12 @@ const consoleLogLevelOptions = [
   { value: 'SILENT', text: 'SILENT' },
 ];
 
+const preferredUiOptions = [
+  { value: null, text: 'Use system default' },
+  { value: 'old', text: 'Classic UI' },
+  { value: 'new', text: 'New UI' },
+];
+
 const rules = computed(() => ({
   enable_script_auto_save: {},
   script_auto_save_interval: {
@@ -176,13 +193,19 @@ const rules = computed(() => ({
   console_log_level: { required },
   character_mru_sort: {},
   character_combined_dropdown: {},
+  preferred_ui: {},
 }));
 
 const v$ = useVuelidate(rules, state);
+const savedSettings = ref<UserSettings>(defaultState());
+const formDirty = computed(
+  () => JSON.stringify(state.value) !== JSON.stringify(savedSettings.value)
+);
 
 function resetForm(): void {
   loaded.value = false;
   const settings = userStore.userSettings as UserSettings;
+  savedSettings.value = { ...defaultState(), ...settings };
   state.value = { ...defaultState(), ...settings };
   v$.value.$reset();
   loaded.value = true;
@@ -192,6 +215,7 @@ watch(() => userStore.userSettings, resetForm, { deep: true });
 
 onMounted(() => {
   const settings = userStore.userSettings as UserSettings;
+  savedSettings.value = { ...defaultState(), ...settings };
   state.value = { ...defaultState(), ...settings };
   loaded.value = true;
 });
diff --git a/client-v3/src/types/api/user.ts b/client-v3/src/types/api/user.ts
index 98e204a2..e37f8f3b 100644
--- a/client-v3/src/types/api/user.ts
+++ b/client-v3/src/types/api/user.ts
@@ -22,4 +22,5 @@ export interface UserSettings {
   console_log_level: string;
   character_mru_sort: boolean;
   character_combined_dropdown: boolean;
+  preferred_ui: string | null;
 }
diff --git a/client/src/App.vue b/client/src/App.vue
index e4067e9e..55cbdb6e 100644
--- a/client/src/App.vue
+++ b/client/src/App.vue
@@ -91,6 +91,7 @@
           </b-nav-item>
         </b-navbar-nav>
         <b-navbar-nav class="ml-auto">
+          <b-nav-item href="/ui-new/?_switch=1"> Switch to New UI </b-nav-item>
           <b-nav-item to="/help"> Help </b-nav-item>
           <b-nav-item to="/about"> About </b-nav-item>
           <b-nav-item-dropdown v-if="isElectron()" text="Server">
@@ -323,6 +324,18 @@ export default defineComponent({
         if ((this as any).AUTH_TOKEN) {
           await (this as any).GET_CURRENT_USER();
           await Promise.all([(this as any).GET_CURRENT_RBAC(), (this as any).GET_USER_SETTINGS()]);
+          const switching = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search).has('_switch');
+          if (!switching) {
+            const userPref = (this as any).USER_SETTINGS?.preferred_ui as string | null | undefined;
+            const systemDefault = (this as any).SETTINGS?.default_ui as string | undefined;
+            if (userPref === 'new' || (userPref == null && systemDefault === 'new')) {
+              window.location.href = '/ui-new/';
+              return;
+            }
+          }
+          if (switching) {
+            await (this as any).$router.replace({ path: (this as any).$route.path });
+          }
         }
 
         if ((this as any).SETTINGS.current_show != null) {
diff --git a/client/src/vue_components/user/settings/Settings.vue b/client/src/vue_components/user/settings/Settings.vue
index 6dabe84f..29c513d3 100644
--- a/client/src/vue_components/user/settings/Settings.vue
+++ b/client/src/vue_components/user/settings/Settings.vue
@@ -102,9 +102,21 @@
                   :switch="true"
                 />
               </b-form-group>
+              <b-form-group
+                :label-cols="true"
+                label="Preferred UI Version"
+                label-for="preferred-ui-input"
+              >
+                <b-form-select
+                  id="preferred-ui-input"
+                  v-model="$v.editSettings.preferred_ui.$model"
+                  name="preferred-ui-input"
+                  :options="preferredUiOptions"
+                />
+              </b-form-group>
               <b-button-group size="md" style="float: right">
-                <b-button type="reset" variant="danger" :disabled="!$v.$anyDirty"> Reset </b-button>
-                <b-button type="submit" variant="primary" :disabled="!$v.$anyDirty || $v.$anyError">
+                <b-button type="reset" variant="danger" :disabled="!formDirty"> Reset </b-button>
+                <b-button type="submit" variant="primary" :disabled="!formDirty || $v.$anyError">
                   Submit
                 </b-button>
               </b-button-group>
@@ -133,6 +145,7 @@ export default defineComponent({
   data() {
     return {
       loaded: false,
+      savedSettings: null as Record<string, unknown> | null,
       editSettings: {
         enable_script_auto_save: false,
         script_auto_save_interval: 10,
@@ -141,6 +154,7 @@ export default defineComponent({
         console_log_level: 'WARN',
         character_mru_sort: false,
         character_combined_dropdown: false,
+        preferred_ui: null as string | null,
       },
       textAlignmentOptions: [
         { value: TEXT_ALIGNMENT.LEFT, text: 'Left' },
@@ -155,11 +169,19 @@ export default defineComponent({
         { value: 'ERROR', text: 'ERROR' },
         { value: 'SILENT', text: 'SILENT' },
       ],
+      preferredUiOptions: [
+        { value: null, text: 'Use system default' },
+        { value: 'old', text: 'Classic UI' },
+        { value: 'new', text: 'New UI' },
+      ],
       toggle: 0,
     };
   },
   computed: {
     ...mapGetters(['USER_SETTINGS']),
+    formDirty(): boolean {
+      return JSON.stringify(this.editSettings) !== JSON.stringify(this.savedSettings);
+    },
   },
   watch: {
     USER_SETTINGS(): void {
@@ -184,10 +206,13 @@ export default defineComponent({
       console_log_level: { required },
       character_mru_sort: {},
       character_combined_dropdown: {},
+      preferred_ui: { isValidUi: (val: unknown) => val === null || val === 'old' || val === 'new' },
     },
   },
   mounted(): void {
-    this.editSettings = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify((this as any).USER_SETTINGS));
+    const settings = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify((this as any).USER_SETTINGS));
+    this.savedSettings = settings;
+    this.editSettings = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(settings));
     this.loaded = true;
   },
   methods: {
@@ -208,12 +233,15 @@ export default defineComponent({
         log.error('Unable to save settings');
       } else {
         (this as any).$toast.success('Saved settings');
+        this.savedSettings = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(this.editSettings));
       }
     },
     resetForm(): void {
       this.loaded = false;
       this.toggle = Number(!this.toggle);
-      this.editSettings = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify((this as any).USER_SETTINGS));
+      const settings = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify((this as any).USER_SETTINGS));
+      this.savedSettings = settings;
+      this.editSettings = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(settings));
       this.loaded = true;
     },
   },
diff --git a/client/vite.config.ts b/client/vite.config.ts
index f2d477f7..48e1a58f 100644
--- a/client/vite.config.ts
+++ b/client/vite.config.ts
@@ -1,10 +1,29 @@
 import path from 'path';
-import { defineConfig } from 'vite';
+import fs from 'fs';
+import { defineConfig, type Plugin } from 'vite';
 import vue from '@vitejs/plugin-vue2';
 
+function cleanV2StaticPlugin(): Plugin {
+  return {
+    name: 'clean-v2-static',
+    buildStart() {
+      if (process.env.BUILD_TARGET === 'electron') return;
+      const outDir = path.resolve(__dirname, '../server/static');
+      if (fs.existsSync(outDir)) {
+        for (const entry of fs.readdirSync(outDir)) {
+          if (entry !== 'ui-new') {
+            fs.rmSync(path.join(outDir, entry), { recursive: true, force: true });
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    },
+  };
+}
+
 export default defineConfig({
   plugins: [
     vue(),
+    cleanV2StaticPlugin(),
   ],
   define: {
     'process.env.NODE_ENV': JSON.stringify(process.env.NODE_ENV || 'development'),
@@ -15,7 +34,7 @@ export default defineConfig({
   build: {
     outDir: process.env.BUILD_TARGET === 'electron' ? './dist-electron' : '../server/static/',
     assetsDir: './assets',
-    emptyOutDir: true,
+    emptyOutDir: false,
     minify: 'esbuild',
     cssMinify: 'esbuild',
     rollupOptions: {
diff --git a/server/alembic_config/versions/11311df29aa4_add_preferred_ui_to_user_settings.py b/server/alembic_config/versions/11311df29aa4_add_preferred_ui_to_user_settings.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8f6742e9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/server/alembic_config/versions/11311df29aa4_add_preferred_ui_to_user_settings.py
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+"""add preferred_ui to user_settings
+
+Revision ID: 11311df29aa4
+Revises: 4fbfeaba60ae
+Create Date: 2026-05-19 23:24:51.376973
+
+"""
+
+from typing import Sequence, Union
+
+import sqlalchemy as sa
+from alembic import op
+
+
+# revision identifiers, used by Alembic.
+revision: str = "11311df29aa4"
+down_revision: Union[str, None] = "4fbfeaba60ae"
+branch_labels: Union[str, Sequence[str], None] = None
+depends_on: Union[str, Sequence[str], None] = None
+
+
+def upgrade() -> None:
+    # ### commands auto generated by Alembic - please adjust! ###
+    with op.batch_alter_table("user_settings", schema=None) as batch_op:
+        batch_op.add_column(sa.Column("preferred_ui", sa.String(), nullable=True))
+        batch_op.create_check_constraint(
+            "ck_user_settings_preferred_ui",
+            "preferred_ui IS NULL OR preferred_ui IN ('old', 'new')",
+        )
+
+    # ### end Alembic commands ###
+
+
+def downgrade() -> None:
+    # ### commands auto generated by Alembic - please adjust! ###
+    with op.batch_alter_table("user_settings", schema=None) as batch_op:
+        batch_op.drop_constraint("ck_user_settings_preferred_ui", type_="check")
+        batch_op.drop_column("preferred_ui")
+
+    # ### end Alembic commands ###
diff --git a/server/controllers/controllers.py b/server/controllers/controllers.py
index 8a8fed4a..bf607d28 100644
--- a/server/controllers/controllers.py
+++ b/server/controllers/controllers.py
@@ -23,7 +23,12 @@ def import_all_controllers():
 
 
 class RootController(BaseController):
-    def get(self, _path):
+    async def get(self, path):
+        if not path and not self.get_argument("_switch", None):
+            default_ui = await self.application.digi_settings.get("default_ui")
+            if default_ui == "new":
+                self.redirect("/ui-new/")
+                return
         if is_frozen():
             # In PyInstaller mode, use resource path
             full_path = get_resource_path(os.path.join("static", "index.html"))
diff --git a/server/digi_server/settings.py b/server/digi_server/settings.py
index 8d1274f8..0fb13092 100644
--- a/server/digi_server/settings.py
+++ b/server/digi_server/settings.py
@@ -206,6 +206,16 @@ def init_settings(self):
             hide_from_ui=True,
         )
         self.define("debug_mode", bool, False, True, display_name="Enable Debug Mode")
+        self.define(
+            "default_ui",
+            str,
+            "old",
+            True,
+            display_name="Default UI Version",
+            help_text="Which UI version users are directed to by default. User preferences override this.",
+            choice_options=["old", "new"],
+            category="General",
+        )
         self.define(
             "log_level",
             str,
diff --git a/server/models/user.py b/server/models/user.py
index def17546..089080ac 100644
--- a/server/models/user.py
+++ b/server/models/user.py
@@ -89,12 +89,17 @@ class UserSettings(db.Model):
     console_log_level: Mapped[str] = mapped_column(default="WARN")
     character_mru_sort: Mapped[bool] = mapped_column(default=False)
     character_combined_dropdown: Mapped[bool] = mapped_column(default=False)
+    preferred_ui: Mapped[str | None] = mapped_column(default=None)
 
     __table_args__ = (
         CheckConstraint(
             "console_log_level IN ('TRACE', 'DEBUG', 'INFO', 'WARN', 'ERROR', 'SILENT')",
             name="ck_user_settings_console_log_level",
         ),
+        CheckConstraint(
+            "preferred_ui IS NULL OR preferred_ui IN ('old', 'new')",
+            name="ck_user_settings_preferred_ui",
+        ),
     )
 
     # Hidden Properties (None user editable, marked with _)