diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 351ab370c..c1bfa7e75 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -15072,6 +15072,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "anyhow",
  "async-channel",
  "cocoa 0.26.0",
+ "core-foundation 0.10.1",
  "gloo-storage",
  "log",
  "objc",
diff --git a/crates/warpui_extras/Cargo.toml b/crates/warpui_extras/Cargo.toml
index 474dbfa07..7a00f15b1 100644
--- a/crates/warpui_extras/Cargo.toml
+++ b/crates/warpui_extras/Cargo.toml
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ license.workspace = true
 default = ["secure_storage", "user_preferences", "user_preferences-file"]
 secure_storage = ["dep:security-framework", "dep:secret-service", "dep:ouroboros"]
 test-util = []
-user_preferences = ["dep:cocoa", "dep:objc", "dep:gloo-storage"]
+user_preferences = ["dep:cocoa", "dep:objc", "dep:gloo-storage", "dep:core-foundation"]
 user_preferences-file = ["user_preferences", "dep:serde", "dep:serde_json"]
 user_preferences-toml = ["user_preferences", "dep:serde", "dep:serde_json", "dep:toml_edit"]
 
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ tempfile.workspace = true
 
 [target.'cfg(target_os = "macos")'.dependencies]
 cocoa = { workspace = true, optional = true }
+core-foundation = { workspace = true, optional = true }
 objc = { workspace = true, optional = true }
 security-framework = { version = "2.0.0", optional = true }
 
diff --git a/crates/warpui_extras/src/user_preferences/user_defaults.rs b/crates/warpui_extras/src/user_preferences/user_defaults.rs
index 2ca7329a0..088a96416 100644
--- a/crates/warpui_extras/src/user_preferences/user_defaults.rs
+++ b/crates/warpui_extras/src/user_preferences/user_defaults.rs
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@
 #![allow(deprecated)]
 
 use cocoa::base::{id, nil};
+use core_foundation::base::{CFGetTypeID, CFTypeRef, TCFType};
+use core_foundation::boolean::CFBoolean;
 use objc::{class, msg_send, rc::StrongPtr, sel, sel_impl};
 
 /// A user preferences store backed by macOS user defaults (`NSUserDefaults`).
@@ -61,6 +63,22 @@ impl super::UserPreferences for UserDefaultsPreferencesStorage {
     fn read_value(&self, key: &str) -> Result<Option<String>, super::Error> {
         unsafe {
             let key = util::make_nsstring(key);
+
+            // Check for NSNumber-typed booleans before calling stringForKey:. When a value
+            // is written via `defaults write -bool false`, it is stored as NSNumber(BOOL).
+            // stringForKey: coerces that to "0"/"1", which serde_json cannot parse as bool
+            // and silently falls back to the setting's default. Return canonical JSON instead.
+            //
+            // BOOL is toll-free bridged with the kCFBooleanTrue/kCFBooleanFalse singletons,
+            // so CFGetTypeID is the only safe way to discriminate a real BOOL from a
+            // char-valued NSNumber (which shares ObjC encoding "c" on x86_64). Char-valued
+            // and other numeric NSNumbers carry CFNumber's type ID and fall through.
+            let raw: id = msg_send![*self.user_defaults, objectForKey: *key];
+            if raw != nil && CFGetTypeID(raw as CFTypeRef) == CFBoolean::type_id() {
+                let b: bool = msg_send![raw, boolValue];
+                return Ok(Some(b.to_string()));
+            }
+
             let value: id = msg_send![*self.user_defaults, stringForKey: *key];
             if value != nil {
                 Ok(Some(