diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/InstanceSettings.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/InstanceSettings.svelte
index 875bfec942..a235ac49a7 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/InstanceSettings.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/InstanceSettings.svelte
@@ -1073,9 +1073,9 @@
 							are started for, whether AI chat skills are turned on or off and how often one is
 							loaded, whether SSO logins evaluate an IdP groups claim (SAML or OIDC) and change a
 							membership, the plan tier and quota shown when the execution meter is opened, how often
-							an empty workspace home is seen and its create menu or hub-project picker opened, and
-							which home-page entry point a new item is created from, the name of any public hub
-							project imported from it and how far that import got, last 30 days)</li
+							an empty workspace home is seen, how often the home page’s create menu and hub-project
+							picker are opened and from which entry point, and the name of any public hub project
+							imported from the home page and how far that import got, last 30 days)</li
 						>
 						<li
 							>feature adoption (counts of which flow, script, trigger and worker features your
@@ -1130,9 +1130,9 @@
 							are started for, whether AI chat skills are turned on or off and how often one is
 							loaded, whether SSO logins evaluate an IdP groups claim (SAML or OIDC) and change a
 							membership, the plan tier and quota shown when the execution meter is opened, how often
-							an empty workspace home is seen and its create menu or hub-project picker opened, and
-							which home-page entry point a new item is created from, the name of any public hub
-							project imported from it and how far that import got, last 30 days)</li
+							an empty workspace home is seen, how often the home page’s create menu and hub-project
+							picker are opened and from which entry point, and the name of any public hub project
+							imported from the home page and how far that import got, last 30 days)</li
 						>
 						<li
 							>feature adoption (counts of which flow, script, trigger and worker features your
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/home/ItemsList.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/home/ItemsList.svelte
index 0017a4476b..5983e97c38 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/home/ItemsList.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/home/ItemsList.svelte
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 	} from '$lib/gen'
 	import { resource } from 'runed'
 	import { getDraftItems } from '$lib/workspaceDrafts.svelte'
-	import { userStore, workspaceStore } from '$lib/stores'
+	import { disableHubStore, userStore, workspaceStore } from '$lib/stores'
 	import type uFuzzy from '@leeoniya/ufuzzy'
 	import {
 		ArrowDownUp,
@@ -1813,7 +1813,11 @@
 			     whose direct-deploy protection cleared showEditButtons (NoDirectDeployAlert), since
 			     the menu itself does no permission check. -->
 			{#if !$userStore?.operator && showEditButtons}
-				<CreateActionsMenu onImportHubProject={() => (hubPickerOpen = true)} />
+				<!-- No hub entry where the instance has the hub turned off: the same setting the
+				     script and flow hub pickers observe. -->
+				<CreateActionsMenu
+					onImportHubProject={$disableHubStore ? undefined : () => (hubPickerOpen = true)}
+				/>
 			{/if}
 		</div>
 	</div>
diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/components/home/WorkspaceEmptyState.svelte b/frontend/src/lib/components/home/WorkspaceEmptyState.svelte
index ccda47ee1d..b3d1422d07 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/components/home/WorkspaceEmptyState.svelte
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/components/home/WorkspaceEmptyState.svelte
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 	import { logFeatureUsage } from '$lib/utils/featureUsage'
 	import Popover from '$lib/components/meltComponents/Popover.svelte'
 	import { preloadHubProjects, type HubProjectPick } from '$lib/hubProject'
-	import { workspaceStore } from '$lib/stores'
+	import { disableHubStore, workspaceStore } from '$lib/stores'
 	import CreateActionsMenu from './CreateActionsMenu.svelte'
 	import HubTemplatePicker from './HubTemplatePicker.svelte'
 
@@ -32,9 +32,10 @@
 
 	// Warmed as soon as the empty state renders rather than on the first click: the
 	// catalogue is one request for the whole hub, and paying for it here is what makes
-	// the picker open on content.
+	// the picker open on content. Not on an instance with the hub turned off, where the
+	// request is one the operator has said not to make.
 	$effect(() => {
-		if ($workspaceStore) preloadHubProjects($workspaceStore)
+		if ($workspaceStore && !$disableHubStore) preloadHubProjects($workspaceStore)
 	})
 </script>
 
@@ -65,38 +66,43 @@
 		class="border-t border-dashed border-border-light px-4 pb-[22px] pt-[18px] text-center text-[13.5px] leading-relaxed text-hint"
 	>
 		Your scripts, flows and apps will show up here.
-		<!-- Opens downward into the page rather than upward into the hero: the caption sits high
-		     when the AI composer is hidden, so the room is below it. `fitViewport` caps the box on
-		     a short viewport, which is why the height below is definite and the list inside fills
-		     it — a squeezed box with a fixed-height list inside overflows its own frame. -->
-		<Popover
-			floatingConfig={{
-				placement: 'bottom',
-				strategy: 'absolute',
-				gutter: 8,
-				overflowPadding: 16,
-				flip: { fallbackPlacements: ['top', 'bottom-start', 'top-start'] },
-				fitViewport: true,
-				overlap: false
-			}}
-			contentClasses="p-0 flex"
-			contentStyle="height: min(72vh, 520px);"
-			class="border-b border-transparent text-accent hover:border-accent"
-			triggerAttrs={{ 'aria-label': 'Start from a template' }}
-			on:openChange={(e) =>
-				e.detail && logFeatureUsage('home', 'template_picker_open', { key: 'empty_state' })}
-		>
-			{#snippet trigger()}Start from a template{/snippet}
-			{#snippet content({ close })}
-				<HubTemplatePicker
-					onPick={(project) => {
-						close()
-						onPick(project)
-					}}
-				/>
-			{/snippet}
-		</Popover>
-		or
+		<!-- The hub half goes when the instance has the hub turned off, and the remaining link
+		     opens the sentence instead of continuing it. -->
+		{#if !$disableHubStore}
+			<!-- Opens downward into the page rather than upward into the hero: the caption sits
+			     high when the AI composer is hidden, so the room is below it. `fitViewport` caps
+			     the box on a short viewport, which is why the height below is definite and the
+			     list inside fills it — a squeezed box with a fixed-height list inside overflows
+			     its own frame. -->
+			<Popover
+				floatingConfig={{
+					placement: 'bottom',
+					strategy: 'absolute',
+					gutter: 8,
+					overflowPadding: 16,
+					flip: { fallbackPlacements: ['top', 'bottom-start', 'top-start'] },
+					fitViewport: true,
+					overlap: false
+				}}
+				contentClasses="p-0 flex"
+				contentStyle="height: min(72vh, 520px);"
+				class="border-b border-transparent text-accent hover:border-accent"
+				triggerAttrs={{ 'aria-label': 'Start from a template' }}
+				on:openChange={(e) =>
+					e.detail && logFeatureUsage('home', 'template_picker_open', { key: 'empty_state' })}
+			>
+				{#snippet trigger()}Start from a template{/snippet}
+				{#snippet content({ close })}
+					<HubTemplatePicker
+						onPick={(project) => {
+							close()
+							onPick(project)
+						}}
+					/>
+				{/snippet}
+			</Popover>
+			or
+		{/if}
 		<CreateActionsMenu source="empty_state" triggerElement={newLinkEl}>
 			{#snippet trigger()}
 				<!-- A bare <button> for a link inside a sentence, signed off by design: <Button>
@@ -107,7 +113,7 @@
 				<button
 					bind:this={newLinkEl}
 					class="border-b border-transparent text-accent hover:border-accent"
-					>create a new one</button
+					>{$disableHubStore ? 'Create a new one' : 'create a new one'}</button
 				>.
 			{/snippet}
 		</CreateActionsMenu>