An invention is disclosed for updating a networked, single-threaded application's data model without blocking the application's entire user interface. In embodiments of the invention, a client executes a networked application with a single-threaded user interface that communicates with a server to refresh its data model. The client sends a message to the server that requests a refresh of the data model. Before the data model has been refreshed, the client receives local user input to perform an action on the data model. The client sends a message to the server to cancel the refresh. When the client receives an acknowledgement from the server that the refresh has been cancelled, the client performs the action. After performing the action, the client sends a second message to the server that requests a refresh of the data model, and then refreshes the data model upon receiving the refreshed data model from the server.