diff --git a/web/src/structured.ts b/web/src/structured.ts
index 4390e27..82db8f2 100644
--- a/web/src/structured.ts
+++ b/web/src/structured.ts
@@ -551,6 +551,19 @@ export function createStructuredConnection(
           rows.push(delta.row);
         } else {
           rows[i] = delta.row;
+          // Surgical DOM swap: replace just this row's element instead of
+          // tearing down and rebuilding the entire transcript, which causes
+          // visible flashing and breaks text selection.
+          const oldEl = rowEls.get(delta.row.id);
+          if (oldEl) {
+            const newEl = buildRowElement(delta.row);
+            if (newEl) {
+              oldEl.replaceWith(newEl);
+              rowEls.set(delta.row.id, newEl);
+            }
+            syncAvailableCommands();
+            return;
+          }
         }
       } else {
         const i = rowIndex.get(delta.id);