diff --git a/public/main.js b/public/main.js
index 080e166..3b9f5df 100644
--- a/public/main.js
+++ b/public/main.js
@@ -22,61 +22,23 @@ let audioView = new AudioView(model);
 // Create a new project
 model.new();
 
-/*
-export function importData(jsonData)
-{
-    //console.log('json data:', jsonData);
-
-    // Stop playback to avoid glitching
-    stopPlayback();
-
-    // Show the Edit tab before loading the graph,
-    // so it can resize itself correctly
-    showTab('edit');
-
-    let graph = JSON.parse(jsonData);
-    editor.load(graph);
-}
-
-export function exportData()
-{
-    return JSON.stringify(editor.graph);
-}
-
 document.body.onload = function ()
 {
-    let graphData = localStorage.getItem('graph');
+    if (window.location.hash)
+        return;
 
-    if (graphData && !window.location.hash)
-    {
-        console.log('loading saved graph');
+    let serializedModelData = localStorage.getItem('latestModelData');
+    if (!serializedModelData)
+        return;
 
-        try
-        {
-            importData(graphData);
-        }
-        catch (exc)
-        {
-            //alert('Graph failed to load');
-            console.log(exc);
-            localStorage.removeItem('graph');
-            editor = new GraphEditor();
-            editor.newGraph();
-            //location.reload(false);
-        }
-    }
-    else
-    {
-        editor.newGraph();
-    }
+    importModel(serializedModelData);
 }
 
 window.onunload = function ()
 {
     // Save the graph when unloading the page
-    localStorage.setItem('graph', exportData());
+    localStorage.setItem('latestModelData', model.serialize());
 }
-*/
 
 window.onkeydown = function (event)
 {
@@ -132,6 +94,18 @@ window.onkeydown = function (event)
     }
 }
 
+export function importModel(serializedModelData)
+{
+    // Stop playback to avoid glitching
+    stopPlayback();
+
+    if (model.deserialize(serializedModelData)) {
+        console.log('model restored from previous session');
+    } else {
+        console.warn('could not restore model from previous session');
+    }
+}
+
 export function startPlayback()
 {
     if (playing)
diff --git a/public/model.js b/public/model.js
index 0494a5c..723b78b 100644
--- a/public/model.js
+++ b/public/model.js
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ undo, however. It could be more of a direct state update,
 or it's a special undoable action.
 */
 
-import { assert, treeCopy, treeEq } from './utils.js';
+import { assert, treeCopy, treeEq, isString, isObject } from './utils.js';
 
 /**
  * High-level description/scheme for each type of node
@@ -693,6 +693,38 @@ export class Model
         this.broadcast(this.state, null);
     }
 
+    // Serializes the model into a string representation
+    serialize()
+    {
+        return JSON.stringify({
+            state: this.state
+        });
+    }
+
+    // Tries to deserialize a string representation of a model
+    //
+    // Returns true if successfully deserialized and loaded, false otherwise
+    deserialize(data)
+    {
+        if (!isString(data)) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        let json;
+        try {
+            json = JSON.parse(data);
+        } catch (e) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        if (!isObject(json) || !isObject(json.state)) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
+        this.load(json.state);
+        return true;
+    }
+
     /** Check if the graph contains a specific type of node */
     hasNode(nodeType)
     {
diff --git a/public/utils.js b/public/utils.js
index 9901f6d..cee53d2 100644
--- a/public/utils.js
+++ b/public/utils.js
@@ -168,6 +168,22 @@ export function treeEq(a, b)
     return a === b;
 }
 
+/**
+Test that a value is an object
+*/
+export function isObject(val)
+{
+    return (typeof val === 'object') && (val !== null);
+}
+
+/**
+Test that a value is a string
+*/
+export function isString(val)
+{
+    return (typeof val === 'string') || (val instanceof String);
+}
+
 /**
 Test that a value is integer
 */