diff --git a/app/components/oxql-metrics/OxqlMetric.tsx b/app/components/oxql-metrics/OxqlMetric.tsx
index 5381a920d..c9b824670 100644
--- a/app/components/oxql-metrics/OxqlMetric.tsx
+++ b/app/components/oxql-metrics/OxqlMetric.tsx
@@ -11,14 +11,15 @@
  * https://github.com/oxidecomputer/omicron/tree/main/oximeter/oximeter/schema
  */
 
+import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query'
 import { Children, useEffect, useMemo, useState, type ReactNode } from 'react'
 import type { LoaderFunctionArgs } from 'react-router'
 
-import { apiQueryClient, useApiQuery } from '@oxide/api'
+import { apiq, queryClient } from '@oxide/api'
 
 import { CopyCodeModal } from '~/components/CopyCode'
 import { MoreActionsMenu } from '~/components/MoreActionsMenu'
-import { getInstanceSelector } from '~/hooks/use-params'
+import { getInstanceSelector, useProjectSelector } from '~/hooks/use-params'
 import { useMetricsContext } from '~/pages/project/instances/common'
 import { LearnMore } from '~/ui/lib/CardBlock'
 import * as Dropdown from '~/ui/lib/DropdownMenu'
@@ -37,10 +38,9 @@ import {
 
 export async function loader({ params }: LoaderFunctionArgs) {
   const { project, instance } = getInstanceSelector(params)
-  await apiQueryClient.prefetchQuery('instanceView', {
-    path: { instance },
-    query: { project },
-  })
+  await queryClient.prefetchQuery(
+    apiq('instanceView', { path: { instance }, query: { project } })
+  )
   return null
 }
 
@@ -53,10 +53,10 @@ export type OxqlMetricProps = OxqlQuery & {
 export function OxqlMetric({ title, description, unit, ...queryObj }: OxqlMetricProps) {
   // only start reloading data once an intial dataset has been loaded
   const { setIsIntervalPickerEnabled } = useMetricsContext()
+  const { project } = useProjectSelector()
   const query = toOxqlStr(queryObj)
-  const { data: metrics, error } = useApiQuery(
-    'systemTimeseriesQuery',
-    { body: { query } }
+  const { data: metrics, error } = useQuery(
+    apiq('timeseriesQuery', { body: { query }, query: { project } })
     // avoid graphs flashing blank while loading when you change the time
     // { placeholderData: (x) => x }
   )
diff --git a/app/pages/project/instances/MetricsTab.tsx b/app/pages/project/instances/MetricsTab.tsx
index a749388ea..e1e09fb2c 100644
--- a/app/pages/project/instances/MetricsTab.tsx
+++ b/app/pages/project/instances/MetricsTab.tsx
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ export default function MetricsTab() {
 
   const { intervalPicker } = useIntervalPicker({
     enabled: isIntervalPickerEnabled && preset !== 'custom',
-    isLoading: useIsFetching({ queryKey: ['systemTimeseriesQuery'] }) > 0,
+    isLoading: useIsFetching({ queryKey: ['timeseriesQuery'] }) > 0,
     // sliding the range forward is sufficient to trigger a refetch
     fn: () => onRangeChange(preset),
   })
diff --git a/mock-api/msw/handlers.ts b/mock-api/msw/handlers.ts
index ea1425867..6f26058b2 100644
--- a/mock-api/msw/handlers.ts
+++ b/mock-api/msw/handlers.ts
@@ -1602,12 +1602,25 @@ export const handlers = makeHandlers({
     requireFleetViewer(params.cookies)
     return handleMetrics(params)
   },
-  async systemTimeseriesQuery(params) {
-    if (Math.random() > 0.95) throw 500 // random failure
-    requireFleetViewer(params.cookies)
+  async timeseriesQuery({ body, query }) {
+    lookup.project(query) // 404 if project doesn't exist
+
+    // We could try to do something analogous to what the API does, namely
+    // adding on silo and project to the oxql query to make sure only allowed
+    // data turns up, but since this endpoint is always called from within a
+    // project and constructed with project IDs, this would be unlikely to catch
+    // console bugs.
+    // https://github.com/oxidecomputer/omicron/blob/cf38148d/nexus/src/app/metrics.rs#L154-L179
+
+    // timeseries queries are slower than most other queries
+    await delay(1000)
+    return handleOxqlMetrics(body)
+  },
+  async systemTimeseriesQuery({ cookies, body }) {
+    requireFleetViewer(cookies)
     // timeseries queries are slower than most other queries
     await delay(1000)
-    return handleOxqlMetrics(params.body)
+    return handleOxqlMetrics(body)
   },
   siloMetric: handleMetrics,
   affinityGroupList: ({ query }) => {
@@ -1787,7 +1800,6 @@ export const handlers = makeHandlers({
   systemTimeseriesSchemaList: NotImplemented,
   targetReleaseView: NotImplemented,
   targetReleaseUpdate: NotImplemented,
-  timeseriesQuery: NotImplemented,
   userBuiltinList: NotImplemented,
   userBuiltinView: NotImplemented,
 })
diff --git a/test/e2e/instance-metrics.e2e.ts b/test/e2e/instance-metrics.e2e.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c5f7bfdef
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/e2e/instance-metrics.e2e.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+/*
+ * This Source Code Form is subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public
+ * License, v. 2.0. If a copy of the MPL was not distributed with this
+ * file, you can obtain one at https://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/.
+ *
+ * Copyright Oxide Computer Company
+ */
+
+import { expect, test } from '@playwright/test'
+
+import { getPageAsUser } from './utils'
+
+test('Click through instance metrics', async ({ page }) => {
+  await page.goto('/projects/mock-project/instances/db1/metrics/cpu')
+
+  await expect(
+    page.getByRole('heading', { name: 'CPU Utilization: Running' })
+  ).toBeVisible()
+  await expect(page.getByText('Something went wrong')).toBeHidden()
+
+  await page.getByRole('tab', { name: 'Disk' }).click()
+  await expect(page).toHaveURL('/projects/mock-project/instances/db1/metrics/disk')
+  await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: 'Disk Reads' })).toBeVisible()
+  await expect(page.getByText('Something went wrong')).toBeHidden()
+
+  // exact distinguishes from top level "networking" tab
+  await page.getByRole('tab', { name: 'Network', exact: true }).click()
+  await expect(page).toHaveURL('/projects/mock-project/instances/db1/metrics/network')
+  await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: 'Bytes Sent' })).toBeVisible()
+  await expect(page.getByText('Something went wrong')).toBeHidden()
+})
+
+// TODO: more detailed tests using the dropdowns to change CPU state and disk
+
+test('Instance metrics work for non-fleet viewer', async ({ browser }) => {
+  const page = await getPageAsUser(browser, 'Hans Jonas')
+  await page.goto('/projects/mock-project/instances/db1/metrics/cpu')
+  await expect(
+    page.getByRole('heading', { name: 'CPU Utilization: Running' })
+  ).toBeVisible()
+  // we don't want an error, we want the data!
+  await expect(page.getByText('Something went wrong')).toBeHidden()
+})