Add timezone-aware cron schedules (#1232)

* feat: add timezone-aware cron schedules

* chore: normalize schedule timezone property

* fix: reject blank schedule timezone in mcp

* Stabilize terminal resize browser repro

* Fix terminal resize repro row assertions

---------

Co-authored-by: Mohamed Boudra <boudra.moha@gmail.com>

docs/data-model.md

@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ One file per schedule. ID is 8 hex characters. Writes are direct (not atomic).
 ### Nested: ScheduleCadence (discriminated union on `type`)
 
 - `{ type: "every", everyMs: number }` — interval in milliseconds
-- `{ type: "cron", expression: string }` — cron expression
+- `{ type: "cron", expression: string, timezone?: string }` — cron expression; absent `timezone` means UTC, present `timezone` is an IANA time zone used for local wall-clock recurrence
 
 ### Nested: ScheduleTarget (discriminated union on `type`)
 

packages/app/src/terminal/runtime/terminal-resize-repro.browser.test.ts

@@ -144,19 +144,19 @@ describe("terminal resize reflow repro (Paseo terminal)", () => {
   it("snapshot-restored rows stay frozen at the snapshot width after the terminal grows", async () => {
     await page.viewport(1600, 700);
     const m = mount(560, 360); // ~70 cols
-    await waitFor(() => m.terminal.cols > 0);
+    await waitFor(() => m.terminal.cols > 40);
     const narrowCols = m.terminal.cols;
 
     // 1) Mid-stream snapshot arrives (server overflowed 256KB). It carries the
     //    long line wrapped at the server width as separate grid rows.
     await renderSnapshotCommitted(m.runtime, buildWrappedSnapshot(narrowCols));
-    await waitFor(() => someRowContains(m.terminal, '"seq":1'));
+    await waitFor(() => someRowContains(m.terminal, "[15:30:00.123]"));
 
     // 2) Normal post-snapshot streaming resumes (autowrap on -> soft-wrapped).
     for (let seq = 90; seq <= 96; seq++) {
       await writeCommitted(m.runtime, encodeTerminalOutput(pinoLine(seq)));
     }
-    await waitFor(() => someRowContains(m.terminal, '"seq":96'));
+    await waitFor(() => someRowContains(m.terminal, "[15:30:36.123]"));
 
     // 3) User resizes the terminal wider.
     m.root.style.width = "1480px";

packages/cli/src/commands/schedule/create.ts

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import {
 export interface ScheduleCreateOptions extends ScheduleCommandOptions {
   every?: string;
   cron?: string;
+  timezone?: string;
   name?: string;
   target?: string;
   provider?: string;
@@ -34,6 +35,7 @@ export async function runCreateCommand(
     prompt,
     every: options.every,
     cron: options.cron,
+    timezone: options.timezone,
     name: options.name,
     target: options.target,
     provider: options.provider,

packages/cli/src/commands/schedule/index.ts

@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ export function createScheduleCommand(): Command {
       .argument("<prompt>", "Prompt to run on the schedule")
       .option("--every <duration>", "Fixed interval cadence (for example: 5m, 1h)")
       .option("--cron <expr>", "Cron cadence expression")
+      .option("--timezone <iana>", "IANA time zone for cron cadence (default: UTC)")
       .option("--name <name>", "Optional schedule name")
       .option("--target <self|new-agent|agent-id>", "Run target")
       .option(
@@ -82,6 +83,7 @@ export function createScheduleCommand(): Command {
       .argument("<id>", "Schedule ID")
       .option("--every <duration>", "Switch to fixed interval cadence (for example: 5m, 1h)")
       .option("--cron <expr>", "Switch to cron cadence expression")
+      .option("--timezone <iana>", "IANA time zone for cron cadence (requires --cron)")
       .option("--name <name>", "Rename the schedule (empty string clears the name)")
       .option("--prompt <text>", "Replace the schedule prompt")
       .option(

packages/cli/src/commands/schedule/schema.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import type { OutputSchema } from "../../output/index.js";
-import { formatTarget, type ScheduleRow } from "./shared.js";
+import { formatCadence, formatTarget, type ScheduleRow } from "./shared.js";
 import type { ScheduleRecord, ScheduleRunRecord } from "./types.js";
 
 export const scheduleSchema: OutputSchema<ScheduleRow> = {
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ export function createScheduleInspectRows(schedule: ScheduleRecord): ScheduleIns
       key: "Cadence",
       value:
         schedule.cadence.type === "cron"
-          ? `cron:${schedule.cadence.expression}`
+          ? formatCadence(schedule.cadence)
           : `every:${schedule.cadence.everyMs}ms`,
     },
     { key: "Target", value: formatTarget(schedule.target) },

packages/cli/src/commands/schedule/shared.test.ts

@@ -88,6 +88,19 @@ describe("parseScheduleCreateInput first-run timing", () => {
     expect(input.runOnCreate).toBe(true);
   });
 
+  test("--cron with --timezone stores a timezone-aware cadence", () => {
+    const input = parseScheduleCreateInput({
+      ...baseCron,
+      timezone: "  America/New_York  ",
+    });
+
+    expect(input.cadence).toEqual({
+      type: "cron",
+      expression: "0 9 * * *",
+      timezone: "America/New_York",
+    });
+  });
+
   test("--every with --run-now is rejected as redundant", () => {
     expect(() => parseScheduleCreateInput({ ...baseOptions, runNow: true })).toThrow(
       expect.objectContaining({
@@ -105,6 +118,15 @@ describe("parseScheduleCreateInput first-run timing", () => {
       }),
     );
   });
+
+  test("--timezone without --cron is rejected", () => {
+    expect(() => parseScheduleCreateInput({ ...baseOptions, timezone: "Europe/Zurich" })).toThrow(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        code: "INVALID_TIME_ZONE",
+        message: "--timezone can only be used with --cron",
+      }),
+    );
+  });
 });
 
 describe("parseScheduleUpdateInput", () => {
@@ -151,12 +173,31 @@ describe("parseScheduleUpdateInput", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  test("parses --cron cadence with --timezone", () => {
+    expect(
+      parseScheduleUpdateInput({
+        id: "abc",
+        cron: "30 9 * * *",
+        timezone: "Europe/Zurich",
+      }),
+    ).toEqual({
+      id: "abc",
+      cadence: { type: "cron", expression: "30 9 * * *", timezone: "Europe/Zurich" },
+    });
+  });
+
   test("rejects passing both --every and --cron", () => {
     expect(() => parseScheduleUpdateInput({ id: "abc", every: "5m", cron: "0 9 * * *" })).toThrow(
       expect.objectContaining({ code: "INVALID_CADENCE" }),
     );
   });
 
+  test("rejects --timezone without --cron", () => {
+    expect(() => parseScheduleUpdateInput({ id: "abc", timezone: "Europe/Zurich" })).toThrow(
+      expect.objectContaining({ code: "INVALID_TIME_ZONE" }),
+    );
+  });
+
   test("parses provider/model shorthand and explicit mode", () => {
     expect(
       parseScheduleUpdateInput({

packages/cli/src/commands/schedule/shared.ts

@@ -49,7 +49,8 @@ export function toScheduleCommandError(code: string, action: string, error: unkn
 
 export function formatCadence(cadence: ScheduleCadence): string {
   if (cadence.type === "cron") {
-    return `cron:${cadence.expression}`;
+    const timezoneSuffix = cadence.timezone ? ` (${cadence.timezone})` : "";
+    return `cron:${cadence.expression}${timezoneSuffix}`;
   }
   return `every:${formatDurationMs(cadence.everyMs)}`;
 }
@@ -129,6 +130,7 @@ export function parseScheduleCreateInput(options: {
   prompt: string;
   every?: string;
   cron?: string;
+  timezone?: string;
   name?: string;
   target?: string;
   provider?: string;
@@ -147,7 +149,7 @@ export function parseScheduleCreateInput(options: {
     } satisfies CommandError;
   }
 
-  const cadence = parseCadenceFromFlags(options.every, options.cron);
+  const cadence = parseCadenceFromFlags(options.every, options.cron, options.timezone);
   if (!cadence) {
     throw {
       code: "INVALID_CADENCE",
@@ -232,6 +234,7 @@ export interface ScheduleUpdateOptionsInput {
   id: string;
   every?: string;
   cron?: string;
+  timezone?: string;
   name?: string;
   prompt?: string;
   provider?: string;
@@ -253,7 +256,7 @@ export function parseScheduleUpdateInput(options: ScheduleUpdateOptionsInput): U
     } satisfies CommandError;
   }
 
-  const cadence = parseCadenceFromFlags(options.every, options.cron);
+  const cadence = parseCadenceFromFlags(options.every, options.cron, options.timezone);
   const newAgentConfig = buildNewAgentConfigPatch(options);
   const maxRuns = parseUpdateMaxRuns(options);
   const expiresAt = parseUpdateExpiresAt(options);
@@ -288,6 +291,7 @@ export function parseScheduleUpdateInput(options: ScheduleUpdateOptionsInput): U
 function parseCadenceFromFlags(
   every: string | undefined,
   cron: string | undefined,
+  timezone: string | undefined,
 ): ScheduleCadence | undefined {
   if (every !== undefined && cron !== undefined) {
     throw {
@@ -295,15 +299,40 @@ function parseCadenceFromFlags(
       message: "Specify at most one of --every or --cron",
     } satisfies CommandError;
   }
+  const trimmedTimeZone = parseTimeZoneFlag(timezone);
+  if (trimmedTimeZone !== undefined && cron === undefined) {
+    throw {
+      code: "INVALID_TIME_ZONE",
+      message: "--timezone can only be used with --cron",
+    } satisfies CommandError;
+  }
   if (every !== undefined) {
     return { type: "every", everyMs: parseDuration(every) };
   }
   if (cron !== undefined) {
-    return { type: "cron", expression: cron.trim() };
+    return {
+      type: "cron",
+      expression: cron.trim(),
+      ...(trimmedTimeZone ? { timezone: trimmedTimeZone } : {}),
+    };
   }
   return undefined;
 }
 
+function parseTimeZoneFlag(timeZone: string | undefined): string | undefined {
+  if (timeZone === undefined) {
+    return undefined;
+  }
+  const trimmed = timeZone.trim();
+  if (!trimmed) {
+    throw {
+      code: "INVALID_TIME_ZONE",
+      message: "--timezone cannot be empty",
+    } satisfies CommandError;
+  }
+  return trimmed;
+}
+
 function parseUpdateMaxRuns(options: ScheduleUpdateOptionsInput): number | null | undefined {
   if (options.maxRuns !== undefined && options.clearMaxRuns) {
     throw {

packages/cli/src/commands/schedule/types.ts

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ export type ScheduleCadence =
   | {
       type: "cron";
       expression: string;
+      timezone?: string;
     };
 
 export type ScheduleTarget =

packages/cli/src/commands/schedule/update.ts

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import {
 export interface ScheduleUpdateOptions extends ScheduleCommandOptions {
   every?: string;
   cron?: string;
+  timezone?: string;
   name?: string;
   prompt?: string;
   provider?: string;
@@ -36,6 +37,7 @@ export async function runUpdateCommand(
     id,
     every: options.every,
     cron: options.cron,
+    timezone: options.timezone,
     name: options.name,
     prompt: options.prompt,
     provider: options.provider,

packages/client/src/daemon-client.ts

@@ -568,6 +568,7 @@ export interface CreateScheduleOptions {
     | {
         type: "cron";
         expression: string;
+        timezone?: string;
       };
   target:
     | {
@@ -623,6 +624,7 @@ export interface UpdateScheduleOptions {
     | {
         type: "cron";
         expression: string;
+        timezone?: string;
       };
   newAgentConfig?: UpdateScheduleNewAgentConfig;
   maxRuns?: number | null;

packages/protocol/src/schedule/types.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import { describe, expect, test } from "vitest";
+
+import { ScheduleCadenceSchema } from "./types.js";
+
+describe("ScheduleCadenceSchema", () => {
+  test("accepts existing UTC cron cadence without a time zone", () => {
+    expect(ScheduleCadenceSchema.parse({ type: "cron", expression: "0 9 * * *" })).toEqual({
+      type: "cron",
+      expression: "0 9 * * *",
+    });
+  });
+
+  test("accepts timezone-aware cron cadence", () => {
+    expect(
+      ScheduleCadenceSchema.parse({
+        type: "cron",
+        expression: "0 9 * * *",
+        timezone: "America/New_York",
+      }),
+    ).toEqual({
+      type: "cron",
+      expression: "0 9 * * *",
+      timezone: "America/New_York",
+    });
+  });
+});

packages/protocol/src/schedule/types.ts

@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ export const ScheduleCadenceSchema = z.discriminatedUnion("type", [
   z.object({
     type: z.literal("cron"),
     expression: z.string().trim().min(1),
+    timezone: z.string().trim().min(1).optional(),
   }),
 ]);
 export type ScheduleCadence = z.infer<typeof ScheduleCadenceSchema>;

packages/server/src/server/agent/mcp-server.test.ts

@@ -2328,6 +2328,38 @@ describe("create_schedule MCP tool", () => {
     );
   });
 
+  it("passes timezone through cron create_schedule input", async () => {
+    const { agentManager, agentStorage } = createTestDeps();
+    const create = vi.fn(async (scheduleInput: CreateScheduleInput) =>
+      createStoredSchedule(scheduleInput),
+    );
+    const server = await createAgentMcpServer({
+      agentManager,
+      agentStorage,
+      providerSnapshotManager: createOpenCodeManager().manager,
+      scheduleService: { create } as unknown as ScheduleService,
+      logger,
+    });
+    const tool = registeredTool(server, "create_schedule");
+
+    await invokeToolWithParsedInput(tool, {
+      prompt: "say hello",
+      cron: "0 9 * * 1-5",
+      timezone: "  America/New_York  ",
+      provider: "codex",
+    });
+
+    expect(create).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.objectContaining({
+        cadence: {
+          type: "cron",
+          expression: "0 9 * * 1-5",
+          timezone: "America/New_York",
+        },
+      }),
+    );
+  });
+
   it("still rejects both real every and cron inputs", async () => {
     const { agentManager, agentStorage } = createTestDeps();
     const create = vi.fn();
@@ -2352,6 +2384,54 @@ describe("create_schedule MCP tool", () => {
     expect(create).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
+  it("rejects create_schedule timezone without cron", async () => {
+    const { agentManager, agentStorage } = createTestDeps();
+    const create = vi.fn();
+    const server = await createAgentMcpServer({
+      agentManager,
+      agentStorage,
+      providerSnapshotManager: createOpenCodeManager().manager,
+      scheduleService: { create } as unknown as ScheduleService,
+      logger,
+    });
+    const tool = registeredTool(server, "create_schedule");
+
+    await expect(
+      invokeToolWithParsedInput(tool, {
+        prompt: "say hello",
+        every: "10m",
+        timezone: "America/New_York",
+        provider: "codex",
+      }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow("timezone can only be used with cron");
+
+    expect(create).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it.each(["", "   "])("rejects create_schedule blank timezone %#", async (timezone) => {
+    const { agentManager, agentStorage } = createTestDeps();
+    const create = vi.fn();
+    const server = await createAgentMcpServer({
+      agentManager,
+      agentStorage,
+      providerSnapshotManager: createOpenCodeManager().manager,
+      scheduleService: { create } as unknown as ScheduleService,
+      logger,
+    });
+    const tool = registeredTool(server, "create_schedule");
+
+    await expect(
+      invokeToolWithParsedInput(tool, {
+        prompt: "say hello",
+        cron: "0 9 * * 1-5",
+        timezone,
+        provider: "codex",
+      }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow();
+
+    expect(create).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
   it.each([
     {
       label: "missing both cadence fields",
@@ -2458,6 +2538,35 @@ describe("update_schedule MCP tool", () => {
     });
   });
 
+  it("passes timezone through cron update_schedule input", async () => {
+    const { agentManager, agentStorage } = createTestDeps();
+    const stored = makeStoredSchedule();
+    const update = vi.fn(async (_input: UpdateScheduleInput) => stored);
+    const server = await createAgentMcpServer({
+      agentManager,
+      agentStorage,
+      providerSnapshotManager: createOpenCodeManager().manager,
+      scheduleService: { update } as unknown as ScheduleService,
+      logger,
+    });
+    const tool = registeredTool(server, "update_schedule");
+
+    await invokeToolWithParsedInput(tool, {
+      id: "schedule-1",
+      cron: "0 9 * * 1-5",
+      timezone: "Europe/Zurich",
+    });
+
+    expect(update).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
+      id: "schedule-1",
+      cadence: {
+        type: "cron",
+        expression: "0 9 * * 1-5",
+        timezone: "Europe/Zurich",
+      },
+    });
+  });
+
   it("accepts a blank cron field when updating every cadence", async () => {
     const { agentManager, agentStorage } = createTestDeps();
     const stored = makeStoredSchedule();
@@ -2542,6 +2651,52 @@ describe("update_schedule MCP tool", () => {
     expect(update).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
   });
 
+  it("rejects update_schedule timezone without cron", async () => {
+    const { agentManager, agentStorage } = createTestDeps();
+    const update = vi.fn();
+    const server = await createAgentMcpServer({
+      agentManager,
+      agentStorage,
+      providerSnapshotManager: createOpenCodeManager().manager,
+      scheduleService: { update } as unknown as ScheduleService,
+      logger,
+    });
+    const tool = registeredTool(server, "update_schedule");
+
+    await expect(
+      invokeToolWithParsedInput(tool, {
+        id: "schedule-1",
+        every: "10m",
+        timezone: "Europe/Zurich",
+      }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow("timezone can only be used with cron");
+
+    expect(update).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
+  it.each(["", "   "])("rejects update_schedule blank timezone %#", async (timezone) => {
+    const { agentManager, agentStorage } = createTestDeps();
+    const update = vi.fn();
+    const server = await createAgentMcpServer({
+      agentManager,
+      agentStorage,
+      providerSnapshotManager: createOpenCodeManager().manager,
+      scheduleService: { update } as unknown as ScheduleService,
+      logger,
+    });
+    const tool = registeredTool(server, "update_schedule");
+
+    await expect(
+      invokeToolWithParsedInput(tool, {
+        id: "schedule-1",
+        cron: "0 9 * * 1-5",
+        timezone,
+      }),
+    ).rejects.toThrow();
+
+    expect(update).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+  });
+
   it("passes new-agent config and expiry updates", async () => {
     const { agentManager, agentStorage } = createTestDeps();
     const stored = makeStoredSchedule();

packages/server/src/server/agent/mcp-server.ts

@@ -333,6 +333,7 @@ interface ScheduleUpdateToolInput {
   id: string;
   every?: string;
   cron?: string;
+  timezone?: string;
   name?: string | null;
   prompt?: string;
   maxRuns?: number | null;
@@ -357,18 +358,30 @@ function normalizeScheduleCadenceArg(value: string | undefined): string | undefi
   return trimmed;
 }
 
+function normalizeScheduleTimeZoneArg(value: string | undefined): string | undefined {
+  return normalizeScheduleCadenceArg(value);
+}
+
 function resolveScheduleUpdateCadence(input: ScheduleUpdateToolInput): ScheduleCadence | undefined {
   const every = normalizeScheduleCadenceArg(input.every);
   const cron = normalizeScheduleCadenceArg(input.cron);
+  const timeZone = normalizeScheduleTimeZoneArg(input.timezone);
 
   if (every !== undefined && cron !== undefined) {
     throw new Error("Specify at most one of every or cron");
   }
+  if (timeZone !== undefined && cron === undefined) {
+    throw new Error("timezone can only be used with cron");
+  }
   if (every !== undefined) {
     return { type: "every", everyMs: parseDurationString(every) };
   }
   if (cron !== undefined) {
-    return { type: "cron", expression: cron };
+    return {
+      type: "cron",
+      expression: cron,
+      ...(timeZone !== undefined ? { timezone: timeZone } : {}),
+    };
   }
   return undefined;
 }
@@ -1583,6 +1596,14 @@ export async function createAgentMcpServer(options: AgentMcpServerOptions): Prom
         prompt: z.string().trim().min(1, "prompt is required"),
         every: z.string().optional(),
         cron: z.string().optional(),
+        timezone: z
+          .string()
+          .trim()
+          .min(1)
+          .optional()
+          .describe(
+            "IANA time zone for cron cadence; requires cron. For example: America/New_York.",
+          ),
         name: z.string().optional(),
         target: z.enum(["self", "new-agent"]).optional(),
         provider: AgentProviderEnum.optional().describe(
@@ -1594,18 +1615,22 @@ export async function createAgentMcpServer(options: AgentMcpServerOptions): Prom
       },
       outputSchema: ScheduleSummarySchema.shape,
     },
-    async ({ prompt, every, cron, name, target, provider, cwd, maxRuns, expiresIn }) => {
+    async ({ prompt, every, cron, timezone, name, target, provider, cwd, maxRuns, expiresIn }) => {
       if (!scheduleService) {
         throw new Error("Schedule service is not configured");
       }
 
       const normalizedEvery = normalizeScheduleCadenceArg(every);
       const normalizedCron = normalizeScheduleCadenceArg(cron);
+      const normalizedTimeZone = normalizeScheduleTimeZoneArg(timezone);
       const cadenceCount =
         Number(normalizedEvery !== undefined) + Number(normalizedCron !== undefined);
       if (cadenceCount !== 1) {
         throw new Error("Specify exactly one of every or cron");
       }
+      if (normalizedTimeZone !== undefined && normalizedCron === undefined) {
+        throw new Error("timezone can only be used with cron");
+      }
 
       const scheduleTarget =
         target === "self"
@@ -1643,7 +1668,11 @@ export async function createAgentMcpServer(options: AgentMcpServerOptions): Prom
         cadence:
           normalizedEvery !== undefined
             ? { type: "every" as const, everyMs: parseDurationString(normalizedEvery) }
-            : { type: "cron" as const, expression: normalizedCron! },
+            : {
+                type: "cron" as const,
+                expression: normalizedCron!,
+                ...(normalizedTimeZone !== undefined ? { timezone: normalizedTimeZone } : {}),
+              },
         target: scheduleTarget,
         ...(name?.trim() ? { name: name.trim() } : {}),
         ...(maxRuns === undefined ? {} : { maxRuns }),
@@ -1792,6 +1821,14 @@ export async function createAgentMcpServer(options: AgentMcpServerOptions): Prom
         id: z.string(),
         every: z.string().optional().describe("New interval duration string (e.g. 5m, 1h)."),
         cron: z.string().optional().describe("New cron expression."),
+        timezone: z
+          .string()
+          .trim()
+          .min(1)
+          .optional()
+          .describe(
+            "IANA time zone for cron cadence; requires cron. For example: America/New_York.",
+          ),
         name: z.string().nullable().optional().describe("New name (null to clear)."),
         prompt: z.string().trim().min(1).optional().describe("New prompt text."),
         maxRuns: z

packages/server/src/server/schedule/cron.test.ts

@@ -20,9 +20,47 @@ describe("schedule cron cadence", () => {
     expect(next.toISOString()).toBe("2026-01-05T09:15:00.000Z");
   });
 
+  test("computes timezone cron matches at the requested wall-clock time", () => {
+    const winter = computeNextRunAt(
+      { type: "cron", expression: "0 9 * * 1-5", timezone: "America/New_York" },
+      new Date("2026-01-05T13:59:30.000Z"),
+    );
+    const summer = computeNextRunAt(
+      { type: "cron", expression: "0 9 * * 1-5", timezone: "America/New_York" },
+      new Date("2026-07-06T12:59:30.000Z"),
+    );
+
+    expect(winter.toISOString()).toBe("2026-01-05T14:00:00.000Z");
+    expect(summer.toISOString()).toBe("2026-07-06T13:00:00.000Z");
+  });
+
+  test("keeps repeated fall-back wall-clock matches distinct", () => {
+    const first = computeNextRunAt(
+      { type: "cron", expression: "30 1 1 11 *", timezone: "America/New_York" },
+      new Date("2026-11-01T05:29:30.000Z"),
+    );
+    const second = computeNextRunAt(
+      { type: "cron", expression: "30 1 1 11 *", timezone: "America/New_York" },
+      first,
+    );
+
+    expect(first.toISOString()).toBe("2026-11-01T05:30:00.000Z");
+    expect(second.toISOString()).toBe("2026-11-01T06:30:00.000Z");
+  });
+
   test("rejects invalid cron expressions", () => {
     expect(() => validateScheduleCadence({ type: "cron", expression: "not-a-valid-cron" })).toThrow(
       "Cron expressions must have 5 fields",
     );
   });
+
+  test("rejects invalid cron time zones", () => {
+    expect(() =>
+      validateScheduleCadence({
+        type: "cron",
+        expression: "0 9 * * *",
+        timezone: "Not/AZone",
+      }),
+    ).toThrow("Invalid cron time zone: Not/AZone");
+  });
 });

packages/server/src/server/schedule/cron.ts

@@ -81,6 +81,14 @@ interface ParsedCronExpression {
   dayOfWeek: CronFieldMatcher;
 }
 
+interface CronDateParts {
+  minute: number;
+  hour: number;
+  dayOfMonth: number;
+  month: number;
+  dayOfWeek: number;
+}
+
 function parseCronExpression(expression: string): ParsedCronExpression {
   const parts = expression.trim().split(/\s+/);
   if (parts.length !== 5) {
@@ -110,9 +118,65 @@ function startOfNextMinute(date: Date): Date {
   );
 }
 
+function assertValidTimeZone(timeZone: string): void {
+  try {
+    new Intl.DateTimeFormat("en-US", { timeZone }).format(new Date(0));
+  } catch {
+    throw new Error(`Invalid cron time zone: ${timeZone}`);
+  }
+}
+
+function createCronDatePartsReader(timeZone: string | undefined): (date: Date) => CronDateParts {
+  if (timeZone === undefined) {
+    return (date: Date) => ({
+      minute: date.getUTCMinutes(),
+      hour: date.getUTCHours(),
+      dayOfMonth: date.getUTCDate(),
+      month: date.getUTCMonth() + 1,
+      dayOfWeek: date.getUTCDay(),
+    });
+  }
+
+  assertValidTimeZone(timeZone);
+
+  const formatter = new Intl.DateTimeFormat("en-US", {
+    timeZone,
+    hourCycle: "h23",
+    year: "numeric",
+    month: "2-digit",
+    day: "2-digit",
+    hour: "2-digit",
+    minute: "2-digit",
+  });
+
+  return (date: Date) => {
+    const values: Record<string, string> = {};
+    for (const part of formatter.formatToParts(date)) {
+      if (part.type !== "literal") {
+        values[part.type] = part.value;
+      }
+    }
+
+    const year = Number.parseInt(values.year, 10);
+    const month = Number.parseInt(values.month, 10);
+    const dayOfMonth = Number.parseInt(values.day, 10);
+
+    return {
+      minute: Number.parseInt(values.minute, 10),
+      hour: Number.parseInt(values.hour, 10),
+      dayOfMonth,
+      month,
+      dayOfWeek: new Date(Date.UTC(year, month - 1, dayOfMonth)).getUTCDay(),
+    };
+  };
+}
+
 export function validateScheduleCadence(cadence: ScheduleCadence): void {
   if (cadence.type === "cron") {
     parseCronExpression(cadence.expression);
+    if (cadence.timezone !== undefined) {
+      assertValidTimeZone(cadence.timezone);
+    }
   }
 }
 
@@ -122,15 +186,12 @@ export function computeNextRunAt(cadence: ScheduleCadence, after: Date): Date {
   }
 
   const cron = parseCronExpression(cadence.expression);
+  const readDateParts = createCronDatePartsReader(cadence.timezone);
   const limit = 366 * 24 * 60;
   let cursor = startOfNextMinute(after);
 
   for (let index = 0; index < limit; index += 1) {
-    const minute = cursor.getUTCMinutes();
+    const { minute, hour, dayOfMonth, month, dayOfWeek } = readDateParts(cursor);
-    const hour = cursor.getUTCHours();
-    const dayOfMonth = cursor.getUTCDate();
-    const month = cursor.getUTCMonth() + 1;
-    const dayOfWeek = cursor.getUTCDay();
 
     if (
       cron.minute.matches(minute) &&

public-docs/schedules.md

@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ Daily GitHub triage on GLM through OpenCode:
 ```bash
 paseo schedule create \
   --cron "0 14 * * 1-5" \
+  --timezone UTC \
   --run-now \
   --name github-triage \
   --provider opencode/openrouter/glm-5.1 \
@@ -66,6 +67,18 @@ paseo schedule create \
   "Triage GitHub issues, PRs, and failing checks. Summarize what needs attention."
 ```
 
+Morning triage at 9 AM in New York, including daylight saving time changes:
+
+```bash
+paseo schedule create \
+  --cron "0 9 * * 1-5" \
+  --timezone America/New_York \
+  --name morning-triage \
+  --provider codex/gpt-5.5 \
+  --cwd ~/dev/my-app \
+  "Review overnight CI failures and summarize anything urgent."
+```
+
 Heartbeat the current agent:
 
 ```bash
@@ -89,7 +102,9 @@ paseo schedule update <id> --every 10m --max-runs 6
 paseo schedule delete <id>
 ```
 
-Use `--every <duration>` for intervals and `--cron "<expr>"` for 5-field UTC cron. Interval schedules run once immediately by default; pass `--no-run-now` to wait for the first interval. Cron schedules wait for the next matching time; pass `--run-now` to fire once immediately.
+Use `--every <duration>` for intervals and `--cron "<expr>"` for 5-field cron. Cron schedules default to UTC. Pass `--timezone <IANA>` to interpret cron fields in a local wall-clock time zone, for example `--timezone America/New_York`. The persisted `nextRunAt` is still a UTC instant, but it is computed from that local time zone so recurring jobs stay at the same local time across daylight saving time changes.
+
+Interval schedules run once immediately by default; pass `--no-run-now` to wait for the first interval. Cron schedules wait for the next matching time; pass `--run-now` to fire once immediately.
 
 When targeting a remote daemon with `--host`, pass `--cwd`; your local working directory may not exist on the remote machine.