diff --git a/src/cli/program/register.onboard.ts b/src/cli/program/register.onboard.ts
index de7080103..a8f1eb6a8 100644
--- a/src/cli/program/register.onboard.ts
+++ b/src/cli/program/register.onboard.ts
@@ -41,6 +41,10 @@ export function registerOnboardCommand(program: Command) {
         `\n${theme.muted("Docs:")} ${formatDocsLink("/cli/onboard", "docs.molt.bot/cli/onboard")}\n`,
     )
     .option("--workspace <dir>", "Agent workspace directory (default: ~/clawd)")
+    .option(
+      "--user-timezone <tz>",
+      "User timezone for cron schedules (e.g., America/New_York, Africa/Lagos)",
+    )
     .option("--reset", "Reset config + credentials + sessions + workspace before running wizard")
     .option("--non-interactive", "Run without prompts", false)
     .option(
@@ -106,6 +110,7 @@ export function registerOnboardCommand(program: Command) {
         await onboardCommand(
           {
             workspace: opts.workspace as string | undefined,
+            userTimezone: opts.userTimezone as string | undefined,
             nonInteractive: Boolean(opts.nonInteractive),
             acceptRisk: Boolean(opts.acceptRisk),
             flow: opts.flow as "quickstart" | "advanced" | "manual" | undefined,
diff --git a/src/cli/program/register.setup.ts b/src/cli/program/register.setup.ts
index 53c33a670..358faaa6e 100644
--- a/src/cli/program/register.setup.ts
+++ b/src/cli/program/register.setup.ts
@@ -20,6 +20,10 @@ export function registerSetupCommand(program: Command) {
       "--workspace <dir>",
       "Agent workspace directory (default: ~/clawd; stored as agents.defaults.workspace)",
     )
+    .option(
+      "--user-timezone <tz>",
+      "User timezone for cron schedules (e.g., America/New_York, Africa/Lagos)",
+    )
     .option("--wizard", "Run the interactive onboarding wizard", false)
     .option("--non-interactive", "Run the wizard without prompts", false)
     .option("--mode <mode>", "Wizard mode: local|remote")
@@ -38,6 +42,7 @@ export function registerSetupCommand(program: Command) {
           await onboardCommand(
             {
               workspace: opts.workspace as string | undefined,
+              userTimezone: opts.userTimezone as string | undefined,
               nonInteractive: Boolean(opts.nonInteractive),
               mode: opts.mode as "local" | "remote" | undefined,
               remoteUrl: opts.remoteUrl as string | undefined,
diff --git a/src/commands/onboard-helpers.ts b/src/commands/onboard-helpers.ts
index 376555a39..12e905cc1 100644
--- a/src/commands/onboard-helpers.ts
+++ b/src/commands/onboard-helpers.ts
@@ -425,3 +425,44 @@ function isValidIPv4(host: string): boolean {
     return !Number.isNaN(n) && n >= 0 && n <= 255 && part === String(n);
   });
 }
+
+/**
+ * Validate an IANA timezone string.
+ * Uses Intl.supportedValuesOf('timeZone') when available (Node 18.6+),
+ * falls back to testing via DateTimeFormat.
+ */
+export function isValidTimezone(tz: string): boolean {
+  if (!tz || typeof tz !== "string") return false;
+  const trimmed = tz.trim();
+  if (!trimmed) return false;
+
+  // Try Intl.supportedValuesOf if available (Node 18.6+)
+  if (typeof Intl.supportedValuesOf === "function") {
+    try {
+      const supported = Intl.supportedValuesOf("timeZone");
+      return supported.includes(trimmed);
+    } catch {
+      // Fall through to DateTimeFormat check
+    }
+  }
+
+  // Fallback: try to create a DateTimeFormat with the timezone
+  try {
+    new Intl.DateTimeFormat("en-US", { timeZone: trimmed });
+    return true;
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Detect the system's local timezone.
+ * Returns the IANA timezone string (e.g., "America/New_York").
+ */
+export function detectSystemTimezone(): string {
+  try {
+    return Intl.DateTimeFormat().resolvedOptions().timeZone;
+  } catch {
+    return "UTC";
+  }
+}
diff --git a/src/commands/onboard-non-interactive/local.ts b/src/commands/onboard-non-interactive/local.ts
index d642cc1da..206cc6c4d 100644
--- a/src/commands/onboard-non-interactive/local.ts
+++ b/src/commands/onboard-non-interactive/local.ts
@@ -8,7 +8,9 @@ import { healthCommand } from "../health.js";
 import {
   applyWizardMetadata,
   DEFAULT_WORKSPACE,
+  detectSystemTimezone,
   ensureWorkspaceAndSessions,
+  isValidTimezone,
   resolveControlUiLinks,
   waitForGatewayReachable,
 } from "../onboard-helpers.js";
@@ -35,6 +37,23 @@ export async function runNonInteractiveOnboardingLocal(params: {
     defaultWorkspaceDir: DEFAULT_WORKSPACE,
   });
 
+  // Resolve user timezone
+  const systemTimezone = detectSystemTimezone();
+  const existingTimezone = baseConfig.agents?.defaults?.userTimezone;
+  let userTimezone: string | undefined;
+  if (opts.userTimezone !== undefined) {
+    const trimmed = opts.userTimezone.trim();
+    if (trimmed && isValidTimezone(trimmed)) {
+      userTimezone = trimmed;
+    } else if (trimmed) {
+      runtime.log(`Invalid timezone "${trimmed}". Using system default: ${systemTimezone}`);
+      userTimezone = systemTimezone;
+    }
+  } else {
+    // Use existing or system timezone
+    userTimezone = existingTimezone ?? systemTimezone;
+  }
+
   let nextConfig: MoltbotConfig = {
     ...baseConfig,
     agents: {
@@ -42,6 +61,7 @@ export async function runNonInteractiveOnboardingLocal(params: {
       defaults: {
         ...baseConfig.agents?.defaults,
         workspace: workspaceDir,
+        ...(userTimezone ? { userTimezone } : {}),
       },
     },
     gateway: {
diff --git a/src/commands/onboard-types.ts b/src/commands/onboard-types.ts
index f4154bc6d..6189dd604 100644
--- a/src/commands/onboard-types.ts
+++ b/src/commands/onboard-types.ts
@@ -47,6 +47,8 @@ export type OnboardOptions = {
   /** "manual" is an alias for "advanced". */
   flow?: "quickstart" | "advanced" | "manual";
   workspace?: string;
+  /** User timezone for cron schedules (e.g., "America/New_York", "Europe/London"). */
+  userTimezone?: string;
   nonInteractive?: boolean;
   /** Required for non-interactive onboarding; skips the interactive risk prompt when true. */
   acceptRisk?: boolean;
diff --git a/src/wizard/onboarding.ts b/src/wizard/onboarding.ts
index 75543ca19..bc6ae5f47 100644
--- a/src/wizard/onboarding.ts
+++ b/src/wizard/onboarding.ts
@@ -11,8 +11,10 @@ import { setupChannels } from "../commands/onboard-channels.js";
 import {
   applyWizardMetadata,
   DEFAULT_WORKSPACE,
+  detectSystemTimezone,
   ensureWorkspaceAndSessions,
   handleReset,
+  isValidTimezone,
   printWizardHeader,
   probeGatewayReachable,
   summarizeExistingConfig,
@@ -335,6 +337,42 @@ export async function runOnboardingWizard(
 
   const workspaceDir = resolveUserPath(workspaceInput.trim() || DEFAULT_WORKSPACE);
 
+  // Timezone prompt
+  const systemTimezone = detectSystemTimezone();
+  const existingTimezone = baseConfig.agents?.defaults?.userTimezone;
+  const timezoneDefault = existingTimezone ?? systemTimezone;
+
+  let userTimezone: string | undefined;
+  if (opts.userTimezone !== undefined) {
+    // CLI option provided
+    userTimezone = opts.userTimezone.trim() || undefined;
+    if (userTimezone && !isValidTimezone(userTimezone)) {
+      await prompter.note(
+        `Invalid timezone "${userTimezone}". Using system default: ${systemTimezone}`,
+        "Timezone",
+      );
+      userTimezone = systemTimezone;
+    }
+  } else if (flow === "quickstart") {
+    // QuickStart: use existing or system timezone silently
+    userTimezone = existingTimezone ?? systemTimezone;
+  } else {
+    // Manual flow: prompt for timezone
+    const timezoneInput = await prompter.text({
+      message: "Timezone (for cron schedules)",
+      initialValue: timezoneDefault,
+      placeholder: "e.g., America/New_York, Europe/London, Africa/Lagos",
+      validate: (value) => {
+        const trimmed = value.trim();
+        if (!trimmed) return; // Allow empty (will use system default)
+        if (!isValidTimezone(trimmed)) {
+          return `Invalid timezone. Examples: America/New_York, Europe/London, Africa/Lagos`;
+        }
+      },
+    });
+    userTimezone = timezoneInput.trim() || systemTimezone;
+  }
+
   let nextConfig: MoltbotConfig = {
     ...baseConfig,
     agents: {
@@ -342,6 +380,7 @@ export async function runOnboardingWizard(
       defaults: {
         ...baseConfig.agents?.defaults,
         workspace: workspaceDir,
+        ...(userTimezone ? { userTimezone } : {}),
       },
     },
     gateway: {