Bug Description

The cron scheduler starts but never calculates nextWakeAtMs, causing all scheduled jobs to never run.

Environment

• OpenClaw version: 2026.2.1 (git: 1ee57cf, also tested on b37626c)
• OS: Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
• Node: v22.22.0
• Install method: git clone

Current Behavior

cron.status shows nextWakeAtMs: null — the scheduler starts but never calculates wake times:

$ openclaw cron status
{
  "enabled": true,
  "storePath": "/home/moltbot/.openclaw/cron/jobs.json",
  "jobs": 6,
  "nextWakeAtMs": null
}

Log output:

{"module":"cron",...} {"enabled":true,"jobs":6,"nextWakeAtMs":null} "cron: started"

Jobs Configured

• 2x every interval jobs (5 min)
• 2x cron expression jobs (daily at 8am/9am Cairo)
• 1x test every job (60 sec)
• 1x test cron job

All show in list, none execute.

Steps Tried

1. Added explicit cron section to config
2. Restarted gateway multiple times
3. Removed & re-added jobs
4. Updated to latest git (was 68 commits behind)
5. Added simple every interval test job — still null
6. Tried cron.wake with mode: now — no effect

Expected Behavior

nextWakeAtMs should calculate the next execution time based on job schedules.

Impact

All 6 cron jobs non-functional for ~2+ days. No daily backups, no scheduled updates.

Workaround

Using system crontab as fallback.

Related

Possibly related to #4862