GitHub Issue: Cron jobs don't fire - scheduler timer never wakes

File at: https://github.com/openclaw/openclaw/issues/new

Bug Description

Cron jobs are not firing. The scheduler starts correctly and calculates nextWakeAtMs properly, but the internal timer never triggers to run jobs. Jobs silently advance to the next scheduled window without executing.

Version

• OpenClaw: 2026.2.3-1
• Node: v22.22.0
• OS: Linux 6.8.0-90-generic (x64)

Reproduction Steps

1. Create a cron job:

openclaw cron add --name "Test Job" \
  --schedule '{"kind":"cron","expr":"*/5 * * * *","tz":"UTC"}' \
  --session-target main \
  --wake-mode now \
  --payload '{"kind":"systemEvent","text":"Test ping"}'

2. Verify job created with correct nextRunAtMs:

openclaw cron list

3. Wait for scheduled time to pass

4. Check run history:

openclaw cron runs <job-id>

Expected Behavior

Job fires at scheduled time, run history shows entry.

Actual Behavior

• No run history entry created
• nextRunAtMs advances to next window without firing
• No skip/error logged in run history
• Gateway log shows cron: started with correct nextWakeAtMs but no subsequent wake activity

Evidence

Gateway log on startup:

{"module":"cron","storePath":"/home/openclaw/.openclaw/cron/jobs.json"}
{"enabled":true,"jobs":6,"nextWakeAtMs":1770409800000}
"cron: started"

No log entries at the scheduled wake time. Timer never triggers.

Tested with 5-minute interval job — observed 3+ consecutive windows skipped silently:

• 06:35 UTC - skipped
• 06:40 UTC - skipped
• 06:45 UTC - skipped

Additional Context

• Gateway responds to Telegram messages normally
• Tool calls work fine
• Only cron timer mechanism appears broken
• Cloudflare tunnel running on host (shouldn't affect internal timers)
• Gateway mode: local, bind: loopback
• All affected jobs have wakeMode: "now"