seathatflowsinourveins · Oct 7, 2026 · Oct 5, 2026 · Oct 6, 2026 · Oct 6, 2026 · Oct 6, 2026
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ Decide by evidence and research convergence: a choice stands when current primar
 - Resolve supported findings before claiming completion. Distinguish measured results, simulations and untested boundaries; unchanged upstream tests, local integration checks, synthetic fixtures and actual provider execution are different evidence classes. New machines collect their own evidence; historical receipts do not certify the new host.
 - Settle a discoverable harness capability by step 2 before asking the user; compare community alternatives against demonstrated gaps, retain source pins and reasons, and run the selected native path through returned results. Dated exclusions are not current availability evidence. Research only the relevant layers.
 - Carry the user's authorized work through implementation, relevant verification and a concise handoff. Use a short plan for bounded work; do not add intake, repeated approvals, diagnostic campaigns or restarts without a concrete need. Preserve existing edits, native accounts, model choices and project scope.
+- When you tell the user a time, give it first in the host's local time zone (read it with `timedatectl` or `date`), with UTC beside it, for example "4:00 PM EDT (20:00Z)". Write timestamps in ledger rows, receipts, evidence and commit messages in UTC (RFC 3339 with `Z`); Git author/committer metadata retains its native format.
 - Use the project's canonical instructions for memory scope, tests and domain rules, and keep durable memory and indexes scoped to that project.
 
 ## Token practice (base layer)

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ Long commands: set `yield_time_ms` 30000; while a `session_id` returns, poll `wr
 Web research: if the stack installs GPT Researcher, run `bash ~/code/native-agent-stack/tools/research/gpt_researcher.sh "<short current-month query>"` as a long command (stops at 1,500 s); use short, unseeded current-month queries; reports are leads: re-read facts in primary sources.
 Message Claude Code in one long command: set `msg` via a quoted heredoc (`msg=$(cat <<'MSG'`, text, `MSG`, `)` each on its own line), then `printf '%s\n\nreply: codex queue --thread %s\n' "$msg" "$CODEX_THREAD_ID" | claude -p -n "codex-$(printf '%.8s' "$CODEX_THREAD_ID")" --permission-mode bypassPermissions --max-turns 3 --output-format stream-json --verbose "Send the text on stdin, complete and verbatim, to the session named <name> with exactly one SendMessage call, then stop."`.
 Codex receives queued messages only between turns; idle delay is up to ~20 s.
+When you tell the user a time, give it first in the host's local time zone (read it with `timedatectl` or `date`), with UTC beside it, for example "4:00 PM EDT (20:00Z)". Write timestamps in ledger rows, receipts, evidence and commit messages in UTC (RFC 3339 with `Z`); Git author/committer metadata retains its native format.
 
 <!-- native-agent-stack:rtk-upstream rtk-ai/rtk v0.51.0 hooks/rtk-awareness-full.md, verbatim -->
 # RTK

@@ -451,7 +451,7 @@ systemctl show getty@tty1.service -p Result -p NRestarts
   Pro for WSL writes it), that line lists its top-level keys: record them, and stop if `users:` or `write_files:` is among
   them. cloud-init 26.1 merges `agent.yaml` over the user-data one top-level key at a time, and an agent key replaces the
   user-data key entirely (`DataSourceWSL.py:317-336`, called at `:490`). Either key would replace the user or the
-  `[user] default` of W3.
+  `[time]` and `[user] default` of W3.
 - The `.wslconfig` line only reads: it prints the file's section headers and its `instanceIdleTimeout` and
   `vmIdleTimeout` lines, or nothing when the file or the keys are absent. Record both values in the receipt's
   `idle_keys`; a missing key has its default. `instanceIdleTimeout` (under `[general]`, default 15000 ms, `-1` turns it
@@ -562,6 +562,9 @@ wsl.exe -d '<Name>' -u root --exec cat /var/lib/cloud/data/result.json
 wsl.exe -d '<Name>' -u root --exec cat /var/lib/cloud/data/status.json
 wsl.exe -d '<Name>' -u root --exec cloud-init schema --system
 wsl.exe -d '<Name>' -u root --exec cat /etc/wsl.conf
+wsl.exe -d '<Name>' --exec timedatectl show -p Timezone --value
+tzutil /g
+if (-not ('WslRegionProof.Native' -as [type])) { Add-Type -Namespace WslRegionProof -Name Native -MemberDefinition '[System.Runtime.InteropServices.DllImport("kernel32.dll", CharSet=System.Runtime.InteropServices.CharSet.Unicode, ExactSpelling=true, SetLastError=true)] public static extern int GetUserDefaultGeoName(System.Text.StringBuilder geoName, int geoNameCount);' -ErrorAction Stop }; $wslRegionBuffer = [System.Text.StringBuilder]::new(16); if ([WslRegionProof.Native]::GetUserDefaultGeoName($wslRegionBuffer, $wslRegionBuffer.Capacity) -eq 0) { throw [System.ComponentModel.Win32Exception]::new([System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::GetLastWin32Error()) }; $wslRegionBuffer.ToString()
 wsl.exe -d '<Name>' -u root --exec ls -l /etc/cloud/cloud-init.disabled
 wsl.exe -d '<Name>' -u root --exec sudo -l -U '<WSL_USER>'
 wsl.exe --list --verbose
@@ -622,7 +625,34 @@ Proof (path A, cloud-init provisioned the instance):
   schema exits 1 (`:1493-1498`). The `schema` subcommand never reads the marker (`cloudinit/cmd/main.py:1240-1241`,
   `:1286-1293`). The 26.04.1 rehearsal returned `Valid schema user-data` after the marker on both host releases;
   each run must repeat that observation. Record the output (`schema_system`).
-- `/etc/wsl.conf` holds `[boot]`, `systemd=true`, `[user]` and `default=<WSL_USER>`, each once.
+- `/etc/wsl.conf` holds `[boot]`, `systemd=true`, `[time]`, `useWindowsTimezone=true`, `[user]` and
+  `default=<WSL_USER>`, each once. The `[time]` key restates WSL's default and records the intent
+  ([Microsoft wsl-config, "Time settings"](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wsl/wsl-config#time-settings), read
+  2026-10-05: MicrosoftDocs/WSL `7ea1c6f9`, `WSL/wsl-config.md:152-158`, `useWindowsTimezone`, default `true`); W6
+  writes the same key on path B. This read-back proves the file's text at this boot only; nothing reads it later.
+- `timedatectl show -p Timezone --value` prints the IANA zone that CLDR's `windowsZones` mapping gives for the Windows
+  zone that `tzutil /g` prints and the Windows region: the first zone of the region's row, else the `001` row, for
+  example `America/New_York` for `Eastern Standard Time` in the US (unicode-org/cldr `release-48-2`, `11299982`,
+  `common/supplemental/windowsZones.xml:130` and `:133`). `tzutil /g` displays the current time zone ID
+  ([tzutil](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/tzutil), read 2026-10-05:
+  MicrosoftDocs/windowsserverdocs `48fd0532`, `tzutil.md:18` and `:25`). WSL maps the zone with the ICU that Windows
+  ships and, while `useWindowsTimezone` was true when the instance started, links `/etc/localtime` to it at each
+  instance start and again in a running instance when Windows' time zone changes (microsoft/WSL `91f161fa`, tag 3.0.1:
+  `src/windows/common/helpers.cpp:358-413`, `src/linux/init/timezone.cpp:22-110`; the decision record cites both
+  paths). The region command calls the same `GetUserDefaultGeoName` API under the Windows account that launches
+  `<Name>`; record its exact ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 or numeric UN M.49 result separately from both zone outputs, as
+  `windows_region`. A culture name or `Get-WinHomeLocation`'s numeric GeoID is not this mapping input. API failure
+  throws and stops W5 rather than substituting a region. This small PowerShell bridge follows Microsoft's
+  [native-API Add-Type pattern](https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/PowerShell-Docs/blob/5b129a73fbe761fc12516c5f9776700daa0aa8a4/reference/5.1/Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility/Add-Type.md#L200)
+  and [GetUserDefaultGeoName contract](https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/sdk-api/blob/7b93b54da4b144f042bef2ed25aa902d58916dc4/sdk-api-src/content/winnls/nf-winnls-getuserdefaultgeoname.md#L54).
+  The CLDR pin is a reference mapping; Windows' shipped ICU data version is not established here. These sequential
+  reads must be repeated if the zone or region changes during the proof. On either path, a mismatch is recorded with
+  both outputs and stops the run for review,
+  without the failed-proof recovery below: WSL leaves `/etc/localtime` unchanged when the Windows-to-IANA mapping is
+  empty (`Windows to Linux timezone mapping was not possible.`, `timezone.cpp:54-58`) or the image lacks the zone's
+  file (`... not found. Is the tzdata package installed?`, `:66-70`). The remedy is to check the Windows region and
+  zone against that mapping and the image's `tzdata` (`/usr/share/zoneinfo/<zone>`); unregistering the distribution
+  would not change either.
 - The marker file exists, and `sudo -l` lists `(ALL) NOPASSWD: ALL`.
 - The starred line of `--list --verbose` is still W1's (`default_distribution_after`).
 
@@ -672,8 +702,10 @@ proof: the mask did not take effect before the unit started. Record all of it, w
 kernel from W1 and the image revision from W2, in the receipt's `paired_isolation`: one object for the workstation and
 one for `<Name>`, each with `uid`, `system_state`, `failed_units`, `user_manager` and `cgroup_namespace`.
 
-When any W5 proof fails, or the user-session warning appears, stop the run and never stop or restart a unit in either
-distribution. Terminate only the new distribution, export its failed state, and unregister only that name. Do not
+The time-zone pair is the one exception, on path A and in path B's repeat: a mismatch is recorded and stops the run for
+review, as its proof above says, and the recovery below does not run for it. When any W5 proof fails, or the
+user-session warning appears, stop the run and never stop or restart a unit in either distribution. Terminate only the
+new distribution, export its failed state, and unregister only that name. Do not
 take path B for any such failure. Record its cause (`cgroup`, `tty` or a short text); this recovery block serves every
 failed W5 proof:
 
@@ -780,10 +812,18 @@ printf '%s ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:ALL\n' '<WSL_USER>' > /etc/sudoers.d/90-wsl-defaul
 chmod 0440 /etc/sudoers.d/90-wsl-default-user
 visudo -cf /etc/sudoers.d/90-wsl-default-user
 grep -q '^\[user\]' /etc/wsl.conf || printf '\n[user]\ndefault=%s\n' '<WSL_USER>' >> /etc/wsl.conf
+python3 -c 'import configparser, io; from pathlib import Path; p = Path("/etc/wsl.conf"); c = configparser.ConfigParser(interpolation=None); c.optionxform = str; c.read_string(p.read_text() if p.exists() else ""); c.has_section("time") or c.add_section("time"); c.set("time", "useWindowsTimezone", "true"); out = io.StringIO(); c.write(out, space_around_delimiters=False); p.write_text(out.getvalue())' || exit "$?"
 touch /etc/cloud/cloud-init.disabled
 ```
 
-The last line writes the marker the official first-run command writes after cloud-init. `/etc/wsl.conf` takes effect at
+The Python command updates the actual key when `[time]` already exists, including `false` or a missing key, and adds
+the section only when absent. It uses the maintained standard-library
+[ConfigParser read/set/write API](https://github.com/python/cpython/blob/v3.13.16/Doc/library/configparser.rst),
+preserves other section values and key case, and writes compact `key=value` text. Its INI serialization normalizes
+formatting and drops comments; malformed or duplicate-section input fails before writing and exits the root block
+before the completion marker. This is a provisioning
+step, not a host command to run during a paper session. The last line writes the marker the official first-run
+command writes after cloud-init. `/etc/wsl.conf` takes effect at
 the next start, so terminate the new distribution only and wait until it is no longer running:
 
 ```powershell

@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ Long commands: set `yield_time_ms` 30000; while a `session_id` returns, poll `wr
 Web research: if the stack installs GPT Researcher, run `bash ~/code/native-agent-stack/tools/research/gpt_researcher.sh "<short current-month query>"` as a long command (stops at 1,500 s); use short, unseeded current-month queries; reports are leads: re-read facts in primary sources.
 Message Claude Code in one long command: set `msg` via a quoted heredoc (`msg=$(cat <<'MSG'`, text, `MSG`, `)` each on its own line), then `printf '%s\n\nreply: codex queue --thread %s\n' "$msg" "$CODEX_THREAD_ID" | claude -p -n "codex-$(printf '%.8s' "$CODEX_THREAD_ID")" --permission-mode bypassPermissions --max-turns 3 --output-format stream-json --verbose "Send the text on stdin, complete and verbatim, to the session named <name> with exactly one SendMessage call, then stop."`.
 Codex receives queued messages only between turns; idle delay is up to ~20 s.
+When you tell the user a time, give it first in the host's local time zone (read it with `timedatectl` or `date`), with UTC beside it, for example "4:00 PM EDT (20:00Z)". Write timestamps in ledger rows, receipts, evidence and commit messages in UTC (RFC 3339 with `Z`); Git author/committer metadata retains its native format.
 
 <!-- native-agent-stack:rtk-upstream rtk-ai/rtk v0.51.0 hooks/rtk-awareness-full.md, verbatim -->
 <!-- native-agent-stack:include-rtk-awareness-full -->

@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@
 # Keys follow Canonical's "Automatic setup of Ubuntu on WSL with cloud-init" example and the cloud-init WSL datasource
 # "Default user" example. The groups are the ones the image's wsl-setup gives a user it creates interactively. uid 1000
 # matches defaultUid in the image's /etc/wsl-distribution.conf. The password stays locked; sudo needs none.
+# [time] useWindowsTimezone=true restates WSL's default (Microsoft wsl-config, "Time settings", read 2026-10-05:
+# MicrosoftDocs/WSL@7ea1c6f9 WSL/wsl-config.md:152-158; default true). It records the intent, and W5 reads it back:
+# docs/decisions/2026-10-05-user-facing-local-time.md.
 # P2 checks the workstation schema; W5 must validate the selected image's own schema. Full new-host acceptance is owed.
 users:
 - name: ${WSL_USER}
@@ -21,6 +24,9 @@ write_files:
 - path: /etc/wsl.conf
   append: true
   content: |
+    [time]
+    useWindowsTimezone=true
+
     [user]
     default=${WSL_USER}