Timezone Enforcement Skill#

Enforces correct local-time awareness. Prevents the classic UTC-as-local mistake.

What This Skill Does#

• Reads user timezone from USER.md ( Timezone: field)
• Provides now.py script for accurate local time output
• Provides timezone_setup.py for one-time configuration
• Optionally patches AGENTS.md with standing timezone rules — ONLY when user explicitly runs --patch-agents and confirms. This is not default behavior.

⚠️ User Warning: Running timezone_setup.py --patch-agents will write standing instructions into AGENTS.md. This persists across sessions and affects all future agent behavior. Only do this if you want the timezone rule to apply permanently.

What This Skill Does NOT Do#

• Does NOT automatically intercept all time output — agent must call now.py explicitly
• Does NOT patch AGENTS.md without explicit --patch-agents flag
• Does NOT handle multi-user or multi-timezone environments
• Does NOT detect timezone changes after install — re-run timezone_setup.py if timezone changes

Permissions Required#

This skill may:

• Read USER.md (to detect timezone)
• Read/write skills/timezone/tz_config.json (to save config)
• Optionally write AGENTS.md (only when user explicitly approves --patch-agents)
• Execute timedatectl or read /etc/localtime (system timezone detection only)

Prerequisites#

USER.md should contain a timezone field:

text

Timezone: America/New_York

Use a valid IANA timezone string (e.g. America/New_York, Europe/London, Asia/Tokyo). Aliases like ET, PT, CT are also accepted.

Setup — Run Once on Install#

bash

python3 skills/timezone/scripts/timezone_setup.py

This detects timezone from USER.md or system, writes tz_config.json. Does NOT touch AGENTS.md unless user runs with --patch-agents.

To also patch AGENTS.md (optional, requires user confirmation):

bash

python3 skills/timezone/scripts/timezone_setup.py --patch-agents

Reporting Time#

Always run now.py before reporting any time — never guess from internal knowledge:

bash

python3 skills/timezone/scripts/now.py

Report output verbatim. If it fails: tell the user, ask them to run timezone_setup.py first.

UTC Trap Detection#

Before outputting any time, ask: is this UTC or local?

• Timestamps ending in Z, +00:00, or +0000 → convert before reporting
• API/cron/system timestamps → treat as UTC, always convert
• User-provided times → treat as local, use as-is

/timezone Command#

When user types /timezone:

1. Show configured timezone and current local time (run now.py)
2. Offer to change
3. If changing: run timezone_setup.py --set "<IANA_NAME>"
4. Confirm change

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Custom implementations and questions: pods@agentmail.to