diff --git a/cmd/gateway_cron.go b/cmd/gateway_cron.go
index 42554d00..2075f1f6 100644
--- a/cmd/gateway_cron.go
+++ b/cmd/gateway_cron.go
@@ -17,6 +17,10 @@ import (
 // makeCronJobHandler creates a cron job handler that routes through the scheduler's cron lane.
 // This ensures per-session concurrency control (same job can't run concurrently)
 // and integration with /stop, /stopall commands.
+// cronHeartbeatWakeFn holds the heartbeat wake function, set after ticker creation.
+// Safe because cron jobs only fire after Start(), well after this is set.
+var cronHeartbeatWakeFn func(agentID string)
+
 func makeCronJobHandler(sched *scheduler.Scheduler, msgBus *bus.MessageBus, cfg *config.Config, channelMgr *channels.Manager) func(job *store.CronJob) (*store.CronJobResult, error) {
 	return func(job *store.CronJob) (*store.CronJobResult, error) {
 		agentID := job.AgentID
@@ -102,6 +106,11 @@ func makeCronJobHandler(sched *scheduler.Scheduler, msgBus *bus.MessageBus, cfg
 			cronResult.OutputTokens = result.Usage.CompletionTokens
 		}
 
+		// wakeMode: trigger heartbeat after cron job completes
+		if job.Payload.WakeHeartbeat && cronHeartbeatWakeFn != nil {
+			cronHeartbeatWakeFn(agentID)
+		}
+
 		return cronResult, nil
 	}
 }
diff --git a/internal/agent/loop_types.go b/internal/agent/loop_types.go
index 4fe804db..41224eb8 100644
--- a/internal/agent/loop_types.go
+++ b/internal/agent/loop_types.go
@@ -363,6 +363,7 @@ type RunRequest struct {
 	TraceName         string          // override trace name (default: "chat <agentID>")
 	TraceTags         []string        // additional tags for the trace (e.g. "cron")
 	MaxIterations     int             // per-request override (0 = use agent default, must be lower)
+	LightContext      bool            // skip loading context files (only inject ExtraSystemPrompt)
 
 	// Run classification
 	RunKind       string // "delegation", "announce" — empty for user-initiated runs
diff --git a/internal/scheduler/scheduler.go b/internal/scheduler/scheduler.go
index cf59767f..41973a40 100644
--- a/internal/scheduler/scheduler.go
+++ b/internal/scheduler/scheduler.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package scheduler
 import (
 	"context"
 	"log/slog"
+	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"sync/atomic"
 
@@ -143,6 +144,20 @@ func (s *Scheduler) Stop() {
 	s.lanes.StopAll()
 }
 
+// HasActiveSessionsForAgent checks if any session queue for the given agent has active runs.
+// Used by heartbeat ticker to skip agents currently processing other requests.
+func (s *Scheduler) HasActiveSessionsForAgent(agentID string) bool {
+	prefix := "agent:" + agentID + ":"
+	s.mu.RLock()
+	defer s.mu.RUnlock()
+	for key, sq := range s.sessions {
+		if strings.HasPrefix(key, prefix) && sq.IsActive() {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
 // LaneStats returns utilization metrics for all lanes.
 func (s *Scheduler) LaneStats() []LaneStats {
 	return s.lanes.AllStats()
diff --git a/internal/store/cron_store.go b/internal/store/cron_store.go
index 9f53fcc4..29e942f9 100644
--- a/internal/store/cron_store.go
+++ b/internal/store/cron_store.go
@@ -28,12 +28,13 @@ type CronSchedule struct {
 
 // CronPayload describes what a job does when triggered.
 type CronPayload struct {
-	Kind    string `json:"kind"`
-	Message string `json:"message"`
-	Command string `json:"command,omitempty"`
-	Deliver bool   `json:"deliver"`
-	Channel string `json:"channel,omitempty"`
-	To      string `json:"to,omitempty"`
+	Kind          string `json:"kind"`
+	Message       string `json:"message"`
+	Command       string `json:"command,omitempty"`
+	Deliver       bool   `json:"deliver"`
+	Channel       string `json:"channel,omitempty"`
+	To            string `json:"to,omitempty"`
+	WakeHeartbeat bool   `json:"wake_heartbeat,omitempty"` // trigger heartbeat after job completes
 }
 
 // CronJobState tracks runtime state for a job.
@@ -75,6 +76,7 @@ type CronJobPatch struct {
 	Channel        *string       `json:"channel,omitempty"`
 	To             *string       `json:"to,omitempty"`
 	DeleteAfterRun *bool         `json:"deleteAfterRun,omitempty"`
+	WakeHeartbeat  *bool         `json:"wakeHeartbeat,omitempty"`
 }
 
 // CronEvent represents a job lifecycle event sent to subscribers.
diff --git a/internal/store/pg/cron_update.go b/internal/store/pg/cron_update.go
index 150857be..01e1f545 100644
--- a/internal/store/pg/cron_update.go
+++ b/internal/store/pg/cron_update.go
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ func (s *PGCronStore) UpdateJob(jobID string, patch store.CronJobPatch) (*store.
 	}
 
 	// Update payload JSONB — fetch current, merge patch fields, re-serialize
-	needsPayloadUpdate := patch.Message != "" || patch.Deliver != nil || patch.Channel != nil || patch.To != nil
+	needsPayloadUpdate := patch.Message != "" || patch.Deliver != nil || patch.Channel != nil || patch.To != nil || patch.WakeHeartbeat != nil
 	if needsPayloadUpdate {
 		var payloadJSON []byte
 		if scanErr := s.db.QueryRow("SELECT payload FROM cron_jobs WHERE id = $1", id).Scan(&payloadJSON); scanErr == nil {
@@ -167,6 +167,9 @@ func (s *PGCronStore) UpdateJob(jobID string, patch store.CronJobPatch) (*store.
 			if patch.To != nil {
 				payload.To = *patch.To
 			}
+			if patch.WakeHeartbeat != nil {
+				payload.WakeHeartbeat = *patch.WakeHeartbeat
+			}
 
 			merged, _ := json.Marshal(payload)
 			updates["payload"] = merged
diff --git a/internal/tools/cron.go b/internal/tools/cron.go
index 026c8710..a5a179fd 100644
--- a/internal/tools/cron.go
+++ b/internal/tools/cron.go
@@ -267,6 +267,14 @@ func (t *CronTool) handleAdd(ctx context.Context, args map[string]any, agentID,
 		return ErrorResult(fmt.Sprintf("failed to create cron job: %v", err))
 	}
 
+	// Set wake_heartbeat if requested (triggers heartbeat after cron job completes)
+	if wh, _ := jobObj["wake_heartbeat"].(bool); wh {
+		wakeTrue := true
+		if updated, uErr := t.cronStore.UpdateJob(job.ID, store.CronJobPatch{WakeHeartbeat: &wakeTrue}); uErr == nil {
+			job = updated
+		}
+	}
+
 	data, _ := json.MarshalIndent(map[string]any{"job": job}, "", "  ")
 	return NewResult(string(data))
 }