| name | time-awareness |
| description | Central Time awareness and date computation for the {{FAMILY_NAME}} family platform — PowerShell CT time, relative date resolution, quiet hours, and time-based decision making. Use when user says "what time", "compute time", "quiet hours", "time awareness", "date calculation", "leave by time", "current time", or any time-sensitive operation. |
Time Awareness Skill
Canonical patterns for time computation, date resolution, and time-based decisions across all agents in the {{FAMILY_NAME}} family platform.
Why This Exists
The platform runs on Central Time ({{TIMEZONE}}). Agents MUST compute time fresh every run — never trust cached or passed-in time values. This skill provides the single source of truth for how time is handled.
Rule 1: ALWAYS Compute Fresh (NEVER Trust Passed-In Time)
CRITICAL: Never trust current_datetime headers, dispatch messages, or any time value passed between agents. The current_datetime header is UTC (ends with Z) — using it as Central Time causes 5-hour errors.
Get Current Time
[System.TimeZoneInfo]::ConvertTimeBySystemTimeZoneId((Get-Date), 'Central Standard Time').ToString('dddd, MMMM d, yyyy h:mm tt')
This is the ONLY source of truth for current local time.
Get Current Date Only
[System.TimeZoneInfo]::ConvertTimeBySystemTimeZoneId((Get-Date), 'Central Standard Time').ToString('yyyy-MM-dd')
Rule 2: Resolve Relative Days with Math (NEVER Guess)
When anyone says "Friday", "next Monday", "this weekend" — compute the exact date:
$today = [System.TimeZoneInfo]::ConvertTimeBySystemTimeZoneId((Get-Date), 'Central Standard Time')
$targetDay = [System.DayOfWeek]::Friday
$daysUntil = (([int]$targetDay - [int]$today.DayOfWeek + 7) % 7)
if ($daysUntil -eq 0) { $daysUntil = 7 } # "Friday" when today IS Friday = next Friday
$targetDate = $today.AddDays($daysUntil)
Write-Output "$($targetDate.ToString('dddd, MMMM d, yyyy'))"
Rule 2A: MANDATORY Day-of-Week Verification Before Calendar Creation
HARD RULE: Never call gcal_create_event from a relative reference until you separately verify that the computed date's DayOfWeek matches the user's stated weekday.
Verification template:
(Get-Date '2026-05-24').DayOfWeek
Full calendar-safe pattern:
$today = [System.TimeZoneInfo]::ConvertTimeBySystemTimeZoneId((Get-Date), 'Central Standard Time')
$targetDay = [System.DayOfWeek]::Saturday
$daysUntil = (([int]$targetDay - [int]$today.DayOfWeek + 7) % 7)
if ($daysUntil -eq 0) { $daysUntil = 7 }
$targetDate = $today.AddDays($daysUntil)
$verifiedDay = (Get-Date $targetDate.ToString('yyyy-MM-dd')).DayOfWeek
if ($verifiedDay -ne $targetDay) {
throw "Day-of-week mismatch: expected $targetDay but computed $verifiedDay for $($targetDate.ToString('yyyy-MM-dd'))"
}
Write-Output "Verified: $($targetDate.ToString('dddd, MMMM d, yyyy')) ✅"
If the prompt is ambiguous (e.g. "Saturday or Sunday", "I think", "maybe confirm"), STOP. Clarify first. Do not create the event.
If the weekday intent and numeric date conflict (e.g. the prompt says "Saturday, May 24" but (Get-Date '2026-05-24').DayOfWeek returns Sunday), do NOT force the event onto the numeric date. Fix the date first or clarify before creating anything.
Always state the result explicitly: "Today is Wednesday, May 6. This Friday = Friday, May 8. Verified with DayOfWeek ✅"
Hookflow enforcement: The calendar-date-guard extension (.{{EMPLOYER_PARENT}}/extensions/calendar-date-guard/extension.mjs) deterministically blocks gcal_create_event when the computed date's weekday mismatches user prompt intent or when intent is ambiguous. This is the last line of defense — always verify BEFORE relying on the guard.
Rule 3: Quiet Hours Enforcement
| Period | Rule |
|---|
| 10 PM – 6 AM CT (weekdays) | No non-urgent notifications |
| 10 PM – 8 AM CT (weekends) | No non-urgent notifications |
| Exception | If user messages first, respond normally |
| Exception | Urgent/safety alerts bypass quiet hours |
Check If Quiet Hours
$now = [System.TimeZoneInfo]::ConvertTimeBySystemTimeZoneId((Get-Date), 'Central Standard Time')
$hour = $now.Hour
$isWeekend = $now.DayOfWeek -eq 'Saturday' -or $now.DayOfWeek -eq 'Sunday'
$quietStart = 22 # 10 PM
$quietEnd = if ($isWeekend) { 8 } else { 6 }
$isQuiet = ($hour -ge $quietStart) -or ($hour -lt $quietEnd)
Write-Output "Quiet hours: $isQuiet (Current: $($now.ToString('h:mm tt')))"
Rule 4: Energy Matching (for task-coach and similar)
| Time Block | Best For |
|---|
| 6 AM – 11 AM | Complex/creative/hard tasks |
| 11 AM – 2 PM | Moderate tasks, errands, digital work |
| 2 PM – 5 PM | Routine/easy tasks |
| After 5 PM | Quick wins, closing tasks, prep-for-tomorrow |
Rule 5: Work Hours Detection
$now = [System.TimeZoneInfo]::ConvertTimeBySystemTimeZoneId((Get-Date), 'Central Standard Time')
$isWorkday = $now.DayOfWeek -notin @('Saturday', 'Sunday')
$isWorkHours = $isWorkday -and ($now.Hour -ge 9) -and ($now.Hour -lt 17)
Write-Output "Work hours: $isWorkHours"
During work hours (9 AM – 5 PM weekdays), suppress chore nudges unless there are gaps between meetings.
Rule 6: Leave-By Time Calculation
For any appointment/activity with a known location:
- Use
get_drive_time(origin, destination) to calculate travel time
- Add 15-minute buffer (parking, walking, check-in)
- Subtract from event start time = leave-by time
- Create task with priority=high
Leave-by = Event Start - Drive Time - 15 min buffer
IMPORTANT: You MUST know the starting location. If unknown, create a clarification task instead of guessing.
Rule 7: Stale Time Guards
- Before surfacing time-sensitive items (calls, leave-by reminders, "starting now" tasks), verify against
gcal_today / gcal_upcoming
- Do NOT carry over prior-day time-locks from agent working memory
- If a time-sensitive item is stale → remove from active context before sending nudges
Anti-Patterns (NEVER Do These)
- ❌ Assume dates without computing them via PowerShell
- ❌ Create a calendar event from a relative weekday without separately verifying
(Get-Date '<yyyy-mm-dd>').DayOfWeek
- ❌ Proceed when the prompt says things like "Saturday or Sunday", "I think", or "maybe confirm" — that is ambiguity, not permission to guess
- ❌ Use UTC
current_datetime header as local time
- ❌ Trust time values from dispatch messages or other agents
- ❌ Calculate leave-by time without confirmed starting location
- ❌ Carry stale time-sensitive items from yesterday's working memory
- ❌ Send non-urgent notifications during quiet hours
