diff --git a/src/cron/normalize.test.ts b/src/cron/normalize.test.ts
index 17a353d0f..b75a23aca 100644
--- a/src/cron/normalize.test.ts
+++ b/src/cron/normalize.test.ts
@@ -138,6 +138,25 @@ describe("normalizeCronJobCreate", () => {
     expectNormalizedAtSchedule({ kind: "at", atMs: "2026-01-12T18:00:00" });
   });
 
+  it("migrates legacy schedule.cron into schedule.expr", () => {
+    const normalized = normalizeCronJobCreate({
+      name: "legacy-cron-field",
+      enabled: true,
+      schedule: { kind: "cron", cron: "*/10 * * * *", tz: "UTC" },
+      sessionTarget: "main",
+      wakeMode: "next-heartbeat",
+      payload: {
+        kind: "systemEvent",
+        text: "tick",
+      },
+    }) as unknown as Record<string, unknown>;
+
+    const schedule = normalized.schedule as Record<string, unknown>;
+    expect(schedule.kind).toBe("cron");
+    expect(schedule.expr).toBe("*/10 * * * *");
+    expect(schedule.cron).toBeUndefined();
+  });
+
   it("defaults cron stagger for recurring top-of-hour schedules", () => {
     const normalized = normalizeCronJobCreate({
       name: "hourly",
diff --git a/src/cron/normalize.ts b/src/cron/normalize.ts
index f7a4b210c..fe06eaf2f 100644
--- a/src/cron/normalize.ts
+++ b/src/cron/normalize.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,9 @@ function coerceSchedule(schedule: UnknownRecord) {
   const next: UnknownRecord = { ...schedule };
   const rawKind = typeof schedule.kind === "string" ? schedule.kind.trim().toLowerCase() : "";
   const kind = rawKind === "at" || rawKind === "every" || rawKind === "cron" ? rawKind : undefined;
+  const exprRaw = typeof schedule.expr === "string" ? schedule.expr.trim() : "";
+  const legacyCronRaw = typeof schedule.cron === "string" ? schedule.cron.trim() : "";
+  const normalizedExpr = exprRaw || legacyCronRaw;
   const atMsRaw = schedule.atMs;
   const atRaw = schedule.at;
   const atString = typeof atRaw === "string" ? atRaw.trim() : "";
@@ -48,7 +51,7 @@ function coerceSchedule(schedule: UnknownRecord) {
       next.kind = "at";
     } else if (typeof schedule.everyMs === "number") {
       next.kind = "every";
-    } else if (typeof schedule.expr === "string") {
+    } else if (normalizedExpr) {
       next.kind = "cron";
     }
   }
@@ -62,6 +65,15 @@ function coerceSchedule(schedule: UnknownRecord) {
     delete next.atMs;
   }
 
+  if (normalizedExpr) {
+    next.expr = normalizedExpr;
+  } else if ("expr" in next) {
+    delete next.expr;
+  }
+  if ("cron" in next) {
+    delete next.cron;
+  }
+
   const staggerMs = normalizeCronStaggerMs(schedule.staggerMs);
   if (staggerMs !== undefined) {
     next.staggerMs = staggerMs;
diff --git a/src/cron/schedule.test.ts b/src/cron/schedule.test.ts
index 1bea936b2..6c132e282 100644
--- a/src/cron/schedule.test.ts
+++ b/src/cron/schedule.test.ts
@@ -25,6 +25,19 @@ describe("cron schedule", () => {
     ).toThrow("invalid cron schedule: expr is required");
   });
 
+  it("supports legacy cron field when expr is missing", () => {
+    const nowMs = Date.parse("2025-12-13T00:00:00.000Z");
+    const next = computeNextRunAtMs(
+      {
+        kind: "cron",
+        cron: "0 9 * * 3",
+        tz: "America/Los_Angeles",
+      } as unknown as { kind: "cron"; expr: string; tz?: string },
+      nowMs,
+    );
+    expect(next).toBe(Date.parse("2025-12-17T17:00:00.000Z"));
+  });
+
   it("computes next run for every schedule", () => {
     const anchor = Date.parse("2025-12-13T00:00:00.000Z");
     const now = anchor + 10_000;
diff --git a/src/cron/schedule.ts b/src/cron/schedule.ts
index d80aaa440..bb7bdfc0e 100644
--- a/src/cron/schedule.ts
+++ b/src/cron/schedule.ts
@@ -41,7 +41,8 @@ export function computeNextRunAtMs(schedule: CronSchedule, nowMs: number): numbe
     return anchor + steps * everyMs;
   }
 
-  const exprSource = (schedule as { expr?: unknown }).expr;
+  const cronSchedule = schedule as { expr?: unknown; cron?: unknown };
+  const exprSource = typeof cronSchedule.expr === "string" ? cronSchedule.expr : cronSchedule.cron;
   if (typeof exprSource !== "string") {
     throw new Error("invalid cron schedule: expr is required");
   }
diff --git a/src/cron/service.store-migration.test.ts b/src/cron/service.store-migration.test.ts
index adaeec2b1..e25a0cd7c 100644
--- a/src/cron/service.store-migration.test.ts
+++ b/src/cron/service.store-migration.test.ts
@@ -148,4 +148,59 @@ describe("CronService store migrations", () => {
     cron.stop();
     await store.cleanup();
   });
+
+  it("migrates legacy cron fields (jobId + schedule.cron) and defaults wakeMode", async () => {
+    const store = await makeStorePath();
+    await fs.mkdir(path.dirname(store.storePath), { recursive: true });
+    await fs.writeFile(
+      store.storePath,
+      JSON.stringify(
+        {
+          version: 1,
+          jobs: [
+            {
+              jobId: "legacy-cron-field-job",
+              name: "legacy cron field",
+              enabled: true,
+              createdAtMs: Date.parse("2026-02-01T12:00:00.000Z"),
+              updatedAtMs: Date.parse("2026-02-05T12:00:00.000Z"),
+              schedule: { kind: "cron", cron: "*/5 * * * *", tz: "UTC" },
+              payload: { kind: "systemEvent", text: "tick" },
+              state: {},
+            },
+          ],
+        },
+        null,
+        2,
+      ),
+      "utf-8",
+    );
+
+    const cron = await createStartedCron(store.storePath).start();
+    const jobs = await cron.list({ includeDisabled: true });
+    const job = jobs.find((entry) => entry.id === "legacy-cron-field-job");
+    expect(job).toBeDefined();
+    expect(job?.wakeMode).toBe("now");
+    expect(job?.schedule.kind).toBe("cron");
+    if (job?.schedule.kind === "cron") {
+      expect(job.schedule.expr).toBe("*/5 * * * *");
+    }
+
+    const persisted = JSON.parse(await fs.readFile(store.storePath, "utf-8")) as {
+      jobs: Array<Record<string, unknown>>;
+    };
+    const persistedJob = persisted.jobs.find((entry) => entry.id === "legacy-cron-field-job");
+    expect(persistedJob).toBeDefined();
+    expect(persistedJob?.jobId).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(persistedJob?.wakeMode).toBe("now");
+    const persistedSchedule =
+      persistedJob?.schedule && typeof persistedJob.schedule === "object"
+        ? (persistedJob.schedule as Record<string, unknown>)
+        : null;
+    expect(persistedSchedule?.cron).toBeUndefined();
+    expect(persistedSchedule?.expr).toBe("*/5 * * * *");
+
+    cron.stop();
+    await store.cleanup();
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/cron/service/store.ts b/src/cron/service/store.ts
index d15070864..843625244 100644
--- a/src/cron/service/store.ts
+++ b/src/cron/service/store.ts
@@ -248,6 +248,20 @@ export async function ensureLoaded(
       mutated = true;
     }
 
+    const rawId = typeof raw.id === "string" ? raw.id.trim() : "";
+    const legacyJobId = typeof raw.jobId === "string" ? raw.jobId.trim() : "";
+    if (!rawId && legacyJobId) {
+      raw.id = legacyJobId;
+      mutated = true;
+    } else if (rawId && raw.id !== rawId) {
+      raw.id = rawId;
+      mutated = true;
+    }
+    if ("jobId" in raw) {
+      delete raw.jobId;
+      mutated = true;
+    }
+
     const nameRaw = raw.name;
     if (typeof nameRaw !== "string" || nameRaw.trim().length === 0) {
       raw.name = inferLegacyName({
@@ -279,6 +293,22 @@ export async function ensureLoaded(
       mutated = true;
     }
 
+    const wakeModeRaw = typeof raw.wakeMode === "string" ? raw.wakeMode.trim().toLowerCase() : "";
+    if (wakeModeRaw === "next-heartbeat") {
+      if (raw.wakeMode !== "next-heartbeat") {
+        raw.wakeMode = "next-heartbeat";
+        mutated = true;
+      }
+    } else if (wakeModeRaw === "now") {
+      if (raw.wakeMode !== "now") {
+        raw.wakeMode = "now";
+        mutated = true;
+      }
+    } else {
+      raw.wakeMode = "now";
+      mutated = true;
+    }
+
     const payload = raw.payload;
     if (
       (!payload || typeof payload !== "object" || Array.isArray(payload)) &&
@@ -383,13 +413,24 @@ export async function ensureLoaded(
       }
 
       const exprRaw = typeof sched.expr === "string" ? sched.expr.trim() : "";
-      if (typeof sched.expr === "string" && sched.expr !== exprRaw) {
-        sched.expr = exprRaw;
+      const legacyCronRaw = typeof sched.cron === "string" ? sched.cron.trim() : "";
+      let normalizedExpr = exprRaw;
+      if (!normalizedExpr && legacyCronRaw) {
+        normalizedExpr = legacyCronRaw;
+        sched.expr = normalizedExpr;
         mutated = true;
       }
-      if ((kind === "cron" || sched.kind === "cron") && exprRaw) {
+      if (typeof sched.expr === "string" && sched.expr !== normalizedExpr) {
+        sched.expr = normalizedExpr;
+        mutated = true;
+      }
+      if ("cron" in sched) {
+        delete sched.cron;
+        mutated = true;
+      }
+      if ((kind === "cron" || sched.kind === "cron") && normalizedExpr) {
         const explicitStaggerMs = normalizeCronStaggerMs(sched.staggerMs);
-        const defaultStaggerMs = resolveDefaultCronStaggerMs(exprRaw);
+        const defaultStaggerMs = resolveDefaultCronStaggerMs(normalizedExpr);
         const targetStaggerMs = explicitStaggerMs ?? defaultStaggerMs;
         if (targetStaggerMs === undefined) {
           if ("staggerMs" in sched) {