diff --git a/cli-config.yaml.example b/cli-config.yaml.example
index b63a32cdae..82e3bf7a10 100644
--- a/cli-config.yaml.example
+++ b/cli-config.yaml.example
@@ -359,6 +359,9 @@ kanban:
 # Working directory behavior:
 #   - CLI (`hermes` command): Uses "." (current directory where you run hermes)
 #   - Gateway/messaging/cron: Uses terminal.cwd here; legacy .env cwd values are deprecated
+cron:
+  catch_up_missed: true  # False skips past-grace recurring misses after planned downtime.
+
 terminal:
   backend: "local"
   cwd: "."  # For local backend: "." = current directory. Ignored for remote backends unless a backend documents otherwise.
diff --git a/cron/jobs.py b/cron/jobs.py
index d24acc0b19..51d51a77e0 100644
--- a/cron/jobs.py
+++ b/cron/jobs.py
@@ -2883,8 +2883,8 @@ def _reanchor_stale_cron(d: _DueJob) -> bool:
     return False
 
 
-def _fast_forward_missed_recurring(d: _DueJob, grace: int) -> None:
-    """Recurring job past its grace window: skip the accumulated misses, fire once now.
+def _fast_forward_missed_recurring(d: _DueJob, grace: int) -> bool:
+    """Re-anchor accumulated misses; return whether catch-up was explicitly disabled.
 
     The fast-forward is persisted immediately — NOT redundant with advance_next_run/mark_job_run:
     it
@@ -2892,16 +2892,23 @@ def _fast_forward_missed_recurring(d: _DueJob, grace: int) -> None:
     calls advance_next_run. mark_job_run re-anchors on completion, so the value is provisional.
     """
     if (d.scan.now - d.next_run_dt).total_seconds() <= grace:
-        return
+        return False
     new_next = d.recompute_next()
     if not new_next:
-        return
+        return False
+    d.scan.persist(d.job["id"], next_run_at=new_next)
+    if not _cron_config_number("catch_up_missed", True, lambda value: value is not False):
+        logger.info(
+            "Job '%s' missed its scheduled time (%s, grace=%ds). "
+            "Skipping missed occurrence because cron.catch_up_missed is false; next run: %s",
+            d.label, d.next_run, grace, new_next)
+        return True
     logger.info(
         "Job '%s' missed its scheduled time (%s, grace=%ds). "
         "Running now; next run provisionally set to: %s (re-anchored on completion)",
         d.label, d.next_run, grace, new_next)
-    d.scan.persist(d.job["id"], next_run_at=new_next)
     record_catch_up_occurrence()
+    return False
 
 
 def _retire_expired_oneshot(d: _DueJob) -> bool:
@@ -3006,8 +3013,8 @@ def _evaluate_due_job(job: Dict[str, Any], scan: _DueScan, run_claim_ttl: float)
     if not manual_run and kind == "cron" and _reanchor_stale_cron(d):
         return False
     grace = _compute_grace_seconds(d.schedule)
-    if not manual_run and recurring:
-        _fast_forward_missed_recurring(d, grace)
+    if not manual_run and recurring and _fast_forward_missed_recurring(d, grace):
+        return False
     if kind == "once":
         if _retire_expired_oneshot(d) or _oneshot_dispatch_limit_reached(job, scan):
             return False
diff --git a/hermes_cli/config_defaults.py b/hermes_cli/config_defaults.py
index 581a6e9f31..41b846a56f 100644
--- a/hermes_cli/config_defaults.py
+++ b/hermes_cli/config_defaults.py
@@ -1633,6 +1633,7 @@ DEFAULT_CONFIG = {
     },
 
     "cron": {
+        "catch_up_missed": True,  # False skips recurring misses beyond the local grace window.
         # Let cron-spawned agents use the cronjob toolset (the "cron-librarian" pattern). Off by
         # default: policy-denied in cron context to prevent unattended scheduling loops. Jobs
         # created this way are user-owned in the same flat jobs table. Interactive toolsets
diff --git a/tests/cron/test_catchup_policy.py b/tests/cron/test_catchup_policy.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7f78e1186d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/cron/test_catchup_policy.py
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+"""The local missed-run policy preserves grace and manual triggers."""
+from datetime import timedelta
+
+import pytest
+
+from cron import jobs
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("catch_up", [True, False])
+def test_missed_policy_preserves_grace_and_manual(tmp_path, monkeypatch, catch_up):
+    monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_HOME", str(tmp_path))
+    (tmp_path / "config.yaml").write_text(f"cron:\n  catch_up_missed: {str(catch_up).lower()}\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    with jobs.use_cron_store(tmp_path / "cron"):
+        now = jobs._hermes_now()
+        for name, lag in [("stale", 14400), ("grace", 30), ("manual", 14400)]:
+            job = jobs.create_job(prompt=name, schedule="every 1h", model="fixture", deliver="local")
+            stored = jobs.load_jobs()
+            row = next(row for row in stored if row["id"] == job["id"])
+            row["next_run_at"] = (now - timedelta(seconds=lag)).isoformat()
+            if name == "manual":
+                row["manual_run_at"] = row["next_run_at"]
+            jobs.save_jobs(stored)
+        due = {job["prompt"] for job in jobs.get_due_jobs()}
+        assert due == ({"stale", "grace", "manual"} if catch_up else {"grace", "manual"})
+        stale = next(row for row in jobs.load_jobs() if row["prompt"] == "stale")
+        assert jobs._ensure_aware(jobs.datetime.fromisoformat(stale["next_run_at"])) > now
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("uncomputable", [False, True])
+def test_default_and_uncomputable_still_catch_up(tmp_path, monkeypatch, uncomputable):
+    monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_HOME", str(tmp_path))
+    if uncomputable:
+        (tmp_path / "config.yaml").write_text("cron:\n  catch_up_missed: false\n", encoding="utf-8")
+    with jobs.use_cron_store(tmp_path / "cron"):
+        job = jobs.create_job(prompt="default", schedule="every 1h", model="fixture", deliver="local")
+        stored = jobs.load_jobs()
+        stored[0]["next_run_at"] = (jobs._hermes_now() - timedelta(hours=4)).isoformat()
+        jobs.save_jobs(stored)
+        if uncomputable:
+            monkeypatch.setattr(jobs, "compute_next_run", lambda *args: None)
+        assert [row["id"] for row in jobs.get_due_jobs()] == [job["id"]]
diff --git a/website/docs/user-guide/features/cron.md b/website/docs/user-guide/features/cron.md
index c20852630d..0b353d5359 100644
--- a/website/docs/user-guide/features/cron.md
+++ b/website/docs/user-guide/features/cron.md
@@ -880,6 +880,24 @@ These misses are stamped on the job record as `last_fire_error` (timestamp + rea
 
 The stamp always reflects **current** auto-fire health: it is overwritten by newer misses and cleared automatically by the next successful run. If you see it, the job and its schedule are fine — the gateway side of the fire path needs attention (most commonly, restart the gateway through its supervisor so it loads the full profile environment: `hermes gateway restart`).
 
+### Local missed-run policy
+
+The local ticker normally runs each overdue recurring job **once**, not once per
+missed slot. To avoid catch-up load after a planned gateway stop, set:
+
+```yaml
+cron:
+  catch_up_missed: false   # default: true
+```
+
+Or run `hermes config set cron.catch_up_missed false`. With this opt-out, a recurring
+job later than its existing grace window (half its period, clamped to 120 seconds–2
+hours) is re-anchored to its next future occurrence without firing now. The skip is
+logged. Jobs inside grace and explicit manual triggers still run normally; if the
+next occurrence cannot be computed, the existing run-once fallback is preserved.
+This does not change one-shot expiry, resume behavior, or the hosted-provider sweep
+below. There is no per-job override.
+
 ### Misfire catch-up
 
 When an external scheduler provider is active (managed cron on hosted deployments), the gateway also runs a catch-up sweep: a job whose scheduled time passed with no fire delivered — and whose grace window has elapsed — is claimed and run locally, so an outage in the fire hand-off costs minutes instead of the whole day. The sweep is de-duplicated against late scheduler retries by the same store claim used for normal fires.