[BUG] Scheduled tasks run with personal preferences frozen at task creation, not the current "Instructions for Claude"

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Scheduled tasks created from Cowork (via the Claude Code Remote create_trigger tool, fresh session per run, bound to my Mac with requires_local_device) run with an old copy of my account-level personal preferences (Settings > General > Instructions for Claude), not the current one.

Example: a weekly task created on 2026-09-16 ran on 2026-09-28 at 11:07 UTC. The preferences in that run's context were about two weeks old (roughly the version at the time the task was created) and did not match what is saved in my account now. Interactive sessions started after an edit do pick up the new preferences. My other scheduled tasks (created 25-27 Sep) appear to follow the same pattern: each one carries the preferences from around its creation date.

Nothing in the task config (list_triggers shows prompt, folders, permission_mode, connectors, notifications) exposes or refreshes a preferences snapshot, so the only way to refresh it seems to be deleting and recreating the task, which loses its run history and device binding.

What Should Happen?

Each scheduled run should load the user's current preferences at fire time, the same way a new interactive session does. If snapshotting at creation is intended, it should be documented, visible in the task config, and refreshable (e.g. via update_trigger or a button in the Scheduled tab).

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Suggested minimal repro (matches the behaviour I see; not yet run in exactly this form):

1. In the Claude desktop app (Cowork), set Instructions for Claude to include a line Marker: A.
2. From a chat, create a recurring scheduled task (create_trigger, new session per run) with the prompt: "Quote the Marker line from your user preferences, then stop."
3. Change Instructions for Claude to Marker: B, and reload claude.ai to confirm it saved.
4. Fire the task (fire_trigger, or wait for its schedule).
5. Actual: the run reports Marker: A. A new chat reports Marker: B.

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

Claude desktop app 2.9939.2 (Cowork scheduled tasks, cloud runtime)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Non-interactive/CI environment

Additional Information

• Related (preferences going stale / reverting in Cowork): #40175, #40731
• Also related to scheduled-task reliability: #94415 (bound tasks disabled with device_absent and never resumed)
• Current workaround: keep a versioned copy of the preferences in files, and have every task compare its version line against the latest file at the start of each run and load the newer one.