logging: use local time (with tz offset) everywhere instead of UTC

src/cli/logs-cli.ts

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ import type { Command } from "commander";
 import { setTimeout as delay } from "node:timers/promises";
 import { buildGatewayConnectionDetails } from "../gateway/call.js";
 import { parseLogLine } from "../logging/parse-log-line.js";
-import { formatLocalIsoWithOffset } from "../logging/timestamps.js";
+import { formatLocalIso } from "../logging/timestamp.js";
 import { formatDocsLink } from "../terminal/links.js";
 import { clearActiveProgressLine } from "../terminal/progress-line.js";
 import { createSafeStreamWriter } from "../terminal/stream-writer.js";
@@ -73,17 +73,13 @@ export function formatLogTimestamp(
   if (Number.isNaN(parsed.getTime())) {
     return value;
   }
-
-  let timeString: string;
-  if (localTime) {
-    timeString = formatLocalIsoWithOffset(parsed);
-  } else {
-    timeString = parsed.toISOString();
-  }
   if (mode === "pretty") {
-    return timeString.slice(11, 19);
+    const h = String(parsed.getHours()).padStart(2, "0");
+    const m = String(parsed.getMinutes()).padStart(2, "0");
+    const s = String(parsed.getSeconds()).padStart(2, "0");
+    return `${h}:${m}:${s}`;
   }
-  return timeString;
+  return formatLocalIso(parsed);
 }
 
 function formatLogLine(

src/hooks/bundled/command-logger/handler.ts

@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import os from "node:os";
 import path from "node:path";
 import type { HookHandler } from "../../hooks.js";
 import { resolveStateDir } from "../../../config/paths.js";
+import { formatLocalIso } from "../../../logging/timestamp.js";
 
 /**
  * Log all command events to a file
@@ -48,7 +49,7 @@ const logCommand: HookHandler = async (event) => {
     const logFile = path.join(logDir, "commands.log");
     const logLine =
       JSON.stringify({
-        timestamp: event.timestamp.toISOString(),
+        timestamp: formatLocalIso(event.timestamp),
         action: event.action,
         sessionKey: event.sessionKey,
         senderId: event.context.senderId ?? "unknown",

src/hooks/bundled/session-memory/handler.ts

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import type { HookHandler } from "../../hooks.js";
 import { resolveAgentWorkspaceDir } from "../../../agents/agent-scope.js";
 import { resolveStateDir } from "../../../config/paths.js";
 import { createSubsystemLogger } from "../../../logging/subsystem.js";
+import { localDateStr, localTimeStr, tzOffsetLabel } from "../../../logging/timestamp.js";
 import { resolveAgentIdFromSessionKey } from "../../../routing/session-key.js";
 import { hasInterSessionUserProvenance } from "../../../sessions/input-provenance.js";
 import { resolveHookConfig } from "../../config.js";
@@ -88,14 +89,15 @@ async function saveToLanceDB(params: {
   }
 
   // Format memory text with metadata and truncated content
-  const dateStr = timestamp.toISOString().split("T")[0];
-  const timeStr = timestamp.toISOString().split("T")[1].split(".")[0];
+  const dateStr = localDateStr(timestamp);
+  const timeStr = localTimeStr(timestamp);
+  const tz = tzOffsetLabel(timestamp);
   const truncatedContent = sessionContent.slice(0, 2000);
   const wasTruncated = sessionContent.length > 2000;
 
   const memoryText = [
     `Session: ${slug}`,
-    `Date: ${dateStr} ${timeStr} UTC`,
+    `Date: ${dateStr} ${timeStr} ${tz}`,
     `Session Key: ${sessionKey}`,
     "",
     truncatedContent,
@@ -149,7 +151,7 @@ const saveSessionToMemory: HookHandler = async (event) => {
 
     // Get today's date for filename
     const now = new Date(event.timestamp);
-    const dateStr = now.toISOString().split("T")[0]; // YYYY-MM-DD
+    const dateStr = localDateStr(now);
 
     // Generate descriptive slug from session using LLM
     const sessionEntry = (context.previousSessionEntry || context.sessionEntry || {}) as Record<
@@ -206,7 +208,7 @@ const saveSessionToMemory: HookHandler = async (event) => {
 
     // If no slug, use timestamp
     if (!slug) {
-      const timeSlug = now.toISOString().split("T")[1].split(".")[0].replace(/:/g, "");
+      const timeSlug = localTimeStr(now).replace(/:/g, "");
       slug = timeSlug.slice(0, 4); // HHMM
       log.debug("Using fallback timestamp slug", { slug });
     }
@@ -243,8 +245,8 @@ const saveSessionToMemory: HookHandler = async (event) => {
         path: memoryFilePath.replace(os.homedir(), "~"),
       });
 
-      // Format time as HH:MM:SS UTC
-      const timeStr = now.toISOString().split("T")[1].split(".")[0];
+      const timeStr = localTimeStr(now);
+      const tz = tzOffsetLabel(now);
 
       // Extract context details
       const sessionId = (sessionEntry.sessionId as string) || "unknown";
@@ -252,7 +254,7 @@ const saveSessionToMemory: HookHandler = async (event) => {
 
       // Build Markdown entry
       const entryParts = [
-        `# Session: ${dateStr} ${timeStr} UTC`,
+        `# Session: ${dateStr} ${timeStr} ${tz}`,
         "",
         `- **Session Key**: ${event.sessionKey}`,
         `- **Session ID**: ${sessionId}`,

src/logging/console.ts

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@ import { readLoggingConfig } from "./config.js";
 import { type LogLevel, normalizeLogLevel } from "./levels.js";
 import { getLogger, type LoggerSettings } from "./logger.js";
 import { loggingState } from "./state.js";
-import { formatLocalIsoWithOffset } from "./timestamps.js";
+import { formatLocalIso } from "./timestamp.js";
 
 export type ConsoleStyle = "pretty" | "compact" | "json";
 type ConsoleSettings = {
@@ -151,14 +151,14 @@ function isEpipeError(err: unknown): boolean {
 }
 
 export function formatConsoleTimestamp(style: ConsoleStyle): string {
-  const now = new Date();
   if (style === "pretty") {
+    const now = new Date();
     const h = String(now.getHours()).padStart(2, "0");
     const m = String(now.getMinutes()).padStart(2, "0");
     const s = String(now.getSeconds()).padStart(2, "0");
     return `${h}:${m}:${s}`;
   }
-  return formatLocalIsoWithOffset(now);
+  return formatLocalIso();
 }
 
 function hasTimestampPrefix(value: string): boolean {

src/logging/logger.ts

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import { resolvePreferredOpenClawTmpDir } from "../infra/tmp-openclaw-dir.js";
 import { readLoggingConfig } from "./config.js";
 import { type LogLevel, levelToMinLevel, normalizeLogLevel } from "./levels.js";
 import { loggingState } from "./state.js";
+import { formatLocalIso } from "./timestamp.js";
 
 // When running under vitest, isolate logs to avoid polluting production logs.
 function getDefaultLogDir(): string {
@@ -113,7 +114,7 @@ function buildLogger(settings: ResolvedSettings): TsLogger<LogObj> {
 
   logger.attachTransport((logObj: LogObj) => {
     try {
-      const time = logObj.date?.toISOString?.() ?? new Date().toISOString();
+      const time = formatLocalIso(logObj.date ?? new Date());
       const line = JSON.stringify({ ...logObj, time });
       fs.appendFileSync(settings.file, `${line}\n`, { encoding: "utf8" });
     } catch {

src/logging/subsystem.ts

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import { getConsoleSettings, shouldLogSubsystemToConsole } from "./console.js";
 import { type LogLevel, levelToMinLevel } from "./levels.js";
 import { getChildLogger, isFileLogLevelEnabled } from "./logger.js";
 import { loggingState } from "./state.js";
+import { formatLocalIso } from "./timestamp.js";
 
 type LogObj = { date?: Date } & Record<string, unknown>;
 
@@ -155,7 +156,7 @@ function formatConsoleLine(opts: {
     opts.style === "json" ? opts.subsystem : formatSubsystemForConsole(opts.subsystem);
   if (opts.style === "json") {
     return JSON.stringify({
-      time: new Date().toISOString(),
+      time: formatLocalIso(),
       level: opts.level,
       subsystem: displaySubsystem,
       message: opts.message,

src/logging/timestamp.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+/** Format a Date as local ISO-8601 with milliseconds and timezone offset. */
+export function formatLocalIso(date?: Date): string {
+  const d = date ?? new Date();
+  const p = (n: number, len = 2) => String(n).padStart(len, "0");
+  const off = -d.getTimezoneOffset();
+  const sign = off >= 0 ? "+" : "-";
+  return `${d.getFullYear()}-${p(d.getMonth() + 1)}-${p(d.getDate())}T${p(d.getHours())}:${p(d.getMinutes())}:${p(d.getSeconds())}.${p(d.getMilliseconds(), 3)}${sign}${p(Math.floor(Math.abs(off) / 60))}:${p(Math.abs(off) % 60)}`;
+}
+
+/** Extract local date portion (YYYY-MM-DD) from a Date. */
+export function localDateStr(date: Date): string {
+  const p = (n: number) => String(n).padStart(2, "0");
+  return `${date.getFullYear()}-${p(date.getMonth() + 1)}-${p(date.getDate())}`;
+}
+
+/** Extract local time portion (HH:MM:SS) from a Date. */
+export function localTimeStr(date: Date): string {
+  const p = (n: number) => String(n).padStart(2, "0");
+  return `${p(date.getHours())}:${p(date.getMinutes())}:${p(date.getSeconds())}`;
+}
+
+/** Get timezone offset label like "+08:00" from a Date. */
+export function tzOffsetLabel(date?: Date): string {
+  const d = date ?? new Date();
+  const p = (n: number) => String(n).padStart(2, "0");
+  const off = -d.getTimezoneOffset();
+  const sign = off >= 0 ? "+" : "-";
+  return `${sign}${p(Math.floor(Math.abs(off) / 60))}:${p(Math.abs(off) % 60)}`;
+}