diff --git a/.config/shell/README.md b/.config/shell/README.md
index 2ccf584f..934bd226 100644
--- a/.config/shell/README.md
+++ b/.config/shell/README.md
@@ -26,6 +26,13 @@ empty inherited value through the environment ownership helper. Missing or
 empty files leave the environment unchanged. The file is local credential
 state and must never be committed.
 
+Cron jobs get the same value: the managed crontab block sets `SHELL` to bash
+and `BASH_ENV` to `env-noninteractive.sh` (see Environment Ownership), so every
+job loads `env.d` like other non-interactive shells. Each account reads its own
+file, so root's crontab needs `/root/.config/gh/github-pat`. Without a token,
+scheduled `dot update` runs make anonymous GitHub API calls, which share one
+60-per-hour quota per public IP.
+
 The base `gh-token` merge hook preserves an existing token file and repairs its
 mode to `0600` during `dot update`. When the file is missing, it can seed it
 from GitHub CLI's local `hosts.yml` if Mike Farah's `yq` is available. Missing
@@ -56,6 +63,13 @@ zsh as the login shell, `ssh host cmd` reads only `~/.zshenv`. Shell-local
 state such as functions, `shopt`/`setopt`, and system rc bootstraps loads in
 every shell regardless of mode.
 
+Cron jobs are fill-only children too. The cron merge hook writes `SHELL` (an
+absolute bash) and `BASH_ENV` (this loader) into the managed crontab block
+ahead of its `PATH`, so jobs see the same `env.d` values as agent and script
+shells instead of cron's bare `/bin/sh` environment. The crontab's `PATH`
+arrives as an inherited value. When bash or the loader is missing, the hook
+leaves cron on its default shell.
+
 Because nested shells load `env.d/` too, the loader suspends `set -u` while
 it runs and restores the caller's setting afterwards: a `bash -u` or
 `bash -euo pipefail` script would otherwise print "unbound variable" from
diff --git a/.local/lib/dotfiles/merge-hooks.d/cron.sh b/.local/lib/dotfiles/merge-hooks.d/cron.sh
index dc924d95..7767fc25 100644
--- a/.local/lib/dotfiles/merge-hooks.d/cron.sh
+++ b/.local/lib/dotfiles/merge-hooks.d/cron.sh
@@ -10,7 +10,8 @@ dot_hook_source merge-hooks.d/lib/cron-list.sh || return
 # choice. `cron.local` remains the last, untracked escape hatch.
 # Replaces all dot-managed entries (between marker lines) on each run.
 # Expands $HOME in cron lines. Sets PATH as a standalone cron variable
-# so tools like git, curl, jq are found in cron's minimal environment.
+# so tools like git, curl, jq are found in cron's minimal environment, and
+# SHELL plus BASH_ENV so jobs load env.d like other non-interactive shells.
 # Idempotent — skips if the installed block already matches.
 
 # Build a clean PATH for cron from declarative path fragments.
@@ -59,6 +60,41 @@ _cron_path() {
   echo "$result"
 }
 
+# Emit the crontab variable lines that make cron jobs load env.d the way
+# agent and script shells do: bash as the job shell, with BASH_ENV pointing at
+# the shared non-interactive loader.
+#
+# Cron otherwise runs every job with a bare /bin/sh environment (dash on Debian,
+# bash in sh mode elsewhere) that never loads env.d, so jobs miss dotfiles
+# values such as GH_TOKEN; Shdeps then makes anonymous GitHub API calls that
+# share one 60-per-hour quota across every host behind the same public IP.
+# Crontab variable lines are literal (no expansion), so both values are
+# resolved to absolute paths here. The job shell only has to source BASH_ENV,
+# so prefer the system bash (Termux keeps it under $PREFIX): a Homebrew, mise,
+# or Shdeps bash earlier on PATH could later be removed, and a missing SHELL
+# fails every job, including the `dot update` that would repair the crontab.
+# Fall back to a PATH lookup only when no system bash exists. When bash or the
+# loader is missing, emit nothing and leave cron on its default shell rather
+# than break every job.
+#
+# Args: $1 cron PATH (may be empty)
+_cron_shell_env() {
+  local cron_path="$1" bash_bin="" candidate
+  local loader="$HOME/.config/shell/env-noninteractive.sh"
+  [[ -r "$loader" ]] || return 0
+  for candidate in /bin/bash /usr/bin/bash ${PREFIX:+"$PREFIX/bin/bash"}; do
+    if [[ -x "$candidate" ]]; then
+      bash_bin=$candidate
+      break
+    fi
+  done
+  if [[ -z "$bash_bin" ]]; then
+    bash_bin=$(PATH="${cron_path:+$cron_path:}$PATH" command -v bash) || return 0
+  fi
+  [[ "$bash_bin" == /* ]] || return 0
+  printf 'SHELL=%s\nBASH_ENV=%s\n' "$bash_bin" "$loader"
+}
+
 # Parse a `# filter:` directive line into the active cron filter state.
 # Resets each key to empty (match-all) first.
 # Syntax: # filter: hosts=a,b platforms=linux users=chris   or   # filter: *
@@ -191,7 +227,7 @@ _CRON_MARKER="# dot-managed-cron"
 # installs exactly this text and `dot doctor` compares the live crontab with
 # it, so the two can never disagree about what "current" means.
 _cron_render_block() {
-  local source sources="" cron_path body
+  local source sources="" cron_path body shell_env
 
   _cron_parsed=""
   for source in "${_cron_sources[@]}"; do
@@ -211,6 +247,14 @@ _cron_render_block() {
   if [[ -n "$cron_path" ]]; then
     body="PATH=$cron_path"$'\n\n'"$body"
   fi
+  shell_env=$(_cron_shell_env "$cron_path")
+  if [[ -n "$shell_env" ]]; then
+    if [[ -n "$cron_path" ]]; then
+      body="$shell_env"$'\n'"$body"
+    else
+      body="$shell_env"$'\n\n'"$body"
+    fi
+  fi
   REPLY=$(dot_managed_block_build "$_CRON_MARKER" "$sources" "$body")
 }
 
diff --git a/.local/lib/dotfiles/tests/core/cron.sh b/.local/lib/dotfiles/tests/core/cron.sh
index bf371949..2c478d09 100644
--- a/.local/lib/dotfiles/tests/core/cron.sh
+++ b/.local/lib/dotfiles/tests/core/cron.sh
@@ -123,6 +123,66 @@ EOF
   _assert_contains "has end marker" "dot-managed-cron end" "$result"
   _assert_contains "preserves comments" "comment line" "$result"
 
+  # Without the shared env loader, cron keeps its default shell. Earlier
+  # shards in the same TEST_HOME may have installed a shell tree, so remove
+  # it explicitly rather than assume a clean fixture.
+  rm -rf "$TEST_HOME/.config/shell"
+  _run_cron_merge 2>/dev/null
+  result=$(crontab -l 2>/dev/null)
+  _assert_not_contains "no env loader: cron keeps its default shell" \
+    "BASH_ENV=" "$result"
+
+  # With the shared env loader present, the block sets SHELL and BASH_ENV so
+  # every job loads env.d like agent and script shells (for GH_TOKEN among
+  # others) instead of running in cron's bare /bin/sh environment.
+  mkdir -p "$TEST_HOME/.local/lib/dotfiles" "$TEST_HOME/.config/shell"
+  cp -R "$REAL_HOME/.config/shell/." "$TEST_HOME/.config/shell/"
+  cp "$REAL_HOME/.local/lib/dotfiles/shell-loader.sh" "$TEST_HOME/.local/lib/dotfiles/"
+  _run_cron_merge 2>/dev/null
+  result=$(crontab -l 2>/dev/null)
+  cron_shell=$(printf '%s\n' "$result" | sed -n 's/^SHELL=//p')
+  cron_bash_env=$(printf '%s\n' "$result" | sed -n 's/^BASH_ENV=//p')
+  cron_job_path=$(printf '%s\n' "$result" | sed -n 's/^PATH=//p')
+  _assert_eq "env loader: BASH_ENV is the shared non-interactive loader" \
+    "$TEST_HOME/.config/shell/env-noninteractive.sh" "$cron_bash_env"
+  case "$cron_shell" in
+    /*bash) _pass "env loader: SHELL is an absolute bash" ;;
+    *) _fail "env loader: SHELL is an absolute bash (got '$cron_shell')" ;;
+  esac
+  _assert_eq "env loader: variables precede the jobs" \
+    "SHELL= BASH_ENV= PATH=" \
+    "$(printf '%s\n' "$result" | grep -oE '^(SHELL|BASH_ENV|PATH)=' | tr '\n' ' ' | sed 's/ $//')"
+
+  # Run a job the way cron does with that block: the rendered SHELL with -c,
+  # in a clean environment carrying only the crontab variables. The job must
+  # see GH_TOKEN from the token file and nothing may print, since any output
+  # becomes cron mail.
+  # Most accounts start without a token file (root on a fresh host, say);
+  # the job must still run cleanly, with GH_TOKEN simply unset.
+  rm -rf "$TEST_HOME/.config/gh"
+  # shellcheck disable=SC2016 # The job shell expands GH_TOKEN, not this one.
+  _assert_eq "env loader: no token file leaves GH_TOKEN unset with no output" \
+    "rc=0 token=[] set=" \
+    "$("${DOT_TEST_ENV_CLEAN[@]}" HOME="$TEST_HOME" PATH="$cron_job_path:$DOT_TEST_SYSTEM_PATH" \
+      SHELL="$cron_shell" BASH_ENV="$cron_bash_env" \
+      "$cron_shell" -c 'set -eu; printf "rc=0 token=[%s] set=%s\n" "${GH_TOKEN-}" "${GH_TOKEN+yes}"' 2>&1)"
+  mkdir -p "$TEST_HOME/.config/gh"
+  printf '%s\n' 'ghp_fixture' >"$TEST_HOME/.config/gh/github-pat"
+  # shellcheck disable=SC2016 # The job shell expands GH_TOKEN, not this one.
+  _assert_eq "env loader: a cron job gets GH_TOKEN with no extra output" \
+    "token=[ghp_fixture]" \
+    "$("${DOT_TEST_ENV_CLEAN[@]}" HOME="$TEST_HOME" PATH="$cron_job_path:$DOT_TEST_SYSTEM_PATH" \
+      SHELL="$cron_shell" BASH_ENV="$cron_bash_env" \
+      "$cron_shell" -c 'printf "token=[%s]\n" "${GH_TOKEN-}"' 2>&1)"
+  # shellcheck disable=SC2016 # The job shell expands GH_TOKEN, not this one.
+  _assert_eq "env loader: a GH_TOKEN the job sets itself wins" \
+    "token=[ghp_job]" \
+    "$("${DOT_TEST_ENV_CLEAN[@]}" HOME="$TEST_HOME" PATH="$cron_job_path:$DOT_TEST_SYSTEM_PATH" \
+      SHELL="$cron_shell" BASH_ENV="$cron_bash_env" GH_TOKEN=ghp_job \
+      "$cron_shell" -c 'printf "token=[%s]\n" "${GH_TOKEN-}"' 2>&1)"
+  rm -rf "$TEST_HOME/.config/shell" "$TEST_HOME/.config/gh"
+  unset cron_shell cron_bash_env cron_job_path
+
   # Idempotent — running again doesn't duplicate
   _run_cron_merge 2>/dev/null
   count=$(crontab -l 2>/dev/null | grep -c "dot update --cron" || true)