diff --git a/docs/swarm/ui.md b/docs/swarm/ui.md
index aa217993..b88de031 100644
--- a/docs/swarm/ui.md
+++ b/docs/swarm/ui.md
@@ -40,12 +40,15 @@ title, with the **agents** it fires for, the message, how often it repeats and
 when it fires next. **edit** turns the card into its own form; **pause** and
 **resume** stop and restart it; **remove** deletes it after a confirmation.
 **+ schedule** opens an empty form above the list, and the filters narrow the
-list by name, agent or state (`active`, `paused`, or `done` for a one-shot that
-has fired).
+list by name, agent or state (`active`, `paused`, or `past` for a one-shot
+whose time has passed). `past` is the controller's clock against the start time,
+not a record that an agent fired, so a `past` schedule can still be paused.
 
 A schedule repeats **every** some number of seconds, minutes, hours or days, or
 fires **once**. Its start time is the moment a one-shot fires, and the origin of
 the fire times of a repeating one. The form previews the next three fire times.
+A start in the past fires the latest missed time once, right away, in every
+agent chosen, and the form says so.
 Changing the start or the repeat moves them; editing only the name, message or
 agents does not, and the form warns when an edit would.
 
diff --git a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/schedules/ScheduleCard.tsx b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/schedules/ScheduleCard.tsx
index 00748032..8c604282 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/schedules/ScheduleCard.tsx
+++ b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/schedules/ScheduleCard.tsx
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ import "./ScheduleCard.css";
 const STATE_TONE: Record<ScheduleState, BadgeTone> = {
   active: "positive",
   paused: "warning",
-  done: "neutral",
+  past: "neutral",
 };
 
 export function ScheduleCard({
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ export function ScheduleCard({
           "paused, will not fire"
         ) : (
           <>
-            fired{" "}
+            time passed{" "}
             <span title={fmtLocal(schedule.anchor_unix)}>
               <RelativeTime epochMs={schedule.anchor_unix * 1000} />
             </span>
@@ -76,11 +76,9 @@ export function ScheduleCard({
         <Button onClick={onEdit} disabled={pending}>
           edit
         </Button>
-        {state !== "done" ? (
-          <Button onClick={onTogglePaused} disabled={pending}>
-            {schedule.paused ? "resume" : "pause"}
-          </Button>
-        ) : null}
+        <Button onClick={onTogglePaused} disabled={pending}>
+          {schedule.paused ? "resume" : "pause"}
+        </Button>
         <Button onClick={onRemove} disabled={pending}>
           remove
         </Button>
diff --git a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/schedules/ScheduleForm.tsx b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/schedules/ScheduleForm.tsx
index e96c5279..5da69cca 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/schedules/ScheduleForm.tsx
+++ b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/schedules/ScheduleForm.tsx
@@ -61,17 +61,23 @@ export function ScheduleForm({
   onSaved: () => void;
   onCancel: () => void;
 }) {
+  // What the form opened with. A refetch can change `schedule` under an open
+  // form; every "did the operator edit this" comparison is against this
+  // snapshot, so another edit landing meanwhile is not reverted on save.
+  const [original] = useState(schedule);
+  const [initialStart] = useState(() =>
+    toLocalInput(original?.anchor_unix ?? nextMinuteUnix()),
+  );
   const initialInterval =
-    schedule?.interval_seconds != null
-      ? splitInterval(schedule.interval_seconds)
+    original?.interval_seconds != null
+      ? splitInterval(original.interval_seconds)
       : { amount: 1, unit: "h" as IntervalUnit };
-  const initialStart = toLocalInput(schedule?.anchor_unix ?? nextMinuteUnix());
 
-  const [name, setName] = useState(schedule?.name ?? "");
-  const [body, setBody] = useState(schedule?.body ?? "");
-  const [agents, setAgents] = useState<string[]>(schedule?.agents ?? []);
+  const [name, setName] = useState(original?.name ?? "");
+  const [body, setBody] = useState(original?.body ?? "");
+  const [agents, setAgents] = useState<string[]>(original?.agents ?? []);
   const [repeat, setRepeat] = useState(
-    schedule ? schedule.interval_seconds !== null : true,
+    original ? original.interval_seconds !== null : true,
   );
   const [amount, setAmount] = useState(String(initialInterval.amount));
   const [unit, setUnit] = useState<IntervalUnit>(initialInterval.unit);
@@ -79,7 +85,7 @@ export function ScheduleForm({
   const [saving, setSaving] = useState(false);
   const [error, setError] = useState<ProblemDetails | null>(null);
 
-  const idPrefix = `schedule-${schedule?.id ?? "new"}`;
+  const idPrefix = `schedule-${original?.id ?? "new"}`;
   const amountNum = Number(amount);
   const intervalSeconds =
     repeat && Number.isInteger(amountNum) && amountNum > 0
@@ -101,16 +107,18 @@ export function ScheduleForm({
   // always look edited.
   const startChanged = start !== initialStart;
   const cadenceChanged =
-    schedule !== undefined &&
+    original !== undefined &&
     (startChanged ||
-      (repeat ? intervalSeconds : null) !== schedule.interval_seconds);
+      (repeat ? intervalSeconds : null) !== original.interval_seconds);
 
+  const nowUnix = Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000);
+  const startInPast = startUnix !== null && startUnix <= nowUnix;
   const fires =
     cadenceValid && startUnix !== null
       ? upcomingFires(
           startUnix,
           repeat ? intervalSeconds : null,
-          Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000),
+          nowUnix,
           PREVIEW_COUNT,
         )
       : [];
@@ -122,8 +130,8 @@ export function ScheduleForm({
     setError(null);
     try {
       const cadence = repeat ? intervalSeconds : null;
-      const patch = schedule
-        ? patchBody(schedule, {
+      const patch = original
+        ? patchBody(original, {
             name,
             body,
             agents,
@@ -136,8 +144,8 @@ export function ScheduleForm({
         onSaved();
         return;
       }
-      const r = schedule
-        ? await fetch(`/api/schedules/${encodeURIComponent(schedule.id)}`, {
+      const r = original
+        ? await fetch(`/api/schedules/${encodeURIComponent(original.id)}`, {
             method: "PATCH",
             headers: { "content-type": "application/json" },
             body: JSON.stringify(patch),
@@ -238,8 +246,12 @@ export function ScheduleForm({
             {repeat ? "next fires: " : "fires: "}
             {fires.map(fmtLocal).join(" · ")}
           </p>
-        ) : cadenceValid ? (
-          <p class="ui-schedule-form-hint">that time has already passed</p>
+        ) : null}
+        {startInPast && (original === undefined || startChanged) ? (
+          <p class="ui-schedule-form-hint">
+            That start is in the past: saving fires the latest missed time once,
+            right away, in every agent chosen.
+          </p>
         ) : null}
         {cadenceChanged ? (
           <p class="ui-schedule-form-warn">
@@ -257,7 +269,7 @@ export function ScheduleForm({
             type="submit"
             disabled={saving || !cadenceValid || agents.length === 0}
           >
-            {saving ? "saving…" : schedule ? "save" : "create"}
+            {saving ? "saving…" : original ? "save" : "create"}
           </Button>
         </div>
       </form>
diff --git a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/schedules/ScheduleTypes.ts b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/schedules/ScheduleTypes.ts
index d04eed50..f1c9d2e8 100644
--- a/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/schedules/ScheduleTypes.ts
+++ b/frontend/packages/swarm-ui/src/pages/schedules/ScheduleTypes.ts
@@ -16,13 +16,14 @@ export interface Schedule {
   next_fire_unix: number | null;
 }
 
-export type ScheduleState = "active" | "paused" | "done";
+export type ScheduleState = "active" | "paused" | "past";
 
-// A one-shot that has fired reads "done" rather than "active": nothing is
-// left to wait for, but the card stays until the operator removes it.
+// A one-shot whose time has passed reads "past" rather than "active": the
+// controller has no next fire for it. That is only its clock against the
+// anchor, not a record that an agent fired, so the page never says "fired".
 export function scheduleState(s: Schedule): ScheduleState {
   if (s.paused) return "paused";
-  if (s.interval_seconds === null && s.next_fire_unix === null) return "done";
+  if (s.interval_seconds === null && s.next_fire_unix === null) return "past";
   return "active";
 }