diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/job_queue/mod.rs b/hive-c0re/src/job_queue/mod.rs
index 32beb2c5..6b2411df 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/job_queue/mod.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/job_queue/mod.rs
@@ -217,15 +217,7 @@ impl JobQueue {
     ) -> anyhow::Result<u64> {
         let mut inner = self.lock();
         let container = inner
-            .append(
-                NodeKind::Dag {
-                    source,
-                    reason,
-                    created_at: Utc::now(),
-                },
-                Vec::new(),
-                None,
-            )
+            .append(NodeKind::Dag { source, reason }, Vec::new(), None)
             .map_err(|e| anyhow::anyhow!("job_queue: container insert failed: {e}"))?;
         insert_group(&mut inner, declare, Some(container))?;
         drop(inner);
@@ -407,15 +399,15 @@ fn container(sched: &Sched, dag_id: u64) -> Option<NodeId> {
 /// DAG drops out of the snapshot entirely (a `Failed` one lingers until
 /// aged out).
 fn dag_view(sched: &Sched, container: NodeId) -> Option<DagView> {
-    // Read straight off the container's payload: the three fields have a
+    // Read straight off the container's payload: the domain fields have a
     // single home there, so an intermediate owned copy of them was a second
     // type describing the same data rather than a grouping side-table.
-    let NodeKind::Dag {
-        source,
-        reason,
-        created_at,
-    } = &sched.graph().node(container)?.payload
-    else {
+    //
+    // `created_at` is NOT among them — it comes off the container node itself
+    // below, where the graph stamps it for every node. Keeping a payload copy
+    // would record one instant in two places.
+    let node = sched.graph().node(container)?;
+    let NodeKind::Dag { source, reason } = &node.payload else {
         return None;
     };
     let all: Vec<_> = sched.graph().descendants(container).collect();
@@ -494,7 +486,7 @@ fn dag_view(sched: &Sched, container: NodeId) -> Option<DagView> {
         id: container.get(),
         source: *source,
         reason: reason.clone(),
-        created_at: *created_at,
+        created_at: node.created_at,
         started_at: started.into_iter().min(),
         finished_at: is_terminal.then(|| finished.into_iter().max()).flatten(),
         nodes,
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/job_queue/model.rs b/hive-c0re/src/job_queue/model.rs
index e783c05c..3b8aaf4b 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/job_queue/model.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/job_queue/model.rs
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@
 //! DAG can span agents). See `docs/coordinator.md::Job queue` for the
 //! full design.
 
-use chrono::{DateTime, Utc};
 pub use hive_host_sock::jobs::{DagView, PermPayload, Source, State};
 use serde::Serialize;
 
@@ -276,11 +275,12 @@ pub enum NodeKind {
     /// the DAG state. Pure grouping — lease- and
     /// build-slot-exempt; the executor instant-completes it (`Done`) so it
     /// reaches `Finishing` and its children start.
-    Dag {
-        source: Source,
-        reason: String,
-        created_at: DateTime<Utc>,
-    },
+    ///
+    /// No `created_at` here: the graph stamps [`hive_jobq::Node::created_at`] on
+    /// every node at insert, so the container already has one. A second copy in
+    /// the payload would be the same instant recorded twice, with only this
+    /// variant's version reachable to a generic viewer.
+    Dag { source: Source, reason: String },
 }
 
 /// How a hive-c0re node describes itself to a generic graph viewer.