diff --git a/examples/worker.env.example b/examples/worker.env.example
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e304e86
--- /dev/null
+++ b/examples/worker.env.example
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+# ops-warden scheduled worker config (WARDEN-WP-0021).
+# Installed to ~/.config/warden/worker.env and loaded by the systemd --user service.
+# No secret values belong here.
+
+# State Hub URL the worker reads its inbox from (railiance01 after cust-wp-0011).
+WARDEN_HUB_URL=http://127.0.0.1:8000
+
+# Planner: 'llm' (llm-connect; smarter) or 'rule' (offline, deterministic fallback).
+WORKER_BRAIN=llm
+
+# Master on/off for the tick without touching the timer. 0 = skip every run.
+WORKER_ENABLED=1
+
+# Optional: set a reachable llm-connect URL to skip the per-tick kubectl port-forward.
+# LLM_CONNECT_URL=http://127.0.0.1:18080
diff --git a/scripts/install-worker-timer.sh b/scripts/install-worker-timer.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..6a9ca49
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/install-worker-timer.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Install (and optionally enable) the ops-warden conservative worker systemd --user timer.
+# WARDEN-WP-0021 T1. Build-stage, conservative tier only (triage + draft, never auto-send).
+#
+#   ./scripts/install-worker-timer.sh            # install units + env, DISABLED
+#   ./scripts/install-worker-timer.sh --enable   # install + start the 15-min timer
+#
+# Kill switch (one command):
+#   systemctl --user disable --now ops-warden-worker.timer
+#   (or set WORKER_ENABLED=0 in ~/.config/warden/worker.env)
+set -euo pipefail
+
+ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
+UNIT_DIR="$HOME/.config/systemd/user"
+ENV_FILE="$HOME/.config/warden/worker.env"
+
+if ! command -v systemctl >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  echo "systemctl not found — this host has no systemd. Use the cron fallback:" >&2
+  echo "  */15 * * * * $ROOT/scripts/worker-tick.sh >> ~/.local/state/warden/worker-tick.log 2>&1" >&2
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+mkdir -p "$UNIT_DIR" "$(dirname "$ENV_FILE")"
+if [[ ! -f "$ENV_FILE" ]]; then
+  install -m 600 "$ROOT/examples/worker.env.example" "$ENV_FILE"
+  echo "wrote $ENV_FILE (review it)"
+fi
+
+# Substitute the repo path into the service unit at install time.
+sed "s#@ROOT@#$ROOT#g" "$ROOT/systemd/ops-warden-worker.service" > "$UNIT_DIR/ops-warden-worker.service"
+cp "$ROOT/systemd/ops-warden-worker.timer" "$UNIT_DIR/ops-warden-worker.timer"
+systemctl --user daemon-reload
+echo "installed: ops-warden-worker.{service,timer} → $UNIT_DIR"
+
+if [[ "${1:-}" == "--enable" ]]; then
+  systemctl --user enable --now ops-warden-worker.timer
+  echo "ENABLED — next runs: systemctl --user list-timers ops-warden-worker.timer"
+else
+  echo "not enabled. start with: systemctl --user enable --now ops-warden-worker.timer"
+fi
+echo "kill switch: systemctl --user disable --now ops-warden-worker.timer  (or WORKER_ENABLED=0 in $ENV_FILE)"
diff --git a/scripts/worker-tick.sh b/scripts/worker-tick.sh
index ce13852..5d2415c 100755
--- a/scripts/worker-tick.sh
+++ b/scripts/worker-tick.sh
@@ -16,16 +16,29 @@ ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
 STATE="${WARDEN_STATE_DIR:-$HOME/.local/state/warden}"
 mkdir -p "$STATE"
 
+# Master off-switch (env file / WORKER_ENABLED=0) — skip without touching the timer.
+if [[ "${WORKER_ENABLED:-1}" == "0" ]]; then
+  echo "$(date -Is) tick: WORKER_ENABLED=0; skip"
+  exit 0
+fi
+
 # Concurrency guard — never let two ticks overlap.
 exec 9>"$STATE/worker-tick.lock"
 flock -n 9 || { echo "$(date -Is) tick: another run holds the lock; skip"; exit 0; }
 
 BRAIN="${WORKER_BRAIN:-llm}"
+HUB_URL="${WARDEN_HUB_URL:-http://127.0.0.1:8000}"
 LLM_URL="${LLM_CONNECT_URL:-}"
 PF_PID=""
 cleanup() { [[ -n "$PF_PID" ]] && kill "$PF_PID" 2>/dev/null || true; }
 trap cleanup EXIT
 
+# Graceful skip if the State Hub is unreachable — a transient outage is not a fault.
+if ! curl -fsS -m 6 "$HUB_URL/state/health" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  echo "$(date -Is) tick: State Hub unreachable at $HUB_URL; skip"
+  exit 0
+fi
+
 if [[ "$BRAIN" == "llm" && -z "$LLM_URL" ]]; then
   if command -v kubectl >/dev/null 2>&1; then
     kubectl -n activity-core port-forward deploy/llm-connect 18080:8080 >/dev/null 2>&1 &
@@ -38,5 +51,11 @@ if [[ "$BRAIN" == "llm" && -z "$LLM_URL" ]]; then
   fi
 fi
 
-echo "$(date -Is) tick: brain=$BRAIN"
-LLM_CONNECT_URL="$LLM_URL" uv run --directory "$ROOT" warden worker run --execute --brain "$BRAIN"
+echo "$(date -Is) tick: brain=$BRAIN hub=$HUB_URL"
+# A worker-run failure (transient hub/llm hiccup) is logged but never fails the unit —
+# the next tick retries. Real bugs still surface in the log.
+if ! LLM_CONNECT_URL="$LLM_URL" WARDEN_HUB_URL="$HUB_URL" \
+     uv run --directory "$ROOT" warden worker run --execute --brain "$BRAIN"; then
+  echo "$(date -Is) tick: worker run returned non-zero; will retry next tick"
+fi
+exit 0
diff --git a/systemd/ops-warden-worker.service b/systemd/ops-warden-worker.service
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a412dc6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/systemd/ops-warden-worker.service
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=ops-warden conservative coordination worker (one tick)
+Documentation=https://gitea.coulomb.social/coulomb/ops-warden
+After=network-online.target
+Wants=network-online.target
+
+[Service]
+Type=oneshot
+# uv lives in ~/.local/bin; kubectl in /usr/local/bin or /usr/bin.
+Environment=PATH=%h/.local/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
+EnvironmentFile=%h/.config/warden/worker.env
+ExecStart=@ROOT@/scripts/worker-tick.sh
+# A graceful skip (hub down, WORKER_ENABLED=0) exits 0; never restart-loop.
+TimeoutStartSec=180
diff --git a/systemd/ops-warden-worker.timer b/systemd/ops-warden-worker.timer
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..52be230
--- /dev/null
+++ b/systemd/ops-warden-worker.timer
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+[Unit]
+Description=Run the ops-warden conservative worker tick every 15 minutes
+
+[Timer]
+OnBootSec=2min
+OnUnitActiveSec=15min
+# Catch up one missed run if the machine was asleep, but don't stack.
+Persistent=true
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=timers.target
diff --git a/workplans/WARDEN-WP-0021-enable-scheduled-worker-tick.md b/workplans/WARDEN-WP-0021-enable-scheduled-worker-tick.md
index 10907ba..4ee8afe 100644
--- a/workplans/WARDEN-WP-0021-enable-scheduled-worker-tick.md
+++ b/workplans/WARDEN-WP-0021-enable-scheduled-worker-tick.md
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ type: workplan
 title: "Enable the scheduled worker tick — conservative inbox triage, unattended"
 domain: infotech
 repo: ops-warden
-status: proposed
+status: active
 owner: claude
 topic_slug: custodian
 planning_priority: high
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ the tick already honors that env var.
 
 ```task
 id: WARDEN-WP-0021-T01
-status: todo
+status: done
 priority: high
 state_hub_task_id: "10451fe6-7fab-4ae0-8494-e6cfdfbcf8cf"
 ```
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ state_hub_task_id: "10451fe6-7fab-4ae0-8494-e6cfdfbcf8cf"
 
 ```task
 id: WARDEN-WP-0021-T02
-status: todo
+status: done
 priority: high
 state_hub_task_id: "1f35f816-1af5-46ff-b48c-1715f3ae5784"
 ```