diff --git a/scripts/api.py b/scripts/api.py
index 7d16fcc..cb19657 100644
--- a/scripts/api.py
+++ b/scripts/api.py
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@ from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
 import uvicorn
 import asyncio
 from fastapi.responses import StreamingResponse
+from apscheduler.schedulers.background import BackgroundScheduler
+from apscheduler.triggers.cron import CronTrigger
 
 load_dotenv(Path.home() / "aaronai" / ".env")
 
@@ -46,6 +48,11 @@ DEFAULT_SETTINGS = {
     "font_size": "medium",
     "web_search": True,
     "show_sources": True,
+    "dream_hour_utc": 8,
+    "dream_minute_utc": 0,
+    "dream_mode": "nrem",
+    "ingest_hour_utc": 2,
+    "ingest_minute_utc": 30,
 }
 
 print("Loading Aaron AI...")
@@ -350,7 +357,18 @@ def chat(user_message, conversation_id, settings):
                     assistant_message += block.text
             return assistant_message, list(set(sources))
 
-app = FastAPI()
+from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
+
+@asynccontextmanager
+async def lifespan(app: FastAPI):
+    reschedule_jobs()
+    scheduler.start()
+    print("Scheduler started")
+    yield
+    scheduler.shutdown()
+    print("Scheduler stopped")
+
+app = FastAPI(lifespan=lifespan)
 app.add_middleware(CORSMiddleware, allow_origins=["*"], allow_methods=["*"], allow_headers=["*"])
 
 @app.post("/auth/login")
@@ -403,6 +421,10 @@ async def update_settings(request: Request, auth: str = Depends(require_auth)):
     settings = load_settings()
     settings.update(data)
     save_settings(settings)
+    # Reschedule if schedule settings changed
+    schedule_keys = {"dream_hour_utc","dream_minute_utc","dream_mode","ingest_hour_utc","ingest_minute_utc"}
+    if any(k in data for k in schedule_keys):
+        reschedule_jobs()
     return JSONResponse(settings)
 
 @app.get("/api/conversations")
@@ -769,6 +791,72 @@ async def clear_all_conversations(auth: str = Depends(require_auth)):
     return JSONResponse({"cleared": True})
 
 
+# ─── Scheduler ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+scheduler = BackgroundScheduler()
+
+def run_dream_job():
+    """Runs nightly dreamer — reuses loaded embedder, no subprocess overhead."""
+    try:
+        import subprocess
+        settings = load_settings()
+        mode = settings.get("dream_mode", "nrem")
+        dream_script = str(Path.home() / "aaronai" / "scripts" / "dream.py")
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            [PYTHON, dream_script, "--mode", mode],
+            cwd=str(Path.home() / "aaronai"),
+            capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=600
+        )
+        print(f"Dreamer completed: {result.stdout[-200:] if result.stdout else 'no output'}")
+        if result.returncode != 0:
+            print(f"Dreamer error: {result.stderr[-200:] if result.stderr else 'unknown'}")
+    except Exception as e:
+        print(f"Dreamer job failed: {e}")
+
+def run_ingest_job():
+    """Runs nightly conversation indexing."""
+    try:
+        import subprocess
+        ingest_script = str(Path.home() / "aaronai" / "scripts" / "ingest_conversations.py")
+        result = subprocess.run(
+            [PYTHON, ingest_script],
+            cwd=str(Path.home() / "aaronai"),
+            capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=300
+        )
+        print(f"Ingest completed: {result.stdout[-200:] if result.stdout else 'no output'}")
+    except Exception as e:
+        print(f"Ingest job failed: {e}")
+
+def reschedule_jobs():
+    """Update scheduler from current settings."""
+    settings = load_settings()
+    # Remove existing jobs
+    for job_id in ("dream_job", "ingest_job"):
+        try:
+            scheduler.remove_job(job_id)
+        except:
+            pass
+    # Add dream job
+    scheduler.add_job(
+        run_dream_job,
+        CronTrigger(hour=settings.get("dream_hour_utc", 8),
+                   minute=settings.get("dream_minute_utc", 0),
+                   timezone="UTC"),
+        id="dream_job",
+        max_instances=1,
+        replace_existing=True
+    )
+    # Add ingest job
+    scheduler.add_job(
+        run_ingest_job,
+        CronTrigger(hour=settings.get("ingest_hour_utc", 2),
+                   minute=settings.get("ingest_minute_utc", 30),
+                   timezone="UTC"),
+        id="ingest_job",
+        max_instances=1,
+        replace_existing=True
+    )
+    print(f"Scheduled: dream at {settings.get('dream_hour_utc',8):02d}:{settings.get('dream_minute_utc',0):02d} UTC, ingest at {settings.get('ingest_hour_utc',2):02d}:{settings.get('ingest_minute_utc',30):02d} UTC")
+
 # SSE client registry
 sse_clients: list[asyncio.Queue] = []