diff --git a/src/agent/prompts/skill.ts b/src/agent/prompts/skill.ts
index 89701121..0cb840fd 100644
--- a/src/agent/prompts/skill.ts
+++ b/src/agent/prompts/skill.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 import type { FeaturesConfig } from '../../core/config.ts'
 import { writeFileSync } from 'node:fs'
 import { join } from 'pathe'
+import { todayIsoDate } from '../../core/formatting.ts'
 import { repairMarkdown, sanitizeMarkdown } from '../../core/sanitize.ts'
 import { resolveSkilldCommand } from '../../core/shared.ts'
 import { yamlEscape } from '../../core/yaml.ts'
@@ -232,7 +233,7 @@ function generateFrontmatter({ name, version, description: pkgDescription, globs
     metaEntries.push(`  version: ${yamlEscape(version)}`)
   if (body && generatedBy)
     metaEntries.push(`  generated_by: ${yamlEscape(generatedBy)}`)
-  metaEntries.push(`  generated_at: ${new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0]}`)
+  metaEntries.push(`  generated_at: ${todayIsoDate()}`)
   if (metaEntries.length) {
     lines.push('metadata:')
     lines.push(...metaEntries)
diff --git a/src/commands/prepare.ts b/src/commands/prepare.ts
index 59a4f9d1..59a1e54e 100644
--- a/src/commands/prepare.ts
+++ b/src/commands/prepare.ts
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ import { defineCommand } from 'citty'
 import { join } from 'pathe'
 import { agents, linkSkillToAgents } from '../agent/index.ts'
 import { resolveAgent } from '../cli-helpers.ts'
+import { todayIsoDate } from '../core/formatting.ts'
 import { readLock, writeLock } from '../core/lockfile.ts'
 import { getShippedSkills, linkShippedSkill, restorePkgSymlink } from '../core/prepare.ts'
 import { getSharedSkillsDir } from '../core/shared.ts'
@@ -91,7 +92,7 @@ export const prepareCommandDef = defineCommand({
             packageName: entry.packageName,
             version,
             source: 'shipped',
-            syncedAt: new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0],
+            syncedAt: todayIsoDate(),
             generator: 'skilld',
           })
 
diff --git a/src/commands/sync-git.ts b/src/commands/sync-git.ts
index 54ca969e..3e4ad685 100644
--- a/src/commands/sync-git.ts
+++ b/src/commands/sync-git.ts
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ import {
   resolvePkgDir,
 } from '../cache/index.ts'
 import { defaultFeatures, readConfig, registerProject } from '../core/config.ts'
-import { timedSpinner } from '../core/formatting.ts'
+import { timedSpinner, todayIsoDate } from '../core/formatting.ts'
 import { writeLock } from '../core/lockfile.ts'
 import { sanitizeMarkdown } from '../core/sanitize.ts'
 import { getSharedSkillsDir } from '../core/shared.ts'
@@ -154,7 +154,7 @@ export async function syncGitSkills(opts: GitSyncOptions): Promise<void> {
       repo: source.type === 'local' ? source.localPath : `${source.owner}/${source.repo}`,
       path: skill.path || undefined,
       ref: source.ref || 'main',
-      syncedAt: new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0],
+      syncedAt: todayIsoDate(),
       generator: 'external',
     })
   }
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ async function syncGitHubRepo(opts: GitSyncOptions): Promise<void> {
     version,
     repo: `${owner}/${repo}`,
     source: resources.docSource,
-    syncedAt: new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0],
+    syncedAt: todayIsoDate(),
     generator: 'skilld',
   })
 
diff --git a/src/commands/sync-parallel.ts b/src/commands/sync-parallel.ts
index 9e48b3b6..dea5f300 100644
--- a/src/commands/sync-parallel.ts
+++ b/src/commands/sync-parallel.ts
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ import {
   resolvePkgDir,
 } from '../cache/index.ts'
 import { defaultFeatures, readConfig, registerProject } from '../core/config.ts'
-import { formatDuration } from '../core/formatting.ts'
+import { formatDuration, todayIsoDate } from '../core/formatting.ts'
 import { parsePackageNames, parsePackages, readLock, writeLock } from '../core/lockfile.ts'
 import { parseFrontmatter } from '../core/markdown.ts'
 import { getSharedSkillsDir, semverDiff, SHARED_SKILLS_DIR } from '../core/shared.ts'
@@ -566,7 +566,7 @@ async function syncBaseSkill(
     version,
     repo: repoSlug,
     source: resources.docSource,
-    syncedAt: new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0],
+    syncedAt: todayIsoDate(),
     generator: 'skilld',
   })
 
diff --git a/src/commands/sync-shared.ts b/src/commands/sync-shared.ts
index f67e8121..e0f5e1bd 100644
--- a/src/commands/sync-shared.ts
+++ b/src/commands/sync-shared.ts
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ import {
 } from '../cache/index.ts'
 import { isInteractive, NO_MODELS_MESSAGE, pickModel } from '../cli-helpers.ts'
 import { defaultFeatures, readConfig, registerProject, updateConfig } from '../core/config.ts'
+import { todayIsoDate } from '../core/formatting.ts'
 import { parsePackages, readLock, writeLock } from '../core/lockfile.ts'
 import { parseFrontmatter } from '../core/markdown.ts'
 import { readPackageJsonSafe } from '../core/package-json.ts'
@@ -239,7 +240,7 @@ export function handleShippedSkills(
       packageName,
       version,
       source: 'shipped',
-      syncedAt: new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0],
+      syncedAt: todayIsoDate(),
       generator: 'skilld',
     })
   }
diff --git a/src/commands/sync.ts b/src/commands/sync.ts
index 5ca0a262..097a3777 100644
--- a/src/commands/sync.ts
+++ b/src/commands/sync.ts
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ import {
 } from '../cache/index.ts'
 import { getInstalledGenerators, introLine, isInteractive, promptForAgent, resolveAgent, sharedArgs, suggestPrepareHook } from '../cli-helpers.ts'
 import { defaultFeatures, hasCompletedWizard, readConfig, registerProject } from '../core/config.ts'
-import { timedSpinner } from '../core/formatting.ts'
+import { timedSpinner, todayIsoDate } from '../core/formatting.ts'
 import { parsePackageNames, parsePackages, readLock, removeLockEntry, writeLock } from '../core/lockfile.ts'
 import { parseFrontmatter } from '../core/markdown.ts'
 import { parseSkillInput, resolveSkillName, toStoragePackageName } from '../core/prefix.ts'
@@ -467,7 +467,7 @@ async function syncSinglePackage(packageSpec: string, config: SyncConfig): Promi
       version,
       repo: repoSlug,
       source: existingLock.source,
-      syncedAt: new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0],
+      syncedAt: todayIsoDate(),
       generator: 'skilld',
     })
 
@@ -579,7 +579,7 @@ async function syncSinglePackage(packageSpec: string, config: SyncConfig): Promi
       version,
       repo: repoSlug,
       source: resources.docSource,
-      syncedAt: new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0],
+      syncedAt: todayIsoDate(),
       generator: 'skilld',
     })
 
@@ -1255,7 +1255,7 @@ export async function exportPortablePrompts(packageSpec: string, opts: {
     version,
     repo: repoSlug,
     source: resources.docSource,
-    syncedAt: new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0],
+    syncedAt: todayIsoDate(),
     generator: 'skilld',
   })
 
diff --git a/src/core/formatting.ts b/src/core/formatting.ts
index 0c337d9a..e72c4611 100644
--- a/src/core/formatting.ts
+++ b/src/core/formatting.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@ import type { SearchSnippet } from '../retriv/index.ts'
 import type { ProjectState } from './skills.ts'
 import * as p from '@clack/prompts'
 
+export function todayIsoDate(): string {
+  return new Date().toISOString().split('T')[0]!
+}
+
 export function timeAgo(iso?: string): string {
   if (!iso)
     return ''
diff --git a/test/unit/formatting.test.ts b/test/unit/formatting.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..40607d98
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/unit/formatting.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, vi } from 'vitest'
+import { todayIsoDate } from '../../src/core/formatting'
+
+describe('formatting', () => {
+  it('formats the current UTC day as YYYY-MM-DD', () => {
+    vi.useFakeTimers()
+    vi.setSystemTime(new Date('2026-04-28T23:59:59.000Z'))
+
+    expect(todayIsoDate()).toBe('2026-04-28')
+
+    vi.useRealTimers()
+  })
+})