diff --git a/tests/cron/test_cron_script.py b/tests/cron/test_cron_script.py
index b4e2c360b3..597fbeed3d 100644
--- a/tests/cron/test_cron_script.py
+++ b/tests/cron/test_cron_script.py
@@ -451,6 +451,7 @@ class TestCronjobToolScript:
         monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_INTERACTIVE", "1")
         from tools.cronjob_tools import cronjob
 
+        (cron_env / "scripts" / "some_script.py").write_text("print('hi')\n")
         create_result = json.loads(cronjob(
             action="create",
             schedule="every 1h",
@@ -471,6 +472,7 @@ class TestCronjobToolScript:
         monkeypatch.setenv("HERMES_INTERACTIVE", "1")
         from tools.cronjob_tools import cronjob
 
+        (cron_env / "scripts" / "data_collector.py").write_text("print('hi')\n")
         cronjob(
             action="create",
             schedule="every 1h",
diff --git a/tests/tools/test_cronjob_job_args.py b/tests/tools/test_cronjob_job_args.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..61f13bc233
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/tools/test_cronjob_job_args.py
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+"""Tests for tools/cronjob_job_args.py::_validate_cron_script_path (issue #105761).
+
+Regression coverage: the validator used to accept a script path that pointed
+at a file that doesn't exist, only failing later at every cron fire with a
+generic "Script not found" error from cron/scheduler_script.py. It also
+hardcoded "~/.hermes/scripts/" in its messages even though resolution goes
+through get_hermes_home(), which is per-profile.
+"""
+
+from hermes_constants import get_hermes_home
+from tools.cronjob_job_args import _validate_cron_script_path
+
+
+class TestValidateCronScriptPath:
+    def test_missing_script_file_is_rejected_at_creation_time(self):
+        error = _validate_cron_script_path("does_not_exist.sh")
+        assert error is not None
+        assert "not found" in error.lower()
+
+    def test_existing_script_file_passes(self):
+        scripts_dir = get_hermes_home() / "scripts"
+        scripts_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        (scripts_dir / "real.sh").write_text("#!/bin/sh\necho hi\n")
+        assert _validate_cron_script_path("real.sh") is None
+
+    def test_missing_file_error_names_the_resolved_scripts_dir(self):
+        # The resolved dir must appear literally so the message stays correct
+        # under profiles, where get_hermes_home() is not the global ~/.hermes.
+        scripts_dir = get_hermes_home() / "scripts"
+        error = _validate_cron_script_path("missing.py")
+        assert str(scripts_dir) in error
+
+    def test_absolute_path_error_names_the_resolved_scripts_dir_not_global_literal(self):
+        scripts_dir = get_hermes_home() / "scripts"
+        error = _validate_cron_script_path("/etc/passwd")
+        assert str(scripts_dir) in error
diff --git a/tools/cronjob_job_args.py b/tools/cronjob_job_args.py
index aaa9503f77..13534d5a63 100644
--- a/tools/cronjob_job_args.py
+++ b/tools/cronjob_job_args.py
@@ -296,17 +296,22 @@ def _validate_cron_script_path(script: Optional[str]) -> Optional[str]:
 
     from hermes_constants import get_hermes_home
     raw = script.strip()
+    scripts_dir = get_hermes_home() / "scripts"
     if raw.startswith(("/", "~")) or (len(raw) >= 2 and raw[1] == ":"):
         return (
-            f"Script path must be relative to ~/.hermes/scripts/. "
+            f"Script path must be relative to {scripts_dir}/. "
             f"Got absolute or home-relative path: {raw!r}. "
-            f"Place scripts in ~/.hermes/scripts/ and use just the filename.")
+            f"Place scripts in {scripts_dir}/ and use just the filename.")
 
     from tools.path_security import validate_within_dir
-    scripts_dir = get_hermes_home() / "scripts"
     scripts_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
-    if validate_within_dir(scripts_dir / raw, scripts_dir):
+    resolved_script = scripts_dir / raw
+    if validate_within_dir(resolved_script, scripts_dir):
         return f"Script path escapes the scripts directory via traversal: {raw!r}"
+    if not resolved_script.is_file():
+        return (
+            f"Script file not found: {resolved_script}. "
+            f"Create it in {scripts_dir}/ first.")
     return None