diff --git a/.claude/skills/deploy-massprice/SKILL.md b/.claude/skills/deploy-massprice/SKILL.md
index f72e637..926ca1b 100644
--- a/.claude/skills/deploy-massprice/SKILL.md
+++ b/.claude/skills/deploy-massprice/SKILL.md
@@ -38,7 +38,9 @@ cd /mnt/user/appdata/massprice && docker compose restart
 
 1. Create `/mnt/user/appdata/massprice` on Unraid and a real `.env`
    there (copy `.env.example`, fill in `LOGIN_PASSWORD`, `SECRET_KEY`,
-   `HOST_PORT`, `TZ`).
+   `HOST_PORT`, `TZ` — and optionally `GMAIL_USER`/`GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD`/
+   `ALERT_EMAIL` for the session-expiry email alert, same Gmail-app-
+   password pattern as `lunch-notifier`).
 2. First `docker compose up -d --build` — confirm the container starts
    and `/login` responds on `HOST_PORT`.
 3. Log into the webui, go to the **Session** page, and follow its
@@ -61,12 +63,14 @@ cd /mnt/user/appdata/massprice && docker compose restart
 
 ## Persistent state, never touched by deploys
 
-`.env` holds `LOGIN_PASSWORD` and `SECRET_KEY`. `data/` (bind-mounted to
+`.env` holds `LOGIN_PASSWORD`, `SECRET_KEY`, and (optionally)
+`GMAIL_USER`/`GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD`/`ALERT_EMAIL`. `data/` (bind-mounted to
 `/data`) holds `schedules.json` (the schedules set from the webui),
 `auth_state.json` (the saved MassPrice session imported via the Session
 page — a live bearer credential for the user's MassPrice account while
 valid, see `CLAUDE.md`; losing this just costs one re-import, not data),
-`run_history.json`, and `rules_cache.json`. Both are excluded from the
+`run_history.json`, `rules_cache.json`, and `notify_state.json` (the
+session-expiry alert's send-once dedupe flag). Both are excluded from the
 deploy rsync (which runs `--delete`) and from git.
 
 ## If scheduled runs stop working
diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index f99f17c..09778cd 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -16,4 +16,16 @@ HOST_PORT=5057
 
 # ── Timezone ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 # Controls what "6:00 AM" means for your schedules
-TZ=America/New_York
+TZ=America/Phoenix
+
+# ── Session-expiry email alert (optional) ───────────────────────────
+# Sent once when the saved MassPrice session expires/is missing — not
+# on every failed run, just the first one after it goes bad. Same
+# Gmail-app-password pattern as lunch-notifier: GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD is a
+# Gmail *app password* (Google Account → Security → App Passwords), not
+# your real Gmail password — required since Gmail blocks plain SMTP auth
+# with the account password. Leave blank to disable the alert entirely.
+GMAIL_USER=
+GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD=
+# Defaults to GMAIL_USER if left blank
+ALERT_EMAIL=
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 24b639b..55061dc 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -23,10 +23,10 @@ tool is confirmed working, so there's exactly one thing triggering runs.
   (`LOGIN_PASSWORD` env var, `hmac.compare_digest`) — this protects the
   *admin UI itself*, unrelated to the MassPrice/TCGplayer login below.
   Routes: `/` (Dashboard — rule cards with schedule editor), `/activity`
-  (run history), and a small JSON API
+  (run history), `/session` (login-session import), and a small JSON API
   (`/api/rules/refresh`, `/api/rules/<id>/schedule`,
-  `/api/rules/<id>/run`) that the Dashboard's JS calls without full page
-  reloads.
+  `/api/rules/<id>/run`, `/api/session/import`) that the frontend JS
+  calls without full page reloads.
 - **`scheduler.py`** — an in-process APScheduler `BackgroundScheduler`
   holding one `CronTrigger` job per `(rule, schedule entry)` pair,
   rebuilt from `schedules.json` on startup and whenever the webui saves
@@ -61,7 +61,8 @@ tool is confirmed working, so there's exactly one thing triggering runs.
 - **`storage.py`** — tiny JSON read/write helpers (temp-file +
   `os.replace`, so a crash mid-write can't corrupt state) for
   everything under `/data`: `schedules.json`, `auth_state.json`,
-  `run_history.json` (bounded to the last 200 entries), `rules_cache.json`.
+  `run_history.json` (bounded to the last 200 entries), `rules_cache.json`,
+  `notify_state.json` (the session-expiry alert's send-once dedupe flag).
 - **`templates/` / `static/`** — a small, plain dark dashboard. This is
   a deliberately different, simpler visual identity than Arr Summary's
   teletext system — that design language is specific to that app, not a
@@ -119,6 +120,27 @@ The Dashboard shows a red banner (`_session_warning()` in `app.py`) when
 the most recent run/refresh failed specifically because of a missing/
 expired session, so this doesn't just look like "no rules found."
 
+## Session-expiry email alert
+
+**`notify.py`** — a thin Gmail-SMTP-with-app-password sender, the same
+pattern `lunch-notifier` already uses on this box (reused deliberately
+rather than adding a second notification channel). `GMAIL_USER`/
+`GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD` (a Gmail **app password**, not the real account
+password — Gmail blocks plain SMTP auth otherwise) and optional
+`ALERT_EMAIL` (defaults to `GMAIL_USER`). `send_alert()` is a best-effort
+no-op — returns `False` and just logs — if those env vars aren't set or
+the send fails, since a broken mail config shouldn't break automation.
+
+Fires exactly **once** per expiry, not on every failed scheduled run
+while it's down: `automation._notify_session_expired_once()` is called
+from `_ensure_authenticated()` right before it raises, checks/sets a
+`session_expired_notified` flag in `notify_state.json`, and only sends
+if that flag isn't already set. The flag resets to `False` the moment
+`import_cookies()` successfully saves a fresh session, so the next
+expiry gets its own alert. The flag is only set `True` after a
+confirmed-sent email — if mail is misconfigured, every failing run keeps
+retrying the send rather than silently giving up after the first one.
+
 ## Local development
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/app.py b/app.py
index ad393c3..e6afb15 100644
--- a/app.py
+++ b/app.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ import automation
 import scheduler
 import storage
 
-APP_VERSION = "0.3.0"
+APP_VERSION = "0.4.0"
 APP_VERSION_DATE = "2026-09-01"
 
 app = Flask(__name__)
diff --git a/automation.py b/automation.py
index 7f7ddec..19aaa91 100644
--- a/automation.py
+++ b/automation.py
@@ -36,6 +36,7 @@ from datetime import datetime, timezone
 
 from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright
 
+import notify
 import storage
 
 logger = logging.getLogger("massprice.automation")
@@ -79,9 +80,33 @@ def _is_logged_out(page):
     return "/Rule" not in page.url
 
 
+def _notify_session_expired_once():
+    """Send the email alert only on the first failure after the session
+    goes bad, not on every scheduled run that fails while it's down —
+    the flag resets when a fresh session is imported successfully."""
+    state = storage.load("notify_state.json", {})
+    if state.get("session_expired_notified"):
+        return
+    sent = notify.send_alert(
+        "MassPrice Scheduler: login session expired",
+        "The saved MassPrice session has expired or is missing. "
+        "Scheduled rule runs will keep failing until you log back in "
+        "via the Session page in the MassPrice Scheduler webui and "
+        "import a fresh cookie export.",
+    )
+    # Only mark as notified if the email actually sent — an unset/broken
+    # mail config shouldn't silently swallow the next attempt forever.
+    if sent:
+        storage.save(
+            "notify_state.json",
+            {"session_expired_notified": True, "notified_at": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat()},
+        )
+
+
 def _ensure_authenticated(page):
     page.goto(f"{BASE_URL}/Rule/List")
     if _is_logged_out(page):
+        _notify_session_expired_once()
         raise AutomationError(
             "MassPrice session expired or missing — log in via the "
             "Session page and paste in a fresh cookie export."
@@ -264,5 +289,6 @@ def import_cookies(raw_text):
                     "itself, after finishing login, not from the login page."
                 )
             _save_state(context)
+            storage.save("notify_state.json", {"session_expired_notified": False})
         finally:
             browser.close()
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 9b60f50..c046887 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -15,5 +15,8 @@ services:
     environment:
       - LOGIN_PASSWORD=${LOGIN_PASSWORD}
       - SECRET_KEY=${SECRET_KEY}
-      - TZ=${TZ:-America/New_York}
+      - TZ=${TZ:-America/Phoenix}
+      - GMAIL_USER=${GMAIL_USER:-}
+      - GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD=${GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD:-}
+      - ALERT_EMAIL=${ALERT_EMAIL:-}
     restart: unless-stopped
diff --git a/notify.py b/notify.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f8a15d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/notify.py
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+"""Email alerts via Gmail SMTP + app password — the same pattern already
+used by lunch-notifier on this box, reused here rather than adding a new
+notification service. Silently a no-op if GMAIL_USER/GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD
+aren't set, so the alert feature is opt-in.
+"""
+import logging
+import os
+import smtplib
+from email.mime.text import MIMEText
+
+logger = logging.getLogger("massprice.notify")
+
+GMAIL_USER = os.environ.get("GMAIL_USER")
+GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD = os.environ.get("GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD")
+ALERT_EMAIL = os.environ.get("ALERT_EMAIL") or GMAIL_USER
+
+
+def send_alert(subject, body):
+    """Best-effort: logs and returns False on any failure rather than
+    raising, since a broken alert channel shouldn't break automation."""
+    if not GMAIL_USER or not GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD or not ALERT_EMAIL:
+        return False
+    msg = MIMEText(body)
+    msg["Subject"] = subject
+    msg["From"] = GMAIL_USER
+    msg["To"] = ALERT_EMAIL
+    try:
+        with smtplib.SMTP_SSL("smtp.gmail.com", 465) as server:
+            server.login(GMAIL_USER, GMAIL_APP_PASSWORD)
+            server.sendmail(GMAIL_USER, [ALERT_EMAIL], msg.as_string())
+        return True
+    except Exception:
+        logger.exception("Failed to send alert email")
+        return False