diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 31c56bf..d7d21fe 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -6,7 +6,8 @@ COPY go.mod go.sum ./
 RUN go mod download
 COPY . .
 RUN make fmt-check
-RUN make lint
+# Called directly: make lint is itself a docker build of this stage.
+RUN golangci-lint run --config .golangci.yml ./...
 
 # Test stage: run full test suite
 # golang 1.22.12 (2025-02-04)
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 4cd1a4f..5f1334b 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -113,24 +113,26 @@ development workflow, and the Makefile targets are thin shims that call them.
 The scripts are POSIX sh (not bash) so they run in minimal containers such as
 alpine. We provide:
 
-- `script/bootstrap` — install all dependencies (go and golangci-lint if
-  missing, then `go mod download`)
+- `script/bootstrap` — install all dependencies (go if missing, then
+  `go mod download`); golangci-lint is not installed, since it runs only in
+  Docker
 - `script/setup` — set up the repo for development after a fresh clone: runs
   `script/bootstrap`, then `script/install-precommit`
 - `script/projectname` — output the project name (our own extension); used by
   `script/docker` for the image tag
 - `script/test` — run the test suite (`go test -v ./...`)
-- `script/lint` — run golangci-lint
-- `script/fmt` — format all files (goimports plus `golangci-lint run --fix`;
-  writes)
+- `script/lint` — run golangci-lint in Docker by building only the `lint`
+  stage of the `Dockerfile` (which also runs the format check), without the
+  build cache, so every run lints; the image is tagged `simplelog-lint`
+- `script/fmt` — format all files with goimports (writes)
 - `script/fmt-check` — check formatting (read-only); fails if `gofmt -l`
   reports files
 - `script/check` — run all checks: `test`, `lint`, `fmt-check` (our own
   extension)
-- `script/docker` — build the Docker image, tagged via `script/projectname`
-  (byte-identical across repos)
-- `script/cibuild` — cd to the repo root and `docker build .` (what CI runs;
-  the image build runs the checks)
+- `script/docker` — build the Docker image without the build cache, tagged
+  via `script/projectname` (byte-identical across repos)
+- `script/cibuild` — cd to the repo root and `docker build --no-cache .` (what
+  CI runs; the image build runs the checks)
 - `script/precommit` — run by the git pre-commit hook (our own extension);
   runs a `go mod tidy` guard, then `script/check`
 - `script/install-precommit` — installs the git pre-commit hook (our own
diff --git a/TODO.md b/TODO.md
index 7cfdd45..9444eb9 100644
--- a/TODO.md
+++ b/TODO.md
@@ -24,6 +24,10 @@ files it depends on: .golangci.yml, REPO_POLICIES.md, .editorconfig,
 
 # Completed Steps
 
+* 2026-10-06: the linter runs only in Docker: `script/lint` builds the
+    `lint` stage of the `Dockerfile`, every `docker build` in `script/`
+    runs without the build cache, and `script/bootstrap` no longer
+    installs golangci-lint
 * 2026-08-10: fixed every handler discarding slog attributes: console,
     JSON and webhook handlers now emit record attributes, accumulate
     WithAttrs without mutating the receiver, and honour WithGroup;
diff --git a/script/bootstrap b/script/bootstrap
index afece87..d0f3814 100755
--- a/script/bootstrap
+++ b/script/bootstrap
@@ -54,12 +54,7 @@ main() {
     if missing git; then pkg_install git git git git; fi
 
     if missing go; then pkg_install go golang go go; fi
-    # golangci-lint is packaged in nix, brew, and apk; there is no apt
-    # package (on apt hosts, install it from a hash-verified GitHub
-    # release archive manually, never curl | sh).
-    if missing golangci-lint; then
-        pkg_install golangci-lint golangci-lint golangci-lint golangci-lint
-    fi
+    # golangci-lint is not installed: it runs only in docker (script/lint).
 
     go mod download
 
diff --git a/script/cibuild b/script/cibuild
index 75cc3e6..79e180e 100755
--- a/script/cibuild
+++ b/script/cibuild
@@ -1,13 +1,14 @@
 #!/bin/sh
-# script/cibuild: run the CI build. The Dockerfile runs script/check, so
-# a successful build implies all checks pass.
+# script/cibuild: run the CI build. The Dockerfile runs the format check,
+# the linter and the tests, so a successful build means they all pass.
+# --no-cache because a cached check step is a check that did not run.
 set -eu
 
 ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd -P)"
 
 main() {
     cd "$ROOT"
-    docker build .
+    docker build --no-cache .
 }
 
 main "$@"
diff --git a/script/docker b/script/docker
index 9b9ea86..0d05036 100755
--- a/script/docker
+++ b/script/docker
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 # script/docker: build the Docker image tagged with the project name.
 # Identical in all repos; the tag comes from script/projectname.
+# --no-cache because a cached check step is a check that did not run.
 set -eu
 
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd -P)"
@@ -8,7 +9,7 @@ ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/.." && pwd -P)"
 
 main() {
     cd "$ROOT"
-    docker build -t "$("$SCRIPT_DIR/projectname")" .
+    docker build --no-cache -t "$("$SCRIPT_DIR/projectname")" .
 }
 
 main "$@"
diff --git a/script/fmt b/script/fmt
index 216a8aa..64817df 100755
--- a/script/fmt
+++ b/script/fmt
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd -P)"
 main() {
     cd "$ROOT"
     goimports -l -w .
-    golangci-lint run --fix
 }
 
 main "$@"
diff --git a/script/lint b/script/lint
index 004c999..44efda2 100755
--- a/script/lint
+++ b/script/lint
@@ -1,12 +1,19 @@
 #!/bin/sh
-# script/lint: run the linter.
+# script/lint: run the linter, in docker only, by building the lint stage
+# of the Dockerfile and nothing else; the build fails on any finding.
+# --no-cache makes every run execute the linter: a cached build of an
+# unchanged tree succeeds without linting anything. The tag makes each
+# build replace the previous image instead of leaving an untagged one.
 set -eu
 
-ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd -P)"
+SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd -P)"
+ROOT="$(cd "$SCRIPT_DIR/.." && pwd -P)"
 
 main() {
     cd "$ROOT"
-    golangci-lint run
+    docker build --no-cache \
+        --target lint \
+        -t "$("$SCRIPT_DIR/projectname")-lint" .
 }
 
 main "$@"