diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index f43c43a..57a865a 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -19,9 +19,14 @@ RUN go mod download
 # .dockerignore.
 COPY . .
 
-# Run formatting check and linter
+# Run formatting check and linter. golangci-lint is invoked directly rather
+# than through `make lint`: this stage is already the pinned linter image, and
+# script/lint is a wrapper that builds Dockerfile.lint, so calling it here
+# would need a docker daemon inside the build. Keep these steps in step with
+# Dockerfile.lint, including --network=none (see its header for why).
 RUN make fmt-check
-RUN make lint
+RUN --network=none golangci-lint config verify --config .golangci.yml
+RUN --network=none golangci-lint run --config .golangci.yml ./...
 
 # Build stage
 # golang:1.26.1-bookworm (Debian-based), 2026-03-17
diff --git a/Dockerfile.lint b/Dockerfile.lint
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9a9af51
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Dockerfile.lint
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+# Lint-only image, built by script/lint. golangci-lint is never installed on
+# the host: the repo is COPYed into the pinned image and linted as a build
+# step, so a successful build IS a clean lint. This works even when the docker
+# daemon is remote and bind mounts are impossible.
+#
+# script/lint passes --no-cache-filter=lint. Without it an unchanged tree
+# replays the lint stage from cache and the build succeeds in under a second
+# having run no linter at all. Do not drop that flag.
+#
+# The lint steps run with --network=none. `golangci-lint config verify` is
+# documented as fetching its JSON schema over HTTPS, which would make linting
+# depend on an unpinned remote artifact; this pinned image resolves the schema
+# without any network, and --network=none enforces that rather than trusting
+# it. It also proves no linter reaches out at analysis time. If a future image
+# bump makes either step need the network, this build fails loudly instead of
+# quietly acquiring an unpinned dependency.
+
+# golangci/golangci-lint:v2.12.2 (Debian-based), 2026-08-07
+# Using Debian-based image because mattn/go-sqlite3 (CGO) does not
+# compile on Alpine musl (off64_t is a glibc type).
+FROM golangci/golangci-lint:v2.12.2@sha256:5cceeef04e53efe1470638d4b4b4f5ceefd574955ab3941b2d9a68a8c9ad5240 AS deps
+
+WORKDIR /src
+
+# Copy go mod files first for better layer caching. This stage is cacheable;
+# only the lint stage below is forced to re-execute.
+COPY go.mod go.sum ./
+RUN go mod download
+
+FROM deps AS lint
+
+COPY . .
+
+# `run` silently ignores config keys it does not recognize, so a typo would
+# disable a setting without a word. `config verify` is what catches that.
+RUN --network=none golangci-lint config verify --config .golangci.yml
+RUN --network=none golangci-lint run --config .golangci.yml ./...
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 570f087..8664bfa 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -12,8 +12,10 @@ with retry support, logging, and observability. Category: infrastructure
 ### Prerequisites
 
 - Go 1.26+
-- golangci-lint v2.11+
-- Docker (for containerized deployment)
+- Docker (for linting and for containerized deployment)
+
+golangci-lint is not a prerequisite and must not be installed on the host:
+`make lint` runs the pinned linter image via `Dockerfile.lint`.
 
 ### Quick Start
 
@@ -41,7 +43,7 @@ make docker
 make bootstrap  # Install all dependencies (idempotent)
 make setup      # Bootstrap + install git pre-commit hook
 make fmt        # Format code (gofmt + goimports)
-make lint       # Run golangci-lint
+make lint       # Run golangci-lint in Docker (Dockerfile.lint)
 make test       # Run tests with race detection
 make check      # test + lint + fmt-check (CI gate)
 make build      # Build binary to bin/webhooker
@@ -248,7 +250,7 @@ them. We provide:
   (bootstrap, then install-precommit)
 - `script/projectname` — output the project name ("webhooker")
 - `script/test` — run the test suite
-- `script/lint` — run golangci-lint
+- `script/lint` — run golangci-lint in Docker (see Linting below)
 - `script/fmt` — format all code (writes)
 - `script/fmt-check` — check formatting (read-only)
 - `script/check` — run test, lint, and fmt-check
@@ -1058,6 +1060,7 @@ webhooker/
 │   └── js/app.js              # Client-side JavaScript (minimal bootstrap)
 ├── templates/                 # Go HTML templates (base, index, login, etc.)
 ├── Dockerfile                 # Multi-stage: lint, build+test, then Alpine runtime
+├── Dockerfile.lint            # Lint-only image built by script/lint
 ├── Makefile                   # fmt, lint, test, check, build, docker targets
 ├── go.mod / go.sum
 └── .golangci.yml              # Linter configuration
@@ -1165,17 +1168,48 @@ downstream at form-parse time.
 - Container runs as non-root user (UID 1000)
 - GORM soft deletes on all entities (data preserved for audit)
 
+### Linting
+
+golangci-lint never runs on the host. `script/lint` builds
+`Dockerfile.lint`, which copies the repo into the digest-pinned
+golangci-lint image and lints as a build step, so a successful build is
+a clean lint. A host binary would share one cache and one lock with
+every other checkout on the machine, which has produced both invented
+findings attributed to other worktrees and unearned passes.
+
+Two properties are load-bearing:
+
+- `script/lint` passes `--no-cache-filter=lint`. Without it an unchanged
+  tree replays the lint layer from cache and the build exits 0 in under
+  a second having linted nothing. The `deps` stage stays cacheable, so
+  module downloads are not repeated. Invalidation is scoped to the one
+  stage; never prune the shared build cache.
+- Both lint steps use `RUN --network=none`. `golangci-lint config
+  verify` is documented as fetching its JSON schema over HTTPS, which
+  would be an unpinned remote dependency; the pinned image resolves the
+  schema without network access, and `--network=none` enforces that
+  instead of trusting it. Verify is worth keeping because
+  `golangci-lint run` silently ignores config keys it does not
+  recognize, so a typo would disable a setting with no warning.
+
 ### Docker
 
 The Dockerfile uses a multi-stage build:
 
-1. **Builder stage** (Debian-based `golang:1.24`) — installs
-   golangci-lint, downloads dependencies, copies source, runs `make
-   check` (format verification, linting, tests, compilation).
-2. **Runtime stage** (`alpine:3.21`) — copies the binary, creates the
+1. **Lint stage** (`golangci/golangci-lint`) — copies source, runs
+   `make fmt-check`, `golangci-lint config verify`, and
+   `golangci-lint run`.
+2. **Builder stage** (Debian-based `golang`) — downloads dependencies,
+   copies source, runs `make test` and `make build`, then relinks the
+   binary statically.
+3. **Runtime stage** (`alpine:3.21`) — copies the binary, creates the
    `/var/lib/webhooker` directory for all SQLite databases, runs as
    non-root user, exposes port 8080, includes a health check.
 
+The lint stage invokes `golangci-lint` directly rather than `make lint`:
+it is already the pinned linter image, and `make lint` would shell out
+to another docker build from inside this one.
+
 The builder uses Debian rather than Alpine because GORM's SQLite
 dialect pulls in CGO-dependent headers at compile time. The runtime
 binary is statically linked and runs on Alpine.
diff --git a/script/bootstrap b/script/bootstrap
index f1b3e30..1f014a1 100755
--- a/script/bootstrap
+++ b/script/bootstrap
@@ -3,19 +3,12 @@
 # this repo. Idempotent: every install is guarded by a check so already
 # installed tools are skipped. Base tooling comes from nix, apt, brew,
 # or apk (detected in that order); assumes NOTHING is present (not git,
-# make, or go). golangci-lint is packaged in nix, brew, and apk; on apt
-# it is installed from a hash-verified GitHub release archive (never
-# curl | sh).
+# make, or go). golangci-lint is deliberately not installed: linting runs
+# only in docker, via script/lint and Dockerfile.lint.
 set -eu
 
 ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd -P)"
 
-# Pinned versions, 2026-08-07. Never "latest"; exact versions only.
-GOLANGCI_LINT_VERSION="2.12.2"
-# sha256 of golangci-lint-2.12.2-linux-<arch>.tar.gz release archives
-GOLANGCI_LINT_SHA256_AMD64="8df580d2670fed8fa984aac0507099af8df275e665215f5c7a2ae3943893a553"
-GOLANGCI_LINT_SHA256_ARM64="44cd40a8c76c86755375adfeea52cfd3533cb43d7bd647771e0ae065e166df3a"
-
 PKGMGR=""
 SUDO=""
 
@@ -56,52 +49,6 @@ missing() {
     ! command -v "$1" >/dev/null 2>&1
 }
 
-# verify_sha256 <file> <expected-hash>
-verify_sha256() {
-    if command -v sha256sum >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        actual="$(sha256sum "$1" | cut -d' ' -f1)"
-    else
-        actual="$(shasum -a 256 "$1" | cut -d' ' -f1)"
-    fi
-    if [ "$actual" != "$2" ]; then
-        echo "bootstrap: sha256 mismatch for $1" >&2
-        echo "  expected: $2" >&2
-        echo "  actual:   $actual" >&2
-        exit 1
-    fi
-}
-
-# apt has no golangci-lint package: install a pinned release archive
-# from GitHub, verified by hardcoded sha256 (never curl | sh).
-install_golangci_lint_release() {
-    case "$(uname -m)" in
-        x86_64) goarch="amd64"; sha="$GOLANGCI_LINT_SHA256_AMD64" ;;
-        aarch64|arm64) goarch="arm64"; sha="$GOLANGCI_LINT_SHA256_ARM64" ;;
-        *)
-            echo "bootstrap: unsupported architecture $(uname -m)" >&2
-            exit 1
-            ;;
-    esac
-    if missing curl; then pkg_install curl curl curl curl; fi
-    name="golangci-lint-${GOLANGCI_LINT_VERSION}-linux-${goarch}"
-    tmp="$(mktemp -d)"
-    curl -fsSL -o "$tmp/$name.tar.gz" \
-        "https://github.com/golangci/golangci-lint/releases/download/v${GOLANGCI_LINT_VERSION}/${name}.tar.gz"
-    verify_sha256 "$tmp/$name.tar.gz" "$sha"
-    tar -xzf "$tmp/$name.tar.gz" -C "$tmp"
-    $SUDO install -m 0755 "$tmp/$name/golangci-lint" /usr/local/bin/golangci-lint
-    rm -rf "$tmp"
-}
-
-ensure_golangci_lint() {
-    if ! missing golangci-lint; then return 0; fi
-    detect_pkgmgr
-    case "$PKGMGR" in
-        apt) install_golangci_lint_release ;;
-        *) pkg_install golangci-lint golangci-lint golangci-lint golangci-lint ;;
-    esac
-}
-
 main() {
     cd "$ROOT"
 
@@ -109,9 +56,14 @@ main() {
     if missing git; then pkg_install git git git git; fi
     if missing make; then pkg_install gnumake make make make; fi
 
-    # Go toolchain and linter
+    # Go toolchain
     if missing go; then pkg_install go golang go go; fi
-    ensure_golangci_lint
+
+    # Not installed here: docker is platform-specific and out of scope for a
+    # package-manager bootstrap, but script/lint needs it.
+    if missing docker; then
+        echo "bootstrap: docker not found; script/lint requires it" >&2
+    fi
 
     go mod download
 
diff --git a/script/lint b/script/lint
index 8017180..753631b 100755
--- a/script/lint
+++ b/script/lint
@@ -1,12 +1,29 @@
 #!/bin/sh
-# script/lint: run the linter.
+# script/lint: run the linter. golangci-lint is never installed locally: it
+# runs via docker only, one way, everywhere — script/lint builds
+# Dockerfile.lint, which COPYs the repo into the pinned golangci-lint image
+# and lints as a build step. This works even when the docker daemon is remote
+# and bind mounts are impossible, and it removes the host linter's shared
+# cache, which has attributed other checkouts' findings to this one.
+#
+# --no-cache-filter=lint forces the lint stage to re-execute on every run; a
+# cached lint stage exits 0 in under a second having linted nothing. The deps
+# stage keeps its cache, so module downloads are not repeated.
+# --progress=plain keeps the linter's own output visible on success, so a
+# passing run shows the issue count rather than nothing.
+# --output=type=cacheonly leaves no image behind to clean up.
 set -eu
 
 ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd -P)"
 
 main() {
     cd "$ROOT"
-    golangci-lint run --config .golangci.yml ./...
+    docker build \
+        -f Dockerfile.lint \
+        --no-cache-filter=lint \
+        --progress=plain \
+        --output=type=cacheonly \
+        .
 }
 
 main "$@"