diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index 8120ecc36..0e93a89e5 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ This file is a **map**, not a manual. Follow links for details.
 |---------|---------|
 | `make build` | Compile the project |
 | `make lint` | Run linter (must pass before committing) |
+| `make lint-changed-local` | Run native local linter on changes vs base |
+| `make install-custom-gcl` | Build native `custom-gcl` for this host |
 | `make fmt` | Format all Go source files |
 | `make unit pkg=<pkg> case=<test>` | Run unit tests |
 | `make unit log="stdlog trace" pkg=<pkg> case=<test>` | Unit tests with debug logs |
@@ -49,6 +51,8 @@ Body wrapped at 72 characters. Explain WHY, not just WHAT.
 1. **Never edit generated code** — regenerate via `make rpc` or `make sqlc`.
 2. **Never write raw SQL in Go** — add queries to `db/queries/`, use sqlc.
 3. **Run `make lint` before every commit.**
+   Install native `custom-gcl` with `make install-custom-gcl` first if you
+   want the local no-Docker path to load the real `ll` plugin.
 4. **Run tests before every commit** — see [`docs/testing-guide.md`](docs/testing-guide.md).
 5. **No underscores in Go test names** — `TestFoo` not `Test_Foo`.
 6. Use early returns; do not nest error handling.
diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 8120ecc36..0e93a89e5 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ This file is a **map**, not a manual. Follow links for details.
 |---------|---------|
 | `make build` | Compile the project |
 | `make lint` | Run linter (must pass before committing) |
+| `make lint-changed-local` | Run native local linter on changes vs base |
+| `make install-custom-gcl` | Build native `custom-gcl` for this host |
 | `make fmt` | Format all Go source files |
 | `make unit pkg=<pkg> case=<test>` | Run unit tests |
 | `make unit log="stdlog trace" pkg=<pkg> case=<test>` | Unit tests with debug logs |
@@ -49,6 +51,8 @@ Body wrapped at 72 characters. Explain WHY, not just WHAT.
 1. **Never edit generated code** — regenerate via `make rpc` or `make sqlc`.
 2. **Never write raw SQL in Go** — add queries to `db/queries/`, use sqlc.
 3. **Run `make lint` before every commit.**
+   Install native `custom-gcl` with `make install-custom-gcl` first if you
+   want the local no-Docker path to load the real `ll` plugin.
 4. **Run tests before every commit** — see [`docs/testing-guide.md`](docs/testing-guide.md).
 5. **No underscores in Go test names** — `TestFoo` not `Test_Foo`.
 6. Use early returns; do not nest error handling.
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 28d070c71..b6340534a 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 .PHONY: sqlc sqlc-check migrate-create migrate-up migrate-down gen
-.PHONY: lint lint-source lint-local lint-source-local lint-changed-local local-custom-gcl docker-tools fmt fmt-check tidy-module tidy-module-check schema-check doc-check
+.PHONY: lint lint-source lint-local lint-source-local lint-changed-local local-custom-gcl install-custom-gcl docker-tools fmt fmt-check tidy-module tidy-module-check schema-check doc-check
 .PHONY: ast-lint ast-grep-fix
 .PHONY: unit unit-cover unit-race check-go-version build install clean release
 .PHONY: build rpc install help clean-networks
@@ -212,45 +212,10 @@ docker-tools:
 	docker build -q -t darepo-tools $(TOOLS_DIR)
 
 local-custom-gcl:
-	@mkdir -p $(TOOLS_DIR)
-	@if command -v custom-gcl >/dev/null 2>&1; then \
-		ln -sf "$$(command -v custom-gcl)" "$(LOCAL_CUSTOM_GCL)"; \
-		echo "Using custom-gcl from PATH."; \
-	elif command -v go >/dev/null 2>&1; then \
-		printf '%s\n' \
-			'#!/bin/sh' \
-			'set -e' \
-			'run_golangci() {' \
-			'	exec go run github.com/golangci/golangci-lint/cmd/golangci-lint@v1.64.5 "$$@"' \
-			'}' \
-			'if [ "$$1" = "run" ]; then' \
-			'	shift' \
-			'	tmp="$$(mktemp)"' \
-			'	cfg="$$tmp.yml"' \
-			'	mv "$$tmp" "$$cfg"' \
-			'	trap '\''rm -f "$$cfg"'\'' EXIT' \
-			'	awk '\''{' \
-			'		if ($$0 ~ /^linters-settings:[[:space:]]*$$/) {in_ls=1; print; next}' \
-			'		if (in_ls && $$0 ~ /^  custom:[[:space:]]*$$/) {skip_custom=1; next}' \
-			'		if (skip_custom && $$0 ~ /^  [A-Za-z0-9_-]+:[[:space:]]*$$/) {skip_custom=0}' \
-			'		if (in_ls && $$0 ~ /^[^[:space:]]/) {in_ls=0}' \
-			'		if (skip_custom) {next}' \
-			'		if ($$0 ~ /^[[:space:]]*-[[:space:]]*ll[[:space:]]*$$/) {sub(/ll/, "lll"); print; next}' \
-			'		print $$0' \
-			'	}'\'' .golangci.yml > "$$cfg"' \
-			'	run_golangci run --config "$$cfg" "$$@"' \
-			'fi' \
-			'run_golangci "$$@"' \
-			> "$(LOCAL_CUSTOM_GCL)"; \
-		chmod +x "$(LOCAL_CUSTOM_GCL)"; \
-		echo "custom-gcl not found; using golangci-lint v1.64.5 fallback"; \
-		echo "(custom linter plugin 'll' is disabled in local mode)."; \
-	elif [ -x "$(LOCAL_CUSTOM_GCL)" ]; then \
-		echo "Using local linter binary: $(LOCAL_CUSTOM_GCL)"; \
-	else \
-		echo "error: install go or custom-gcl"; \
-		exit 1; \
-	fi
+	@./scripts/local-custom-gcl.sh "$(LOCAL_CUSTOM_GCL)"
+
+install-custom-gcl: #? Build and install a native custom-gcl binary to dest=<path> (default: ./tools/custom-gcl)
+	@./scripts/install-custom-gcl.sh "$(if $(dest),$(dest),$(LOCAL_CUSTOM_GCL))"
 
 lint-source: docker-tools
 	@$(call print, "Linting source.")
diff --git a/scripts/install-custom-gcl.sh b/scripts/install-custom-gcl.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..7a5dd5592
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/install-custom-gcl.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,118 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+set -eu
+
+usage() {
+	cat <<'EOF2'
+usage: install-custom-gcl.sh <destination>
+
+Build a native custom-gcl binary for the current host OS/ARCH using the
+repo-local ll linter plugin and install it at <destination>.
+EOF2
+}
+
+if [ "${1:-}" = "" ] || [ "${1:-}" = "-h" ] || [ "${1:-}" = "--help" ]; then
+	usage
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+dest="$1"
+
+if [ -d "$dest" ]; then
+	echo "error: destination cannot be a directory: $dest" >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+script_dir=$(CDPATH='' cd -- "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)
+repo_root=$(CDPATH='' cd -- "$script_dir/.." && pwd)
+tools_dir="$repo_root/tools"
+config_file="$tools_dir/.custom-gcl.yml"
+plugin_dir="$tools_dir/linters"
+
+if ! command -v go >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+	echo "error: go is required to build custom-gcl" >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+if ! command -v git >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+	echo "error: git is required to build custom-gcl" >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+if [ ! -f "$config_file" ]; then
+	echo "error: missing config file: $config_file" >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+if [ ! -d "$plugin_dir" ]; then
+	echo "error: missing plugin module directory: $plugin_dir" >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+version=$(sed -n 's/^version:[[:space:]]*//p' "$config_file" | head -n 1)
+plugin_module=$(
+	sed -n 's/^[[:space:]]*-[[:space:]]*module:[[:space:]]*//p' \
+		"$config_file" | head -n 1 | tr -d "'\""
+)
+
+if [ -z "$version" ]; then
+	echo "error: unable to determine golangci-lint version" >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+if [ -z "$plugin_module" ]; then
+	echo "error: unable to determine plugin module path" >&2
+	exit 1
+fi
+
+tmpdir=$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/custom-gcl.XXXXXX")
+trap 'rm -rf "$tmpdir"' EXIT HUP INT TERM
+
+repo_dir="$tmpdir/golangci-lint"
+tmp_bin="$tmpdir/custom-gcl"
+
+echo "Building native custom-gcl ${version} for $(go env GOOS)/$(go env GOARCH)"
+echo "Using plugin module: ${plugin_module}"
+
+GIT_CONFIG_GLOBAL=/dev/null \
+GIT_TERMINAL_PROMPT=0 \
+git clone \
+	--branch "$version" \
+	--single-branch \
+	--depth 1 \
+	-c advice.detachedHead=false \
+	-q \
+	https://github.com/golangci/golangci-lint.git \
+	"$repo_dir"
+
+cat >"$repo_dir/cmd/golangci-lint/plugins.go" <<EOF2
+package main
+
+import (
+	_ "${plugin_module}"
+)
+EOF2
+
+(
+	cd "$repo_dir"
+
+	go mod edit -replace "${plugin_module}=${plugin_dir}"
+	go mod tidy
+
+	build_date=$(date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")
+	ldflags="-s -w -X main.version=${version}-custom-gcl -X main.date=${build_date}"
+
+	export GOFLAGS="${GOFLAGS-}${GOFLAGS:+ }-buildvcs=false"
+
+	CGO_ENABLED=0 go build \
+		-trimpath \
+		-ldflags "$ldflags" \
+		-o "$tmp_bin" \
+		./cmd/golangci-lint
+)
+
+mkdir -p "$(dirname "$dest")"
+mv "$tmp_bin" "$dest"
+chmod +x "$dest"
+
+echo "Installed native custom-gcl to: $dest"
diff --git a/scripts/local-custom-gcl.sh b/scripts/local-custom-gcl.sh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..2156891bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/scripts/local-custom-gcl.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+set -eu
+
+dest="${1:?usage: local-custom-gcl.sh <dest>}"
+script_dir=$(CDPATH='' cd -- "$(dirname "$0")" && pwd)
+
+mkdir -p "$(dirname "$dest")"
+
+if command -v custom-gcl >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+	ln -sf "$(command -v custom-gcl)" "$dest"
+	echo "Using custom-gcl from PATH."
+	exit 0
+fi
+
+if [ -x "$dest" ]; then
+	echo "Using local linter binary: $dest"
+	exit 0
+fi
+
+if command -v go >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+	if "$script_dir/install-custom-gcl.sh" "$dest"; then
+		echo "Built native custom-gcl: $dest"
+		exit 0
+	fi
+
+	cat >"$dest" <<'EOF2'
+#!/bin/sh
+
+set -eu
+
+repo_root=$(CDPATH='' cd -- "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)
+config_file="$repo_root/tools/.custom-gcl.yml"
+gcl_version=""
+
+if [ -f "$config_file" ]; then
+	gcl_version=$(sed -n 's/^version:[[:space:]]*//p' "$config_file" | head -n 1)
+fi
+
+gcl_version=${gcl_version:-v1.64.5}
+
+run_golangci() {
+	exec go run "github.com/golangci/golangci-lint/cmd/golangci-lint@${gcl_version}" "$@"
+}
+
+if [ "${1:-}" = "run" ]; then
+	shift
+
+	tmpdir="$(mktemp -d "${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/custom-gcl.XXXXXX")"
+	cfg="$tmpdir/custom-gcl.yml"
+	trap 'rm -rf "$tmpdir"' EXIT
+
+	awk '
+		$0 ~ /^linters-settings:[[:space:]]*$/ {
+			in_ls = 1
+			print
+			next
+		}
+		in_ls && $0 ~ /^  custom:[[:space:]]*$/ {
+			skip_custom = 1
+			next
+		}
+		skip_custom && $0 ~ /^  [A-Za-z0-9_-]+:[[:space:]]*$/ {
+			skip_custom = 0
+		}
+		in_ls && $0 ~ /^[^[:space:]]/ {
+			in_ls = 0
+		}
+		skip_custom {
+			next
+		}
+		$0 ~ /^[[:space:]]*-[[:space:]]*ll[[:space:]]*$/ {
+			sub(/ll/, "lll")
+			print
+			next
+		}
+		{
+			print
+		}
+	' .golangci.yml >"$cfg"
+
+	run_golangci run --config "$cfg" "$@"
+fi
+
+run_golangci "$@"
+EOF2
+
+	chmod +x "$dest"
+	echo "custom-gcl not found; using golangci-lint v1.64.5 fallback"
+	echo "(custom linter plugin 'll' is disabled in local mode)."
+	exit 0
+fi
+
+echo "error: install go or custom-gcl" >&2
+exit 1
diff --git a/tools/AGENTS.md b/tools/AGENTS.md
index 8de531e7f..c25df3441 100644
--- a/tools/AGENTS.md
+++ b/tools/AGENTS.md
@@ -8,3 +8,11 @@ Development tool dependencies (`tools.go` for protoc plugins, sqlc, linters).
 
 - **Depends on**: nothing (Go module tool dependencies).
 - **Depended on by**: `make rpc`, `make sqlc`, `make lint`.
+
+## Local Linting
+
+- Run `make install-custom-gcl` from the repo root to build a native
+  `custom-gcl` binary for the current macOS/Linux host.
+- After installation, `make lint-local` and `make lint-changed-local`
+  reuse that native binary and load the real `ll` plugin instead of the
+  fallback `lll` approximation.
diff --git a/tools/CLAUDE.md b/tools/CLAUDE.md
index 8de531e7f..c25df3441 100644
--- a/tools/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/tools/CLAUDE.md
@@ -8,3 +8,11 @@ Development tool dependencies (`tools.go` for protoc plugins, sqlc, linters).
 
 - **Depends on**: nothing (Go module tool dependencies).
 - **Depended on by**: `make rpc`, `make sqlc`, `make lint`.
+
+## Local Linting
+
+- Run `make install-custom-gcl` from the repo root to build a native
+  `custom-gcl` binary for the current macOS/Linux host.
+- After installation, `make lint-local` and `make lint-changed-local`
+  reuse that native binary and load the real `ll` plugin instead of the
+  fallback `lll` approximation.