@@ -339,6 +339,8 @@ gh aw compile --dependabot                 # Generate dependency manifests
 gh aw compile --purge                      # Remove orphaned .lock.yml files
 ```
 
+For `--zizmor` and `--poutine`, compilation automatically uses a binary on `PATH` when its version is at least 1.30.1 or 1.1.6, respectively. The version is checked with `zizmor --version` or `poutine version --disable-version-check`. If the binary is missing, too old, or its version cannot be determined, the scanner uses the pinned Docker image instead. Other Docker-based checks still require Docker.
+
 If the repository root contains an [`aw.yml` manifest](/gh-aw/reference/aw-yml-package-manifest/), `gh aw compile` validates it before compiling workflows.
 
 Unlike `gh aw upgrade`, `gh aw compile` does not run codemods unless you pass `--fix`.
 
@@ -266,6 +266,17 @@ func CheckAndPrepareDockerImages(ctx context.Context, opts DockerImagesOptions)
 		return nil
 	}
 
+	// Compatible native scanners do not require Docker or image downloads.
+	if opts.Zizmor && localScannerPath(ctxutil.OrBackground(ctx), "zizmor") != "" {
+		opts.Zizmor = false
+	}
+	if opts.Poutine && localScannerPath(ctxutil.OrBackground(ctx), "poutine") != "" {
+		opts.Poutine = false
+	}
+	if !opts.Zizmor && !opts.Poutine && !opts.Actionlint && !opts.RunnerGuard && !opts.Syft && !opts.Grype && !opts.Grant && !opts.Yamllint {
+		return nil
+	}
+
 	// Check if Docker daemon is available before attempting any image operations
 	if !IsDockerAvailable(ctx) {
 		var requestedTools []string
 
@@ -10,6 +10,11 @@ import (
 	"time"
 )
 
+func useDockerFallback(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Helper()
+	t.Setenv("PATH", t.TempDir())
+}
+
 func TestCheckAndPrepareDockerImages_NoToolsRequested(t *testing.T) {
 	// Reset state before test
 	ResetDockerPullState()
@@ -22,6 +27,7 @@ func TestCheckAndPrepareDockerImages_NoToolsRequested(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestCheckAndPrepareDockerImages_ImageAlreadyDownloading(t *testing.T) {
+	useDockerFallback(t)
 	// Reset state before test
 	ResetDockerPullState()
 
@@ -138,6 +144,7 @@ func TestDockerImageConstants(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestCheckAndPrepareDockerImages_MultipleImages(t *testing.T) {
+	useDockerFallback(t)
 	// Reset state before test
 	ResetDockerPullState()
 
@@ -169,6 +176,7 @@ func TestCheckAndPrepareDockerImages_MultipleImages(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestCheckAndPrepareDockerImages_RetryMessageFormat(t *testing.T) {
+	useDockerFallback(t)
 	// Reset state before test
 	ResetDockerPullState()
 
@@ -203,6 +211,7 @@ func TestCheckAndPrepareDockerImages_RetryMessageFormat(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestCheckAndPrepareDockerImages_StartedDownloadingMessage(t *testing.T) {
+	useDockerFallback(t)
 	// Reset state before test
 	ResetDockerPullState()
 
@@ -229,6 +238,7 @@ func TestCheckAndPrepareDockerImages_StartedDownloadingMessage(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestCheckAndPrepareDockerImages_ImageAlreadyAvailable(t *testing.T) {
+	useDockerFallback(t)
 	// Reset state before test
 	ResetDockerPullState()
 
@@ -618,6 +628,7 @@ func TestStartDockerImageDownload_NilContext(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestCheckAndPrepareDockerImages_DockerUnavailable(t *testing.T) {
+	useDockerFallback(t)
 	// Reset state before test
 	ResetDockerPullState()
 
@@ -656,6 +667,7 @@ func TestCheckAndPrepareDockerImages_DockerUnavailable(t *testing.T) {
 }
 
 func TestCheckAndPrepareDockerImages_DockerUnavailable_MultipleTools(t *testing.T) {
+	useDockerFallback(t)
 	// Reset state before test
 	ResetDockerPullState()
 
@@ -751,6 +763,7 @@ func TestCheckAndPrepareDockerImages_DockerUnavailable_ReturnsTypedError(t *test
 }
 
 func TestCheckAndPrepareDockerImages_RunnerGuardImageDownloading(t *testing.T) {
+	useDockerFallback(t)
 	// Reset state before test
 	ResetDockerPullState()
 
 
@@ -184,8 +184,12 @@ Returns JSON array with validation results for each workflow:
 					// compile without the Docker-based tools and surface a warning so
 					// the caller knows static analysis was skipped.
 					dockerUnavailableWarning = err.Error()
-					args.Zizmor = false
-					args.Poutine = false
+					if localScannerPath(ctx, "zizmor") == "" {
+						args.Zizmor = false
+					}
+					if localScannerPath(ctx, "poutine") == "" {
+						args.Poutine = false
+					}
 					args.Actionlint = false
 					args.RunnerGuard = false
 					args.Syft = false
 
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ package cli
 
 import (
 	"bytes"
+	"context"
 	"encoding/json"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
@@ -113,53 +114,16 @@ func runPoutineOnDirectory(workflowDir string, verbose bool, strict bool) error
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to ensure poutine config: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	// Build the Docker command with JSON output for easier parsing
-	// docker run --rm -v "$(pwd)":/workdir -w /workdir <PoutineImage> analyze_local . --format json
-	// #nosec G204 -- gitRoot comes from git rev-parse (trusted source) and is validated as absolute path
-	// exec.Command with separate args (not shell execution) prevents command injection
-	volumeMount, err := buildDockerVolumeMount(gitRoot, "/workdir")
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("invalid docker mount path: %w", err)
-	}
-	poutineImageRef, err := validateDockerImageRef(PoutineImage)
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("invalid poutine scanner image reference %q: %w", PoutineImage, err)
-	}
-	dockerPath, err := fileutil.ResolveExecutablePath("docker")
+	cmd, displayArgs, err := buildPoutineCommand(gitRoot)
 	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("docker command not found: %w", err)
+		return err
 	}
-	cmd := exec.Command(
-		dockerPath,
-		"run",
-		"--rm",
-		"-v", volumeMount,
-		"-w", "/workdir",
-		poutineImageRef,
-		"analyze_local",
-		".",
-		"--format", "json",
-		"--quiet", // Disable progress output
-	)
 
 	// Always show that poutine is running (regular verbosity)
 	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%s\n", console.FormatInfoMessage("Running poutine security scanner"))
 
-	// In verbose mode, also show the command that users can run directly
 	if verbose {
-		dockerCmd := shellJoinArgs([]string{
-			"docker",
-			"run",
-			"--rm",
-			"-v", volumeMount,
-			"-w", "/workdir",
-			poutineImageRef,
-			"analyze_local",
-			".",
-			"--format", "json",
-			"--quiet",
-		})
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%s\n", console.FormatInfoMessage("Run poutine directly: "+dockerCmd))
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%s\n", console.FormatInfoMessage("Run poutine directly: "+shellJoinArgs(displayArgs)))
 	}
 
 	// Capture output
@@ -209,6 +173,43 @@ func runPoutineOnDirectory(workflowDir string, verbose bool, strict bool) error
 	return nil
 }
 
+// buildPoutineCommand uses a compatible local binary when available, falling
+// back to the pinned Docker image otherwise.
+func buildPoutineCommand(gitRoot string) (*exec.Cmd, []string, error) {
+	args := []string{"analyze_local", ".", "--format", "json", "--quiet"}
+	if localPath := localScannerPath(context.Background(), "poutine"); localPath != "" {
+		cmd := exec.Command(localPath, args...)
+		cmd.Dir = gitRoot
+		return cmd, append([]string{localPath}, args...), nil
+	}
+
+	volumeMount, err := buildDockerVolumeMount(gitRoot, "/workdir")
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid docker mount path: %w", err)
+	}
+	poutineImageRef, err := validateDockerImageRef(PoutineImage)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid poutine scanner image reference %q: %w", PoutineImage, err)
+	}
+	dockerPath, err := fileutil.ResolveExecutablePath("docker")
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, nil, fmt.Errorf("docker command not found: %w", err)
+	}
+	dockerArgs := []string{
+		"run",
+		"--rm",
+		"-v", volumeMount,
+		"-w", "/workdir",
+		poutineImageRef,
+	}
+	dockerArgs = append(dockerArgs, args...)
+	// #nosec G204 -- gitRoot comes from git rev-parse, the mount and image
+	// are validated above, and exec.Command does not invoke a shell.
+	cmd := exec.Command(dockerPath, dockerArgs...)
+	cmd.Dir = gitRoot
+	return cmd, append([]string{dockerPath}, dockerArgs...), nil
+}
+
 // runPoutineOnFile runs the poutine security scanner on a single .lock.yml file using Docker
 // This is a wrapper that filters the directory scan results to a single file for backward compatibility
 func runPoutineOnFile(lockFile string, verbose bool, strict bool) error {
@@ -237,53 +238,17 @@ func runPoutineOnFile(lockFile string, verbose bool, strict bool) error {
 		return fmt.Errorf("failed to get relative path: %w", err)
 	}
 
-	// Build the Docker command with JSON output for easier parsing
-	// docker run --rm -v "$(pwd)":/workdir -w /workdir <PoutineImage> analyze_local . --format json
-	// #nosec G204 -- gitRoot comes from git rev-parse (trusted source) and is validated as absolute path
-	// exec.Command with separate args (not shell execution) prevents command injection
-	volumeMount, err := buildDockerVolumeMount(gitRoot, "/workdir")
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("invalid docker mount path: %w", err)
-	}
-	poutineImageRef, err := validateDockerImageRef(PoutineImage)
-	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("invalid poutine scanner image reference %q: %w", PoutineImage, err)
-	}
-	dockerPath, err := fileutil.ResolveExecutablePath("docker")
+	cmd, displayArgs, err := buildPoutineCommand(gitRoot)
 	if err != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("docker command not found: %w", err)
+		return err
 	}
-	cmd := exec.Command(
-		dockerPath,
-		"run",
-		"--rm",
-		"-v", volumeMount,
-		"-w", "/workdir",
-		poutineImageRef,
-		"analyze_local",
-		".",
-		"--format", "json",
-		"--quiet", // Disable progress output
-	)
 
 	// Always show that poutine is running (regular verbosity)
 	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%s\n", console.FormatInfoMessage("Running poutine security scanner"))
 
 	// In verbose mode, also show the command that users can run directly
 	if verbose {
-		dockerCmd := shellJoinArgs([]string{
-			"docker",
-			"run",
-			"--rm",
-			"-v", volumeMount,
-			"-w", "/workdir",
-			poutineImageRef,
-			"analyze_local",
-			".",
-			"--format", "json",
-			"--quiet",
-		})
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%s\n", console.FormatInfoMessage("Run poutine directly: "+dockerCmd))
+		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%s\n", console.FormatInfoMessage("Run poutine directly: "+shellJoinArgs(displayArgs)))
 	}
 
 	// Capture output
 
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+package cli
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"os/exec"
+	"regexp"
+	"strings"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/fileutil"
+	"github.com/github/gh-aw/pkg/semverutil"
+)
+
+const (
+	minZizmorVersion  = "1.30.1"
+	minPoutineVersion = "1.1.6"
+)
+
+var scannerVersionPattern = regexp.MustCompile(`(?i)\bv?[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+(?:-[0-9a-z.-]+)?\b`)
+
+// localScannerPath returns a compatible local scanner, or empty when Docker
+// should be used instead. An unrecognized version is not assumed compatible.
+func localScannerPath(ctx context.Context, name string) string {
+	var minimum string
+	switch name {
+	case "zizmor":
+		minimum = minZizmorVersion
+	case "poutine":
+		minimum = minPoutineVersion
+	default:
+		return ""
+	}
+
+	path, err := fileutil.ResolveExecutablePath(name)
+	if err != nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	versionCtx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(ctx, 5*time.Second)
+	defer cancel()
+	versionArgs := []string{"--version"}
+	if name == "poutine" {
+		versionArgs = []string{"version", "--disable-version-check"}
+	}
+	output, err := exec.CommandContext(versionCtx, path, versionArgs...).CombinedOutput()
+	if err != nil {
+		return ""
+	}
+	version := scannerVersionPattern.FindString(strings.TrimSpace(string(output)))
+	if !semverutil.IsValid(version) || semverutil.Compare(version, minimum) < 0 {
+		return ""
+	}
+	return path
+}