diff --git a/.github/workflows/default-images-pullable.yml b/.github/workflows/default-images-pullable.yml
index a407b74bd..616020218 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/default-images-pullable.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/default-images-pullable.yml
@@ -69,7 +69,9 @@ jobs:
           # itself, so a new pin is covered the moment it lands and there is no
           # second list. Each ref is repository:version@digest; the gate probes
           # repository@digest, which proves the pinned digest still exists.
-          go run ./tools/imagelist -platforms > /tmp/default-images.tsv
+          # Build, then run: `go run` leaves a linked executable in the Go build cache.
+          go build -o bin/imagelist ./tools/imagelist
+          bin/imagelist -platforms > /tmp/default-images.tsv
           if [ ! -s /tmp/default-images.tsv ]; then
             echo "::error::imagelist produced no images — the generator or the map is broken"
             exit 1
diff --git a/.github/workflows/doc-sync.yml b/.github/workflows/doc-sync.yml
index 8325010a4..6bf846ac3 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/doc-sync.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/doc-sync.yml
@@ -28,8 +28,13 @@ jobs:
         with:
           go-version-file: go.mod
 
+      # Build the generators once: `go run` would leave a linked executable in
+      # the Go build cache for each tool.
+      - name: Build doc generators
+        run: CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -mod=vendor -o bin/ ./tools/wikigen ./tools/cmdinventory ./tools/parity
+
       - name: Wiki pages are current
-        run: CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/wikigen -check
+        run: bin/wikigen -check
 
       - name: Wiki links resolve
         run: bash scripts/ci/wiki-link-audit.sh
@@ -44,7 +49,7 @@ jobs:
 
       - name: Command inventory is current
         run: |
-          CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/cmdinventory -format json -depth 2 > /tmp/inventory.json
+          bin/cmdinventory -format json -depth 2 > /tmp/inventory.json
           diff -u .github/command-inventory.json /tmp/inventory.json
 
       # CLI-R17: the four-surface parity matrix (wiki page, MCP tool, env var
@@ -52,7 +57,7 @@ jobs:
       # command-inventory.json this job already verified above. -check fails
       # if the committed .github/surface-parity.{md,json} are stale.
       - name: Parity matrix is current
-        run: CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/parity -check
+        run: bin/parity -check
 
       # Docs are the minimum bar: a command with no wiki page fails the build.
       # (wiki-generated above already guarantees every command gets a page, so
diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index bf6581374..3ac0e27be 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -12,11 +12,21 @@ LDFLAGS := -s -w \
 	-X $(MODULE)/internal/license.licensePubKeyHex=$(NSELF_LICENSE_PUBKEY_HEX)
 BUILDFLAGS := -trimpath
 
-.PHONY: build clean test vet install cross dist verify-prod sport-f21 sport-f02 cmd-inventory registry canon core-services wiki-commands wiki-check flag-drift-audit parity schemas schemas-check contract-check sbom man fmt fmt-check
+.PHONY: FORCE build clean test vet install cross dist verify-prod sport-f21 sport-f02 cmd-inventory registry canon core-services wiki-commands wiki-check flag-drift-audit parity schemas schemas-check contract-check sbom man fmt fmt-check
 
 verify-prod:
 	@bash scripts/prod-verify/p87-verification.sh
 
+## Generator tools (tools/<name>) are built once into $(TOOLS_BIN)/ and then run.
+## `go run` would store a fresh 35-50 MB linked executable in GOCACHE for every
+## changed tool (Go 1.24+, no size cap); `go build -o` keeps it in the ignored bin/.
+## FORCE rebuilds on every make invocation so an edited tool is never stale; the
+## compile itself stays cached.
+TOOLS_BIN := bin
+$(TOOLS_BIN)/%: FORCE
+	@CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -mod=vendor -o $@ ./tools/$*
+FORCE:
+
 sport-f21:
 	@bash scripts/sport/generate-f21.sh
 
@@ -39,8 +49,8 @@ registry: cmd-inventory
 ## canon — P7-CANON-21. Regenerate cmd/commands/canon_moves_gen.go (the canon engine's
 ## move table) from internal/canon/canon.yaml and domains/*.yaml. Run after editing
 ## a canon fragment's rows; TestCanonTableCurrent fails when the file is stale.
-canon:
-	@CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/canongen
+canon: $(TOOLS_BIN)/canongen
+	@$(TOOLS_BIN)/canongen
 
 ## core-services — CLI-R07. Regenerate .github/wiki/Core-Services.md from the
 ## compose service catalog. Set NSELF_SPORT_DIR to also refresh SPORT F08.
@@ -51,12 +61,12 @@ core-services:
 ## the sidebar index and llms.txt. Human prose inside PROSE blocks is preserved;
 ## only the cobra-derived parts are rewritten. Use -report to list pages that
 ## still carry placeholder prose.
-wiki-commands:
-	@CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/wikigen -report
+wiki-commands: $(TOOLS_BIN)/wikigen
+	@$(TOOLS_BIN)/wikigen -report
 
 ## wiki-check — verify the wiki is current and every [[link]] resolves.
-wiki-check:
-	@CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/wikigen -check
+wiki-check: $(TOOLS_BIN)/wikigen
+	@$(TOOLS_BIN)/wikigen -check
 	@bash scripts/ci/wiki-link-audit.sh
 
 ## flag-drift-audit — checks every `nself <path> --flag` invocation in
@@ -69,28 +79,28 @@ flag-drift-audit:
 ## mcp-docs — CLI-R15. Print the current MCP tool/resource/prompt list,
 ## generated from cmd/commands/mcp*.go — paste into cmd-mcp.md's PROSE blocks
 ## by hand after adding/removing a tool, resource, or prompt.
-mcp-docs:
-	@CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/mcpdoc
+mcp-docs: $(TOOLS_BIN)/mcpdoc
+	@$(TOOLS_BIN)/mcpdoc
 
 ## parity — CLI-R17. Regenerate the four-surface parity matrix (wiki page, MCP
 ## tool, env var docs, OpenAPI route) for every top-level command. Writes
 ## .github/surface-parity.md and .github/surface-parity.json. internal/repoqa
 ## asserts the committed copies match; run this after adding, renaming, or
 ## removing a command, an MCP tool, or an env var.
-parity:
-	@CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/parity
+parity: $(TOOLS_BIN)/parity
+	@$(TOOLS_BIN)/parity
 
 ## schemas — P7-REG-08. Regenerate schemas/ (JSON Schemas for the envelope, error
 ## object, command registry and every envelope command's data) from the Go types
 ## with tools/schemagen. Commit the result; internal/repoqa and `schemas-check`
 ## fail when the committed files drift.
-schemas:
-	@CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/schemagen
+schemas: $(TOOLS_BIN)/schemagen
+	@$(TOOLS_BIN)/schemagen
 
 ## schemas-check — fail (exit 1) when any schemas/*.json differs from what
 ## tools/schemagen generates. Non-JSON files under schemas/ are ignored.
-schemas-check:
-	@CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/schemagen -check
+schemas-check: $(TOOLS_BIN)/schemagen
+	@$(TOOLS_BIN)/schemagen -check
 
 ## contract-check — P7-REG-10. The one gate for every machine contract the CLI
 ## publishes: the committed schemas/, the registry and inventory, the compat
@@ -111,14 +121,14 @@ CONTRACT_PKGS := ./internal/errs/... ./internal/output/... ./internal/canon/...
 	./internal/compat/... ./internal/portable/... ./internal/plugin/manifestv2/... ./tools/schemagen/...
 CONTRACT_REGEN := .github/command-registry.json .github/command-inventory.json .github/wiki/Commands.md \
 	.github/wiki/Command-Canon.md
-contract-check:
+contract-check: $(TOOLS_BIN)/schemagen $(TOOLS_BIN)/wikigen
 	@set -e; \
 	fail() { echo "contract-check: FAILED: $$1" >&2; echo "contract-check: fix: $$2" >&2; exit 1; }; \
 	for f in $(CONTRACT_REGEN) schemas/index.json scripts/ci/compat-markers.sh; do \
 	  [ -f "$$f" ] || fail "missing input $$f" "restore it; a gate input that is absent must fail, never pass"; \
 	done; \
 	echo "contract-check: schemas"; \
-	CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/schemagen -check \
+	$(TOOLS_BIN)/schemagen -check \
 	  || fail "schemas/ differs from tools/schemagen output" "run make schemas and commit; never hand-edit schemas/"; \
 	echo "contract-check: registry and inventory"; \
 	snap=$$(mktemp -d "$${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/contract-check.XXXXXX"); \
@@ -134,7 +144,7 @@ contract-check:
 	done; \
 	restore; trap - EXIT; \
 	echo "contract-check: wiki contract pages"; \
-	CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/wikigen -check \
+	$(TOOLS_BIN)/wikigen -check \
 	  || fail "tools/wikigen -check found stale generated wiki pages" "run make wiki-commands and commit; never hand-edit a GENERATED block"; \
 	bash scripts/contract-check-wiki.sh \
 	  || fail "a hand table in JSON-Output.md or Exit-Codes.md disagrees with its source" "edit the row the message names (scripts/contract-check-wiki.sh lists each check)"; \
diff --git a/scripts/ci/auth-smoke.sh b/scripts/ci/auth-smoke.sh
index a65650433..2a994484f 100644
--- a/scripts/ci/auth-smoke.sh
+++ b/scripts/ci/auth-smoke.sh
@@ -123,7 +123,9 @@ fi
 case "$BIN" in /*) ;; *) BIN="$ROOT/$BIN" ;; esac
 [ -x "$BIN" ] || fatal "binary $BIN is not executable"
 
-if CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/imagelist > "$WORK/images.tsv" 2>"$WORK/imagelist.err"; then
+# Build into the scratch dir: `go run` leaves a linked executable in GOCACHE.
+if CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -mod=vendor -o "$WORK/imagelist" ./tools/imagelist 2>"$WORK/imagelist.err" \
+  && "$WORK/imagelist" > "$WORK/images.tsv" 2>>"$WORK/imagelist.err"; then
   REF_V14="$(awk -F'\t' '$1=="auth-v14"{print $2}' "$WORK/images.tsv")"
   REF_NEW="$(awk -F'\t' '$1=="auth"{print $2}' "$WORK/images.tsv")"
 else
diff --git a/scripts/ci/contract-smoke.sh b/scripts/ci/contract-smoke.sh
index ab09141bd..9654d8e06 100644
--- a/scripts/ci/contract-smoke.sh
+++ b/scripts/ci/contract-smoke.sh
@@ -98,7 +98,9 @@ check "help-json: command is help" envelope help
 REG=".github/command-registry.json"
 check "help-json: data equals $REG minus _generated" \
   test "$(jq -S '.data' "$OUT")" = "$(jq -S 'del(._generated)' "$ROOT/$REG")"
-TOP="$(CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/cmdinventory -format names | wc -l | tr -d ' ')"
+# Build the tool into the scratch dir: `go run` leaves a linked executable in GOCACHE.
+CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -mod=vendor -o "$TMP/cmdinventory" ./tools/cmdinventory
+TOP="$("$TMP/cmdinventory" -format names | wc -l | tr -d ' ')"
 check "help-json: counts.top_level equals cmdinventory ($TOP)" \
   test "$(jq '.data.counts.top_level' "$OUT")" = "$TOP"
 check "help-json: counts.commands equals the commands listed" \
diff --git a/scripts/ci/flag-drift-audit.sh b/scripts/ci/flag-drift-audit.sh
index 5ac5298d3..3985cfce9 100755
--- a/scripts/ci/flag-drift-audit.sh
+++ b/scripts/ci/flag-drift-audit.sh
@@ -19,4 +19,6 @@ set -euo pipefail
 
 cd "$(dirname "$0")/../.."
 
-CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/flagaudit
+# Build once and run the binary: `go run` leaves a linked executable in GOCACHE.
+CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -mod=vendor -o bin/flagaudit ./tools/flagaudit
+bin/flagaudit
diff --git a/scripts/sport/generate-core-services.sh b/scripts/sport/generate-core-services.sh
index e14844abe..fafc3e4a5 100755
--- a/scripts/sport/generate-core-services.sh
+++ b/scripts/sport/generate-core-services.sh
@@ -13,6 +13,10 @@ cd "$(dirname "$0")/../.."
 
 OUT=".github/wiki/Core-Services.md"
 
+# Build once and reuse: `go run` leaves a linked executable in GOCACHE per call.
+SVCCAT="bin/servicecatalog"
+CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -mod=vendor -o "$SVCCAT" ./tools/servicecatalog
+
 echo "Generating $OUT ..."
 {
   echo "# Core Services"
@@ -23,7 +27,7 @@ echo "Generating $OUT ..."
   echo "\`internal/compose/service_catalog.go\`. The same data backs"
   echo "\`nself service list --core\`, so the CLI and this page cannot disagree."
   echo
-  CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/servicecatalog -format markdown
+  "$SVCCAT" -format markdown
   echo
   echo "## Checking your own stack"
   echo
@@ -47,7 +51,7 @@ if [ -n "${NSELF_SPORT_DIR:-}" ] && [ -d "${NSELF_SPORT_DIR}" ]; then
     echo "Last generated: $(date -u +%Y-%m-%d)"
     echo "Source: \`cli/internal/compose/service_catalog.go\`."
     echo
-    CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/servicecatalog -format markdown
+    "$SVCCAT" -format markdown
   } > "$SPORT_OUT"
 else
   echo "NSELF_SPORT_DIR not set or missing — skipping SPORT refresh."
diff --git a/scripts/sport/generate-f02.sh b/scripts/sport/generate-f02.sh
index 874b3ac0b..1e2d0877c 100755
--- a/scripts/sport/generate-f02.sh
+++ b/scripts/sport/generate-f02.sh
@@ -25,18 +25,22 @@ REG_OUT=".github/command-registry.json"
 WIKI_OUT=".github/wiki/Commands.md"
 CANON_OUT=".github/wiki/Command-Canon.md"
 
+# Build once and reuse: `go run` leaves a linked executable in GOCACHE per call.
+CMDINV="bin/cmdinventory"
+CGO_ENABLED=0 go build -mod=vendor -o "$CMDINV" ./tools/cmdinventory
+
 echo "Generating $JSON_OUT ..."
-CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/cmdinventory -format json -depth 2 > "$JSON_OUT"
+"$CMDINV" -format json -depth 2 > "$JSON_OUT"
 
 echo "Generating $REG_OUT ..."
-CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/cmdinventory -format registry > "$REG_OUT"
+"$CMDINV" -format registry > "$REG_OUT"
 
 echo "Generating $CANON_OUT ..."
 CANON_TMP=$(mktemp)
-CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/cmdinventory -format canon -prose-from "$CANON_OUT" > "$CANON_TMP"
+"$CMDINV" -format canon -prose-from "$CANON_OUT" > "$CANON_TMP"
 mv "$CANON_TMP" "$CANON_OUT"
 
-COUNT=$(CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/cmdinventory -format names | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
+COUNT=$("$CMDINV" -format names | wc -l | tr -d ' ')
 
 echo "Updating $WIKI_OUT ($COUNT top-level commands) ..."
 # The curated grouped index in Commands.md is hand-written and worth keeping.
@@ -52,7 +56,7 @@ trap 'rm -f "$BLOCK"' EXIT
   echo "Generated from the cobra registration tree in \`cmd/commands/\`."
   echo "Run \`make cmd-inventory\` to refresh. **Total top-level commands: $COUNT**"
   echo
-  CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/cmdinventory -format markdown -depth 2 \
+  "$CMDINV" -format markdown -depth 2 \
     | sed '$d' | sed '$d'
   echo
   echo "<!-- END GENERATED:command-table -->"
@@ -89,7 +93,7 @@ if [ -n "${NSELF_SPORT_DIR:-}" ] && [ -d "${NSELF_SPORT_DIR}" ]; then
     echo
     echo "**Counts: $COUNT top-level commands.** Subcommands listed but not counted separately."
     echo
-    CGO_ENABLED=0 go run -mod=vendor ./tools/cmdinventory -format markdown -depth 2 \
+    "$CMDINV" -format markdown -depth 2 \
       | sed '$d' | sed '$d'
   } > "$SPORT_OUT"
 else