diff --git a/.github/workflows/companions-build.yml b/.github/workflows/companions-build.yml
index 25675a46..c62f60fa 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/companions-build.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/companions-build.yml
@@ -48,8 +48,8 @@ jobs:
   build:
     needs: plan
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    # The proto companion compiles ~10 Go plugins from source and its arm64
-    # half runs under QEMU emulation.
+    # Go tools cross-compile natively. Target runtime package installation
+    # and executable smoke checks still use QEMU for the arm64 half.
     timeout-minutes: 180
     strategy:
       # One companion failing to build must not hide whether the others do.
diff --git a/companions/proto/Dockerfile b/companions/proto/Dockerfile
index a66bccdc..baf8f559 100644
--- a/companions/proto/Dockerfile
+++ b/companions/proto/Dockerfile
@@ -1,16 +1,9 @@
 # Proto compilation companion for `codefly generate proto`.
 #
-# Size strategy:
-#   1. Multi-stage: build all the Go plugins in a golang:1.27-alpine
-#      builder stage, copy only the static binaries into the runtime.
-#   2. Strip Go binaries with -ldflags="-s -w" during install — drops
-#      DWARF + symbol tables, typically 20-30% smaller per binary.
-#   3. Clean $GOMODCACHE + $GOCACHE after the last install — those
-#      caches are scaffolding the runtime doesn't need.
-#   4. Runtime FROM the codefly companion base instead of golang:1.26-
-#      alpine — saves ~170 MB of Go stdlib we don't need since the
-#      binaries are statically compiled. Still need apk-installed
-#      nodejs+npm for TypeScript generation.
+# Compile pinned Go tools on the build host and cross-compile static binaries
+# for the target. Target-platform emulation is only needed by runtime package
+# installation, never by the Go compiler. Upstream prebuilt plugins often carry
+# older Go runtimes and dependencies, so downloading them is not equivalent.
 
 # The codefly base image is a build argument: this repository declares which
 # companion image it builds on, and the builder resolves that to a registry.
@@ -19,16 +12,18 @@
 ARG CODEFLY_BASE_IMAGE=ghcr.io/codefly-dev/codefly:0.0.6
 FROM ${CODEFLY_BASE_IMAGE} AS codeflybase
 
-# --- Builder stage: compile every Go plugin from source --------------
+# The runtime needs the TARGET architecture's Go distribution for goimports
+# and Swagger. This stage only supplies files; it executes no target compiler.
+FROM golang:1.27-alpine AS toolchain
 
-FROM golang:1.27-alpine AS builder
+# --- Native builder: cross-compile the pinned plugins ----------------
+FROM --platform=$BUILDPLATFORM golang:1.27-alpine AS builder
+ARG TARGETARCH
+ENV GOOS=linux GOARCH=${TARGETARCH} CGO_ENABLED=0
+RUN apk add --no-cache git
 
-RUN apk add --no-cache git python3 py3-pip nodejs npm protobuf
-
-# Install the Go-based plugins, stripped, in one RUN so the cache
-# cleanup at the end actually takes effect in the final image layer.
-# Each binary is copied out individually in the runtime stage; the
-# module cache is not.
+# Install stripped plugins in one layer. Only their binaries are copied
+# into the runtime; the source and build caches remain in this stage.
 RUN go install -ldflags="-s -w" github.com/bufbuild/buf/cmd/buf@v1.73.0 && \
     go install -ldflags="-s -w" google.golang.org/protobuf/cmd/protoc-gen-go@v1.36.11 && \
     go install -ldflags="-s -w" google.golang.org/grpc/cmd/protoc-gen-go-grpc@v1.6.1 && \
@@ -39,17 +34,17 @@ RUN go install -ldflags="-s -w" github.com/bufbuild/buf/cmd/buf@v1.73.0 && \
     go install -ldflags="-s -w" github.com/envoyproxy/protoc-gen-validate@v1.2.1 && \
     go install -ldflags="-s -w" golang.org/x/tools/cmd/goimports@v0.50.0
 
+# go install puts cross-compiled commands in $GOPATH/bin/linux_<arch>.
+# Normalize the output location for the runtime COPY instructions below.
+RUN if [ "$TARGETARCH" != "$(go env GOHOSTARCH)" ]; then \
+        mv /go/bin/linux_"$TARGETARCH"/* /go/bin/; \
+    fi
+
 # Go facade plugin (protoc-gen-codefly-facade-go), built from in-tree source.
 COPY companions/proto/facades/go /src/facade-go
 RUN cd /src/facade-go && \
     go build -ldflags="-s -w" -o /go/bin/protoc-gen-codefly-facade-go .
 
-# Python grpcio-tools for the builder's own grpc_* helper binaries, copied
-# out of /usr/bin below. This venv is NOT copied into the runtime stage — the
-# runtime builds its own /venv, which is where grpcio-tools has to be
-# installed for `python -m grpc_tools.protoc` to exist in the image.
-RUN python3 -m venv /venv && /venv/bin/pip install --no-cache-dir grpcio-tools
-
 # --- Runtime stage: minimal alpine + the codefly base ---------------
 
 # Keep the interpreter compatible with the pinned generator's wheels and
@@ -75,11 +70,11 @@ COPY --from=codeflybase /bin/codefly /bin/codefly
 #     committed shape, so the companion's output drifts from every
 #     consumer by exactly those lines. The apk go is whatever the base
 #     alpine ships (1.23 on 3.21); the toolchain is COPYed from the
-#     builder below instead, so the runtime Go is the ecosystem's Go
+#     target toolchain below instead, so the runtime Go is the ecosystem's Go
 #     by construction. The Go-built plugins (buf, protoc-gen-*) are
 #     static and never need it. Adds ~270 MB; unavoidable.
 #   - Go-built plugins (buf, protoc-gen-*) ARE static (CGO_ENABLED=0
-#     by default for `go install`), so we COPY just those binaries
+#     explicitly in the builder), so we COPY just those binaries
 #     without bringing the Go runtime.
 # HOME=/tmp so the companion works when run as an arbitrary non-root UID
 # (codefly runs it as the host user on Linux CI). buf and npm/npx write
@@ -99,10 +94,10 @@ RUN apk add --no-cache bash ca-certificates curl git jq procps tzdata nodejs npm
         @bufbuild/protoc-gen-es@2.11.0 && \
     npm cache clean --force
 
-# The builder's toolchain, not apk's: goimports and swagger both shell out
+# The target toolchain, not apk's: goimports and swagger both shell out
 # to `go`, and a Go older than what consumers' go.mod files require makes
 # goimports degrade silently (see the runtime-dependencies note above).
-COPY --from=builder /usr/local/go /usr/local/go
+COPY --from=toolchain /usr/local/go /usr/local/go
 ENV PATH=/usr/local/go/bin:$PATH
 COPY --from=builder /go/bin/buf /usr/local/bin/
 COPY --from=builder /go/bin/protoc-gen-go /usr/local/bin/
@@ -118,7 +113,6 @@ COPY --from=builder /go/bin/swagger /usr/local/bin/
 # companion formats what buf wrote before it hands the tree back. Pinned like
 # the plugins — a formatter that moves with @latest moves the committed shape.
 COPY --from=builder /go/bin/goimports /usr/local/bin/
-COPY --from=builder /usr/bin/grpc_* /usr/local/bin/
 
 # Facade plugin sources (Python scripts + the TS npm package).
 COPY companions/proto/facades/python /opt/codefly-facades/python
@@ -150,4 +144,13 @@ RUN printf '#!/bin/sh\nexec /venv/bin/python /opt/codefly-facades/python/protoc_
     chmod +x /usr/local/bin/protoc-gen-codefly-python /usr/local/bin/protoc-gen-codefly-facade-python /usr/local/bin/codefly-proto-strip-options && \
     ln -sf protoc-gen-codefly-facade-python /usr/local/bin/protoc-gen-solution_facade
 
+# Exercise target executables in both architecture builds. A successful native
+# compile alone would not catch copying the host Go distribution into runtime.
+ARG TARGETARCH
+RUN test "$(go env GOARCH)" = "$TARGETARCH" && \
+    buf --version && \
+    protoc-gen-go --version && \
+    protoc-gen-go-grpc --version && \
+    swagger version
+
 WORKDIR /workspace
diff --git a/companions/proto/README.md b/companions/proto/README.md
index c50ec029..09c83154 100644
--- a/companions/proto/README.md
+++ b/companions/proto/README.md
@@ -57,8 +57,20 @@ the existing `tag.sh` version-bump flow continues to work.
 codefly companion build proto
 ```
 
-The Dockerfile assembles the same set via apk + `go install`. Less
-reproducible than Nix (apk packages vary across Alpine releases) but
+The Dockerfile assembles the same set via apk + `go install`. The Go builder
+runs on `BUILDPLATFORM` and cross-compiles static plugins for `TARGETARCH`;
+it never compiles under ARM emulation. A separate target-platform Go image
+supplies the runtime `go`/`gofmt`, so cross-building cannot accidentally ship
+the build host's compiler. Each image build executes Buf, the Go generators,
+Swagger and the runtime Go architecture check on its target platform.
+Upstream downloads were checked: Buf 1.73.0's
+prebuilt binary carries Go 1.26.8 and x/net 0.58.0, including fixed findings,
+and several other plugin downloads carry still older Go toolchains. Retaining
+source builds preserves the current Go compiler instead of importing those
+additional findings. Plugin dependency versions are unchanged by this build
+speed fix; it does not claim a clean vulnerability scan of every plugin.
+
+This path is less reproducible than Nix (apk packages vary across Alpine releases) but
 needs no Linux builder VM, which is why the publish workflow uses it.
 
 ## What's in the image
@@ -98,9 +110,9 @@ may also contain handwritten Go, so only files carrying Go's standard
 ## Versioning
 
 `info.codefly.yaml` carries the image version. Version 0.0.21 removes Rust
-generation and its build dependencies. Publish through `codefly companion
-publish` using the [publication procedure](../../docs/runbooks/publish-companions.md);
-changing the manifest alone does not publish an image. Core 0.19.13 selects
+generation and its build dependencies; 0.0.22 removes emulated Go compilation.
+Publish through `codefly companion publish` using the [publication procedure](../../docs/runbooks/publish-companions.md);
+changing the manifest alone does not publish an image. Core 0.19.14 selects
 this companion.
 
 ## Python generation
diff --git a/companions/proto/companion_plugins_test.go b/companions/proto/companion_plugins_test.go
index 02170157..2576d5e3 100644
--- a/companions/proto/companion_plugins_test.go
+++ b/companions/proto/companion_plugins_test.go
@@ -79,9 +79,9 @@ func TestDockerfileShipsGoimportsInRuntime(t *testing.T) {
 // go.mod requirement makes it refuse — after which goimports quietly formats
 // syntax only and emits no alias where a package's name is not its path's
 // last element. That is the committed shape, so every consumer drifts by
-// exactly those lines, and nothing errors. The builder stage's Go is the
-// ecosystem's; the runtime must carry that one, not whatever apk ships.
-func TestDockerfileRuntimeGoIsTheBuilderToolchain(t *testing.T) {
+// exactly those lines, and nothing errors. The target toolchain stage supplies
+// the ecosystem's Go for the runtime architecture, not the native builder's.
+func TestDockerfileRuntimeGoIsTheTargetToolchain(t *testing.T) {
 	dockerfile, err := os.ReadFile("Dockerfile")
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("read Dockerfile: %v", err)
@@ -94,8 +94,8 @@ func TestDockerfileRuntimeGoIsTheBuilderToolchain(t *testing.T) {
 	if regexp.MustCompile(`(?m)^RUN apk add[^\n]*\bgo\b`).MatchString(runtimeStage) {
 		t.Error("Dockerfile installs go from apk in the runtime stage; that is the base alpine's Go, older than consumers' go.mod require, and goimports then degrades silently (see the runtime-dependencies note)")
 	}
-	if !regexp.MustCompile(`(?m)^COPY --from=builder /usr/local/go /usr/local/go`).MatchString(runtimeStage) {
-		t.Error("Dockerfile does not COPY the builder's Go toolchain into the runtime stage")
+	if !regexp.MustCompile(`(?m)^COPY --from=toolchain /usr/local/go /usr/local/go`).MatchString(runtimeStage) {
+		t.Error("Dockerfile does not COPY the target platform's Go toolchain into the runtime stage")
 	}
 	if !regexp.MustCompile(`(?m)^FROM golang:1\.27`).MatchString(string(dockerfile)) {
 		t.Error("the builder stage is not golang:1.27; the runtime Go it hands the formatter would not satisfy modules that require go 1.27")
@@ -313,7 +313,7 @@ func TestTsFacadeLockfileMatchesTheRuntime(t *testing.T) {
 // neighbour — the reader then checks the wrong line, finds something plausible,
 // and moves on.
 var runbookCitations = map[string]string{
-	"Dockerfile:99": "@bufbuild/protoc-gen-es@",
+	"Dockerfile:94": "@bufbuild/protoc-gen-es@",
 	"flake.nix:51":  "protocGenEsVersion =",
 	"flake.nix:59":  "hash =",
 	"flake.nix:61":  "npmDepsHash =",
diff --git a/companions/proto/info.codefly.yaml b/companions/proto/info.codefly.yaml
index fb15e716..0a9d1e31 100644
--- a/companions/proto/info.codefly.yaml
+++ b/companions/proto/info.codefly.yaml
@@ -1 +1 @@
-version: 0.0.21
+version: 0.0.22
diff --git a/docs/runbooks/bump-protobuf-es.md b/docs/runbooks/bump-protobuf-es.md
index 64ee3e3d..7273b091 100644
--- a/docs/runbooks/bump-protobuf-es.md
+++ b/docs/runbooks/bump-protobuf-es.md
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ Six places, and they must agree:
 |---|---|---|
 | `companions/proto/facades/ts/package.json` | `@bufbuild/protoplugin` | yes |
 | `companions/proto/facades/ts/package-lock.json` | the resolved `protoplugin` + `protobuf` closure | yes |
-| `companions/proto/Dockerfile:99` | `@bufbuild/protoc-gen-es@` installed via npm | yes |
+| `companions/proto/Dockerfile:94` | `@bufbuild/protoc-gen-es@` installed via npm | yes |
 | `companions/proto/flake.nix:51` | `protocGenEsVersion`, built from source | yes |
 | `companions/proto/flake.nix:59` | `hash` — the protobuf-es source tarball | **no** |
 | `companions/proto/flake.nix:61` | `npmDepsHash` — its npm dependency closure | **no** |
diff --git a/version/info.codefly.yaml b/version/info.codefly.yaml
index ea8113a3..309a17ff 100644
--- a/version/info.codefly.yaml
+++ b/version/info.codefly.yaml
@@ -1 +1 @@
-version: 0.19.13
+version: 0.19.14