diff --git a/tools/toolkit-qa-check.sh b/tools/toolkit-qa-check.sh
index cdc3228..83019fc 100755
--- a/tools/toolkit-qa-check.sh
+++ b/tools/toolkit-qa-check.sh
@@ -1084,6 +1084,7 @@ echo ""
 #==============================================================================
 # CHECK 31: local keyword outside functions (CRITICAL - script fails)
 #==============================================================================
+# OPTIMIZED: Use AWK for 10-100x speedup on 50k+ lines
 echo "[31/42] Checking: 'local' outside functions..."
 {
 echo "## CHECK 31: 'local' keyword outside function context"
@@ -1091,45 +1092,49 @@ echo "Severity: CRITICAL"
 echo "Issue: 'local' can only be used inside functions, causes runtime error"
 echo ""
 
-while read -r file; do
-    # Read entire file and track function boundaries
-    in_function=0
-    brace_depth=0
-    line_num=0
+# AWK is much faster than bash loops for line-by-line processing
+find "$TOOLKIT_PATH" -name "*.sh" -type f 2>/dev/null | while read -r file; do
+    awk -v file="$file" '
+    BEGIN {
+        in_function = 0
+        brace_depth = 0
+    }
 
-    while IFS= read -r line_content; do
-        line_num=$((line_num + 1))
+    # Skip comment lines
+    /^\s*#/ { next }
 
-        # Skip comments
-        if echo "$line_content" | grep -q '^\s*#'; then
-            continue
-        fi
+    # Detect function start (name followed by ())
+    /^\s*[a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]*\s*\(\)/ {
+        in_function = 1
+        brace_depth = 0
+    }
 
-        # Detect function start
-        if echo "$line_content" | grep -qE '^\s*[a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]*\s*\(\)'; then
-            in_function=1
-            brace_depth=0
-        fi
+    # Track braces
+    {
+        # Count opening and closing braces
+        open_count = gsub(/{/, "{", $0)
+        close_count = gsub(/}/, "}", $0)
+        brace_depth += open_count - close_count
 
-        # Track braces
-        open_braces=$(echo "$line_content" | grep -o '{' | wc -l)
-        close_braces=$(echo "$line_content" | grep -o '}' | wc -l)
-        brace_depth=$((brace_depth + open_braces - close_braces))
+        # Exit function when braces balance back to 0
+        if (in_function && brace_depth <= 0) {
+            in_function = 0
+        }
+    }
 
-        # If we were in a function and braces are now balanced back to 0, we've exited
-        if [ "$in_function" -eq 1 ] && [ "$brace_depth" -le 0 ]; then
-            in_function=0
-        fi
+    # Check for local keyword outside functions
+    !in_function && /^\s*local\s+[a-zA-Z_]/ {
+        print "CRITICAL|" file "|" NR "|'\''local'\'' keyword outside function (runtime error)"
+        issues++
+    }
 
-        # Check for 'local' keyword outside function
-        if [ "$in_function" -eq 0 ]; then
-            if echo "$line_content" | grep -qE '^\s*local\s+[a-zA-Z_]'; then
-                echo "CRITICAL|$file|$line_num|'local' keyword outside function (runtime error)"
-                count_issue "CRITICAL"
-            fi
-        fi
-    done < "$file"
-done < <(find "$TOOLKIT_PATH" -name "*.sh" -type f 2>/dev/null)
+    END {
+        if (issues > 0) {
+            exit 1
+        }
+    }
+    ' "$file" && true || count_issue "CRITICAL"
+done
 
 echo ""
 } >> "$REPORT"
@@ -1144,49 +1149,54 @@ echo "Severity: LOW"
 echo "Issue: Menus should follow standard format for consistent UX"
 echo ""
 
-# Check for menus with inconsistent back buttons
-while IFS=: read -r file line_num line_content; do
-    # Look for menu display functions (show_*_menu only, not handle_*_menu handlers)
-    if echo "$line_content" | grep -qE 'show_.*_menu\(\)'; then
-        menu_file="$file"
+# Skip in quick mode (LOW severity) or summary mode (expensive nested loop)
+if $QUICK_MODE || $SUMMARY_MODE; then
+    echo "Skipped in quick/summary mode (LOW severity, expensive check)"
+else
+    # Check for menus with inconsistent back buttons
+    while IFS=: read -r file line_num line_content; do
+        # Look for menu display functions (show_*_menu only, not handle_*_menu handlers)
+        if echo "$line_content" | grep -qE 'show_.*_menu\(\)'; then
+            menu_file="$file"
 
-        # Check if this file has proper back button (within next 100 lines)
-        has_back=0
-        line_count=0
-        while IFS= read -r check_line && [ "$line_count" -lt 100 ]; do
-            if echo "$check_line" | grep -qE '\$\{RED\}0\)\$\{NC\}.*(Back|Exit)'; then
-                has_back=1
-                break
+            # Check if this file has proper back button (within next 100 lines)
+            has_back=0
+            line_count=0
+            while IFS= read -r check_line && [ "$line_count" -lt 100 ]; do
+                if echo "$check_line" | grep -qE '\$\{RED\}0\)\$\{NC\}.*(Back|Exit)'; then
+                    has_back=1
+                    break
+                fi
+                line_count=$((line_count + 1))
+            done < <(tail -n +$line_num "$file")
+
+            if [ "$has_back" -eq 0 ]; then
+                echo "LOW|$file|$line_num|Menu missing standard back button (RED 0)"
+                count_issue "LOW"
             fi
-            line_count=$((line_count + 1))
-        done < <(tail -n +$line_num "$file")
+        fi
+    done < <(grep -rn 'show_.*_menu()' "$TOOLKIT_PATH" --include="*.sh" 2>/dev/null)
 
-        if [ "$has_back" -eq 0 ]; then
-            echo "LOW|$file|$line_num|Menu missing standard back button (RED 0)"
+    # Check for inconsistent separators in menus
+    while IFS=: read -r file line_num line_content; do
+        # Non-standard separator (should use ─ or ═)
+        if echo "$line_content" | grep -qE 'echo.*"[-]{10,}"'; then
+            echo "LOW|$file|$line_num|Non-standard menu separator (use ─ or ═)"
             count_issue "LOW"
         fi
-    fi
-done < <(grep -rn 'show_.*_menu()' "$TOOLKIT_PATH" --include="*.sh" 2>/dev/null)
+    done < <(grep -rn 'echo.*"[-]\{10,\}"' "$TOOLKIT_PATH" --include="*.sh" --exclude="toolkit-qa-check.sh" 2>/dev/null)
 
-# Check for inconsistent separators in menus
-while IFS=: read -r file line_num line_content; do
-    # Non-standard separator (should use ─ or ═)
-    if echo "$line_content" | grep -qE 'echo.*"[-]{10,}"'; then
-        echo "LOW|$file|$line_num|Non-standard menu separator (use ─ or ═)"
-        count_issue "LOW"
-    fi
-done < <(grep -rn 'echo.*"[-]\{10,\}"' "$TOOLKIT_PATH" --include="*.sh" --exclude="toolkit-qa-check.sh" 2>/dev/null)
-
-# Check for duplicate domain/user selection code (should use lib function)
-while IFS=: read -r file line_num line_content; do
-    if echo "$line_content" | grep -qiE 'read.*-p.*"Enter domain|read -p.*domain.*:'; then
-        # Check if this file sources domain-selector.sh
-        if ! grep -q 'source.*domain-selector.sh' "$file" 2>/dev/null; then
-            echo "LOW|$file|$line_num|Duplicate domain selection (should use lib/domain-selector.sh)"
-            count_issue "LOW"
+    # Check for duplicate domain/user selection code (should use lib function)
+    while IFS=: read -r file line_num line_content; do
+        if echo "$line_content" | grep -qiE 'read.*-p.*"Enter domain|read -p.*domain.*:'; then
+            # Check if this file sources domain-selector.sh
+            if ! grep -q 'source.*domain-selector.sh' "$file" 2>/dev/null; then
+                echo "LOW|$file|$line_num|Duplicate domain selection (should use lib/domain-selector.sh)"
+                count_issue "LOW"
+            fi
         fi
-    fi
-done < <(grep -rin 'read.*-p.*domain' "$TOOLKIT_PATH/modules" --include="*.sh" 2>/dev/null)
+    done < <(grep -rin 'read.*-p.*domain' "$TOOLKIT_PATH/modules" --include="*.sh" 2>/dev/null)
+fi
 
 echo ""
 } >> "$REPORT"