diff --git a/src/_scripts/_validate_drawio_external_refs.zsh b/src/_scripts/_validate_drawio_external_refs.zsh
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..8b0257623
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/_scripts/_validate_drawio_external_refs.zsh
@@ -0,0 +1,117 @@
+#!/bin/zsh
+
+# Check if a folder or file parameter is provided
+if [ -z "$1" ]; then
+  echo "Usage: $0 <folder_path|file_path>"
+  echo "  folder_path: Directory to scan recursively for .drawio files"
+  echo "  file_path:   Single .drawio file to validate"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Assign the path from the parameter
+INPUT_PATH="$1"
+
+# Check if the provided path exists
+if [ ! -e "$INPUT_PATH" ]; then
+  echo "Error: $INPUT_PATH does not exist."
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Initialize error flag and counters
+ERROR_FOUND=0
+TOTAL_DRAWIO_FILES=0
+FILES_WITH_EXTERNAL_REFS=0
+
+# Create temporary file to store files with external references
+TEMP_FILE=$(mktemp)
+
+echo "Scanning drawio files for external image references (image=http patterns)..."
+echo "============================================================================"
+
+# Function to validate a single drawio file
+validate_file() {
+  local file="$1"
+  TOTAL_DRAWIO_FILES=$((TOTAL_DRAWIO_FILES + 1))
+  echo "Checking: $file"
+  
+  # Search for the pattern "image=http" in the file
+  if grep -q "image=http" "$file"; then
+    echo "  ❌ ERROR: External image reference found!"
+    
+    # Show the specific lines containing the pattern for debugging
+    echo "  📍 Found external references in these locations:"
+    grep -n "image=http" "$file" | head -5 | while read -r line; do
+      echo "    Line: $line"
+    done
+    
+    # Add file to the list of files with external references
+    echo "$file" >> "$TEMP_FILE"
+    
+    FILES_WITH_EXTERNAL_REFS=$((FILES_WITH_EXTERNAL_REFS + 1))
+    ERROR_FOUND=1
+  else
+    echo "  ✅ OK: No external image references found"
+  fi
+  echo ""
+}
+
+# Handle both files and directories
+if [ -f "$INPUT_PATH" ]; then
+  # Single file mode
+  if [[ "$INPUT_PATH" != *.drawio ]]; then
+    echo "Error: $INPUT_PATH is not a .drawio file."
+    rm -f "$TEMP_FILE"
+    exit 1
+  fi
+  validate_file "$INPUT_PATH"
+elif [ -d "$INPUT_PATH" ]; then
+  # Directory mode - find and validate all drawio files in the folder and its subfolders
+  find "$INPUT_PATH" -type f -name "*.drawio" | while read -r file; do
+    validate_file "$file"
+  done
+else
+  echo "Error: $INPUT_PATH is neither a file nor a directory."
+  rm -f "$TEMP_FILE"
+  exit 1
+fi
+
+# Read the list of files with external references
+EXTERNAL_REF_FILES=$(cat "$TEMP_FILE" 2>/dev/null)
+
+echo "============================================================================"
+echo "Validation Summary:"
+echo "- Total drawio files scanned: $TOTAL_DRAWIO_FILES"
+echo "- Files with external references: $FILES_WITH_EXTERNAL_REFS"
+
+if [ $ERROR_FOUND -eq 1 ]; then
+  echo ""
+  echo "🚨 VALIDATION FAILED: drawio files with external image references detected!"
+  echo ""
+  echo "Files with external references:"
+  echo "==============================="
+  if [ -n "$EXTERNAL_REF_FILES" ]; then
+    echo "$EXTERNAL_REF_FILES" | while read -r file; do
+      if [ -n "$file" ]; then
+        echo "  $file"
+      fi
+    done
+  fi
+  echo ""
+  echo "External image references (image=http) are not allowed as they:"
+  echo "  • Create dependencies on external resources"
+  echo "  • May break when external resources are unavailable"
+  echo "  • Can cause security and privacy concerns"
+  echo "  • May slow down diagram loading"
+  echo ""
+  echo "Please replace external image references with local images or"
+  echo "embedded data URIs to ensure diagrams are self-contained."
+  
+  # Clean up temporary file
+  rm -f "$TEMP_FILE"
+  exit 1
+else
+  echo ""
+  echo "✅ VALIDATION PASSED: No external image references found!"
+  # Clean up temporary file
+  rm -f "$TEMP_FILE"
+fi