diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 9280c59fe..f9fb0a387 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,7 +6,14 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 and this project adheres to [Semantic
 Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
-<!-- ## [Unreleased] -->
+## [Unreleased]
+
+### Changed
+
+- It is now allowed to define a wireit script without a corresponding entry in
+  the `scripts` section. Such scripts cannot be directly invoked with `npm run
+  <script>` or similar, but they can still be used as dependencies by other
+  wireit scripts.
 
 ## [0.9.3] - 2023-01-03
 
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 5da636937..941face37 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -161,6 +161,12 @@ vanilla `npm` scripts. This lets you only use Wireit for some of your scripts,
 or to upgrade incrementally. Scripts that haven't been configured for Wireit are
 always safe to use as dependencies; they just won't be fully optimized.
 
+### Wireit-only scripts
+
+It is valid to define a script in the `wireit` section that is not in the
+`scripts` section, but such scripts can only be used as `dependencies` from
+other wireit scripts, and can never be run directly.
+
 ### Cross-package dependencies
 
 Dependencies can refer to scripts in other npm packages by using a relative path
diff --git a/src/analyzer.ts b/src/analyzer.ts
index 2dec14256..1a94018d7 100644
--- a/src/analyzer.ts
+++ b/src/analyzer.ts
@@ -14,7 +14,12 @@ import {Dependency, scriptReferenceToString, ServiceConfig} from './config.js';
 import {findNodeAtLocation, JsonFile} from './util/ast.js';
 import {IS_WINDOWS} from './util/windows.js';
 
-import type {ArrayNode, JsonAstNode, NamedAstNode} from './util/ast.js';
+import type {
+  ArrayNode,
+  JsonAstNode,
+  NamedAstNode,
+  ValueTypes,
+} from './util/ast.js';
 import type {Diagnostic, MessageLocation, Result} from './error.js';
 import type {Cycle, DependencyOnMissingPackageJson, Failure} from './event.js';
 import type {PackageJson, ScriptSyntaxInfo} from './util/package-json.js';
@@ -117,6 +122,18 @@ const DEFAULT_LOCKFILES: Record<Agent, string[]> = {
   pnpm: ['pnpm-lock.yaml'],
 };
 
+function isValidWireitScriptCommand(command: string): boolean {
+  return (
+    command === 'wireit' ||
+    command === 'yarn run -TB wireit' ||
+    // This form is useful when using package managers like yarn or pnpm which
+    // do not automatically add all parent directory `node_modules/.bin`
+    // folders to PATH.
+    /^(\.\.\/)+node_modules\/\.bin\/wireit$/.test(command) ||
+    (IS_WINDOWS && /^(\.\.\\)+node_modules\\\.bin\\wireit\.cmd$/.test(command))
+  );
+}
+
 /**
  * Analyzes and validates a script along with all of its transitive
  * dependencies, producing a build graph that is ready to be executed.
@@ -344,79 +361,43 @@ export class Analyzer {
     placeholder.failures.push(...packageJson.failures);
 
     const syntaxInfo = packageJson.getScriptInfo(placeholder.name);
-    if (syntaxInfo === undefined || syntaxInfo.scriptNode === undefined) {
-      let node;
-      let reason;
-      if (syntaxInfo?.wireitConfigNode?.name !== undefined) {
-        node = syntaxInfo.wireitConfigNode.name;
-        reason = 'wireit-config-but-no-script' as const;
-      } else {
-        node ??= packageJson.scriptsSection?.name;
-        reason = 'script-not-found' as const;
-      }
-      const range = node
-        ? {offset: node.offset, length: node.length}
-        : {offset: 0, length: 0};
+    if (syntaxInfo?.wireitConfigNode !== undefined) {
+      await this._handleWireitScript(
+        placeholder,
+        packageJson,
+        syntaxInfo,
+        syntaxInfo.wireitConfigNode
+      );
+    } else if (syntaxInfo?.scriptNode !== undefined) {
+      this._handlePlainNpmScript(
+        placeholder,
+        packageJson,
+        syntaxInfo.scriptNode
+      );
+    } else {
       placeholder.failures.push({
         type: 'failure',
-        reason,
+        reason: 'script-not-found',
         script: placeholder,
         diagnostic: {
           severity: 'error',
           message: `Script "${placeholder.name}" not found in the scripts section of this package.json.`,
-          location: {file: packageJson.jsonFile, range},
-        },
-      });
-      return undefined;
-    }
-    const scriptCommand = syntaxInfo.scriptNode;
-    const wireitConfig = syntaxInfo.wireitConfigNode;
-
-    if (
-      wireitConfig !== undefined &&
-      scriptCommand.value !== 'wireit' &&
-      scriptCommand.value !== 'yarn run -TB wireit' &&
-      // This form is useful when using package managers like yarn or pnpm which
-      // do not automatically add all parent directory `node_modules/.bin`
-      // folders to PATH.
-      !/^(\.\.\/)+node_modules\/\.bin\/wireit$/.test(scriptCommand.value) &&
-      !(
-        IS_WINDOWS &&
-        /^(\.\.\\)+node_modules\\\.bin\\wireit\.cmd$/.test(scriptCommand.value)
-      )
-    ) {
-      const configName = wireitConfig.name;
-      placeholder.failures.push({
-        type: 'failure',
-        reason: 'script-not-wireit',
-        script: placeholder,
-        diagnostic: {
-          message: `This command should just be "wireit", as this script is configured in the wireit section.`,
-          severity: 'warning',
           location: {
             file: packageJson.jsonFile,
-            range: {
-              length: scriptCommand.length,
-              offset: scriptCommand.offset,
-            },
+            range: {offset: 0, length: 0},
           },
-          supplementalLocations: [
-            {
-              message: `The wireit config is here.`,
-              location: {
-                file: packageJson.jsonFile,
-                range: {
-                  length: configName.length,
-                  offset: configName.offset,
-                },
-              },
-            },
-          ],
         },
       });
     }
+    return undefined;
+  }
 
-    if (wireitConfig === undefined && scriptCommand.value === 'wireit') {
+  private _handlePlainNpmScript(
+    placeholder: UnvalidatedConfig,
+    packageJson: PackageJson,
+    scriptCommand: NamedAstNode<string>
+  ): void {
+    if (isValidWireitScriptCommand(scriptCommand.value)) {
       placeholder.failures.push({
         type: 'failure',
         reason: 'invalid-config-syntax',
@@ -434,39 +415,91 @@ export class Analyzer {
         },
       });
     }
+    // It's important to in-place update the placeholder object, instead of
+    // creating a new object, because other configs may be referencing this
+    // exact object in their dependencies.
+    const remainingConfig: LocallyValidScriptConfig = {
+      ...placeholder,
+      state: 'locally-valid',
+      failures: placeholder.failures,
+      command: scriptCommand,
+      extraArgs: undefined,
+      dependencies: [],
+      files: undefined,
+      output: undefined,
+      clean: false,
+      service: undefined,
+      scriptAstNode: scriptCommand,
+      configAstNode: undefined,
+      declaringFile: packageJson.jsonFile,
+      services: [],
+      env: {},
+    };
+    Object.assign(placeholder, remainingConfig);
+  }
+
+  private async _handleWireitScript(
+    placeholder: UnvalidatedConfig,
+    packageJson: PackageJson,
+    syntaxInfo: ScriptSyntaxInfo,
+    wireitConfig: NamedAstNode<ValueTypes>
+  ): Promise<void> {
+    const scriptCommand = syntaxInfo.scriptNode;
+    if (
+      scriptCommand !== undefined &&
+      !isValidWireitScriptCommand(scriptCommand.value)
+    ) {
+      {
+        const configName = wireitConfig.name;
+        placeholder.failures.push({
+          type: 'failure',
+          reason: 'script-not-wireit',
+          script: placeholder,
+          diagnostic: {
+            message:
+              `This command should just be "wireit", ` +
+              `as this script is configured in the wireit section.`,
+            severity: 'warning',
+            location: {
+              file: packageJson.jsonFile,
+              range: {
+                length: scriptCommand.length,
+                offset: scriptCommand.offset,
+              },
+            },
+            supplementalLocations: [
+              {
+                message: `The wireit config is here.`,
+                location: {
+                  file: packageJson.jsonFile,
+                  range: {
+                    length: configName.length,
+                    offset: configName.offset,
+                  },
+                },
+              },
+            ],
+          },
+        });
+      }
+    }
 
     const {dependencies, encounteredError: dependenciesErrored} =
       this._processDependencies(placeholder, packageJson, syntaxInfo);
 
     let command: JsonAstNode<string> | undefined;
     let commandError = false;
-    if (wireitConfig === undefined) {
-      const result = failUnlessNonBlankString(
-        scriptCommand,
-        packageJson.jsonFile
-      );
+    const commandAst = findNodeAtLocation(wireitConfig, ['command']) as
+      | undefined
+      | JsonAstNode<string>;
+    if (commandAst !== undefined) {
+      const result = failUnlessNonBlankString(commandAst, packageJson.jsonFile);
       if (result.ok) {
         command = result.value;
       } else {
         commandError = true;
         placeholder.failures.push(result.error);
       }
-    } else {
-      const commandAst = findNodeAtLocation(wireitConfig, ['command']) as
-        | undefined
-        | JsonAstNode<string>;
-      if (commandAst !== undefined) {
-        const result = failUnlessNonBlankString(
-          commandAst,
-          packageJson.jsonFile
-        );
-        if (result.ok) {
-          command = result.value;
-        } else {
-          commandError = true;
-          placeholder.failures.push(result.error);
-        }
-      }
     }
 
     const allowUsuallyExcludedPaths = this._processAllowUsuallyExcludedPaths(
@@ -483,7 +516,6 @@ export class Analyzer {
     );
 
     if (
-      wireitConfig !== undefined &&
       dependencies.length === 0 &&
       !dependenciesErrored &&
       command === undefined &&
@@ -1392,7 +1424,7 @@ export class Analyzer {
           nextNode?.specifier ??
           // But failing that, fall back to the best node we have.
           current.configAstNode?.name ??
-          current.scriptAstNode?.name;
+          current.scriptAstNode!.name;
         supplementalLocations.push({
           message,
           location: {
@@ -1414,10 +1446,10 @@ export class Analyzer {
           range: {
             length:
               config.configAstNode?.name.length ??
-              config.scriptAstNode?.name.length,
+              config.scriptAstNode!.name.length,
             offset:
               config.configAstNode?.name.offset ??
-              config.scriptAstNode?.name.length,
+              config.scriptAstNode!.name.length,
           },
         },
         supplementalLocations,
diff --git a/src/config.ts b/src/config.ts
index dce4a5505..9420caa72 100644
--- a/src/config.ts
+++ b/src/config.ts
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ interface BaseScriptConfig extends ScriptReference {
    *   }
    * ```
    */
-  scriptAstNode: NamedAstNode<string>;
+  scriptAstNode: NamedAstNode<string> | undefined;
 
   /**
    * The entire config in the wireit section. i.e.:
diff --git a/src/test/basic.test.ts b/src/test/basic.test.ts
index f550dc7b5..8bd965358 100644
--- a/src/test/basic.test.ts
+++ b/src/test/basic.test.ts
@@ -1232,4 +1232,38 @@ test(
   })
 );
 
+test(
+  'dependency which is not in script section',
+  timeout(async ({rig}) => {
+    const cmdA = await rig.newCommand();
+    const cmdB = await rig.newCommand();
+    await rig.write({
+      'package.json': {
+        scripts: {
+          a: 'wireit',
+        },
+        wireit: {
+          a: {
+            command: cmdA.command,
+            files: [],
+            output: [],
+            dependencies: ['b'],
+          },
+          b: {
+            command: cmdB.command,
+            files: [],
+            output: [],
+          },
+        },
+      },
+    });
+
+    const wireit = rig.exec('npm run a');
+    (await cmdB.nextInvocation()).exit(0);
+    (await cmdA.nextInvocation()).exit(0);
+    const {code} = await wireit.exit;
+    assert.equal(code, 0);
+  })
+);
+
 test.run();
diff --git a/src/test/errors-analysis.test.ts b/src/test/errors-analysis.test.ts
index 3d1bbaae1..a67b979df 100644
--- a/src/test/errors-analysis.test.ts
+++ b/src/test/errors-analysis.test.ts
@@ -93,37 +93,6 @@ test(
   })
 );
 
-test(
-  'wireit config but no entry in scripts section',
-  timeout(async ({rig}) => {
-    await rig.write({
-      'package.json': {
-        scripts: {
-          a: 'wireit',
-        },
-        wireit: {
-          a: {
-            dependencies: ['b'],
-          },
-          b: {
-            dependencies: [],
-          },
-        },
-      },
-    });
-    const result = rig.exec('npm run a');
-    const done = await result.exit;
-    assert.equal(done.code, 1);
-    checkScriptOutput(
-      done.stderr,
-      `
-❌ package.json:11:5 Script "b" not found in the scripts section of this package.json.
-        "b": {
-        ~~~`
-    );
-  })
-);
-
 test(
   'dependencies is not an array',
   timeout(async ({rig}) => {
diff --git a/src/util/ast.ts b/src/util/ast.ts
index 7c7646078..b83a585f6 100644
--- a/src/util/ast.ts
+++ b/src/util/ast.ts
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import {Failure} from '../event.js';
 import * as pathlib from 'path';
 export {ParseError} from 'jsonc-parser';
 
-type ValueTypes = string | number | boolean | null | undefined;
+export type ValueTypes = string | number | boolean | null | undefined;
 
 export interface JsonFile {
   path: string;
diff --git a/vscode-extension/src/test/main.test.ts b/vscode-extension/src/test/main.test.ts
index 1b57facac..312306d10 100644
--- a/vscode-extension/src/test/main.test.ts
+++ b/vscode-extension/src/test/main.test.ts
@@ -95,7 +95,6 @@ test('warns on a package.json based on semantic analysis in the language server'
     [
       'This command should just be "wireit", as this script is configured in the wireit section.',
       'A wireit config must set at least one of "command", "dependencies", or "files". Otherwise there is nothing for wireit to do.',
-      'Script "not_in_scripts" not found in the scripts section of this package.json.',
     ],
     JSON.stringify(diagnostics.map((d) => d.message))
   );
@@ -107,7 +106,6 @@ test('warns on a package.json based on semantic analysis in the language server'
     [
       {start: {line: 2, character: 26}, end: {line: 2, character: 31}},
       {start: {line: 17, character: 4}, end: {line: 17, character: 38}},
-      {start: {line: 11, character: 4}, end: {line: 11, character: 20}},
     ],
     JSON.stringify(
       diagnostics.map((d) => ({