diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 8950bbc1b2..3f605cbddb 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -74,17 +74,17 @@ else
 	GCR_IMAGE_TAGS ?= $(GCR_IMAGE):$(VERSION)
 endif
 
-# check buildx is enabled
+# check buildx is enabled only if docker is in path
 # macOS/Windows docker cli without Docker Desktop license: https://github.com/abiosoft/colima
 # To add buildx to docker cli: https://github.com/abiosoft/colima/discussions/273#discussioncomment-2684502
-ifeq ($(shell docker buildx inspect 2>/dev/null | awk '/Status/ { print $$2 }'), running)
+ifeq ($(shell which docker &>/dev/null && docker buildx inspect 2>/dev/null | awk '/Status/ { print $$2 }'), running)
 	BUILDX_ENABLED ?= true
 # if emulated docker cli from podman, assume enabled
 # emulated docker cli from podman: https://podman-desktop.io/docs/migrating-from-docker/emulating-docker-cli-with-podman
 # podman known issues:
 # - on remote podman, such as on macOS,
 #   --output issue: https://github.com/containers/podman/issues/15922
-else ifeq ($(shell cat $(shell which docker) | grep -c "exec podman"), 1)
+else ifeq ($(shell which docker &>/dev/null && cat $(shell which docker) | grep -c "exec podman"), 1)
 	BUILDX_ENABLED ?= true
 else
 	BUILDX_ENABLED ?= false