diff --git a/agent/auxiliary_client.py b/agent/auxiliary_client.py
index 1eb35249665..094c154310a 100644
--- a/agent/auxiliary_client.py
+++ b/agent/auxiliary_client.py
@@ -2392,11 +2392,19 @@ def _try_anthropic(explicit_api_key: str = None) -> Tuple[Optional[Any], Optiona
         return None, None
 
     pool_present, entry = _select_pool_entry("anthropic")
-    if pool_present:
-        if entry is None:
-            return None, None
+    if pool_present and entry is not None:
         token = explicit_api_key or _pool_runtime_api_key(entry)
     else:
+        # Pool absent, OR pool present but no usable entry (expired token +
+        # stale refresh_token, all entries exhausted, etc). Fall through to the
+        # legacy resolver instead of hard-failing: a temporarily dead pool
+        # entry must not wedge auxiliary tasks when a valid standalone
+        # credential (ANTHROPIC_TOKEN, credentials file, API key) exists. This
+        # matches the openrouter and codex paths, which already fall back to
+        # their env/auth-store credential on (True, None). Without this, the
+        # goal judge and every other Anthropic-routed side channel died with
+        # "no auxiliary client configured" while the main session stayed
+        # healthy (it resolves the env token directly).
         entry = None
         token = explicit_api_key or resolve_anthropic_token()
     if not token:
diff --git a/tests/agent/test_auxiliary_anthropic_pool_fallback_regression.py b/tests/agent/test_auxiliary_anthropic_pool_fallback_regression.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6277bac5f13
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/agent/test_auxiliary_anthropic_pool_fallback_regression.py
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+"""Regression: _try_anthropic() must fall back to the legacy token resolver
+when the credential pool is present but has no usable entry.
+
+Root cause (observed 2026-07-05): the pooled Anthropic OAuth entry expired and
+its refresh_token was stale, so `_select_pool_entry("anthropic")` returned
+`(True, None)` — pool exists, no selectable entry. The old `_try_anthropic`
+hard-failed on that branch (`return None, None`), even though a perfectly
+valid `ANTHROPIC_TOKEN` / credentials-file token was available. This wedged
+every auxiliary task routed to Anthropic (goal judge → "no auxiliary client
+configured"), while the MAIN session stayed healthy because it resolves the
+env token directly.
+
+openrouter (test_try_openrouter_pool_exhausted_falls_back_to_env) and codex
+(TestBuildCodexClient.test_pool_without_selected_entry_falls_back_to_auth_store)
+already fall through to their standalone credential on `(True, None)`. This
+test pins the same invariant for anthropic so the three paths stay symmetric:
+a temporarily dead pool entry must never hard-fail when a valid standalone
+credential exists.
+"""
+
+from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
+
+
+class TestAnthropicPoolExhaustedFallsBackToEnv:
+    def test_pool_present_no_entry_falls_back_to_resolve_token(self, monkeypatch):
+        """pool=(True, None) but a valid env token exists → client is built."""
+        monkeypatch.setenv("ANTHROPIC_TOKEN", "«redacted:sk-…»-oauth-token")
+        with patch(
+            "agent.auxiliary_client._select_pool_entry", return_value=(True, None)
+        ), patch(
+            "agent.anthropic_adapter.build_anthropic_client"
+        ) as mock_build:
+            mock_build.return_value = MagicMock()
+            from agent.auxiliary_client import _try_anthropic, AnthropicAuxiliaryClient
+
+            client, model = _try_anthropic()
+
+        assert client is not None, (
+            "_try_anthropic must fall back to resolve_anthropic_token() when the "
+            "pool is present but has no usable entry (parity with openrouter/codex)"
+        )
+        assert isinstance(client, AnthropicAuxiliaryClient)
+        # Default aux model when none configured.
+        assert model == "claude-haiku-4-5-20251001"
+        # Must have used the env/legacy token, not a pooled entry.
+        assert mock_build.call_args.args[0] == "«redacted:sk-…»-oauth-token"
+
+    def test_pool_present_no_entry_and_no_token_still_returns_none(self, monkeypatch):
+        """No pooled entry AND no resolvable token → clean (None, None), no crash."""
+        monkeypatch.delenv("ANTHROPIC_TOKEN", raising=False)
+        monkeypatch.delenv("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY", raising=False)
+        monkeypatch.delenv("CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN", raising=False)
+        with patch(
+            "agent.auxiliary_client._select_pool_entry", return_value=(True, None)
+        ), patch(
+            "agent.anthropic_adapter.resolve_anthropic_token", return_value=None
+        ):
+            from agent.auxiliary_client import _try_anthropic
+
+            client, model = _try_anthropic()
+
+        assert client is None
+        assert model is None
+
+    def test_base_url_defaults_when_pool_present_but_no_entry(self, monkeypatch):
+        """Falling through with pool_present=True must not crash on base_url
+        resolution (previously guarded by `if pool_present`)."""
+        monkeypatch.setenv("ANTHROPIC_TOKEN", "«redacted:sk-…»-oauth-token")
+        captured = {}
+
+        def _fake_build(token, base_url):
+            captured["base_url"] = base_url
+            return MagicMock()
+
+        with patch(
+            "agent.auxiliary_client._select_pool_entry", return_value=(True, None)
+        ), patch(
+            "agent.anthropic_adapter.build_anthropic_client", side_effect=_fake_build
+        ):
+            from agent.auxiliary_client import _try_anthropic
+
+            client, _model = _try_anthropic()
+
+        assert client is not None
+        assert captured["base_url"] == "https://api.anthropic.com"