diff --git a/adapters/llm/anthropic.py b/adapters/llm/anthropic.py
index 4b4a2ec..38b678f 100644
--- a/adapters/llm/anthropic.py
+++ b/adapters/llm/anthropic.py
@@ -10,8 +10,6 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 import os
 
-import anthropic
-
 from adapters.base.llm import LLMAdapter
 
 
@@ -57,6 +55,14 @@ class AnthropicAdapter(LLMAdapter):
         ValueError
             If ANTHROPIC_API_KEY is not set in the environment.
         """
+        try:
+            import anthropic as _anthropic
+        except ModuleNotFoundError as exc:
+            raise ImportError(
+                "The 'anthropic' package is required for AnthropicAdapter. "
+                "Install it with: pip install anthropic"
+            ) from exc
+
         self._config = config
         api_key = os.environ.get("ANTHROPIC_API_KEY")
         if not api_key:
@@ -64,7 +70,7 @@ class AnthropicAdapter(LLMAdapter):
                 "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable is not set. "
                 "Export it before running the-agency."
             )
-        self._client = anthropic.Anthropic(api_key=api_key)
+        self._client = _anthropic.Anthropic(api_key=api_key)
         self._models_cfg: dict = config.get("models", {})
         self._default_max_tokens: int = self._models_cfg.get("default_max_tokens", 4096)
         self._default_temperature: float = self._models_cfg.get("default_temperature", 0)
diff --git a/core/team_runner.py b/core/team_runner.py
index 1f3ee67..78e3fec 100644
--- a/core/team_runner.py
+++ b/core/team_runner.py
@@ -177,7 +177,18 @@ class TeamRunner:
         adapter_cfg: dict = self._config.get("adapters", {})
         runtime_cfg: dict = self._config.get("runtime", {})
 
-        self._llm: LLMAdapter = self._build_llm(adapter_cfg.get("llm", "anthropic"))
+        if dry_run:
+            # In dry-run mode the LLM adapter is never actually called, so we
+            # tolerate missing dependencies (e.g. 'anthropic' SDK not installed).
+            try:
+                self._llm: LLMAdapter = self._build_llm(adapter_cfg.get("llm", "anthropic"))
+            except (ImportError, ValueError) as exc:
+                logger.warning(
+                    "LLM adapter unavailable in dry-run mode (%s) — continuing.", exc
+                )
+                self._llm = None  # type: ignore[assignment]
+        else:
+            self._llm = self._build_llm(adapter_cfg.get("llm", "anthropic"))
         self._vcs: Optional[VCSAdapter] = self._build_optional(  # type: ignore[assignment]
             _VCS_ADAPTERS, adapter_cfg.get("vcs"), "VCS"
         )