diff --git a/ui/src/components/AgentsProvider.tsx b/ui/src/components/AgentsProvider.tsx
index e26d62a57..0d2e91dea 100644
--- a/ui/src/components/AgentsProvider.tsx
+++ b/ui/src/components/AgentsProvider.tsx
@@ -313,6 +313,57 @@ export function AgentsProvider({ children }: AgentsProviderProps) {
     fetchModels();
   }, [fetchAgents, fetchTools, fetchModels]);
 
+  // Poll every 5 s while any agent is not yet ready. Stops automatically once
+  // all agents report deploymentReady=true, avoiding unnecessary API calls
+  // during steady-state operation.
+  //
+  // Uses a derived boolean (hasNotReady) as the dependency instead of the full
+  // agents array so the effect only starts/stops — never tears down mid-poll.
+  // Self-scheduling setTimeout avoids overlapping requests when getAgents() is
+  // slow, and errors are surfaced via setError with a stop after 3 consecutive
+  // failures to prevent infinite silent polling.
+  const hasNotReady = React.useMemo(
+    () => !loading && agents.length > 0 && agents.some(a => !a.deploymentReady),
+    [agents, loading],
+  );
+
+  useEffect(() => {
+    if (!hasNotReady) return;
+
+    let cancelled = false;
+    let timeoutId: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | undefined;
+    let consecutiveErrors = 0;
+
+    const poll = async () => {
+      const result = await getAgents();
+      if (cancelled) return;
+
+      if (result.error || !result.data) {
+        consecutiveErrors++;
+        if (consecutiveErrors >= 3) {
+          setError(result.error || "Failed to refresh agents");
+          return; // stop polling after repeated failures
+        }
+        timeoutId = setTimeout(poll, 5000);
+        return;
+      }
+
+      consecutiveErrors = 0;
+      setAgents(result.data);
+
+      if (!result.data.every(a => a.deploymentReady)) {
+        timeoutId = setTimeout(poll, 5000);
+      }
+    };
+
+    timeoutId = setTimeout(poll, 5000);
+
+    return () => {
+      cancelled = true;
+      if (timeoutId) clearTimeout(timeoutId);
+    };
+  }, [hasNotReady]);
+
   const value = {
     agents,
     models,
diff --git a/ui/src/components/__tests__/AgentsProvider.polling.test.tsx b/ui/src/components/__tests__/AgentsProvider.polling.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bf1ec4de3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ui/src/components/__tests__/AgentsProvider.polling.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,147 @@
+import { describe, expect, it, jest, beforeEach, afterEach } from "@jest/globals";
+import React from "react";
+import { render, act, waitFor } from "@testing-library/react";
+import { AgentsProvider, useAgents } from "../AgentsProvider";
+
+// ── Mocks ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+const mockGetAgents = jest.fn();
+const mockGetTools = jest.fn();
+const mockGetModelConfigs = jest.fn();
+
+jest.mock("@/app/actions/agents", () => ({
+  getAgents: (...args: unknown[]) => mockGetAgents(...args),
+  getAgent: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({ data: null }),
+  createAgent: jest.fn().mockResolvedValue({ data: {} }),
+}));
+
+jest.mock("@/app/actions/tools", () => ({
+  getTools: (...args: unknown[]) => mockGetTools(...args),
+}));
+
+jest.mock("@/app/actions/modelConfigs", () => ({
+  getModelConfigs: (...args: unknown[]) => mockGetModelConfigs(...args),
+}));
+
+// ── Helpers ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+function makeAgent(name: string, ready: boolean) {
+  return {
+    agent: { metadata: { name, namespace: "default" }, spec: {} },
+    deploymentReady: ready,
+  };
+}
+
+/** Renders an invisible consumer that exposes context values via a ref. */
+function renderProvider() {
+  const ref: { current: ReturnType<typeof useAgents> | null } = { current: null };
+  function Consumer() {
+    ref.current = useAgents();
+    return null;
+  }
+  const utils = render(
+    <AgentsProvider>
+      <Consumer />
+    </AgentsProvider>,
+  );
+  return { ref, ...utils };
+}
+
+// ── Tests ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+describe("AgentsProvider polling", () => {
+  beforeEach(() => {
+    jest.useFakeTimers();
+    mockGetTools.mockResolvedValue([]);
+    mockGetModelConfigs.mockResolvedValue({ data: [] });
+  });
+
+  afterEach(() => {
+    jest.useRealTimers();
+    jest.restoreAllMocks();
+  });
+
+  it("does not poll when all agents are ready", async () => {
+    mockGetAgents.mockResolvedValue({
+      data: [makeAgent("a", true), makeAgent("b", true)],
+    });
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      renderProvider();
+    });
+
+    // Advance well past the 5 s poll interval
+    await act(async () => {
+      jest.advanceTimersByTime(15_000);
+    });
+
+    // Initial fetch only — no polling calls
+    expect(mockGetAgents).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1);
+  });
+
+  it("polls while at least one agent is not ready and stops when all become ready", async () => {
+    // Initial fetch: one agent not ready
+    mockGetAgents.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+      data: [makeAgent("a", true), makeAgent("b", false)],
+    });
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      renderProvider();
+    });
+
+    // First poll — still not ready
+    mockGetAgents.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+      data: [makeAgent("a", true), makeAgent("b", false)],
+    });
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      jest.advanceTimersByTime(5_000);
+    });
+
+    // Second poll — now all ready
+    mockGetAgents.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+      data: [makeAgent("a", true), makeAgent("b", true)],
+    });
+
+    await act(async () => {
+      jest.advanceTimersByTime(5_000);
+    });
+
+    // No more polls after becoming ready
+    await act(async () => {
+      jest.advanceTimersByTime(15_000);
+    });
+
+    // 1 initial + 2 polls = 3 total
+    expect(mockGetAgents).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(3);
+  });
+
+  it("stops polling after 3 consecutive errors", async () => {
+    // Initial: not ready
+    mockGetAgents.mockResolvedValueOnce({
+      data: [makeAgent("a", false)],
+    });
+
+    const { ref } = await act(async () => renderProvider());
+
+    // 3 consecutive failures
+    for (let i = 0; i < 3; i++) {
+      mockGetAgents.mockResolvedValueOnce({ error: "network error", data: null });
+      await act(async () => {
+        jest.advanceTimersByTime(5_000);
+      });
+    }
+
+    // Should have stopped — no more calls after advancing further
+    const callsBefore = mockGetAgents.mock.calls.length;
+    await act(async () => {
+      jest.advanceTimersByTime(15_000);
+    });
+
+    expect(mockGetAgents.mock.calls.length).toBe(callsBefore);
+    // Error should be surfaced
+    await waitFor(() => {
+      expect(ref.current?.error).toBeTruthy();
+    });
+  });
+});