diff --git a/scripts/audit_exception_handling.py b/scripts/audit_exception_handling.py
index 3b2d5f50..1f31d11d 100644
--- a/scripts/audit_exception_handling.py
+++ b/scripts/audit_exception_handling.py
@@ -222,6 +222,23 @@ PROGRAMMER_ERROR_EXCEPTIONS: frozenset[str] = frozenset({
  "NotImplementedError",
 })
 
+# Lazy-loader method names: the canonical naming convention for proxy
+# classes that defer a heavy import until first attribute access or call
+# (e.g. _LazyModule._resolve, _load, _get, _try_load). The audit
+# recognizes these as the canonical context for the sentinel-fallback
+# pattern (Phase 12.1 result_migration_gui_2_20260619): when the import
+# or attribute access fails, the except body falls back to a documented
+# sentinel class instance with an `available: bool = False` flag (or
+# similar) so the UI can detect the stub and offer an alternative
+# path. This is the canonical graceful-degradation pattern per
+# error_handling.md:625-690 (Re-Raise Patterns).
+LAZY_LOADER_METHOD_NAMES: frozenset[str] = frozenset({
+ "_resolve",
+ "_load",
+ "_get",
+ "_try_load",
+})
+
 # Categories that are considered violations
 VIOLATION_CATEGORIES: frozenset[str] = frozenset({
  "INTERNAL_SILENT_SWALLOW",
@@ -743,6 +760,35 @@ class ExceptionVisitor(ast.NodeVisitor):
     f"Compliant: `try: ...; except ({', '.join(sorted(exc_set))}): return Result(data=..., errors=[...])` is the canonical Result-recovery pattern. The function-name-not-ending-in-`_result` is a smell (rename to `xxx_result`); the pattern itself is the data-oriented convention. (per result_migration_small_files_20260617 Phase 11.2)",
    )
 
+  # B. Lazy-loading sentinel fallback — Phase 12.1 (result_migration_gui_2_20260619)
+  # Per error_handling.md:625-690 (Re-Raise Patterns) and the lazy-loading
+  # pattern guidance, when a module is loaded lazily (e.g. numpy, tkinter
+  # at first attribute access) and the import or attribute access fails,
+  # falling back to a documented sentinel class instance with an
+  # `available: bool = False` flag is the canonical graceful-degradation
+  # pattern. The sentinel is NOT a silent swallow: the UI can detect the
+  # stub via the `available` flag and offer an alternative code path
+  # (e.g. ImGui file dialog when tkinter.filedialog is unavailable).
+  # This is analogous to the nil-sentinel dataclass (Pattern 1 in
+  # error_handling.md). The function-name heuristic (`_resolve`/`_load`/
+  # `_get`/`_try_load`) is the standard lazy-loader naming convention.
+  # The except body must NOT re-raise; the recovery is via assignment
+  # to `self.<attr>` (directly or via a nested try/except).
+  except_body_re_raises = any(
+   isinstance(s, ast.Raise) and s.exc is None
+   for s in ast.walk(ast.Module(body=except_body, type_ignores=[]))
+  )
+  if (
+   self._current_func_name() in LAZY_LOADER_METHOD_NAMES
+   and not except_body_re_raises
+   and exc_set & {"AttributeError", "ImportError", "ModuleNotFoundError"}
+   and self._has_self_attr_assign(except_body)
+  ):
+   return (
+    "INTERNAL_COMPLIANT",
+    f"Compliant: lazy-loading sentinel fallback. `try: ...; except ({', '.join(sorted(exc_set))}): self.<attr> = <sentinel>()` in `{self._current_func_name()}` is the canonical graceful-degradation pattern. The sentinel class exposes an `available: bool = False` flag (or similar) so the UI can detect the stub and offer an alternative path. Per error_handling.md:625-690 and Phase 12.1 result_migration_gui_2_20260619.",
+   )
+
   return None
 
  def _has_string_return(self, stmts: list[ast.stmt]) -> bool:
@@ -921,6 +967,37 @@ class ExceptionVisitor(ast.NodeVisitor):
      has_return_none_after = True
   return has_for_range_with_try and has_return_none_after
 
+ def _has_self_attr_assign(self, stmts: list[ast.stmt]) -> bool:
+  """True if any statement (recursively) assigns to a `self.<attr>` attribute.
+
+  Used by the lazy-loading sentinel fallback heuristic (Phase 12.1) to
+  detect the canonical graceful-degradation pattern: the except body
+  falls back to a sentinel class instance via `self._cached = _Stub()`
+  either directly OR via a nested try/except (e.g., an outer try that
+  catches AttributeError and a nested try that ultimately falls back
+  to the stub). The recursive walk handles both cases:
+
+   - Direct: `try: getattr(...); except AttributeError: self._cached = _Stub()`
+   - Nested: `try: getattr(...); except AttributeError: try: importlib...; except: self._cached = _Stub()`
+
+  Per the styleguide (error_handling.md:625-690), this is the canonical
+  graceful-degradation pattern for lazy-loading modules that may not
+  be present on every Python install. The sentinel's `available: bool = False`
+  flag (or similar) lets the UI detect the stub and offer an alternative
+  path (e.g., ImGui file dialog when tkinter.filedialog is unavailable).
+  """
+  for s in stmts:
+   for node in ast.walk(s):
+    if isinstance(node, ast.Assign):
+     for target in node.targets:
+      if (
+       isinstance(target, ast.Attribute)
+       and isinstance(target.value, ast.Name)
+       and target.value.id == "self"
+      ):
+       return True
+  return False
+
  def _has_imgui_end_call(self, stmts: list[ast.stmt]) -> bool:
   """True if any statement is a call to an imgui.end_* function."""
   for s in stmts: