diff --git a/hub_core/runtime/compat.py b/hub_core/runtime/compat.py
index d3772cf..c535934 100644
--- a/hub_core/runtime/compat.py
+++ b/hub_core/runtime/compat.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ from uuid import uuid4
 
 import sqlalchemy as sa
 from fastapi import APIRouter, Header, HTTPException, Request, status
+from fastapi.routing import APIRoute
 from fastapi.responses import HTMLResponse, PlainTextResponse, RedirectResponse
 
 from hub_core.runtime.compat_catalogs import (
@@ -504,6 +505,25 @@ def create_compatibility_router() -> APIRouter:
             "<p>Compatibility runtime candidate; projections are authoritative.</p>"
         )
 
+    # Core Hub historically served the same compatibility operations both below
+    # /api/v2 and at the root.  Keep the aliases as real routes (not merely
+    # OpenAPI aliases) so a route-group cutover cannot turn existing clients into
+    # 404s.  The canonical /api/v2 routes remain the only schema-bearing routes;
+    # openapi_json adds the documented alias paths deterministically.
+    for route in list(router.routes):
+        if not isinstance(route, APIRoute) or not route.path.startswith("/api/v2/"):
+            continue
+        alias = route.path.removeprefix("/api/v2")
+        router.add_api_route(
+            alias,
+            route.endpoint,
+            methods=sorted(route.methods or []),
+            status_code=route.status_code,
+            response_class=route.response_class,
+            include_in_schema=False,
+            name=f"legacy_{route.name}",
+        )
+
     return router
 
 
diff --git a/hub_core/runtime/config.py b/hub_core/runtime/config.py
index c0fd378..ed6663d 100644
--- a/hub_core/runtime/config.py
+++ b/hub_core/runtime/config.py
@@ -69,11 +69,24 @@ class RuntimeSettings:
 
     def readiness_checks(self, store_backend: str) -> dict[str, str]:
         ephemeral_allowed = store_backend != "memory" or self.allow_ephemeral
+        protected_groups = self.v2_groups & {
+            "registry",
+            "credentials",
+            "interaction",
+            "deferred",
+            "operator",
+        }
+        authorization_ready = (
+            not protected_groups
+            or bool(self.api_token)
+            or store_backend == "postgresql"
+        )
         return {
             "environment": self.environment,
             "configured_backend": self.backend,
             "active_backend": store_backend,
             "ephemeral_backend": "allowed" if ephemeral_allowed else "not_allowed",
+            "authorization": "ok" if authorization_ready else "unavailable",
             "contract": "helixforge.hub-extension/0.1.0",
             "v2_groups": ",".join(sorted(self.v2_groups)) or "none",
             "v2_write_groups": ",".join(sorted(self.v2_write_groups)) or "none",
@@ -81,6 +94,9 @@ class RuntimeSettings:
         }
 
     def is_ready(self, store_backend: str) -> bool:
-        return self.backend == store_backend and (
-            store_backend != "memory" or self.allow_ephemeral
+        checks = self.readiness_checks(store_backend)
+        return (
+            self.backend == store_backend
+            and (store_backend != "memory" or self.allow_ephemeral)
+            and checks["authorization"] == "ok"
         )
diff --git a/tests/test_compatibility.py b/tests/test_compatibility.py
index 4f802bb..8a3d5ed 100644
--- a/tests/test_compatibility.py
+++ b/tests/test_compatibility.py
@@ -62,6 +62,10 @@ def test_system_compatibility_and_protected_auth(tmp_path) -> None:
     document = client.get("/api/v2/openapi.json").json()
     assert "/api/v2/hubs" in document["paths"]
     assert "/hubs" in document["paths"]
+    assert client.get("/widget-types").status_code == 200
+    assert client.get("/hubs").status_code == 401
+    assert client.get("/hubs", headers=HEADERS).status_code == 200
+    assert client.get("/console", headers=HEADERS).status_code == 200
     asyncio.run(store.aclose())
 
 
diff --git a/tests/test_runtime.py b/tests/test_runtime.py
index 09acee6..673d67e 100644
--- a/tests/test_runtime.py
+++ b/tests/test_runtime.py
@@ -58,6 +58,21 @@ def test_production_readiness_fails_closed_for_ephemeral_backend() -> None:
     assert response.json()["checks"]["ephemeral_backend"] == "not_allowed"
 
 
+def test_protected_compatibility_readiness_requires_authorization_dependency() -> None:
+    settings = RuntimeSettings(
+        environment="test",
+        backend="memory",
+        allow_ephemeral=True,
+        v2_groups=frozenset({"registry"}),
+    )
+    response = TestClient(
+        create_app(settings=settings, port_store=InMemoryPortStore())
+    ).get("/readyz")
+
+    assert response.status_code == 503
+    assert response.json()["checks"]["authorization"] == "unavailable"
+
+
 def test_registry_validates_and_registers_idempotently() -> None:
     runtime = client()
     package = ops_hub_package()