diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index aa908e2..457931f 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -12,9 +12,7 @@ name = "yjs-widgets"
 readme = "README.md"
 license = { file = "LICENSE" }
 requires-python = ">=3.7"
-dependencies = [
-    "jupyterlab>=4.0.0,<5"
-]
+dependencies = []
 classifiers = [
     "License :: OSI Approved :: BSD License",
     "Programming Language :: Python",
@@ -73,6 +71,7 @@ version-cmd = "hatch version"
 
 [tool.jupyter-releaser.hooks]
 before-build-npm = [
+    "python -m pip install 'jupyterlab>=4.0.0,<5'",
     "jlpm",
     "jlpm build:prod",
 ]