diff --git a/.github/workflows/build_env_run_tests.yml b/.github/workflows/build_env_run_tests.yml
index 8946c9d8..3b6a5a3c 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build_env_run_tests.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build_env_run_tests.yml
@@ -77,6 +77,8 @@ jobs:
           activate-environment: aeon
           architecture: arm64
           miniconda-version: "latest"
+        run: |
+          pip install datajoint
 
       - name: Update conda env with dev reqs
         run: mamba env update -f ./env_config/env_dev.yml
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index f3dc0c7e..13f2b3b5 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ license = { file = "license.md" }
 readme = "readme.md"
 dependencies = [
   "bottleneck>=1.2.1,<2",
-  "setuptools",
   "datajoint>=0.13.7",
   "datajoint-utilities @ git+https://github.com/datajoint-company/datajoint-utilities",
   "dotmap",