diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 016dda9..123aa22 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@ jobs:
     - name: Install dependencies
       run: |
         pip install -r requirements.txt
+        # py 3.12 no longer comes bundled with setuptools so we need to install it
+        pip install setuptools
         # make clipkit CLI available for tests 
         make install
         # install deps for tests