diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 84287d8..5fcebdc 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -40,8 +40,11 @@ def _dbt_iris_version() -> str:
     ),
     include_package_data=True,
     install_requires=[
-        "dbt-common>=1.0.4,<2.0",
         "dbt-adapters>=1.1.1,<2.0",
+        # add dbt-core to ensure backwards compatibility of installation, this is not a functional dependency
+        "dbt-core>=1.8.0",
+        "dbt-common>=1.0.4,<2.0",
+
     ],
     classifiers=[
         "Development Status :: 5 - Production/Stable",