diff --git a/run_setup.py b/run_setup.py
index cd18fec..542d49a 100644
--- a/run_setup.py
+++ b/run_setup.py
@@ -28,8 +28,6 @@ import argparse
 from pathlib import Path
 from typing import Dict
 
-import psycopg2
-
 SQL_DIR = Path(__file__).parent / "sql"
 CONFIG_FILE = Path(__file__).parent / "db_config.json"
 
@@ -150,6 +148,13 @@ def main() -> int:
     p.add_argument("--yes", action="store_true", help="Skip confirmation prompts")
     args = p.parse_args()
 
+    try:
+        import psycopg2
+    except ModuleNotFoundError:
+        print("[FAIL] psycopg2 not installed. Run inside an environment that has "
+              "it (e.g. the TSAPI_SERIESDB_PG_PY venv), or: pip install psycopg2-binary")
+        return 1
+
     cfg = load_config(args)
 
     print("=" * 70)