diff --git a/.github/requirements.txt b/.github/requirements.txt
index 6112d7bb5b3..2d89790356e 100644
--- a/.github/requirements.txt
+++ b/.github/requirements.txt
@@ -11,3 +11,6 @@ pygments
 ipython
 cantera
 pyfdstools
+
+# Local utility packages (imports fdsplotlib)
+-e ../Utilities/Python
diff --git a/Utilities/Python/setup.py b/Utilities/Python/setup.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b2a38c02936
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Utilities/Python/setup.py
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+from setuptools import setup
+
+setup(
+    name="fdsplotlib",
+    version="0.0.0",
+    py_modules=["fdsplotlib"],  # tells setuptools it's a single-file module
+)
+