diff --git a/chromadbx/__init__.py b/chromadbx/__init__.py
index fae2426..3b4b1da 100644
--- a/chromadbx/__init__.py
+++ b/chromadbx/__init__.py
@@ -1,3 +1,11 @@
+try:
+    import chromadb  # noqa: F401
+except ImportError:
+    raise ValueError(
+        "The chromadb is not installed. This package (chromadbx) requires that Chroma is installed to work. "
+        "Please install it with `pip install chromadb`"
+    )
+
 from chromadbx.core.ids import (
     IDGenerator,
     NanoIDGenerator,
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 9e418bd..5cd408a 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -15,12 +15,13 @@ packages = [{ include = "chromadbx" }]
 [tool.poetry.dependencies]
 python = ">=3.9,<=4.0"
 pydantic = "^2.7.2"
-chromadb = ">=0.4.0,<=0.6.0"
+chromadb = { version = ">=0.4.0,<=0.6.0", optional = true }
 ulid-py = { version = "^1.1.0", optional = true }
 nanoid = { version = "^2.0.0", optional = true }
 llama-embedder = { version = "^0.0.7", optional = true }
 
 [tool.poetry.group.dev.dependencies]
+chromadb = { version = ">=0.4.0,<=0.6.0" }
 pytest = "^8.2.1"
 black = "24.3.0"
 pre-commit = "^3.6.0"
@@ -33,7 +34,7 @@ llama-embedder = "^0.0.7"
 
 [tool.poetry.extras]
 ids = ["ulid-py", "nanoid"]
-embeddings = ["llama-embedder","onnxruntime"]
+embeddings = ["llama-embedder", "onnxruntime"]
 
 [build-system]
 requires = ["poetry-core"]