diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/tensorflow-metadata/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/tensorflow-metadata/default.nix
index c1ccd3c3befd..d18f450d4d42 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/tensorflow-metadata/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/tensorflow-metadata/default.nix
@@ -36,6 +36,10 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
 
   build-system = [ setuptools ];
 
+  pythonRelaxDeps = [
+    "protobuf"
+  ];
+
   dependencies = [
     absl-py
     googleapis-common-protos