diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/metakernel/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/metakernel/default.nix
index 128d92129c46..b7cecc3ba3da 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/metakernel/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/metakernel/default.nix
@@ -4,8 +4,9 @@
 , hatchling
 , ipykernel
 , jedi
-, pexpect
 , jupyter_core
+, pexpect
+, pythonOlder
 }:
 
 buildPythonPackage rec {