diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 084bc65e..a012f158 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -89,6 +89,7 @@ dependencies = [
     "anthropic == 0.49.0",
     "docx2txt == 0.8",
     "google-genai == 1.5.0",
+    "google-auth ~= 2.23.3",
     "pyjson5 == 1.6.7",
     "resend == 1.0.1",
     "email-validator == 2.2.0",
@@ -107,7 +108,6 @@ khoj = "khoj.main:run"
 [project.optional-dependencies]
 prod = [
     "gunicorn == 22.0.0",
-    "google-auth == 2.23.3",
     "stripe == 7.3.0",
     "twilio == 8.11",
     "boto3 >= 1.34.57",
diff --git a/src/khoj/routers/auth.py b/src/khoj/routers/auth.py
index 00088d00..838cfa48 100644
--- a/src/khoj/routers/auth.py
+++ b/src/khoj/routers/auth.py
@@ -43,12 +43,9 @@ class MagicLinkForm(BaseModel):
 if not state.anonymous_mode:
     missing_requirements = []
     from authlib.integrations.starlette_client import OAuth, OAuthError
+    from google.auth.transport import requests as google_requests
+    from google.oauth2 import id_token
 
-    try:
-        from google.auth.transport import requests as google_requests
-        from google.oauth2 import id_token
-    except ImportError:
-        missing_requirements += ["Install the Khoj production package with `pip install khoj[prod]`"]
     if not os.environ.get("RESEND_API_KEY") and (
         not os.environ.get("GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID") or not os.environ.get("GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET")
     ):