diff --git a/bob/devtools/data/gitlab-ci/single-package.yaml b/bob/devtools/data/gitlab-ci/single-package.yaml
index 1aac30e2ab8a3da9a7fe230d2bd359828ce3eb23..5dc3d0a3d289daf4e9c05991f5f3394c99b2c422 100644
--- a/bob/devtools/data/gitlab-ci/single-package.yaml
+++ b/bob/devtools/data/gitlab-ci/single-package.yaml
@@ -26,6 +26,8 @@ stages:
     - curl --silent "${BOOTSTRAP}" --output "bootstrap.py"
     - python3 bootstrap.py -vv channel bdt
     - source ${CONDA_ROOT}/etc/profile.d/conda.sh
+    # for conda inspect during builds (on macos)
+    - conda install -n base conda-build
     - conda activate bdt
     - bdt ci check -vv
   cache: