diff --git a/setup.cfg b/setup.cfg
index 04c9f2e..b783d73 100644
--- a/setup.cfg
+++ b/setup.cfg
@@ -55,6 +55,7 @@ dev =
     pytest-cov
     pytest-snapshot
     vetiver[typecheck]
+    polars
 
 docs =
     quartodoc
diff --git a/vetiver/prototype.py b/vetiver/prototype.py
index a3629b0..d00cb70 100644
--- a/vetiver/prototype.py
+++ b/vetiver/prototype.py
@@ -8,12 +8,18 @@
 
 import pandas as pd
 import numpy as np
-import polars as pl
 import pydantic
+import typing
 from pydantic import Field
 from warnings import warn
 from .types import create_prototype
 
+if typing.TYPE_CHECKING:
+    try:
+        import polars as pl
+    except ImportError:
+        pl = None
+
 
 class InvalidPTypeError(Exception):
     """