diff --git a/ocaml/idl/dune b/ocaml/idl/dune
index 4e550eff2a..3dfa75af8c 100644
--- a/ocaml/idl/dune
+++ b/ocaml/idl/dune
@@ -67,7 +67,7 @@
 ; use the binary promoted file from the source dir (not the build dir) that has
 ; the correct version number embedded
 (rule
- (deps gen_lifecycle.exe)
+ (deps gen_lifecycle.exe (universe))
  (action (with-stdout-to datamodel_lifecycle.ml.generated (system %{project_root}/../../ocaml/idl/gen_lifecycle.exe))))
 
 ; 'diff' handles promotion too, see https://dune.readthedocs.io/en/stable/concepts.html?highlight=diffing#diffing-and-promotion