diff --git a/tasks/setup.yml b/tasks/setup.yml
index 99e0e1d..acbf39d 100644
--- a/tasks/setup.yml
+++ b/tasks/setup.yml
@@ -14,3 +14,10 @@
     state: "directory"
   tags:
     - configuration
+
+- name: ensure that the python docker library is present
+  apt:
+    name:
+      - python3-distutils
+      - python3-docker
+    state: present