diff --git a/src/ifcmcp/ifcmcp/__main__.py b/src/ifcmcp/ifcmcp/__main__.py
index 0d8ba87f49..47419dc209 100644
--- a/src/ifcmcp/ifcmcp/__main__.py
+++ b/src/ifcmcp/ifcmcp/__main__.py
@@ -27,6 +27,17 @@ def main():
 
     args = parser.parse_args()
 
+    try:
+        from mcp.server.fastmcp import FastMCP  # noqa: F401
+    except ImportError:
+        import sys
+        print(
+            "error: the 'mcp' package is required to run the server.\n"
+            "Install it with:  pip install mcp",
+            file=sys.stderr,
+        )
+        sys.exit(1)
+
     from ifcmcp.server import build_server
 
     server = build_server()