diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index c4fd7de68e6d240497faa94e8092638da7861b67..2d4c8f2cd3691775e6c6a0da12bfcd909dffc977 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ before_script:
   - cd ..
 
 # compile pyswiftsim
-  - python setup.py install --user
+  - python3 setup.py install --user
 
 # compile the docs
   - cd docs