diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index cee8b456..b416f549 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -13,16 +13,16 @@ classifiers = [
     "Topic :: Scientific/Engineering",
 ]
 dependencies = [
-    "bec_ipython_client~=2.21, >=2.21.4", # needed for jupyter console
-    "bec_lib~=2.21, >=2.21.4",
-    "black~=24.0",                        # needed for bw-generate-cli
-    "isort~=5.13, >=5.13.2",              # needed for bw-generate-cli
+    "bec_ipython_client>=2.21.4, <=4.0", # needed for jupyter console
+    "bec_lib>=2.21.4, <=4.0",
+    "black~=24.0",                       # needed for bw-generate-cli
+    "isort~=5.13, >=5.13.2",             # needed for bw-generate-cli
     "pydantic~=2.0",
     "pyqtgraph~=0.13",
     "bec_qthemes~=0.7, >=0.7",
-    "qtconsole~=5.5, >=5.5.1",            # needed for jupyter console
+    "qtconsole~=5.5, >=5.5.1",           # needed for jupyter console
     "qtpy~=2.4",
-    "pyte",                               # needed for vt100 console
+    "pyte",                              # needed for vt100 console
 ]