diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index a2298da..862cbb3 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -8,8 +8,9 @@ readme = "README.md"
 description = "send end-to-end encrypted messages to chats on chatmail relays"
 requires-python = ">=3.11"
 dependencies = [
-  "deltachat-rpc-server>=2.24.0",
-  "deltachat-rpc-client>=2.24.0",
+  # core 2.38.0 removed "contacts" from FullChat, stay safely above it
+  "deltachat-rpc-server>=2.57.0",
+  "deltachat-rpc-client>=2.57.0",
   "xdg-base-dirs>=6.0.2", 
 ]