diff --git a/.circleci/config.yml b/.circleci/config.yml
index b90ac7d626..ddaa056fb1 100644
--- a/.circleci/config.yml
+++ b/.circleci/config.yml
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@ commands:
           command: |
             . /opt/conda/etc/profile.d/conda.sh
             conda activate esmvaltool
+            pip check
             pytest -n 4 --junitxml=test-reports/report.xml
             esmvaltool version
             esmvaltool -- --help
@@ -95,7 +96,7 @@ commands:
             conda env create -n esmvaltool -f environment.yml --verbose
             conda activate esmvaltool
             mamba list >> /logs/conda.txt
-            pip install << parameters.flags >> ".[<<parameters.extra>>]"> /logs/install.txt 2>&1
+            pip install --no-deps << parameters.flags >> ".[<<parameters.extra>>]"> /logs/install.txt 2>&1
             if [[ "<<parameters.flags>>" != *'--editable'* ]]
             then
               rm -r esmvaltool
@@ -135,7 +136,7 @@ jobs:
             . /opt/conda/etc/profile.d/conda.sh
             conda activate esmvaltool
             mkdir /logs
-            pip install .[test] > /logs/install.txt 2>&1
+            pip install --no-deps .[test] > /logs/install.txt 2>&1
       - run:
           name: Check Python code style and mistakes
           command: |
@@ -206,9 +207,9 @@ jobs:
             conda env create -n esmvaltool -f environment.yml --verbose
             conda activate esmvaltool
             mamba list >> /logs/conda.txt
-            pip install --editable .[develop]
+            pip install --no-deps --editable .[develop]
             git clone https://github.com/ESMValGroup/ESMValCore $HOME/ESMValCore
-            pip install --editable $HOME/ESMValCore[develop]
+            pip install --no-deps --editable $HOME/ESMValCore[develop]
       - log_versions
       - test_and_report
       - run:
@@ -246,7 +247,8 @@ jobs:
             # Install
             conda env create -n esmvaltool -f environment_python.yml
             conda activate esmvaltool
-            pip install .[doc]
+            pip install --no-deps .[doc]
+            pip check
             # Log versions
             dpkg -l > /logs/versions.txt
             conda env export > /logs/environment.yml
diff --git a/.github/workflows/run-tests-monitor.yml b/.github/workflows/run-tests-monitor.yml
index 1d725fc442..a859efb89b 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/run-tests-monitor.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/run-tests-monitor.yml
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Inspect environment
         run: conda list
       - name: Install pytest-monitor
-        run: pip install --no-deps pytest-monitor
+        run: pip install pytest-monitor
       - name: Install ESMValTool
         run: pip install --no-deps -e .[develop] 2>&1 | tee test_linux_artifacts_python_${{ matrix.python-version }}/install.txt
       - name: Run tests
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install git
         run: mamba install -c conda-forge git
       - name: Install pytest-monitor
-        run: pip install --no-deps pytest-monitor
+        run: pip install pytest-monitor
       - name: Install ESMValTool
         run: >
           pip install --no-deps -e .[develop] 2>&1
diff --git a/doc/sphinx/source/quickstart/installation.rst b/doc/sphinx/source/quickstart/installation.rst
index c65ad981cc..b7688ae058 100644
--- a/doc/sphinx/source/quickstart/installation.rst
+++ b/doc/sphinx/source/quickstart/installation.rst
@@ -372,7 +372,7 @@ code (called ``ESMValTool`` if you did not choose a different name):
 
 .. code-block:: bash
 
-    pip install --editable '.[develop]'
+    pip install --no-deps --editable '.[develop]'
 
 Using the ``--editable`` flag will cause the installer to create a symbolic link
 from the installation location to your source code, so any changes you make to
@@ -471,7 +471,7 @@ and then install ESMValCore in development mode
 
 .. code-block:: bash
 
-    pip install --editable '.[develop]'
+    pip install --no-deps --editable '.[develop]'
 
 To check that the installation was successful, run
 
@@ -484,7 +484,7 @@ this should show the directory of the source code that you just downloaded.
 If the command above shows a directory inside your conda environment instead,
 e.g. ``~/miniforge3/envs/esmvaltool/lib/python3.11/site-packages/esmvalcore``,
 you may need to manually remove that directory and run
-``pip install --editable '.[develop]'`` again.
+``pip install --no-deps --editable '.[develop]'`` again.
 
 Finally, also install the :ref:`esmvaltool:pre-commit` hooks by running:
 
@@ -688,7 +688,7 @@ trust the usual PyPI URLs you can declare them with the option
 
 .. code-block:: bash
 
-    pip install --trusted-host=pypi.python.org --trusted-host=pypi.org --trusted-host=files.pythonhosted.org -e .[develop]
+    pip install --trusted-host=pypi.python.org --trusted-host=pypi.org --trusted-host=files.pythonhosted.org --no-deps -e .[develop]
 
 If R packages fail to download, you might be able to solve this by
 setting the environment variable ``http_proxy`` to the correct value, e.g.