diff --git a/compoundpi/__init__.py b/compoundpi/__init__.py
index f31d306..83b0ff2 100644
--- a/compoundpi/__init__.py
+++ b/compoundpi/__init__.py
@@ -58,6 +58,9 @@
         'MarkupSafe<0.16',
         ])
 
+if sys.platform.startswith('Win'):
+    __requires__.append('pyreadline')
+
 __classifiers__ = [
     'Development Status :: 4 - Beta',
     'Environment :: Console',
diff --git a/compoundpi/cmdline.py b/compoundpi/cmdline.py
index 080e8a9..a255e5c 100644
--- a/compoundpi/cmdline.py
+++ b/compoundpi/cmdline.py
@@ -50,12 +50,16 @@
 import os
 import re
 import cmd
-import readline
 import locale
 import logging
 import warnings
 from textwrap import TextWrapper
 
+try:
+  import readline
+except ImportError:
+  import pyreadline as readline
+
 from .terminal import _CONSOLE
 
 # Hex 1 and 2 are used to ensure readline ignores color sequences in the prompt