diff --git a/test/functional/test_framework/chronik/client.py b/test/functional/test_framework/chronik/client.py
--- a/test/functional/test_framework/chronik/client.py
+++ b/test/functional/test_framework/chronik/client.py
@@ -6,7 +6,13 @@
 import http.client
 from typing import Union
 
-import websocket
+# websocket-client is needed in this module but may not be installed on
+# all systems. Since this module is imported in multiple tests, we attempt
+# to import websocket-client here and check it before use.
+try:
+    import websocket
+except ImportError:
+    websocket = None
 
 # Timespan when HTTP requests to Chronik time out
 DEFAULT_TIMEOUT = 30
@@ -134,6 +140,9 @@
         return ChronikScriptClient(self, script_type, script_payload)
 
     def ws(self, *, timeout=None) -> ChronikWs:
+        if websocket is None:
+            raise ImportError(
+                "websocket-client is not installed, but is needed for chronik tests")
         ws = websocket.WebSocket()
         ws.connect(f'ws://{self.host}:{self.port}/ws', timeout=timeout)
         return ChronikWs(ws)