diff --git a/studio/backend/colab.py b/studio/backend/colab.py
index ad9a7e98b2..53074066a7 100644
--- a/studio/backend/colab.py
+++ b/studio/backend/colab.py
@@ -30,15 +30,32 @@ def _pip_install_backend_deps() -> None:
 
     Used on Colab when the Studio venv does not exist (install.sh was not
     run).  Reads the requirements from studio.txt next to this file.
+
+    Strict ``==`` version pins are relaxed to ``>=`` so we do not clobber
+    Colab's pre-installed packages (e.g. huggingface-hub, datasets) with
+    versions that are incompatible with its bundled transformers.
     """
+    import re
     import subprocess
 
     req_file = Path(__file__).parent / "requirements" / "studio.txt"
     if not req_file.exists():
         return
+
+    packages = []
+    for line in req_file.read_text().splitlines():
+        line = line.strip()
+        if not line or line.startswith("#"):
+            continue
+        # Relax exact pins (==) to >= so pip keeps existing compatible versions
+        line = re.sub(r"==", ">=", line)
+        packages.append(line)
+
+    if not packages:
+        return
     print("Installing Studio backend dependencies ...")
     subprocess.check_call(
-        [sys.executable, "-m", "pip", "install", "-q", "-r", str(req_file)],
+        [sys.executable, "-m", "pip", "install", "-q"] + packages,
     )
 
 
diff --git a/studio/setup.sh b/studio/setup.sh
index dd758e49e8..682b5cb01a 100755
--- a/studio/setup.sh
+++ b/studio/setup.sh
@@ -295,9 +295,12 @@ VENV_T5_DIR="$STUDIO_HOME/.venv_t5"
 _COLAB_NO_VENV=false
 if [ ! -x "$VENV_DIR/bin/python" ]; then
     if [ "$IS_COLAB" = true ]; then
-        # On Colab there is no Studio venv -- install backend deps into system Python
+        # On Colab there is no Studio venv -- install backend deps into system Python.
+        # Relax strict == pins to >= so we don't clobber Colab's pre-installed
+        # packages (huggingface-hub, datasets) with incompatible versions.
         echo "   Colab detected, installing Studio backend dependencies..."
-        pip install -q -r "$SCRIPT_DIR/backend/requirements/studio.txt" 2>/dev/null || true
+        sed 's/==/>=/' "$SCRIPT_DIR/backend/requirements/studio.txt" \
+            | pip install -q -r /dev/stdin 2>/dev/null || true
         _COLAB_NO_VENV=true
     else
         echo "❌ ERROR: Virtual environment not found at $VENV_DIR"