diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/api.rb b/Library/Homebrew/api.rb
index 6fc55b7f3f..4caf17e825 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/api.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/api.rb
@@ -4,7 +4,6 @@
 require "api/analytics"
 require "api/cask"
 require "api/formula"
-require "development_tools"
 require "warnings"
 Warnings.ignore :default_gems do
   require "base64" # TODO: Add this to the Gemfile or remove it before moving to Ruby 3.4.
@@ -41,6 +40,9 @@ module Homebrew
     }
     def self.fetch_json_api_file(endpoint, target: HOMEBREW_CACHE_API/endpoint,
                                  stale_seconds: Homebrew::EnvConfig.api_auto_update_secs.to_i)
+      # Lazy-load dependency.
+      require "development_tools"
+
       retry_count = 0
       url = "#{Homebrew::EnvConfig.api_domain}/#{endpoint}"
       default_url = "#{HOMEBREW_API_DEFAULT_DOMAIN}/#{endpoint}"