diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/luarocks/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/luarocks/default.nix
index 9ad44968d38e..e1d5a641a3b4 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/luarocks/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/luarocks/default.nix
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
   which,
   unzip,
   lua,
+  versionCheckHook,
   # for 'luarocks pack'
   zip,
   nix-update-script,
@@ -64,6 +65,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (finalAttrs: {
     installShellFiles
     lua
     unzip
+    versionCheckHook
   ];
 
   buildInputs = [
@@ -107,6 +109,10 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (finalAttrs: {
     cmake
   ];
 
+  doInstallCheck = true;
+  versionCheckProgram = "${placeholder "out"}/bin/luarocks";
+  versionCheckProgramArg = "--version";
+
   # unpack hook for src.rock and rockspec files
   setupHook = ./setup-hook.sh;