diff --git a/pkgs/build-support/setup-hooks/install-fonts.sh b/pkgs/build-support/setup-hooks/install-fonts.sh
index 27f9aeb82cd6..702b37a2ca43 100644
--- a/pkgs/build-support/setup-hooks/install-fonts.sh
+++ b/pkgs/build-support/setup-hooks/install-fonts.sh
@@ -52,6 +52,9 @@ installFonts() {
   if [ -n "${webfont-}" ]; then
     installFont 'woff' "$webfont/share/fonts/woff"
     installFont 'woff2' "$webfont/share/fonts/woff2"
+  elif [[ "${dontInstallWebfonts-}" != 1 && -n "$(find . \( -iname "*.woff" -o -iname "*.woff2" \) -print)" ]]; then
+    nixErrorLog "Consider adding \"webfont\" to outputs to install woff/woff2 files."
+    nixErrorLog "Alternatively, set dontInstallWebfonts to silence this."
+    exit 1
   fi
-
 }