diff --git a/pkgs/by-name/wa/watchman/package.nix b/pkgs/by-name/wa/watchman/package.nix
index 03ba83297db6..143894b64b6b 100644
--- a/pkgs/by-name/wa/watchman/package.nix
+++ b/pkgs/by-name/wa/watchman/package.nix
@@ -79,8 +79,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (finalAttrs: {
   ];
 
   cmakeFlags = [
-    "-DWATCHMAN_STATE_DIR=${stateDir}"
-    "-DWATCHMAN_VERSION_OVERRIDE=${finalAttrs.version}"
+    (lib.cmakeFeature "WATCHMAN_STATE_DIR" stateDir)
+    (lib.cmakeFeature "WATCHMAN_VERSION_OVERRIDE" finalAttrs.version)
   ];
 
   cargoRoot = "watchman/cli";