diff --git a/pkgs/applications/editors/kakoune/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/editors/kakoune/default.nix
index e8c2760973a6..9beab9fa4bea 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/editors/kakoune/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/editors/kakoune/default.nix
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     homepage = "http://kakoune.org/";
     description = "A vim inspired text editor";
     license = licenses.publicDomain;
+    mainProgram = "kak";
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ vrthra ];
     platforms = platforms.unix;
   };