diff --git a/pkgs/stdenv/generic/make-derivation.nix b/pkgs/stdenv/generic/make-derivation.nix
index 09a71da93b6e..2f02bc7d1d78 100644
--- a/pkgs/stdenv/generic/make-derivation.nix
+++ b/pkgs/stdenv/generic/make-derivation.nix
@@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ let
 
 # Experimental.  For simple packages mostly just works,
 # but for anything complex, be prepared to debug if enabling.
-, __structuredAttrs ? false
+, __structuredAttrs ? config.structuredAttrsByDefault or false
 
 , env ? { }
 
diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/config.nix b/pkgs/top-level/config.nix
index a47655f11424..1de93a9f3fde 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/config.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/config.nix
@@ -47,6 +47,10 @@ let
       feature = "set `strictDeps` to true by default";
     };
 
+    structuredAttrsByDefault = mkMassRebuild {
+      feature = "set `__structuredAttrs` to true by default";
+    };
+
     enableParallelBuildingByDefault = mkMassRebuild {
       feature = "set `enableParallelBuilding` to true by default";
     };