diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/sync/rsync/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/sync/rsync/default.nix
index 87bf879a2a59..e222e276e3e9 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/sync/rsync/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/sync/rsync/default.nix
@@ -48,7 +48,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     ++ lib.optional enableOpenSSL openssl
     ++ lib.optional enableXXHash xxHash;
 
-  checkInputs = [ fakeroot ];
+  # fakeroot doesn't work well on darwin anymore, apparently
+  checkInputs = lib.optionals (!stdenv.isDarwin) [ fakeroot ];
 
   configureFlags =
     [