diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/mloader/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/mloader/default.nix
index 8e8854a5e6f2..a943547f17e9 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/mloader/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/mloader/default.nix
@@ -3,12 +3,18 @@
 python3Packages.buildPythonApplication rec {
   pname = "mloader";
   version = "1.1.9";
+  format = "setuptools";
 
   src = python3Packages.fetchPypi {
     inherit pname version;
     sha256 = "81e4dc7117999d502e3345f8e32df8b16cca226b8b508976dde2de81a4cc2b19";
   };
 
+  postPatch = ''
+    substituteInPlace setup.py \
+      --replace "protobuf~=3.6" "protobuf"
+  '';
+
   propagatedBuildInputs = with python3Packages; [
     click
     protobuf