diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/universal-ctags/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/universal-ctags/default.nix
index 3297775bc53e..09186886d507 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/universal-ctags/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/universal-ctags/default.nix
@@ -60,6 +60,11 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (finalAttrs: {
     patchShebangs misc/*
   '';
 
+  # some tools like 'zoekt' want an unambiguous binary name, so give it to them
+  postInstall = ''
+    ln -s $out/bin/ctags $out/bin/universal-ctags
+  '';
+
   doCheck = true;
 
   checkFlags = [