diff --git a/pkgs/stdenv/generic/check-meta.nix b/pkgs/stdenv/generic/check-meta.nix
index 9903ceec0e36..ba9eae53d35f 100644
--- a/pkgs/stdenv/generic/check-meta.nix
+++ b/pkgs/stdenv/generic/check-meta.nix
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ let
   hasBlocklistedLicense = assert areLicenseListsValid; attrs:
     hasLicense attrs && lib.lists.any (l: builtins.elem l blocklist) (lib.lists.toList attrs.meta.license);
 
-  allowBroken = config.allowBroken or false
+  allowBroken = config.allowBroken
     || builtins.getEnv "NIXPKGS_ALLOW_BROKEN" == "1";
 
   allowUnsupportedSystem = config.allowUnsupportedSystem or false
diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/config.nix b/pkgs/top-level/config.nix
index cb713ec27730..6bff00f982d6 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/config.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/config.nix
@@ -70,6 +70,17 @@ let
       '';
     };
 
+    allowBroken = mkOption {
+      type = types.bool;
+      default = false;
+      # getEnv part is in check-meta.nix
+      defaultText = literalExpression ''false || builtins.getEnv "NIXPKGS_ALLOW_BROKEN" == "1"'';
+      description = ''
+        Whether to allow broken packages.
+
+        See <link xlink:href="https://nixos.org/manual/nixpkgs/stable/#sec-allow-broken">Installing broken packages</link> in the NixOS manual.
+      '';
+    };
   };
 
 in {