diff --git a/pkgs/data/fonts/nerdfonts/default.nix b/pkgs/data/fonts/nerdfonts/default.nix
index 7c4db29467fb..dbbb26971baa 100644
--- a/pkgs/data/fonts/nerdfonts/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/data/fonts/nerdfonts/default.nix
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
       rm -rfv $out/share/fonts/truetype/NerdFonts/*Windows\ Compatible.*
     ''}
   '';
+  passthru.updateScript = ./update.sh;
 
   meta = with lib; {
     description = "Iconic font aggregator, collection, & patcher. 3,600+ icons, 50+ patched fonts";
diff --git a/pkgs/data/fonts/nerdfonts/update.sh b/pkgs/data/fonts/nerdfonts/update.sh
index b4c4aaa7cf2b..53d240feddd8 100755
--- a/pkgs/data/fonts/nerdfonts/update.sh
+++ b/pkgs/data/fonts/nerdfonts/update.sh
@@ -5,9 +5,14 @@ latest_release=$(curl --silent https://api.github.com/repos/ryanoasis/nerd-fonts
 version=$(jq -r '.tag_name' <<<"$latest_release")
 
 dirname="$(dirname "$0")"
-echo \""${version#v}"\" >"$dirname/version.nix"
-
-echo Using version "$version"
+echo \""${version#v}"\" >"$dirname/version-new.nix"
+if diff -q "$dirname/version-new.nix" "$dirname/version.nix"; then
+    echo No new version available, current: $version
+    exit 0
+else
+    echo Updated to version "$version"
+    mv "$dirname/version-new.nix" "$dirname/version.nix"
+fi
 
 printf '{\n' > "$dirname/shas.nix"