diff --git a/pkgs/by-name/an/ansel/fix-desktop-file.patch b/pkgs/by-name/an/ansel/fix-desktop-file.patch
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..7890ff69850a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/by-name/an/ansel/fix-desktop-file.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+diff --git a/data/CMakeLists.txt b/data/CMakeLists.txt
+index 71a110a7b..e69880d46 100644
+--- a/data/CMakeLists.txt
++++ b/data/CMakeLists.txt
+@@ -38,11 +38,6 @@ if(NOT WIN32)
+   # find the correct file.
+   set(DESKTOP_ANSEL_BINARY "ansel")
+   set(DESKTOP_ANSEL_ICON "ansel")
+-  if(NOT CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX STREQUAL "/usr")
+-    set(DESKTOP_ANSEL_BINARY "${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/${CMAKE_INSTALL_BINDIR}/ansel")
+-    # `hicolor` is always available.
+-    set(DESKTOP_ANSEL_ICON "${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/${CMAKE_INSTALL_DATAROOTDIR}/icons/hicolor/scalable/apps/ansel.svg")
+-  endif()
+ 
+   # Append supported MIME types dynamically.
+   if("avif" IN_LIST DT_SUPPORTED_EXTENSIONS)
diff --git a/pkgs/by-name/an/ansel/package.nix b/pkgs/by-name/an/ansel/package.nix
index c96e9538d8b1..73c15042d5ef 100644
--- a/pkgs/by-name/an/ansel/package.nix
+++ b/pkgs/by-name/an/ansel/package.nix
@@ -87,6 +87,11 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     fetchSubmodules = true;
   };
 
+  patches = [
+    # don't use absolute paths to binary or icon - see https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/308324
+    ./fix-desktop-file.patch
+  ];
+
   strictDeps = true;
 
   nativeBuildInputs = [