diff --git a/pkgs/by-name/wa/watchexec/package.nix b/pkgs/by-name/wa/watchexec/package.nix
index e43e6c7ccf1c..d3553f90056f 100644
--- a/pkgs/by-name/wa/watchexec/package.nix
+++ b/pkgs/by-name/wa/watchexec/package.nix
@@ -22,7 +22,12 @@ rustPlatform.buildRustPackage (finalAttrs: {
 
   nativeBuildInputs = [ installShellFiles ];
 
-  NIX_LDFLAGS = lib.optionalString stdenv.hostPlatform.isDarwin "-framework AppKit";
+  env = lib.optionalAttrs stdenv.hostPlatform.isDarwin {
+    NIX_LDFLAGS = toString [
+      "-framework"
+      "AppKit"
+    ];
+  };
 
   checkFlags = [
     "--skip=help"