diff --git a/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs/sources.nix b/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs/sources.nix
index 91a60d5145b0..440184d959e0 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs/sources.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs/sources.nix
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ let
       matthewbauer
     ];
     platforms = lib.platforms.all;
+    mainProgram = "emacs";
   };
 in
 {
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/editors/geany/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/editors/geany/default.nix
index 4f2b3f1eb332..4ecc511b6540 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/editors/geany/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/editors/geany/default.nix
@@ -64,5 +64,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     license = licenses.gpl2;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ frlan ];
     platforms = platforms.all;
+    mainProgram = "geany";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/editors/gedit/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/editors/gedit/default.nix
index f85bb9e5fdc1..4352b74f964d 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/editors/gedit/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/editors/gedit/default.nix
@@ -96,5 +96,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     maintainers = [ ];
     license = licenses.gpl2Plus;
     platforms = platforms.unix;
+    mainProgram = "gedit";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/editors/micro/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/editors/micro/default.nix
index 081b038e2307..d4dbb4d97cca 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/editors/micro/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/editors/micro/default.nix
@@ -41,5 +41,6 @@ buildGoModule rec {
     description = "Modern and intuitive terminal-based text editor";
     license = licenses.mit;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ dtzWill ];
+    mainProgram = "micro";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/editors/nano/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/editors/nano/default.nix
index bd8049699514..5b51f9563c39 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/editors/nano/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/editors/nano/default.nix
@@ -75,5 +75,6 @@ in stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     license = licenses.gpl3Plus;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ joachifm nequissimus ];
     platforms = platforms.all;
+    mainProgram = "nano";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/editors/vim/common.nix b/pkgs/applications/editors/vim/common.nix
index 728ab5eb54c9..24e9ea914b78 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/editors/vim/common.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/editors/vim/common.nix
@@ -27,5 +27,6 @@ rec {
     license     = licenses.vim;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ das_j equirosa ];
     platforms   = platforms.unix;
+    mainProgram = "vim";
   };
 }