diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/math/R/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/math/R/default.nix
index 331faa6b1479..8905df8ccef9 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/math/R/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/math/R/default.nix
@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
       R_SHELL="${stdenv.shell}"
   '' + lib.optionalString stdenv.isDarwin ''
       --disable-R-framework
+      --without-x
       OBJC="clang"
       CPPFLAGS="-isystem ${libcxx}/include/c++/v1"
       LDFLAGS="-L${libcxx}/lib"