diff --git a/pkgs/by-name/md/mdformat/package.nix b/pkgs/by-name/md/mdformat/package.nix
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..24cbd66d864c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/by-name/md/mdformat/package.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+{ lib
+, python3
+, runCommand
+}:
+
+let
+  python = python3;
+
+  # selector is a function mapping pythonPackages to a list of plugins
+  # e.g. `mdformat.withPlugins (ps: with ps; [ mdformat-footnote ])`
+  withPlugins = selector: runCommand "mdformat-wrapped" {
+    inherit (python.pkgs.mdformat) pname version meta;
+
+    nativeBuildInputs = [
+      python.pkgs.wrapPython
+    ];
+
+    plugins = selector python.pkgs;
+
+    passthru = {
+      inherit withPlugins;
+    };
+  } ''
+    buildPythonPath $plugins
+    makeWrapper ${lib.getExe python.pkgs.mdformat} $out/bin/mdformat \
+      --suffix PYTHONPATH : "$program_PYTHONPATH"
+  '';
+in withPlugins (ps: [ ])
diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/mdformat/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/mdformat/default.nix
index a25a632f5150..eec56ee47944 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/mdformat/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/mdformat/default.nix
@@ -5,99 +5,57 @@
 , importlib-metadata
 , makeWrapper
 , markdown-it-py
-, poetry-core
 , pytestCheckHook
-, python3
 , pythonOlder
 , setuptools
 , tomli
 , typing-extensions
 }:
 
-let
-  withPlugins = plugins: buildPythonApplication {
-    pname = "${package.pname}";
-    inherit (package) version;
-    format = "other";
+buildPythonPackage rec {
+  pname = "mdformat";
+  version = "0.7.17";
+  pyproject = true;
 
-    disabled = pythonOlder "3.7";
+  disabled = pythonOlder "3.8";
 
-    dontUnpack = true;
-    dontBuild = true;
-    doCheck = false;
-
-    nativeBuildInputs = [
-      makeWrapper
-    ];
-
-    installPhase = ''
-      makeWrapper ${package}/bin/mdformat $out/bin/mdformat \
-        --prefix PYTHONPATH : "${package}/${python3.sitePackages}:$PYTHONPATH"
-      ln -sfv ${package}/lib $out/lib
-    '';
-
-    propagatedBuildInputs = package.propagatedBuildInputs ++ plugins;
-
-    passthru = package.passthru // {
-      withPlugins = morePlugins: withPlugins (morePlugins ++ plugins);
-    };
-
-    meta.mainProgram = "mdformat";
+  src = fetchFromGitHub {
+    owner = "executablebooks";
+    repo = "mdformat";
+    rev = "refs/tags/${version}";
+    hash = "sha256-umtfbhN6sDR/rFr1LwmJ21Ph9bK1Qq43bmMVzGCPD5s=";
   };
 
-  package = buildPythonPackage rec {
-    pname = "mdformat";
-    version = "0.7.17";
-    format = "pyproject";
+  nativeBuildInputs = [
+    setuptools
+  ];
 
-    disabled = pythonOlder "3.7";
+  propagatedBuildInputs = [
+    markdown-it-py
+  ] ++ lib.optionals (pythonOlder "3.11") [
+    tomli
+  ] ++ lib.optionals (pythonOlder "3.10") [
+    importlib-metadata
+  ];
 
-    src = fetchFromGitHub {
-      owner = "executablebooks";
-      repo = pname;
-      rev = "refs/tags/${version}";
-      hash = "sha256-umtfbhN6sDR/rFr1LwmJ21Ph9bK1Qq43bmMVzGCPD5s=";
-    };
+  nativeCheckInputs = [
+    pytestCheckHook
+  ];
 
-    nativeBuildInputs = [
-      poetry-core
-      setuptools
-    ];
+  pythonImportsCheck = [
+    "mdformat"
+  ];
 
-    propagatedBuildInputs = [
-      markdown-it-py
-      tomli
-    ] ++ lib.optionals (pythonOlder "3.10") [
-      importlib-metadata
-    ] ++ lib.optionals (pythonOlder "3.7") [
-      typing-extensions
-    ];
-
-    nativeCheckInputs = [
-      pytestCheckHook
-    ];
-
-    disabledTests = [
-      # AssertionError
-      "test_no_codeblock_trailing_newline"
-      # Issue with upper/lower case
-      "default_style.md-options0"
-    ];
-
-    pythonImportsCheck = [
-      "mdformat"
-    ];
-
-    passthru = { inherit withPlugins; };
-
-    meta = with lib; {
-      description = "CommonMark compliant Markdown formatter";
-      homepage = "https://mdformat.rtfd.io/";
-      changelog = "https://github.com/executablebooks/mdformat/blob/${version}/docs/users/changelog.md";
-      license = with licenses; [ mit ];
-      maintainers = with maintainers; [ fab aldoborrero ];
-      mainProgram = "mdformat";
-    };
+  passthru = {
+    withPlugins = throw "Use pkgs.mdformat.withPlugins, i.e. the top-level attribute.";
   };
-in
-package
+
+  meta = with lib; {
+    description = "CommonMark compliant Markdown formatter";
+    homepage = "https://mdformat.rtfd.io/";
+    changelog = "https://github.com/executablebooks/mdformat/blob/${version}/docs/users/changelog.md";
+    license = licenses.mit;
+    maintainers = with maintainers; [ fab aldoborrero ];
+    mainProgram = "mdformat";
+  };
+}