diff --git a/pkgs/by-name/el/element-desktop/package.nix b/pkgs/by-name/el/element-desktop/package.nix
index 4a17b35338c6..b00e4dbc3dac 100644
--- a/pkgs/by-name/el/element-desktop/package.nix
+++ b/pkgs/by-name/el/element-desktop/package.nix
@@ -77,6 +77,11 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (
       runHook postConfigure
     '';
 
+    # Workaround for darwin sandbox build failure: "Error: listen EPERM: operation not permitted ..tsx..."
+    preBuild = lib.optionalString stdenv.hostPlatform.isDarwin ''
+      export TMPDIR="$(mktemp -d)"
+    '';
+
     buildPhase = ''
       runHook preBuild