diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libvirt/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libvirt/default.nix
index f6262154df5a..7262ca541f01 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libvirt/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libvirt/default.nix
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ with stdenv.lib;
 
 # if you update, also bump <nixpkgs/pkgs/development/python-modules/libvirt/default.nix> and SysVirt in <nixpkgs/pkgs/top-level/perl-packages.nix>
 let
-  buildFromTarball = false;
+  buildFromTarball = stdenv.isDarwin;
 in stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   name = "libvirt-${version}";
   version = "4.1.0";