diff --git a/pkgs/applications/misc/rofimoji/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/misc/rofimoji/default.nix
index 45b12bab89e3..371da82e2b07 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/misc/rofimoji/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/misc/rofimoji/default.nix
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 { buildPythonApplication
 , fetchFromGitHub
 , lib
+, python3
 
 , waylandSupport ? true
 , x11Support ? true
@@ -25,6 +26,10 @@ buildPythonApplication rec {
     sha256 = "sha256-6W/59DjxrgejHSkNxpruDAws812Vjyf+GePDPbXzVbc=";
   };
 
+  nativeBuildInputs = [
+    python3.pkgs.setuptools
+  ];
+
   # `rofi` and the `waylandSupport` and `x11Support` dependencies
   # contain binaries needed at runtime.
   propagatedBuildInputs = with lib; [ configargparse rofi ]