diff --git a/pkgs/applications/window-managers/i3/blocks.nix b/pkgs/applications/window-managers/i3/blocks.nix
index c3880b92bdf8..496da4232a40 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/window-managers/i3/blocks.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/window-managers/i3/blocks.nix
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     sha256 = "c64720057e22cc7cac5e8fcd58fd37e75be3a7d5a3cb8995841a7f18d30c0536";
   };
 
-  makeFlags = "all";
+  buildFlags = "SYSCONFDIR=/etc all";
   installFlags = "PREFIX=\${out} VERSION=${version}";
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {