diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/crystal/default.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/crystal/default.nix
index ed9907a283b5..5bb3b60d96d5 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/crystal/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/crystal/default.nix
@@ -57,6 +57,9 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   '';
 
   buildPhase = ''
+    # patch the script which launches the prebuilt compiler
+    substituteInPlace $(pwd)/crystal-${version}-1/bin/crystal --replace \
+      "/usr/bin/env bash" "${stdenv.shell}"
     ${fixPrebuiltBinary}
 
     cd crystal-${version}