diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/ycmd/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/ycmd/default.nix
index 5a56933d3ca5..b511b7d1948b 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/misc/ycmd/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/misc/ycmd/default.nix
@@ -10,12 +10,13 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     sha256 = "1g0hivv3wla7z5dgnkcn3ny38p089pjfj36nx6k29zmprgmjinyr";
   };
 
-  buildInputs = [ python cmake llvmPackages.clang boost makeWrapper ];
+  buildInputs = [ python cmake boost makeWrapper ];
 
   propagatedBuildInputs = with pythonPackages; [ waitress frozendict bottle ];
 
   buildPhase = ''
-    python build.py --clang-completer --system-libclang --system-boost
+    export EXTRA_CMAKE_ARGS=-DPATH_TO_LLVM_ROOT=${llvmPackages.clang-unwrapped}
+    python build.py --clang-completer --system-boost
   '';
 
   configurePhase = ":";