diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/zig/generic.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/zig/generic.nix
index a0dbea04869e..220f3240f285 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/zig/generic.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/zig/generic.nix
@@ -66,6 +66,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (finalAttrs: {
     changelog = "https://ziglang.org/download/${finalAttrs.version}/release-notes.html";
     license = lib.licenses.mit;
     maintainers = with lib.maintainers; [ andrewrk ] ++ lib.teams.zig.members;
+    mainProgram = "zig";
     platforms = lib.platforms.unix;
   };
 } // removeAttrs args [ "hash" ])