diff --git a/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs-modes/melpa-packages.nix b/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs-modes/melpa-packages.nix
index bec845b815ce..addae2674684 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs-modes/melpa-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs-modes/melpa-packages.nix
@@ -146,6 +146,12 @@ self:
           (attrs.nativeBuildInputs or []) ++ [ external.git ];
       });
 
+      magit-todos = super.magit-todos.overrideAttrs (attrs: {
+        # searches for Git at build time
+        nativeBuildInputs =
+          (attrs.nativeBuildInputs or []) ++ [ external.git ];
+      });
+
       # missing OCaml
       merlin = markBroken super.merlin;
 
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs-modes/melpa-stable-packages.nix b/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs-modes/melpa-stable-packages.nix
index 61086b96230e..98927cbd9873 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs-modes/melpa-stable-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs-modes/melpa-stable-packages.nix
@@ -151,6 +151,12 @@ self:
             (attrs.nativeBuildInputs or []) ++ [ external.git ];
         });
 
+      magit-todos = super.magit-todos.overrideAttrs (attrs: {
+        # searches for Git at build time
+        nativeBuildInputs =
+          (attrs.nativeBuildInputs or []) ++ [ external.git ];
+      });
+
       # missing OCaml
       merlin = markBroken super.merlin;