diff --git a/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs-modes/melpa-packages.nix b/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs-modes/melpa-packages.nix
index 777d8e62541d..b95a944e612b 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs-modes/melpa-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs-modes/melpa-packages.nix
@@ -167,6 +167,12 @@ self:
           (attrs.nativeBuildInputs or []) ++ [ external.git ];
       });
 
+      magit-filenotify = super.magit-filenotify.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 98927cbd9873..6d1a8f081e5a 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs-modes/melpa-stable-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/editors/emacs-modes/melpa-stable-packages.nix
@@ -157,6 +157,12 @@ self:
           (attrs.nativeBuildInputs or []) ++ [ external.git ];
       });
 
+      magit-filenotify = super.magit-filenotify.overrideAttrs (attrs: {
+        # searches for Git at build time
+        nativeBuildInputs =
+          (attrs.nativeBuildInputs or []) ++ [ external.git ];
+      });
+
       # missing OCaml
       merlin = markBroken super.merlin;