diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libarchive/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libarchive/default.nix
index f0c3c0632a95..076d22402772 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libarchive/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libarchive/default.nix
@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   buildInputs = [ sharutils libxml2 zlib bzip2 openssl xz ] ++
     stdenv.lib.optionals stdenv.isLinux [ e2fsprogs attr acl ];
 
+  preBuild = if stdenv.isCygwin then ''
+    echo "#include <windows.h>" >> config.h
+  '' else null;
+
   meta = {
     description = "Multi-format archive and compression library";
     longDescription = ''