diff --git a/pkgs/applications/window-managers/i3/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/window-managers/i3/default.nix
index 9d21716bc704..d7f1bc2176a8 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/window-managers/i3/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/window-managers/i3/default.nix
@@ -67,6 +67,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     description = "A tiling window manager";
     homepage    = "https://i3wm.org";
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ modulistic fpletz ];
+    mainProgram = "i3";
     license     = licenses.bsd3;
     platforms   = platforms.all;