diff --git a/pkgs/build-support/cabal/default.nix b/pkgs/build-support/cabal/default.nix
index 3fa833876921..e9a8a50774c9 100644
--- a/pkgs/build-support/cabal/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/build-support/cabal/default.nix
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ assert !enableStaticLibraries -> versionOlder "7.7" ghc.version;
               for i in Setup.hs Setup.lhs ${defaultSetupHs}; do
                 test -f $i && break
               done
-              ghc --make -o Setup -odir $TMPDIR $i
+              ghc --make -o Setup -odir $TMPDIR -hidir $TMPDIR $i
 
               for p in $extraBuildInputs $propagatedNativeBuildInputs; do
                 if [ -d "$p/lib/ghc-${ghc.ghc.version}/package.conf.d" ]; then