diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/xsel/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/xsel/default.nix
index 604868f8c490..0ec7d58598f8 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/xsel/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/xsel/default.nix
@@ -3,23 +3,18 @@
 stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   name = "xsel-unstable-${version}";
 
-  version = "2016-09-02";
+  version = "2018-01-10";
 
   src = fetchFromGitHub {
     owner = "kfish";
     repo = "xsel";
-    rev = "aa7f57eed805adb09e9c59c8ea841870e8206b81";
-    sha256 = "04mrc8j0rr7iy1k6brfxnx26pmxm800gh4nqrxn6j2lz6vd5y9m5";
+    rev = "9bfc13d64b5acb92c6648c696a9d9260fcbecc65";
+    sha256 = "05ms34by5hxznnpvmvhgp6llvlkz0zw4sq6c4bgwr82lj140lscm";
   };
 
   nativeBuildInputs = [ autoreconfHook ];
   buildInputs = [ libX11 ];
 
-  # We need a README file, otherwise autoconf complains.
-  postUnpack = ''
-    mv $sourceRoot/README{.md,}
-  '';
-
   meta = with lib; {
     description = "Command-line program for getting and setting the contents of the X selection";
     homepage = http://www.kfish.org/software/xsel;