diff --git a/pkgs/applications/audio/espeak-ng/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/audio/espeak-ng/default.nix
index d53c0ac1caff..5e62399c8a48 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/audio/espeak-ng/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/audio/espeak-ng/default.nix
@@ -75,5 +75,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     license = licenses.gpl3Plus;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ aske ];
     platforms = platforms.all;
+    mainProgram = "espeak-ng";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/display-managers/greetd/regreet.nix b/pkgs/applications/display-managers/greetd/regreet.nix
index a520ad88d6e1..6cd336821cca 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/display-managers/greetd/regreet.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/display-managers/greetd/regreet.nix
@@ -31,5 +31,6 @@ rustPlatform.buildRustPackage rec {
     license = licenses.gpl3Plus;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ fufexan ];
     platforms = platforms.linux;
+    mainProgram = "regreet";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/emulators/darling/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/emulators/darling/default.nix
index 988ca7964794..cc4d7265ce28 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/emulators/darling/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/emulators/darling/default.nix
@@ -227,5 +227,6 @@ in stdenv.mkDerivation {
     license = licenses.gpl3Plus;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ zhaofengli ];
     platforms = [ "x86_64-linux" ];
+    mainProgram = "darling";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/graphics/tesseract/tesseract5.nix b/pkgs/applications/graphics/tesseract/tesseract5.nix
index 614a9e844cc0..aa7f17b20c28 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/graphics/tesseract/tesseract5.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/graphics/tesseract/tesseract5.nix
@@ -41,5 +41,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     license = lib.licenses.asl20;
     maintainers = with lib.maintainers; [ anselmschueler ];
     platforms = lib.platforms.unix;
+    mainProgram = "tesseract";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/browsers/firefox/packages.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/browsers/firefox/packages.nix
index 7a998fc4875c..a7f3c682381f 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/browsers/firefox/packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/browsers/firefox/packages.nix
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
                                              # not in `badPlatforms` because cross-compilation on 64-bit machine might work.
       maxSilent = 14400; # 4h, double the default of 7200s (c.f. #129212, #129115)
       license = lib.licenses.mpl20;
+      mainProgram = "firefox";
     };
     tests = [ nixosTests.firefox ];
     updateScript = callPackage ./update.nix {
@@ -46,6 +47,7 @@
                                              # not in `badPlatforms` because cross-compilation on 64-bit machine might work.
       maxSilent = 14400; # 4h, double the default of 7200s (c.f. #129212, #129115)
       license = lib.licenses.mpl20;
+      mainProgram = "firefox";
     };
     tests = [ nixosTests.firefox-beta ];
     updateScript = callPackage ./update.nix {
@@ -74,6 +76,7 @@
                                              # not in `badPlatforms` because cross-compilation on 64-bit machine might work.
       maxSilent = 14400; # 4h, double the default of 7200s (c.f. #129212, #129115)
       license = lib.licenses.mpl20;
+      mainProgram = "firefox";
     };
     tests = [ nixosTests.firefox-devedition ];
     updateScript = callPackage ./update.nix {
@@ -104,6 +107,7 @@
       broken = stdenv.buildPlatform.is32bit; # since Firefox 60, build on 32-bit platforms fails with "out of memory".
                                              # not in `badPlatforms` because cross-compilation on 64-bit machine might work.
       license = lib.licenses.mpl20;
+      mainProgram = "firefox";
     };
     tests = [ nixosTests.firefox-esr-102 ];
     updateScript = callPackage ./update.nix {
@@ -132,6 +136,7 @@
       broken = stdenv.buildPlatform.is32bit; # since Firefox 60, build on 32-bit platforms fails with "out of memory".
                                              # not in `badPlatforms` because cross-compilation on 64-bit machine might work.
       license = lib.licenses.mpl20;
+      mainProgram = "firefox";
     };
     tests = [ nixosTests.firefox-esr-115 ];
     updateScript = callPackage ./update.nix {
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/clash-verge/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/clash-verge/default.nix
index 7869ed9a1f75..bbe36cb0d661 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/clash-verge/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/clash-verge/default.nix
@@ -60,5 +60,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     license = licenses.gpl3Plus;
     sourceProvenance = with sourceTypes; [ binaryNativeCode ];
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ zendo ];
+    mainProgram = "clash-verge";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/networking/irc/thelounge/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/networking/irc/thelounge/default.nix
index adb46e2bab7c..eff1458e07e3 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/networking/irc/thelounge/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/networking/irc/thelounge/default.nix
@@ -88,5 +88,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (finalAttrs: {
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ winter raitobezarius ];
     license = licenses.mit;
     inherit (nodejs.meta) platforms;
+    mainProgram = "thelounge";
   };
 })
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/version-management/gitea/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/version-management/gitea/default.nix
index bb696b4087fc..89cae801ec29 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/version-management/gitea/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/version-management/gitea/default.nix
@@ -88,5 +88,6 @@ buildGoModule rec {
     license = licenses.mit;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ disassembler kolaente ma27 techknowlogick ];
     broken = stdenv.isDarwin;
+    mainProgram = "gitea";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/applications/window-managers/cage/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/window-managers/cage/default.nix
index 6c56c75418f9..c94263f81612 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/window-managers/cage/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/window-managers/cage/default.nix
@@ -44,5 +44,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     license     = licenses.mit;
     platforms   = platforms.linux;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ primeos ];
+    mainProgram = "cage";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/xdg-dbus-proxy/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/xdg-dbus-proxy/default.nix
index cc7406b11463..c88c7d42b128 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/xdg-dbus-proxy/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/xdg-dbus-proxy/default.nix
@@ -46,5 +46,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     license = licenses.lgpl21Plus;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ jtojnar ];
     platforms = platforms.linux;
+    mainProgram = "xdg-dbus-proxy";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/continuous-integration/woodpecker/agent.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/continuous-integration/woodpecker/agent.nix
index 2865711d507c..aa835aad1c59 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/continuous-integration/woodpecker/agent.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/continuous-integration/woodpecker/agent.nix
@@ -13,5 +13,6 @@ buildGoModule {
 
   meta = common.meta // {
     description = "Woodpecker Continuous Integration agent";
+    mainProgram = "woodpecker-agent";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/continuous-integration/woodpecker/server.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/continuous-integration/woodpecker/server.nix
index d97412649b5d..5ee48ae926f5 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/continuous-integration/woodpecker/server.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/continuous-integration/woodpecker/server.nix
@@ -23,5 +23,6 @@ buildGoModule {
 
   meta = common.meta // {
     description = "Woodpecker Continuous Integration server";
+    mainProgram = "woodpecker-server";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/geckodriver/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/geckodriver/default.nix
index 6f6a937efbed..ef71dc143f19 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/geckodriver/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/geckodriver/default.nix
@@ -26,5 +26,6 @@ rustPlatform.buildRustPackage rec {
     homepage = "https://github.com/mozilla/geckodriver";
     license = licenses.mpl20;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ jraygauthier ];
+    mainProgram = "geckodriver";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/tools/selenium/chromedriver/default.nix b/pkgs/development/tools/selenium/chromedriver/default.nix
index d8201fabb2f6..08f067ecbd76 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/tools/selenium/chromedriver/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/tools/selenium/chromedriver/default.nix
@@ -73,5 +73,6 @@ in stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     # Note from primeos: By updating Chromium I also update Google Chrome and
     # ChromeDriver.
     platforms = attrNames allSpecs;
+    mainProgram = "chromedriver";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/below/default.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/below/default.nix
index 2bdca0805a22..0a91fd585906 100644
--- a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/below/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/below/default.nix
@@ -43,5 +43,6 @@ rustPlatform.buildRustPackage rec {
     description = "A time traveling resource monitor for modern Linux systems";
     license = licenses.asl20;
     homepage = "https://github.com/facebookincubator/below";
+    mainProgram = "below";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/code-server/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/code-server/default.nix
index 54aca01c1a40..4bc276b6c389 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/code-server/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/code-server/default.nix
@@ -322,5 +322,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (finalAttrs: {
     license = lib.licenses.mit;
     maintainers = with lib.maintainers; [ offline henkery code-asher ];
     platforms = [ "x86_64-linux" "aarch64-linux" "x86_64-darwin" ];
+    mainProgram = "code-server";
   };
 })
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/consul/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/consul/default.nix
index 1f9b68060321..6f145137567a 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/consul/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/consul/default.nix
@@ -42,5 +42,6 @@ buildGoModule rec {
     platforms = platforms.linux ++ platforms.darwin;
     license = licenses.mpl20;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ pradeepchhetri vdemeester nh2 techknowlogick];
+    mainProgram = "consul";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/dns/acme-dns/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/dns/acme-dns/default.nix
index 08cd511f1827..db6ea4bbea00 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/dns/acme-dns/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/dns/acme-dns/default.nix
@@ -30,5 +30,6 @@ buildGoModule rec {
     changelog = "https://github.com/joohoi/acme-dns/releases/tag/${src.rev}";
     license = lib.licenses.mit;
     maintainers = with lib.maintainers; [ emilylange ];
+    mainProgram = "acme-dns";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/ldap/lldap/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/ldap/lldap/default.nix
index 1948ca015dda..3c83fe037a0d 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/ldap/lldap/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/ldap/lldap/default.nix
@@ -110,5 +110,6 @@ in rustPlatform.buildRustPackage (commonDerivationAttrs // {
     license = licenses.gpl3Only;
     platforms = platforms.linux;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ emilylange bendlas ];
+    mainProgram = "lldap";
   };
 })
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/monitoring/grafana-agent/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/monitoring/grafana-agent/default.nix
index 3859c2df5965..e07621e8213d 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/monitoring/grafana-agent/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/monitoring/grafana-agent/default.nix
@@ -73,5 +73,6 @@ buildGoModule rec {
     homepage = "https://grafana.com/products/cloud";
     changelog = "https://github.com/grafana/agent/blob/${src.rev}/CHANGELOG.md";
     maintainers = with lib.maintainers; [ flokli emilylange ];
+    mainProgram = "grafana-agent";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/openvscode-server/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/openvscode-server/default.nix
index 8ce4b7676e44..43f9d7a7fe73 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/openvscode-server/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/openvscode-server/default.nix
@@ -219,5 +219,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (finalAttrs: {
     license = lib.licenses.mit;
     maintainers = with lib.maintainers; [ dguenther ghuntley emilytrau ];
     platforms = [ "x86_64-linux" "aarch64-linux" "x86_64-darwin" "aarch64-darwin" ];
+    mainProgram = "openvscode-server";
   };
 })
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/pufferpanel/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/pufferpanel/default.nix
index f1079a03fcec..d3420f90db54 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/pufferpanel/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/pufferpanel/default.nix
@@ -98,5 +98,6 @@ buildGoModule rec {
     homepage = "https://www.pufferpanel.com/";
     license = with licenses; [ asl20 ];
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ ckie tie ];
+    mainProgram = "pufferpanel";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/web-apps/kavita/default.nix b/pkgs/servers/web-apps/kavita/default.nix
index 81f07c213191..c7d6e7b9567c 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/web-apps/kavita/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/web-apps/kavita/default.nix
@@ -73,5 +73,6 @@ stdenvNoCC.mkDerivation (finalAttrs: {
     license = lib.licenses.gpl3Only;
     platforms = lib.platforms.linux;
     maintainers = with lib.maintainers; [ misterio77 ];
+    mainProgram = "kavita";
   };
 })
diff --git a/pkgs/servers/x11/xorg/overrides.nix b/pkgs/servers/x11/xorg/overrides.nix
index 9010d63d5c67..663a2fc0845c 100644
--- a/pkgs/servers/x11/xorg/overrides.nix
+++ b/pkgs/servers/x11/xorg/overrides.nix
@@ -814,6 +814,7 @@ self: super:
         --replace '_X_NORETURN' '__attribute__((noreturn))' \
         --replace 'n_dirs--;' ""
     '';
+    meta.mainProgram = "lndir";
   });
 
   twm = super.twm.overrideAttrs (attrs: {
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/backup/tarsnap/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/backup/tarsnap/default.nix
index 8a0e43b60085..ad7fc761d843 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/backup/tarsnap/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/backup/tarsnap/default.nix
@@ -40,5 +40,6 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     license     = lib.licenses.unfree;
     platforms   = lib.platforms.unix;
     maintainers = with lib.maintainers; [ thoughtpolice roconnor ];
+    mainProgram = "tarsnap";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/direnv/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/direnv/default.nix
index 88a07cd07af9..179e719528a4 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/direnv/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/direnv/default.nix
@@ -50,5 +50,6 @@ buildGoModule rec {
     homepage = "https://direnv.net";
     license = licenses.mit;
     maintainers = teams.numtide.members;
+    mainProgram = "direnv";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/misc/vector/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/misc/vector/default.nix
index b74bd1c9e3cd..fd3a94298c62 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/misc/vector/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/misc/vector/default.nix
@@ -126,5 +126,6 @@ rustPlatform.buildRustPackage {
     license = licenses.mpl20;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ thoughtpolice happysalada ];
     platforms = with platforms; all;
+    mainProgram = "vector";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/clash-meta/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/clash-meta/default.nix
index 244eab7809b9..c7275db6c0a6 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/clash-meta/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/clash-meta/default.nix
@@ -40,5 +40,6 @@ buildGoModule rec {
     homepage = "https://github.com/MetaCubeX/Clash.Meta";
     license = licenses.gpl3Only;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ oluceps ];
+    mainProgram = "clash-meta";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/clash/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/clash/default.nix
index 6ddf423657fa..7eba0e1f2150 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/clash/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/clash/default.nix
@@ -40,5 +40,6 @@ buildGoModule rec {
     changelog = "https://github.com/Dreamacro/clash/releases/tag/v${version}";
     license = licenses.gpl3Only;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ contrun Br1ght0ne ];
+    mainProgram = "clash";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/sitespeed-io/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/sitespeed-io/default.nix
index 40949e6725ae..f7b71b2fb4ca 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/sitespeed-io/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/sitespeed-io/default.nix
@@ -87,5 +87,6 @@ buildNpmPackage rec {
     license = licenses.mit;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ misterio77 ];
     platforms = lib.unique (geckodriver.meta.platforms ++ chromedriver.meta.platforms);
+    mainProgram = "sitespeed-io";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/networking/wgautomesh/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/networking/wgautomesh/default.nix
index 823987888a31..a9843e2efa17 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/networking/wgautomesh/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/networking/wgautomesh/default.nix
@@ -21,5 +21,6 @@ rustPlatform.buildRustPackage rec {
     homepage = "https://git.deuxfleurs.fr/Deuxfleurs/wgautomesh";
     license = licenses.agpl3Only;
     maintainers = [ maintainers.lx ];
+    mainProgram = "wgautomesh";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/package-management/harmonia/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/package-management/harmonia/default.nix
index 5b815261fbc4..cee9301d5943 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/package-management/harmonia/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/package-management/harmonia/default.nix
@@ -44,5 +44,6 @@ rustPlatform.buildRustPackage rec {
     homepage = "https://github.com/nix-community/harmonia";
     license = licenses.mit;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ mic92 ];
+    mainProgram = "harmonia";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/system/auto-cpufreq/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/system/auto-cpufreq/default.nix
index b72ee7a6911f..faa280575e1e 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/system/auto-cpufreq/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/system/auto-cpufreq/default.nix
@@ -43,5 +43,6 @@ python3Packages.buildPythonPackage rec {
     license = licenses.lgpl3Plus;
     platforms = platforms.linux;
     maintainers = [ maintainers.Technical27 ];
+    mainProgram = "auto-cpufreq";
   };
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/tools/system/kanata/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/system/kanata/default.nix
index 5a3450df0866..82303c276544 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/system/kanata/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/system/kanata/default.nix
@@ -29,5 +29,6 @@ rustPlatform.buildRustPackage rec {
     license = licenses.lgpl3Only;
     maintainers = with maintainers; [ linj ];
     platforms = platforms.linux;
+    mainProgram = "kanata";
   };
 }