diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/electronics/kicad/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/electronics/kicad/default.nix
index 79a044a800c5..770b73c71244 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/electronics/kicad/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/electronics/kicad/default.nix
@@ -257,9 +257,12 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   postInstall = ''
     mkdir -p $out/share
     ln -s ${base}/share/applications $out/share/applications
-    ln -s ${base}/share/metainfo $out/share/metainfo
     ln -s ${base}/share/icons $out/share/icons
     ln -s ${base}/share/mime $out/share/mime
+  '' + optionalString (stable) ''
+    ln -s ${base}/share/appdata $out/share/appdata
+  '' + optionalString (!stable) ''
+    ln -s ${base}/share/metainfo $out/share/metainfo
   '';
 
   # can't run this for each pname