diff --git a/pkgs/development/interpreters/ngn-k/default.nix b/pkgs/development/interpreters/ngn-k/default.nix
index f45429e5a730..d74fba0dacfb 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/interpreters/ngn-k/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/interpreters/ngn-k/default.nix
@@ -3,12 +3,14 @@
 , stdenvNoLibs
 , fetchFromGitea
 , runtimeShell
-, doCheck ? stdenv.hostPlatform == stdenv.buildPlatform
+, doCheck ? withLibc && stdenv.hostPlatform == stdenv.buildPlatform
+, withLibc ? true
 }:
 
 let
-  # k itself is compiled with -ffreestanding, but tests require a libc
-  useStdenv = if doCheck then stdenv else stdenvNoLibs;
+  # k itself can be compiled with -ffreestanding, but tests require a libc;
+  # if we want to build k-libc we need a libc obviously
+  useStdenv = if withLibc || doCheck then stdenv else stdenvNoLibs;
 in
 
 useStdenv.mkDerivation {
@@ -37,7 +39,10 @@ useStdenv.mkDerivation {
   '';
 
   makeFlags = [ "-e" ];
-  buildFlags = [ "k" "libk.so" ];
+  buildFlags = [
+    (if withLibc then "k-libc" else "k")
+    "libk.so"
+  ];
   checkTarget = "t";
   inherit doCheck;