diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/offline-distutils/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/offline-distutils/default.nix
index 2ed41b08bb7..d325e23a9d6 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/offline-distutils/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/offline-distutils/default.nix
@@ -18,4 +18,17 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 allow-hosts = None
 EOF
   '';
+
+  meta = {
+    description = "distutils configured to disallow downloads";
+    longDescription = ''
+      A normal distutils with added distutils.cfg to set allow-hosts
+      to None. This dissallows easy_install to download any packages.
+      It is used by buildPythonPackage to ensure that no packages are
+      downloaded during build/test/install.
+    '';
+    license = stdenv.lib.licenses.psfl;
+    platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.all;
+    maintainers = with stdenv.lib.maintainers; [ simons chaoflow ];
+  };
 }