diff --git a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/htop/default.nix b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/htop/default.nix
index 873795c9752..8f3250f85f7 100644
--- a/pkgs/os-specific/linux/htop/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/os-specific/linux/htop/default.nix
@@ -13,6 +13,10 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   buildInputs = [ ncurses ];
   nativeBuildInputs = [ autoreconfHook ];
 
+  postPatch = ''
+    touch *.h # unnecessary regeneration requires Python
+  '';
+
   meta = {
     description = "An interactive process viewer for Linux";
     homepage = "http://htop.sourceforge.net";