diff --git a/pkgs/shells/bash/default.nix b/pkgs/shells/bash/default.nix
index 2d0978abdca..3cc31ec4ec7 100644
--- a/pkgs/shells/bash/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/shells/bash/default.nix
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
-{stdenv, fetchurl, readline, interactive ? false, ncurses ? null, texinfo ? null}:
+{stdenv, fetchurl, readline ? null, interactive ? false, texinfo ? null}:
 
-assert interactive -> ncurses != null;
+assert interactive -> readline != null;
 
 stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   name = "bash-4.0";
diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
index d261542c275..4ae34565fe6 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
@@ -1404,7 +1404,7 @@ let
 
   bash = lowPrio (useFromStdenv "bash"
     (import ../shells/bash {
-      inherit fetchurl stdenv readline;
+      inherit fetchurl stdenv;
     }));
 
   bashInteractive = appendToName "interactive" (import ../shells/bash {