diff --git a/pkgs/tools/archivers/sharutils/default.nix b/pkgs/tools/archivers/sharutils/default.nix
index 72265b4ae1b..49cfc233c35 100644
--- a/pkgs/tools/archivers/sharutils/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/tools/archivers/sharutils/default.nix
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{ stdenv, fetchurl }:
+{ stdenv, fetchurl, gettext }:
 
 stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   name = "sharutils-4.8";
@@ -8,6 +8,11 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     sha256 = "19nlbzwlr93f7bam51rsqyj3z3sd65x32zhwxc9dgdgzcbggncnm";
   };
 
+  # GNU Gettext is needed on non-GNU platforms.
+  buildInputs = [ gettext ];
+
+  doCheck = true;
+
   meta = {
     description = "GNU Sharutils, tools for remote synchronization and `shell archives'";
 
diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
index 22ad5a3d4d0..ee905a2d01c 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
@@ -1507,7 +1507,7 @@ let
   };
 
   sharutils = import ../tools/archivers/sharutils {
-    inherit fetchurl stdenv;
+    inherit fetchurl stdenv gettext;
   };
 
   shebangfix = import ../tools/misc/shebangfix {