diff --git a/pkgs/applications/science/math/R/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/science/math/R/default.nix
index 331faa6b147..7f238cc1cd9 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/science/math/R/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/science/math/R/default.nix
@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
       --with-readline
       --with-tcltk --with-tcl-config="${tcl}/lib/tclConfig.sh" --with-tk-config="${tk}/lib/tkConfig.sh"
       --with-cairo
+      --without-x
       --with-libpng
       --with-jpeglib
       --with-libtiff