diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/sdcc/default.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/sdcc/default.nix
index 5a4610880b6..173433d600a 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/sdcc/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/sdcc/default.nix
@@ -17,7 +17,9 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     sha256 = "042fxw5mnsfhpc0z9lxfsw88kdkm32pwrxacp88kj2n2dy0814a8";
   };
 
-  buildInputs = [ autoconf bison boost flex gputils texinfo zlib ];
+  buildInputs = [ boost gputils texinfo zlib ];
+
+  nativeBuildInputs = [ autoconf bison flex ];
 
   configureFlags = map (f: "--disable-${f}-port") excludedPorts;