diff --git a/pkgs/applications/video/mkvtoolnix/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/video/mkvtoolnix/default.nix
index 83e9589f165..df0cb1b8110 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/video/mkvtoolnix/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/video/mkvtoolnix/default.nix
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 , boost
 , xdg_utils
 , expat
+, withGUI ? true
 , wxGTK
 , zlib
 , ruby
@@ -14,6 +15,8 @@
 , curl
 }:
 
+assert withGUI -> wxGTK != null;
+
 stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   version = "7.5.0";
   name = "mkvtoolnix-${version}";
@@ -25,8 +28,8 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   buildInputs = [
     libmatroska flac libvorbis file boost xdg_utils
-    expat wxGTK zlib ruby gettext pkgconfig curl
-  ];
+    expat zlib ruby gettext pkgconfig curl
+    ] ++ stdenv.lib.optional withGUI wxGTK;
 
   configureFlags = "--with-boost-libdir=${boost.lib}/lib";
   buildPhase = ''
diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
index bbe843d0b1f..026f699459c 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
@@ -6529,6 +6529,11 @@ let
 
   mkvtoolnix = callPackage ../applications/video/mkvtoolnix { };
 
+  mkvtoolnix-cli = mkvtoolnix.override {
+    withGUI = false;
+    wxGTK = null;
+  };
+
   mlt-qt4 = callPackage ../development/libraries/mlt {
     qt = qt4;
   };