diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libappindicator/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libappindicator/default.nix
index 8f005d6a5a4..3a26dd407e4 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/libappindicator/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libappindicator/default.nix
@@ -43,8 +43,10 @@ in stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     substituteInPlace configure.ac \
       --replace '=codegendir pygtk-2.0' '=codegendir pygobject-2.0'
     autoconf
-    substituteInPlace {configure,ltmain.sh,m4/libtool.m4} \
-      --replace /usr/bin/file ${file}/bin/file
+    for f in {configure,ltmain.sh,m4/libtool.m4}; do
+      substituteInPlace $f \
+        --replace /usr/bin/file ${file}/bin/file
+    done
   '';
 
   configureFlags = [