diff --git a/pkgs/development/r-modules/default.nix b/pkgs/development/r-modules/default.nix
index 0bb02d0f989d..1d23bb692cf1 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/r-modules/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/r-modules/default.nix
@@ -3,9 +3,9 @@
 { R, pkgs, overrides }:
 
 let
-  inherit (pkgs) fetchurl stdenv lib xvfb_run utillinux;
+  inherit (pkgs) fetchurl stdenv lib;
 
-  buildRPackage = import ./generic-builder.nix { inherit R xvfb_run utillinux ; };
+  buildRPackage = pkgs.callPackage ./generic-builder.nix { inherit R; };
 
   # Package template
   #
diff --git a/pkgs/development/r-modules/generic-builder.nix b/pkgs/development/r-modules/generic-builder.nix
index bca7c10e0fd2..45c377635c90 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/r-modules/generic-builder.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/r-modules/generic-builder.nix
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
-{ R, xvfb_run, utillinux }:
+{ stdenv, R, xvfb_run, utillinux }:
 
 { name, buildInputs ? [], ... } @ attrs:
 
-R.stdenv.mkDerivation ({
-  buildInputs = buildInputs ++ [R xvfb_run utillinux];
+stdenv.mkDerivation ({
+  buildInputs = buildInputs ++ [R] ++
+                stdenv.lib.optionals attrs.requireX [utillinux xvfb_run];
 
   configurePhase = ''
     runHook preConfigure