diff --git a/pkgs/build-support/libredirect/default.nix b/pkgs/build-support/libredirect/default.nix
index bc777c7e6c74..d13cdd681a21 100644
--- a/pkgs/build-support/libredirect/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/build-support/libredirect/default.nix
@@ -14,5 +14,11 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
 
   meta = {
     platforms = stdenv.lib.platforms.linux;
+    description = "An LD_PRELOAD library to intercept and rewrite the paths in glibc calls";
+    longDescription = ''
+      libredirect is an LD_PRELOAD library to intercept and rewrite the paths in
+      glibc calls based on the value of $NIX_REDIRECTS, a colon-separated list
+      of path prefixes to be rewritten, e.g. "/src=/dst:/usr/=/nix/store/".
+    '';
   };
 }