diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/lua-packages.nix b/pkgs/top-level/lua-packages.nix
index 9d0a607dfc0..20773fb66d3 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/lua-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/lua-packages.nix
@@ -177,6 +177,9 @@ with self; {
 
     preConfigure = ''export prefix=$out'';
 
+    # https://github.com/wahern/cqueues/issues/216
+    NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE = [ "-DCQUEUES_VERSION=${version}" ];
+
     nativeBuildInputs = [ gnum4 ];
     buildInputs = [ openssl ];