diff --git a/src/nix/main.cc b/src/nix/main.cc
index 47ef6ea20a18..3925ae6f401a 100644
--- a/src/nix/main.cc
+++ b/src/nix/main.cc
@@ -388,6 +388,8 @@ void mainWrapped(int argc, char ** argv)
 
     initNix();
     initGC();
+
+    experimentalFeatureSettings.set("extra-experimental-features", "pipe-operators");
     flakeSettings.configureEvalSettings(evalSettings);
 
     /* Set the build hook location