diff --git a/nix/dev-shell.nix b/nix/dev-shell.nix
--- a/nix/dev-shell.nix
+++ b/nix/dev-shell.nix
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@
 , watchman
 , rustfmt
 , yarn
+, zlib
 }:
 
 mkShell {
@@ -94,6 +95,11 @@
       export PATH=/usr/bin:$PATH
     fi
 
+    if [[ -f /etc/NIXOS ]]; then
+      # allow for impurely downloaded Android NDK tools to be used on NixOS
+      export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=${lib.makeLibraryPath [ stdenv.cc.cc.lib zlib ]}
+    fi
+
     echo "Welcome to Comm dev environment! :)"
   '';
 }