diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index a30b5d8..9bc927c 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -60,6 +60,8 @@
       };
     };
 
+    overlays = import ./overlays;
+
     nixosConfigurations =
       let
         system = "x86_64-linux";
@@ -73,7 +75,7 @@
               config.allowUnfree = true;
             };
           })
-        ];
+        ] ++ builtins.attrValues self.overlays;
         sharedModules = [
           home-manager.nixosModule
           { nixpkgs.overlays = shared_overlays; }
diff --git a/overlays/default.nix b/overlays/default.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1f747a6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/overlays/default.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+{
+  i3status-rust = import ./i3status-rust;
+}
diff --git a/overlays/i3status-rust/default.nix b/overlays/i3status-rust/default.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1b78021
--- /dev/null
+++ b/overlays/i3status-rust/default.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+final: prev:
+{
+  # overlay created because nixpkgs's `i3status-rust` depended on `notmuch`, and
+  # `notmuch`'s tests were briefly broken. the features I'm disabling, I don't
+  # need anyway: (at the time of writing)
+  #
+  # - notmuch
+  # - maildir
+  i3status-rust = prev.i3status-rust.overrideAttrs (oldAttrs: {
+    buildInputs = builtins.attrValues {
+      inherit (final)
+        dbus
+        openssl
+        pulseaudio
+      ;
+    };
+    cargoBuildFeatures = [ "pulseaudio" ];
+  });
+}