diff --git a/pkgs/applications/version-management/git-and-tools/gitstatus/default.nix b/pkgs/applications/version-management/git-and-tools/gitstatus/default.nix
index 471b47c9d6b432..cb41ae67057326 100644
--- a/pkgs/applications/version-management/git-and-tools/gitstatus/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/applications/version-management/git-and-tools/gitstatus/default.nix
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-{ callPackage, stdenv, fetchFromGitHub, ...}:
+{ callPackage, stdenv, fetchFromGitHub, git, zsh, ...}:
 
 stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   pname = "gitstatus";
@@ -13,11 +13,61 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   buildInputs = [ (callPackage ./romkatv_libgit2.nix {}) ];
   patchPhase = ''
-    sed -i "1i GITSTATUS_DAEMON=$out/bin/gitstatusd" gitstatus.plugin.zsh
+    sed -i '1i GITSTATUS_AUTO_INSTALL=''${GITSTATUS_AUTO_INSTALL-0}' gitstatus.plugin.zsh
+    sed -i "1a GITSTATUS_DAEMON=$out/bin/gitstatusd" install
   '';
   installPhase = ''
     install -Dm755 usrbin/gitstatusd $out/bin/gitstatusd
     install -Dm444 gitstatus.plugin.zsh $out
+    install -Dm555 install $out
+    install -Dm444 build.info $out
+  '';
+  # Don't install the "install" and "build.info" files, which the end user
+  # should not need to worry about.
+  pathsToLink = [
+    "/bin/gitstatusd"
+    "/gitstatus.plugin.zsh"
+  ];
+
+  # The install check sets up an empty Git repository and a minimal zshrc that
+  # invokes gitstatus.plugin.zsh. It runs zsh against this zshrc and verifies
+  # that the script was sourced successfully and that the "gitstatus_query"
+  # command ran successfully. This tests the binary itself and the zsh
+  # integration.
+  installCheckInputs = [ git zsh ];
+  doInstallCheck = true;
+  installCheckPhase = ''
+    TEMP=$(mktemp -d)
+    cd "$TEMP"
+
+    git init
+
+    echo '
+      GITSTATUS_LOG_LEVEL=DEBUG
+      . $out/gitstatus.plugin.zsh || exit 1
+
+      gitstatus_stop NIX_TEST && gitstatus_start NIX_TEST
+      gitstatus_query NIX_TEST
+      if [[ $? -ne 0 ]]; then
+          print -- "Something went wrong with gitstatus"
+          exit 1
+      elif [[ $VCS_STATUS_RESULT != "ok-sync" ]]; then
+          print -- "Not in a Git repo"
+          exit 1
+      else
+          print -- "OK"
+          exit 0
+      fi
+    ' > .zshrc
+
+    # If we try to run zsh like "zsh -i -c true" or "zsh -i > output" then job
+    # control will be disabled in the shell and the gitstatus plugin script
+    # will fail when it tries to set the MONITOR option. As a workaround, we
+    # run zsh as a full-fledged independent process and then wait for it to
+    # exit. (The "exit" statements in the zshrc ensure that zsh will exit
+    # almost immediately after starting.)
+    ZDOTDIR=. zsh -i &
+    wait $!
   '';
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {