diff --git a/tstest/integration/vms/nixos_test.go b/tstest/integration/vms/nixos_test.go
index f2cc7e07a..e70989bf9 100644
--- a/tstest/integration/vms/nixos_test.go
+++ b/tstest/integration/vms/nixos_test.go
@@ -121,7 +121,10 @@
   boot.extraModulePackages = [ ];
 
   # Curl is needed for one of the steps in cloud-final
-  systemd.services.cloud-final.path = [ pkgs.curl ];
+  systemd.services.cloud-final.path = with pkgs; [ curl ];
+
+  # Curl is needed for one of the integration tests
+  environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [ curl ];
 
   # yolo, this vm can sudo freely.
   security.sudo.wheelNeedsPassword = false;
diff --git a/tstest/integration/vms/vms_test.go b/tstest/integration/vms/vms_test.go
index 911222418..be4a4bbf0 100644
--- a/tstest/integration/vms/vms_test.go
+++ b/tstest/integration/vms/vms_test.go
@@ -252,11 +252,7 @@ func (h Harness) fetchDistro(t *testing.T, resultDistro Distro) string {
 	cdir = filepath.Join(cdir, "tailscale", "vm-test")
 
 	if strings.HasPrefix(resultDistro.name, "nixos") {
-		var imagePath string
-		t.Run("nix-build", func(t *testing.T) {
-			imagePath = h.makeNixOSImage(t, resultDistro, cdir)
-		})
-		return imagePath
+		return h.makeNixOSImage(t, resultDistro, cdir)
 	}
 
 	qcowPath := filepath.Join(cdir, "qcow2", resultDistro.sha256sum)