diff --git a/pkgs/nixops/default.nix b/pkgs/nixops/default.nix
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3be4cd3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/nixops/default.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+# An updated version of nixops that's compatible with machines running NixOS 19.09.
+# 19.09 demands a suitable base image (defined in nixops-vbox/nix/virtualbox.nix) to
+# start the virtualbox guest service during system activation.
+
+{ stdenv, nixops, runCommand, fetchFromGitHub }:
+
+let
+  pluginData = {
+    aws = {
+      owner = "nixos";
+      repo = "nixops-aws";
+      rev= "v1.0.0";
+      sha256 = "1if6spscsgd6ckivgvbqza5fvvn5hbafi1n8q0fw98s3xpz2hjfm";
+    };
+    hetzner = {
+      owner = "nixos";
+      repo = "nixops-hetzner";
+      rev = "v1.0.0";
+      sha256 = "0cxfjpk2daczv3m7q5bsgfvd30qgmm1y7dnvz6nd7s7l7l0gsvas";
+    };
+    vbox = {
+      owner = "nix-community";
+      repo = "nixops-vbox";
+      rev = "bff6054ce9e7f5f9aa830617577f1a511a461063";
+      sha256 = "0j0lbi8rqmw17ji367zh94lvlb062iiyavl4l7m851v40wqr8a5i";
+    };
+    libvirtd = {
+      owner = "nix-community";
+      repo = "nixops-libvirtd";
+      rev = "v1.0.0";
+      sha256 = "0g2ag4mhgrxws3h4q8cvfh4ks1chgpjm018ayqd48lagyvi32l8m";
+    };
+  };
+
+  origSrc = fetchFromGitHub {
+    owner = "NixOS";
+    repo = "nixops";
+    rev = "2434bf26e0bba49441041ffce36dc324f049bc00";
+    sha256 = "0ag05pjwwqdw8in49hr8m8bdg31xsgqs1cawcqyh6a5lsys7f6zg";
+  };
+
+  src = runCommand "src" {} ''
+    cp --no-preserve=mode -r ${origSrc} $out
+    cd $out
+    patch -p1 < ${./release.nix.patch}
+  '';
+
+  nixopsRelease = import "${src}/release.nix" {
+    inherit pluginData;
+    p = (p: with p; [ aws hetzner vbox libvirtd ]);
+  };
+in
+nixopsRelease.build.${builtins.currentSystem}
diff --git a/pkgs/nixops/release.nix.patch b/pkgs/nixops/release.nix.patch
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5bbb834
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/nixops/release.nix.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+--- a/release.nix
++++ b/release.nix
+@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
+ { nixopsSrc ? { outPath = ./.; revCount = 0; shortRev = "abcdef"; rev = "HEAD"; }
+ , officialRelease ? false
+ , nixpkgs ? <nixpkgs>
++, pluginData
+ , p ? (p: [ ])
+ }:
+
+@@ -10,11 +11,10 @@ let
+
+   allPlugins = let
+     plugins = let
+-      allPluginVers = import ./data.nix;
++      allPluginVers = pluginData;
+       fetch = v:
+         pkgs.fetchFromGitHub {
+-          inherit (v) owner repo sha256;
+-          rev = "v${v.version}";
++          inherit (v) owner repo sha256 rev;
+         };
+       srcDrv = v: (fetch v) + "/release.nix";
+     in self: let
+@@ -83,4 +83,4 @@
+# Remove annoying debug message that's shown in nix-shell while evaluating this file
+           pysqlite
+           typing
+           pluggy
+-        ] ++ pkgs.lib.traceValFn (x: "Using plugins: " + builtins.toJSON x) (map (d: d.build.${system}) (p allPlugins));
++        ] ++ (map (d: d.build.${system}) (p allPlugins));
+
+
+       # For "nix-build --run-env".
diff --git a/shell.nix b/shell.nix
index 6eb7852..f48a5c5 100644
--- a/shell.nix
+++ b/shell.nix
@@ -6,7 +6,9 @@ with import nixpkgs { };
 stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
   name = "nix-bitcoin-environment";
 
-  buildInputs = [ pkgs.nixops pkgs.figlet pkgs.apg pkgs.openssl ];
+  nixops19_09 = callPackage ./pkgs/nixops {};
+
+  buildInputs = with pkgs; [ nixops19_09 figlet apg openssl ];
 
   shellHook = ''
     export NIX_PATH="nixpkgs=${nixpkgs}:."