diff --git a/gnu/local.mk b/gnu/local.mk
index 2a56c4a9e2..4503b4b2e2 100644
--- a/gnu/local.mk
+++ b/gnu/local.mk
@@ -598,6 +598,7 @@ GNU_SYSTEM_MODULES =				\
   %D%/packages/xdisorg.scm			\
   %D%/packages/xorg.scm				\
   %D%/packages/xfce.scm				\
+  %D%/packages/zig.scm				\
   %D%/packages/zile.scm				\
   %D%/packages/zwave.scm			\
 						\
@@ -1903,6 +1904,7 @@ dist_patch_DATA =						\
   %D%/packages/patches/ytfzf-updates.patch        \
   %D%/packages/patches/ytnef-CVE-2021-3403.patch	\
   %D%/packages/patches/ytnef-CVE-2021-3404.patch	\
+  %D%/packages/patches/zig-use-explicit-paths.patch	\
   %D%/packages/patches/zstd-CVE-2021-24031_CVE-2021-24032.patch	\
   %D%/packages/patches/zziplib-CVE-2018-16548.patch
 
diff --git a/gnu/packages/patches/zig-use-explicit-paths.patch b/gnu/packages/patches/zig-use-explicit-paths.patch
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ab0d2c7f8b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gnu/packages/patches/zig-use-explicit-paths.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,132 @@
+This patch replaces the OS-specific detection mechanism by one that solely
+relies on environment variables.  This has the benefit that said environment
+variables can be used as search paths in Guix.
+
+Index: zig-0.8.1/lib/std/zig/system.zig
+===================================================================
+--- zig-0.8.1.orig/lib/std/zig/system.zig
++++ zig-0.8.1/lib/std/zig/system.zig
+@@ -39,101 +39,44 @@ pub const NativePaths = struct {
+         };
+         errdefer self.deinit();
+ 
+-        var is_nix = false;
+-        if (process.getEnvVarOwned(allocator, "NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE")) |nix_cflags_compile| {
+-            defer allocator.free(nix_cflags_compile);
+-
+-            is_nix = true;
+-            var it = mem.tokenize(nix_cflags_compile, " ");
++        // TODO: Support cross-compile paths?
++        if (process.getEnvVarOwned(allocator, "ZIG_INCLUDE_DIRS")) |zig_include_dirs| {
++            defer allocator.free(zig_include_dirs);
++            var it = mem.tokenize(zig_include_dirs, ":");
+             while (true) {
+-                const word = it.next() orelse break;
+-                if (mem.eql(u8, word, "-isystem")) {
+-                    const include_path = it.next() orelse {
+-                        try self.addWarning("Expected argument after -isystem in NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE");
+-                        break;
+-                    };
+-                    try self.addIncludeDir(include_path);
+-                } else {
+-                    if (mem.startsWith(u8, word, "-frandom-seed=")) {
+-                        continue;
+-                    }
+-                    try self.addWarningFmt("Unrecognized C flag from NIX_CFLAGS_COMPILE: {s}", .{word});
+-                }
++                const dir = it.next() orelse break;
++                try self.addIncludeDir(dir);
+             }
+         } else |err| switch (err) {
+             error.InvalidUtf8 => {},
+             error.EnvironmentVariableNotFound => {},
+             error.OutOfMemory => |e| return e,
+         }
+-        if (process.getEnvVarOwned(allocator, "NIX_LDFLAGS")) |nix_ldflags| {
+-            defer allocator.free(nix_ldflags);
+ 
+-            is_nix = true;
+-            var it = mem.tokenize(nix_ldflags, " ");
++        if (process.getEnvVarOwned(allocator, "ZIG_LIB_DIRS")) |zig_lib_dirs| {
++            defer allocator.free(zig_lib_dirs);
++            var it = mem.tokenize(zig_lib_dirs, ":");
+             while (true) {
+-                const word = it.next() orelse break;
+-                if (mem.eql(u8, word, "-rpath")) {
+-                    const rpath = it.next() orelse {
+-                        try self.addWarning("Expected argument after -rpath in NIX_LDFLAGS");
+-                        break;
+-                    };
+-                    try self.addRPath(rpath);
+-                } else if (word.len > 2 and word[0] == '-' and word[1] == 'L') {
+-                    const lib_path = word[2..];
+-                    try self.addLibDir(lib_path);
+-                } else {
+-                    try self.addWarningFmt("Unrecognized C flag from NIX_LDFLAGS: {s}", .{word});
+-                    break;
+-                }
++                const dir = it.next() orelse break;
++                try self.addLibDir(dir);
+             }
+         } else |err| switch (err) {
+             error.InvalidUtf8 => {},
+             error.EnvironmentVariableNotFound => {},
+             error.OutOfMemory => |e| return e,
+         }
+-        if (is_nix) {
+-            return self;
+-        }
+-
+-        if (comptime Target.current.isDarwin()) {
+-            try self.addIncludeDir("/usr/include");
+-            try self.addIncludeDir("/usr/local/include");
+-
+-            try self.addLibDir("/usr/lib");
+-            try self.addLibDir("/usr/local/lib");
+-
+-            try self.addFrameworkDir("/Library/Frameworks");
+-            try self.addFrameworkDir("/System/Library/Frameworks");
+-
+-            return self;
+-        }
+-
+-        if (native_target.os.tag != .windows) {
+-            const triple = try native_target.linuxTriple(allocator);
+-            const qual = native_target.cpu.arch.ptrBitWidth();
+-
+-            // TODO: $ ld --verbose | grep SEARCH_DIR
+-            // the output contains some paths that end with lib64, maybe include them too?
+-            // TODO: what is the best possible order of things?
+-            // TODO: some of these are suspect and should only be added on some systems. audit needed.
+ 
+-            try self.addIncludeDir("/usr/local/include");
+-            try self.addLibDirFmt("/usr/local/lib{d}", .{qual});
+-            try self.addLibDir("/usr/local/lib");
+-
+-            try self.addIncludeDirFmt("/usr/include/{s}", .{triple});
+-            try self.addLibDirFmt("/usr/lib/{s}", .{triple});
+-
+-            try self.addIncludeDir("/usr/include");
+-            try self.addLibDirFmt("/lib{d}", .{qual});
+-            try self.addLibDir("/lib");
+-            try self.addLibDirFmt("/usr/lib{d}", .{qual});
+-            try self.addLibDir("/usr/lib");
+-
+-            // example: on a 64-bit debian-based linux distro, with zlib installed from apt:
+-            // zlib.h is in /usr/include (added above)
+-            // libz.so.1 is in /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu (added here)
+-            try self.addLibDirFmt("/lib/{s}", .{triple});
++        if (process.getEnvVarOwned(allocator, "ZIG_FRAMEWORK_DIRS")) |zig_framework_dirs| {
++            defer allocator.free(zig_framework_dirs);
++            var it = mem.tokenize(zig_framework_dirs, ":");
++            while (true) {
++                const dir = it.next() orelse break;
++                try self.addFrameworkDir(dir);
++            }
++        } else |err| switch (err) {
++            error.InvalidUtf8 => {},
++            error.EnvironmentVariableNotFound => {},
++            error.OutOfMemory => |e| return e,
+         }
+ 
+         return self;
diff --git a/gnu/packages/zig.scm b/gnu/packages/zig.scm
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..aae095b747
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gnu/packages/zig.scm
@@ -0,0 +1,100 @@
+;;; GNU Guix --- Functional package management for GNU
+;;; Copyright © 2021 Liliana Prikler <liliana.prikler@gmail.com>
+;;; Copyright © 2021 Sarah Morgensen <iskarian@mgsn.dev>
+;;;
+;;; This file is part of GNU Guix.
+;;;
+;;; GNU Guix is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+;;; under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+;;; the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at
+;;; your option) any later version.
+;;;
+;;; GNU Guix is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
+;;; WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+;;; MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+;;; GNU General Public License for more details.
+;;;
+;;; You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+;;; along with GNU Guix.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+(define-module (gnu packages zig)
+  #:use-module (guix packages)
+  #:use-module (guix git-download)
+  #:use-module ((guix licenses) #:prefix license:)
+  #:use-module (guix build-system cmake)
+  #:use-module (gnu packages)
+  #:use-module (gnu packages llvm))
+
+(define-public zig
+  (package
+    (name "zig")
+    (version "0.8.1")
+    (source
+     (origin
+       (method git-fetch)
+       (uri (git-reference
+             (url "https://github.com/ziglang/zig.git")
+             (commit version)))
+       (file-name (git-file-name name version))
+       (sha256
+        (base32 "147qx7xgj0r353wh5ragzn6kmm1vrf31i8038z3zqwjnqqgqxi6c"))
+       (patches
+        (search-patches
+         "zig-use-explicit-paths.patch"))))
+    (build-system cmake-build-system)
+    ;; Zig uses Clang and LLVM libraries, and (may) use LLVM to compile along
+    ;; with GCC.
+    (inputs
+     `(("clang" ,clang-12)
+       ("lld" ,lld-12)
+       ("llvm" ,llvm-12)))
+    (native-inputs
+     `(("llvm" ,llvm-12)))
+    (arguments
+     `(#:configure-flags
+       (list ,@(if (%current-target-system)
+                   (string-append "-DZIG_TARGET_TRIPLE="
+                                  (%current-target-system))
+                   '()))
+       #:tests? #f ;;; XXX: tests result in a FileNotFound
+       #:phases
+       (modify-phases %standard-phases
+         (add-after 'unpack 'save-unpack-dir
+           (lambda _
+             ;; HACK: Passing unpacked source directory to 'check phase.
+             (setenv "ZIG_SOURCE_DIR" (getcwd))
+             #t))
+         (add-after 'configure 'set-home
+           (lambda _
+             (setenv "HOME" (getcwd))    ; zig writes to $HOME/.cache
+             #t))
+         (delete 'check)
+         (add-after 'install 'check
+           (lambda* (#:key outputs tests? #:allow-other-keys)
+             (when tests?
+               (with-directory-excursion (getenv "ZIG_SOURCE_DIR")
+                 (invoke (string-append (assoc-ref outputs "out") "/bin/zig")
+                         "build" "test"))))))))
+    (native-search-paths
+     (list
+      (search-path-specification
+       (variable "ZIG_INCLUDE_DIRS")
+       ;; XXX: It doesn't seem as though Zig can distinguish between C and C++
+       ;;      include paths, so provide both.
+       (files '("include/c++" "include")))
+      (search-path-specification
+       (variable "ZIG_LIB_DIRS")
+       (files '("lib" "lib64")))))
+    (synopsis "General purpose programming language and toolchain")
+    (description "Zig is a general-purpose programming language and
+toolchain.  Among other features it provides
+@itemize
+@item an Optional type instead of null pointers,
+@item manual memory management,
+@item generic data structures and functions,
+@item compile-time reflection and compile-time code execution,
+@item integration with C using zig as a C compiler, and
+@item concurrency via async functions.
+@end itemize")
+    (home-page "https://github.com/ziglang/zig")
+    (license license:expat)))
