diff --git a/pkgs/build-support/fetchgit/builder.sh b/pkgs/build-support/fetchgit/builder.sh
index 9050cce6ee8fe..b2254b95e8776 100644
--- a/pkgs/build-support/fetchgit/builder.sh
+++ b/pkgs/build-support/fetchgit/builder.sh
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ source $stdenv/setup
 header "exporting $url (rev $rev) into $out"
 
 $fetcher --builder --url "$url" --out "$out" --rev "$rev" \
-  ${leaveDotGit:+--leave-dotGit} \
   ${fetchSubmodules:+--fetch-submodules}
 
 stopNest
diff --git a/pkgs/build-support/fetchgit/default.nix b/pkgs/build-support/fetchgit/default.nix
index c52a26b7165de..b493110c190bf 100644
--- a/pkgs/build-support/fetchgit/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/build-support/fetchgit/default.nix
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 {stdenv, git, cacert}:
-{url, rev ? "HEAD", md5 ? "", sha256 ? "", leaveDotGit ? false, fetchSubmodules ? true
+{url, rev ? "HEAD", md5 ? "", sha256 ? "", fetchSubmodules ? true
 , name ? "git-export"
 }:
 
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   outputHashMode = "recursive";
   outputHash = if sha256 == "" then md5 else sha256;
 
-  inherit url rev leaveDotGit fetchSubmodules;
+  inherit url rev fetchSubmodules;
 
   GIT_SSL_CAINFO = "${cacert}/etc/ca-bundle.crt";
 
diff --git a/pkgs/build-support/fetchgit/nix-prefetch-git b/pkgs/build-support/fetchgit/nix-prefetch-git
index 4f9dd2ac272b9..5bc7e356f3f46 100755
--- a/pkgs/build-support/fetchgit/nix-prefetch-git
+++ b/pkgs/build-support/fetchgit/nix-prefetch-git
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@ rev=
 expHash=
 hashType=$NIX_HASH_ALGO
 deepClone=$NIX_PREFETCH_GIT_DEEP_CLONE
-leaveDotGit=$NIX_PREFETCH_GIT_LEAVE_DOT_GIT
 fetchSubmodules=
 builder=
 
@@ -15,12 +14,6 @@ else
   deepClone=false
 fi
 
-if test "$leaveDotGit" != 1; then
-  leaveDotGit=
-else
-  leaveDotGit=true
-fi
-
 
 argi=0
 argfun=""
@@ -33,7 +26,6 @@ for arg; do
       --hash) argfun=set_hashType;;
       --deepClone) deepClone=true;;
       --no-deepClone) deepClone=false;;
-      --leave-dotGit) leaveDotGit=true;;
       --fetch-submodules) fetchSubmodules=true;;
       --builder) builder=true;;
       *)
@@ -67,7 +59,6 @@ Options:
       --hash h        Expected hash.
       --deepClone     Clone submodules recursively.
       --no-deepClone  Do not clone submodules.
-      --leave-dotGit  Keep the .git directories.
       --fetch-submodules Fetch submodules.
       --builder       Clone as fetchgit does, but url, rev, and out option are mandatory.
 "
@@ -223,14 +214,8 @@ clone_user_rev() {
 
     # Allow doing additional processing before .git removal
     eval "$NIX_PREFETCH_GIT_CHECKOUT_HOOK"
-    if test -z "$leaveDotGit"; then
-	echo "removing \`.git'..." >&2
-        find $dir -name .git\* | xargs rm -rf
-    else
-        # The logs and index contain timestamps, and the hooks contain
-        # the nix path of git's bash
-        find $dir -name .git | xargs -I {} rm -rf {}/logs {}/index {}/hooks
-    fi
+    echo "removing \`.git'..." >&2
+    find $dir -name .git\* | xargs rm -rf
 }
 
 if test -n "$builder"; then