diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 8240ac3..1ae6ecb 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
   `pkgs = import nixpkgs { system = "aarch64-linux"; };`
   as an argument to `nixOnDroidConfiguration`.
   If in doubt, refer to the `templates`.
+* `config.arch` option has been dropped. Consider using `pkgs.system` instead.
 
 ## Release 23.11
 
diff --git a/docs/default.nix b/docs/default.nix
index 1b11db1..980e96b 100644
--- a/docs/default.nix
+++ b/docs/default.nix
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-# Copyright (c) 2019-2023, see AUTHORS. Licensed under MIT License, see LICENSE.
+# Copyright (c) 2019-2024, see AUTHORS. Licensed under MIT License, see LICENSE.
 
 { pkgs, home-manager, nmdSrc }:
 
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ let
     inherit pkgs;
     home-manager-path = home-manager.outPath;
     isFlake = true;
+    targetSystem = "aarch64-linux/x86_64-linux";
   };
 
   modulesDocs = nmd.buildModulesDocs {
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index 72717ea..e62d314 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -99,10 +99,9 @@
               See the 22.11 release notes for more.
             ''
             (import ./modules {
+              targetSystem = pkgs.system; # system to cross-compile to
               inherit extraSpecialArgs home-manager-path pkgs;
               config.imports = modules;
-              config.build.arch =
-                nixpkgs.lib.strings.removeSuffix "-linux" pkgs.system;
               isFlake = true;
             });
 
@@ -118,7 +117,8 @@
               derivationAttrset;
           perArchCustomPkgs = arch: flattenArch arch
             (import ./pkgs {
-              inherit system arch;
+              _nativeSystem = system; # system to cross-compile from
+              system = "${arch}-linux"; # system to cross-compile to
               nixpkgs = nixpkgs-for-bootstrap;
             }).customPkgs;
 
diff --git a/modules/build/config.nix b/modules/build/config.nix
index 751be14..ea971ee 100644
--- a/modules/build/config.nix
+++ b/modules/build/config.nix
@@ -11,13 +11,6 @@ with lib;
   options = {
 
     build = {
-      arch = mkOption {
-        type = types.enum [ "aarch64" "x86_64" ];
-        default = strings.removeSuffix "-linux" builtins.currentSystem;
-        internal = true;
-        description = "Destination arch.";
-      };
-
       initialBuild = mkOption {
         type = types.bool;
         default = false;
diff --git a/modules/default.nix b/modules/default.nix
index 0ad1872..c56a387 100644
--- a/modules/default.nix
+++ b/modules/default.nix
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
-# Copyright (c) 2019-2022, see AUTHORS. Licensed under MIT License, see LICENSE.
+# Copyright (c) 2019-2024, see AUTHORS. Licensed under MIT License, see LICENSE.
 
-{ config ? null
+{ targetSystem ? builtins.currentSystem  # system to compile for
+, config ? null
 , extraSpecialArgs ? { }
 , pkgs ? import <nixpkgs> { }
 , home-manager-path ? <home-manager>
@@ -17,7 +18,9 @@ let
     else if builtins.pathExists defaultConfigFile then defaultConfigFile
     else pkgs.config.nix-on-droid or (throw "No config file found! Create one in ~/.config/nixpkgs/nix-on-droid.nix");
 
-  nodModules = import ./module-list.nix { inherit pkgs home-manager-path isFlake; };
+  nodModules = import ./module-list.nix {
+    inherit pkgs home-manager-path isFlake targetSystem;
+  };
 
   rawModule = evalModules {
     modules = [ configModule ] ++ nodModules;
diff --git a/modules/environment/login/default.nix b/modules/environment/login/default.nix
index 78348cd..c47d2d1 100644
--- a/modules/environment/login/default.nix
+++ b/modules/environment/login/default.nix
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2019-2024, see AUTHORS. Licensed under MIT License, see LICENSE.
 
-{ config, lib, pkgs, initialPackageInfo, ... }:
+{ config, lib, pkgs, initialPackageInfo, targetSystem, ... }:
 
 with lib;
 
@@ -9,7 +9,9 @@ let
 
   login = pkgs.callPackage ./login.nix { inherit config; };
 
-  loginInner = pkgs.callPackage ./login-inner.nix { inherit config initialPackageInfo; };
+  loginInner = pkgs.callPackage ./login-inner.nix {
+    inherit config initialPackageInfo targetSystem;
+  };
 in
 
 {
@@ -85,11 +87,11 @@ in
       prootStatic =
         let
           crossCompiledPaths = {
-            aarch64 = "/nix/store/7w09z1kw62wg7nv3q3z2p6kxf1ihk178-proot-termux-static-aarch64-unknown-linux-android-unstable-2023-11-11";
-            x86_64 = "/nix/store/i6jppi627sakbgm5x2a8jjdfyv8571zc-proot-termux-static-x86_64-unknown-linux-android-unstable-2023-11-11";
+            aarch64-linux = "/nix/store/7w09z1kw62wg7nv3q3z2p6kxf1ihk178-proot-termux-static-aarch64-unknown-linux-android-unstable-2023-11-11";
+            x86_64-linux = "/nix/store/i6jppi627sakbgm5x2a8jjdfyv8571zc-proot-termux-static-x86_64-unknown-linux-android-unstable-2023-11-11";
           };
         in
-        "${crossCompiledPaths.${config.build.arch}}";
+        "${crossCompiledPaths.${targetSystem}}";
     };
 
   };
diff --git a/modules/environment/login/login-inner.nix b/modules/environment/login/login-inner.nix
index e1bddee..81d12a9 100644
--- a/modules/environment/login/login-inner.nix
+++ b/modules/environment/login/login-inner.nix
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2019-2024, see AUTHORS. Licensed under MIT License, see LICENSE.
 
-{ config, lib, initialPackageInfo, writeText }:
+{ config, lib, initialPackageInfo, writeText, targetSystem }:
 
 let
   inherit (initialPackageInfo) cacert nix;
@@ -80,15 +80,20 @@ writeText "login-inner" ''
         ${nixCmd} flake new ${config.user.home}/.config/nix-on-droid --template ${config.build.flake.nix-on-droid}
 
         ${lib.optionalString config.build.flake.inputOverrides ''
-          echo "Overriding input urls / arch in flake..."
+          echo "Overriding input urls in the flake..."
           ${nixCmd} run nixpkgs#gnused -- \
             -i \
-            -e 's,\"aarch64-linux",\"${config.build.arch}-linux\",' \
             -e 's,\"github:NixOS/nixpkgs.*\",\"${config.build.flake.nixpkgs}\",' \
             -e 's,\"github:nix-community/nix-on-droid.*\",\"${config.build.flake.nix-on-droid}\",' \
             "${config.user.home}/.config/nix-on-droid/flake.nix"
         ''}
 
+        echo "Overriding system value in the flake..."
+        ${nixCmd} run nixpkgs#gnused -- \
+          -i \
+          -e 's,\"aarch64-linux",\"${targetSystem}\",' \
+          "${config.user.home}/.config/nix-on-droid/flake.nix"
+
         echo "Installing first Nix-on-Droid generation..."
         ${nixCmd} run ${config.build.flake.nix-on-droid} -- switch --flake ${config.user.home}/.config/nix-on-droid
 
diff --git a/modules/module-list.nix b/modules/module-list.nix
index ac7575f..20dfdd0 100644
--- a/modules/module-list.nix
+++ b/modules/module-list.nix
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
-# Copyright (c) 2019-2022, see AUTHORS. Licensed under MIT License, see LICENSE.
+# Copyright (c) 2019-2024, see AUTHORS. Licensed under MIT License, see LICENSE.
 
-{ pkgs, home-manager-path, isFlake }:
+{ pkgs
+, home-manager-path
+, isFlake
+, targetSystem  # system to cross-compile to
+}:
 
 [
   ./build/activation.nix
@@ -26,7 +30,7 @@
   {
     _file = ./module-list.nix;
     _module.args = {
-      inherit home-manager-path isFlake;
+      inherit home-manager-path isFlake targetSystem;
       pkgs = pkgs.lib.mkDefault pkgs;
     };
   }
diff --git a/pkgs/bootstrap-zip.nix b/pkgs/bootstrap-zip.nix
index 04b7c98..a16ec3e 100644
--- a/pkgs/bootstrap-zip.nix
+++ b/pkgs/bootstrap-zip.nix
@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
-# Copyright (c) 2019-2020, see AUTHORS. Licensed under MIT License, see LICENSE.
+# Copyright (c) 2019-2024, see AUTHORS. Licensed under MIT License, see LICENSE.
 
-{ config, runCommand, zip, bootstrap }:
+{ lib, runCommand, zip, bootstrap, targetSystem }:
 
+let
+  arch = lib.strings.removeSuffix "-linux" targetSystem;
+in
 runCommand "bootstrap-zip" { } ''
   mkdir $out
   cd ${bootstrap}
-  ${zip}/bin/zip -q -9 -r $out/bootstrap-${config.build.arch} ./* ./.l2s
+  ${zip}/bin/zip -q -9 -r $out/bootstrap-${arch} ./* ./.l2s
 ''
diff --git a/pkgs/cross-compiling/cross-pkgs-args.nix b/pkgs/cross-compiling/cross-pkgs-args.nix
index c0c1bba..2dd40de 100644
--- a/pkgs/cross-compiling/cross-pkgs-args.nix
+++ b/pkgs/cross-compiling/cross-pkgs-args.nix
@@ -1,12 +1,15 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2019-2024, see AUTHORS. Licensed under MIT License, see LICENSE.
 
-{ config, system }:
+{ lib, config, system, targetSystem }:
 
+let
+  arch = lib.strings.removeSuffix "-linux" targetSystem;
+in
 {
   inherit system;
 
   crossSystem = {
-    config = "${config.build.arch}-unknown-linux-android";
+    config = "${arch}-unknown-linux-android";
     sdkVer = "32";
     libc = "bionic";
     useAndroidPrebuilt = false;
diff --git a/pkgs/cross-compiling/cross-pkgs.nix b/pkgs/cross-compiling/cross-pkgs.nix
index 66c29af..9a14cee 100644
--- a/pkgs/cross-compiling/cross-pkgs.nix
+++ b/pkgs/cross-compiling/cross-pkgs.nix
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2019-2024, see AUTHORS. Licensed under MIT License, see LICENSE.
 
-{ callPackage, nixpkgs, system }:
+{ callPackage, nixpkgs }:
 
 let
   args = callPackage ./cross-pkgs-args.nix { };
diff --git a/pkgs/default.nix b/pkgs/default.nix
index b5353f5..cafa602 100644
--- a/pkgs/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/default.nix
@@ -1,18 +1,19 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2019-2024, see AUTHORS. Licensed under MIT License, see LICENSE.
 
 { nixpkgs
-, system
-, arch ? "aarch64"
+, system  # system to compile for, user-facing name of targetSystem
+, _nativeSystem ? null  # system to cross-compile from, see flake.nix
 , nixOnDroidChannelURL ? null
 , nixpkgsChannelURL ? null
 , nixOnDroidFlakeURL ? null
 }:
 
 let
-  nixDirectory = callPackage ./nix-directory.nix { };
+  nativeSystem = if _nativeSystem == null then system else _nativeSystem;
+  nixDirectory = callPackage ./nix-directory.nix { inherit system; };
   initialPackageInfo = import "${nixDirectory}/nix-support/package-info.nix";
 
-  pkgs = import nixpkgs { inherit system; };
+  pkgs = import nixpkgs { system = nativeSystem; };
 
   urlOptionValue = url: envVar:
     let
@@ -24,6 +25,7 @@ let
 
   modules = import ../modules {
     inherit pkgs;
+    targetSystem = system;
 
     isFlake = true;
 
@@ -41,11 +43,6 @@ let
       user.shell = "${initialPackageInfo.bash}/bin/bash";
 
       build = {
-        arch =
-          if arch != null
-          then arch
-          else nixpkgs.lib.strings.removeSuffix "-linux" builtins.currentSystem;
-
         channel = {
           nixpkgs = urlOptionValue nixpkgsChannelURL "NIXPKGS_CHANNEL_URL";
           nix-on-droid = urlOptionValue nixOnDroidChannelURL "NIX_ON_DROID_CHANNEL_URL";
@@ -60,6 +57,7 @@ let
     pkgs // customPkgs // {
       inherit (modules) config;
       inherit callPackage nixpkgs nixDirectory initialPackageInfo;
+      targetSystem = system;
     }
   );
 
diff --git a/pkgs/nix-directory.nix b/pkgs/nix-directory.nix
index 03e9fd8..932966c 100644
--- a/pkgs/nix-directory.nix
+++ b/pkgs/nix-directory.nix
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2019-2024, see AUTHORS. Licensed under MIT License, see LICENSE.
 
-{ config, lib, stdenv, closureInfo, prootTermux, proot, pkgsStatic }:
+{ config, lib, stdenv, closureInfo, prootTermux, proot, pkgsStatic, system }:
 
 let
   buildRootDirectory = "root-directory";
@@ -24,15 +24,15 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   name = "nix-directory";
 
   src = builtins.fetchurl {
-    url = "https://nixos.org/releases/nix/nix-2.20.5/nix-2.20.5-${config.build.arch}-linux.tar.xz";
+    url = "https://nixos.org/releases/nix/nix-2.20.5/nix-2.20.5-${system}.tar.xz";
     sha256 =
       let
-        archShas = {
-          aarch64 = "sha256:168wjfj3xsc8hq1y6cq59iipjp1g9hmj4n5wdn9c47ad9gbc9cvh";
-          x86_64 = "sha256:0dax9n562ldj53ap6lz0cwwsfx4d8j1267g9s6lg3zs237yyzw61";
+        nixShas = {
+          aarch64-linux = "sha256:168wjfj3xsc8hq1y6cq59iipjp1g9hmj4n5wdn9c47ad9gbc9cvh";
+          x86_64-linux = "sha256:0dax9n562ldj53ap6lz0cwwsfx4d8j1267g9s6lg3zs237yyzw61";
         };
       in
-      archShas.${config.build.arch};
+      nixShas.${system};
   };
 
   PROOT_NO_SECCOMP = 1; # see https://github.com/proot-me/PRoot/issues/106
diff --git a/scripts/deploy.sh b/scripts/deploy.sh
index fbda16a..b54479f 100755
--- a/scripts/deploy.sh
+++ b/scripts/deploy.sh
@@ -61,14 +61,14 @@ for arch in $ARCHES; do
     log "building $arch proot..."
     proot="$(nix build --no-link --print-out-paths ".#prootTermux-${arch}")"
 
-    if grep -q "$arch = \"$proot\";" "$PROOT_HASH_FILE"; then
+    if grep -q "$arch-linux = \"$proot\";" "$PROOT_HASH_FILE"; then
         log "keeping $arch proot path in $PROOT_HASH_FILE"
-    elif grep -q "$arch = \"/nix/store/" "$PROOT_HASH_FILE"; then
+    elif grep -q "$arch-linux = \"/nix/store/" "$PROOT_HASH_FILE"; then
         log "patching $arch proot path in $PROOT_HASH_FILE..."
-        grep "$arch = \"/nix/store/" "$PROOT_HASH_FILE"
-        sed -i "s|$arch = \"/nix/store/.*\";|$arch = \"$proot\";|" "$PROOT_HASH_FILE"
+        grep "$arch-linux = \"/nix/store/" "$PROOT_HASH_FILE"
+        sed -i "s|$arch-linux = \"/nix/store/.*\";|$arch-linux = \"$proot\";|" "$PROOT_HASH_FILE"
         log "            ->"
-        grep "$arch = \"/nix/store/" "$PROOT_HASH_FILE"
+        grep "$arch-linux = \"/nix/store/" "$PROOT_HASH_FILE"
     else
         log "no $arch proot hash found in $PROOT_HASH_FILE!"
         exit 1
diff --git a/tests/emulator/bootstrap_flakes.py b/tests/emulator/bootstrap_flakes.py
index 505de74..348e590 100644
--- a/tests/emulator/bootstrap_flakes.py
+++ b/tests/emulator/bootstrap_flakes.py
@@ -30,9 +30,9 @@ def run(d):
     wait_for(d, 'Setting up Nix-on-Droid with flakes...')
 
     wait_for(d, 'Installing flake from default template...')
-    wait_for(d, 'Overriding input urls / arch in flake...')
-    wait_for(d, 'Installing first Nix-on-Droid generation...', timeout=600)
-    wait_for(d, 'Building activation package')
+    wait_for(d, 'Overriding system value in the flake...', timeout=600)
+    wait_for(d, 'Installing first Nix-on-Droid generation...')
+    wait_for(d, 'Building activation package', timeout=180)
     wait_for(d, 'Congratulations!', timeout=900)
     wait_for(d, 'bash-5.2$')
     screenshot(d, 'bootstrap-ends')