diff --git a/doc/functions.xml b/doc/functions.xml
index 0dc32bbc5bd..0d6e2770e6e 100644
--- a/doc/functions.xml
+++ b/doc/functions.xml
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
+
diff --git a/doc/functions/trivial-builders.xml b/doc/functions/trivial-builders.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4fbe8883610
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/functions/trivial-builders.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,84 @@
+
+ Trivial builders
+
+
+ There are a couple of functions provide in Nixpkgs that help with
+ building derivations. The most important one,
+ stdenv.mkDerivation, has already been
+ documented above. These wrap
+ stdenv.mkDerivation, making it easier to use
+ in certain cases.
+
+
+
+
+
+ runCommand
+
+
+
+ This takes three arguments, name,
+ env, and buildCommand.
+ name is just the name that Nix will use to
+ refer to the derivation. env is an attribute
+ set specifying environment variables that will be set for this
+ derivation. buildCommand specifies the
+ commands that will be run to create this derivation. Note that
+ you will need to create $out for Nix to
+ register the command as successful.
+
+
+
+
+
+ runCommandCC
+
+
+
+ This works just like runCommand. The only
+ difference is that it also provides a C compiler for your use.
+ To minimize your dependencies, you should only use this if you
+ are sure you will need a C compiler as part of running your command.
+
+
+
+
+
+ writeTextFile
+
+
+
+ This writes text to the Nix store. This is
+ useful for creating scripts from Nix expressions. This takes an
+ attribute set and expects two arguments,
+ name and text.
+ name corresponds to the name used in the Nix
+ store path. text will be the contents of the
+ file. You can also set executable to true to
+ make this file have the executable bit set.
+
+
+
+
+
+ symlinkJoin
+
+
+
+ This can be used to put many derivations into the same directory
+ structure. It works by creating a new derivation and adding
+ symlinks to each of the paths listed. It expects two arguments,
+ name, and paths.
+ name is the name used in the Nix store path
+ for the created derivation. paths is a list of
+ paths that will be symlinked. These paths can be to Nix store
+ derivations or any other directory.
+
+
+
+
+
+