diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 1d06f26..80af307 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -102,9 +102,9 @@ serial console and the [QEMU monitor](https://www.qemu.org/docs/master/system/mo
 
 If you run with `--background /path/to/some/directory` as the first
 parameter, it will fork into the background and open Unix sockets in
-that directory for console and monitor.  Use
-`./scripts/connect-qemu.sh` to connect to either of these sockets, and
-^O to disconnect.
+that directory for console and monitor.  Use `connect-vm` (also in the
+`buildEnv` environment) to connect to either of these sockets, and ^O
+to disconnect.
 
 ### Emulated upstream connection
 
@@ -116,9 +116,9 @@ Liminix PPPoE client support can be tested.
 This is made available in the `buildEnv`, so you can do something like
 
     mkdir ros-sockets
-    nix-shell -A buildEnv --arg device '(import ./devices/qemu)' \
-	 --run "routeros ros-sockets"
-	./scripts/connect-qemu.sh ./ros-sockets/console
+    nix-shell -A buildEnv --arg device '(import ./devices/qemu)'
+	nix-shell$ routeros ros-sockets
+	nix-shell$ connect-vm ./ros-sockets/console
 
 to start it and connect to it.
 
diff --git a/THOUGHTS.txt b/THOUGHTS.txt
index 5e39ef3..217c1a6 100644
--- a/THOUGHTS.txt
+++ b/THOUGHTS.txt
@@ -468,7 +468,7 @@ don't yet know if any of those builds actually boots or does anything
 useful.
 
 Would be nice to clean up the run-qemu and connect-qemu scripts
-and put them in the buildEnv
+and put them in the buildEnv [DONE]
 
 Some thought needed about how to hook up the gl-ar750 to the internets,
 ideally in a way that mirrors typical real uses. AAISP have an L2TP
diff --git a/pkgs/mips-vm/default.nix b/pkgs/mips-vm/default.nix
index 7c1b22e..21d268c 100644
--- a/pkgs/mips-vm/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/mips-vm/default.nix
@@ -1,11 +1,19 @@
 {
   qemu
+, socat
 , writeShellScriptBin
-, stdenv
+, symlinkJoin
 , lib
-}:
-writeShellScriptBin "mips-vm"
-  ''
+}: let
+  mips-vm = writeShellScriptBin "mips-vm" ''
      export PATH="${lib.makeBinPath [qemu]}:$PATH"
      ${builtins.readFile ./mips-vm.sh}
-  ''
+  '';
+  connect = writeShellScriptBin "connect-vm" ''
+    export PATH="${lib.makeBinPath [socat]}:$PATH"
+    socat -,raw,echo=0,icanon=0,isig=0,icrnl=0,escape=0x0f unix-connect:$1
+  '';
+in symlinkJoin {
+  name = "mips-vm";
+  paths = [ mips-vm connect ];
+}
diff --git a/scripts/connect-qemu.sh b/scripts/connect-qemu.sh
deleted file mode 100755
index 27f3f69..0000000
--- a/scripts/connect-qemu.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,2 +0,0 @@
-#!/usr/bin/env sh
-nix-shell -p socat --run "socat -,raw,echo=0,icanon=0,isig=0,icrnl=0,escape=0x0f    unix-connect:$1"