diff --git a/src/libstore/globals.hh b/src/libstore/globals.hh
index 31dfe5b4e..07f524858 100644
--- a/src/libstore/globals.hh
+++ b/src/libstore/globals.hh
@@ -995,6 +995,18 @@ public:
           | `~/.nix-profile`  | `$XDG_STATE_HOME/nix/profile`  |
           | `~/.nix-defexpr`  | `$XDG_STATE_HOME/nix/defexpr`  |
           | `~/.nix-channels` | `$XDG_STATE_HOME/nix/channels` |
+
+          If you already have Nix installed and are using [profiles](@docroot@/package-management/profiles.md) or [channels](@docroot@/package-management/channels.md), you should migrate manually when you enable this option.
+          If `$XDG_STATE_HOME` is not set, use `$HOME/.local/state/nix` instead of `$XDG_STATE_HOME/nix`.
+          This can be achieved with the following shell commands:
+
+          ```sh
+          nix_state_home=${XDG_STATE_HOME-$HOME/.local/state}/nix
+          mkdir -p $nix_state_home
+          mv $HOME/.nix-profile $nix_state_home/profile
+          mv $HOME/.nix-defexpr $nix_state_home/defexpr
+          mv $HOME/.nix-channels $nix_state_home/channels
+          ```
         )"
     };
 };