diff --git a/nimble.nimble b/nimble.nimble
index 7617ee7..68b439b 100644
--- a/nimble.nimble
+++ b/nimble.nimble
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import ospaths, distros
+import ospaths
 template thisModuleFile: string = instantiationInfo(fullPaths = true).filename
 
 when fileExists(thisModuleFile.parentDir / "src/nimblepkg/common.nim"):
@@ -22,10 +22,12 @@ srcDir = "src"
 
 requires "nim >= 0.13.0", "compiler#head"
 
-if detectOs(Ubuntu):
-  foreignDep "libssl-dev"
-elif detectOs(MacOSX):
-  foreignDep "openssl"
+when defined(nimdistros):
+  import distros
+  if detectOs(Ubuntu):
+    foreignDep "libssl-dev"
+  else:
+    foreignDep "openssl"
 
 task test, "Run the Nimble tester!":
   withDir "tests":
diff --git a/readme.markdown b/readme.markdown
index 2c85498..97a28d5 100644
--- a/readme.markdown
+++ b/readme.markdown
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@ Interested in learning **how to create a package**? Skip directly to that sectio
   - [Binary packages](#binary-packages)
   - [Hybrids](#hybrids)
   - [Dependencies](#dependencies)
+    - [External dependencies](#external-dependencies)
   - [Nim compiler](#nim-compiler)
   - [Versions](#versions)
     - [Releasing a new version](#releasing-a-new-version)
@@ -575,6 +576,44 @@ This is done with the ``#`` character,
 for example: ``jester#head``. Which will make your package depend on the
 latest commit of Jester.
 
+#### External dependencies
+
+**Warning:** This feature is brand new in Nimble v0.8.0. Breaking changes
+related to it are more likely to be introduced than for any other Nimble
+features.
+
+Starting with Nimble v0.8.0, you can now specify external dependencies. These
+are dependencies which are not managed by Nimble and can only be installed via
+your system's package manager or downloaded manually via the internet.
+
+As an example, to specify a dependency on openssl you may put this in your
+.nimble file:
+
+```nim
+when defined(nimdistros):
+  import distros
+  if detectOs(Ubuntu):
+    foreignDep "libssl-dev"
+  else:
+    foreignDep "openssl"
+```
+
+The ``when`` branch is important to support installation using older versions
+of Nimble.
+
+The [distros module](nim-lang.org/docs/distros.html) in Nim's
+standard library contains a list of all the supported Operating Systems and
+Linux distributions.
+
+With this inside your .nimble file, Nimble will output the following after
+installing your package (on macOS):
+
+```
+  Hint: This package requires some external dependencies.
+  Hint: To install them you may be able to run:
+  Hint:   sudo brew install openssl
+```
+
 ### Nim compiler
 
 The Nim compiler cannot read .nimble files. Its knowledge of Nimble is
diff --git a/src/nimble.nim b/src/nimble.nim
index 82c1702..6889fbe 100644
--- a/src/nimble.nim
+++ b/src/nimble.nim
@@ -995,9 +995,12 @@ proc doAction(options: Options) =
     if options.action.packages.len == 0:
       nimScriptHint(pkgInfo)
     if pkgInfo.foreignDeps.len > 0:
-      echo("To finish the installation, run: ")
+      display("Hint:", "This package requires some external dependencies.",
+              Warning, HighPriority)
+      display("Hint:", "To install them you may be able to run:",
+              Warning, HighPriority)
       for i in 0..<pkgInfo.foreignDeps.len:
-        echo(pkgInfo.foreignDeps[i])
+        display("Hint:", "  " & pkgInfo.foreignDeps[i], Warning, HighPriority)
   of actionUninstall:
     uninstall(options)
   of actionSearch: