ngp.computer / nixpkgs-search
A simple CLI utility for search nixpkgs
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nixpkgs-search #

Search nixpkgs from your terminal, using the same Elasticsearch backend that powers search.nixos.org. Results are piped through fzf for fuzzy selection with a live preview of package metadata.

Usage #

nixpkgs-search ripgrep
nixpkgs-search --channel 24.11 firefox
nixpkgs-search --json hello
nixpkgs-search --nixery python git curl
nixpkgs-search --nixery --loop python git curl
nixpkgs-search --no-fzf --n 20 vim

Flags:

  • --channel — nix channel to search (default unstable)
  • --n — max results (default 50)
  • --json — dump raw hits and exit
  • --nixery — select multiple packages and print a /-delimited package list for Nixery
  • --loop, -l — with --nixery, run one picker per query instead of merging all results into one picker
  • --no-fzf — force numeric picker even if fzf is available

On selection, the chosen attribute name is printed to stdout, so it composes:

nix shell nixpkgs#$(nixpkgs-search ripgrep)

When stdout or stderr is not attached to a TTY, nixpkgs-search skips the picker and prints a newline-delimited list of matching package attribute names. This is intended for shell completions and scripts:

nixpkgs-search --n 20 rip

With --nixery, each positional argument is searched independently, all results are merged into one multi-select picker, and the selected attributes are printed as a Nixery path:

docker run -it nixery.dev/$(nixpkgs-search --nixery python git curl)

Use --loop or -l to handle each query in its own picker and join the selections at the end.

Install / run with Nix #

Run without installing:

nix run git+https://git.sr.ht/~chiefnoah/nixpkgs-search -- ripgrep

Install into a profile:

nix profile install git+https://git.sr.ht/~chiefnoah/nixpkgs-search

Or add as a flake input and reference packages.<system>.default.

Development #

A dev shell with Go, gopls, staticcheck, fzf, and the built binary itself is provided:

nix develop
go build ./...
go run . ripgrep

If you use direnv, drop use flake into .envrc.

How it works #

main.go resolves the current latest-<N>-nixos-<channel> Elasticsearch alias, POSTs a query shaped like the one search.nixos.org sends, then renders each hit and hands them to fzf with a per-package preview file. Credentials are the same public ones the web frontend uses.