Searching packages: Difference between revisions

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There are ~~multiple ways to search~~ for a package ~~name~~ in <code>nixpkgs</code>.

There are numerous approaches available for searching substrings within both package names and package descriptions in <code>nixpkgs</code>.

== Using <code>search.nixos.org</code> ==

== Using <code>search.nixos.org</code> website ==

There is a web service to search ~~for~~

There is a web service to search with

* Nix packages at [https://search.nixos.org/packages search.nixos.org/packages]

: [[channel branches]]

* NixOS options at [https://search.nixos.org/options search.nixos.org/options]

:* Nix packages at [https://search.nixos.org/packages search.nixos.org/packages]

* packages for [[flakes]] at [https://search.nixos.org/flakes?type=~~options~~ search.nixos.org/flakes?type=~~options~~]

:* NixOS options at [https://search.nixos.org/options search.nixos.org/options]

* options ~~for [[flakes]]~~ at [https://search.nixos.org/flakes?type=~~packages~~ search.nixos.org/flakes?type=~~packages~~]

: [[flakes]]

:* packages at [https://search.nixos.org/flakes?type=packages search.nixos.org/flakes?type=packages]

:* options at [https://search.nixos.org/flakes?type=options search.nixos.org/flakes?type=options]

* pros:

; pros:

** easy to use

* easy to use

** allows filters

* allows filters

* cons:

* nice GUI in browser

** requires Internet connection

* browser extensions possible (like @nixpgs as search engine in Firefox)

; cons:

* always requires Internet connection

~~== Using <code>nix search</code> command ==~~

~~While~~ this command ~~is still experimental~~, you ~~can~~ use ~~it to~~ search ~~for a package~~. It ~~may be slow~~ the ~~first time, but further runs will use cached results~~.

If you'd like to search with this web service from the command line, you may use [https://github.com/peterldowns/nix-search-cli peterldowns/nix-search-cli]. It provides exactly the same search experience by default.

~~<pre>~~

== Other online sites for searching ==

$ nix --~~extra~~-~~experimental~~-~~features "~~nix-command flakes" search nixpkgs firefox

</~~pre~~>

These are another possible places to search

* [https://github.com/search?q=language%3ANix+&type=code github.com] - search for regex/strings in nixpkgs, home-manager, nix-darwin and any other public github repos.

* [https://mynixos.com mynixos.com] - search for packages in nixpkgs, also nixos, home-manager, nix-darwin options. Not foss and unofficial.

* [https://home-manager-options.extranix.com home-manager-options.extranix.com] - search for home-manager options. [https://github.com/mipmip/home-manager-option-search foss]

== Using the <code>nix search</code> command ==

While this command requires [[flakes]], you can use it to search for a package. It may be slow the first time, but further runs will use cached results.

<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">nix search nixpkgs firefox</syntaxhighlight>

; pros:

* fast

* possible offline usage

; cons:

* requires disk space for caching

* quite long command

There are third party tools that allow searching for packages similarly to <code>nix search</code>, namely:

* [https://github.com/diamondburned/nix-search diamondburned/nix-search]: A faster and channel-compatible <code>nix search</code> using only stable Nix tools (no [[flakes]] required) which creates a local database with a package index.

== Using the <code>nix-env</code> command ==

Line 27:

Line 51:

It's possible to search for a package using <code>nix-env -qaP</code>

* pros:

; pros:

** works offline

* works offline

* cons:

; cons:

** it's very slow and requires a lot of memory

* it's very slow and requires a lot of memory

== ~~Interactive package browsing with~~ <code>nix repl</code> ==

== Using the <code>nix repl</code> environment ==

~~You~~ can ~~start <code>nix repl</code> to load the <code>nixpkgs</code> repository and then use auto completion to search for~~ packages.

With the read–eval–print loop (REPL) of nix you can browse packages interactively.

<~~pre~~>

Starting the [https://nixos.org/manual/nix/stable/command-ref/new-cli/nix3-repl.html nix repl]

$ nix repl

Welcome to Nix 2.8.1. Type :? for help.

Welcome to Nix 2.18.2. Type :? for help.

nix-repl> ~~:load~~ <~~nixpkgs~~>

nix-repl>

~~Added 16519 variables.~~

</syntaxhighlight>

nix-repl> ~~firef[PRESS TAB]~~

Loading the repository for nixpkgs

</~~pre~~>

nix-repl>

</syntaxhighlight>

Added 21181 variables.

</syntaxhighlight>Type the first letters of a package

Press <tt>Tab ↹</tt> key for auto completion

== Reverse search: searching which package provides a file ==

There ~~is a~~ third party program [https://github.com/~~bennofs~~/nix-index nix-index] ~~to find which package provides a given file~~. ~~This is particularly useful when you~~ are ~~looking for a very specific file but you don't know~~ which ~~package installs it~~.

There are third party programs that make it easier to determine which package you need to install in order to obtain a specific file or program.

These are most commonly used, and require you to create an index on your computer before you can search for a package:

* [https://github.com/nix-community/nix-index nix-community/nix-index]

* [https://github.com/replit/rippkgs replit/rippkgs]

These are online tools which search an index someone else keeps up to date:

* [https://github.com/peterldowns/nix-search-cli peterldowns/nix-search-cli]: <code>nix-search -p theBinaryIWantToInstall</code> to search the search.nixos.org elasticsearch index.

[[Category:Reference]]

[[Category:Nixpkgs]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-There are multiple ways to search for a package name in <code>nixpkgs</code>.
+There are numerous approaches available for searching substrings within both package names and package descriptions in <code>nixpkgs</code>.
-== Using <code>search.nixos.org</code> ==
+== Using <code>search.nixos.org</code> website ==
-There is a web service to search for
+There is a web service to search with
-* Nix packages at [https://search.nixos.org/packages search.nixos.org/packages]
+: [[channel branches]]
-* NixOS options at [https://search.nixos.org/options search.nixos.org/options]
+:* Nix packages at [https://search.nixos.org/packages search.nixos.org/packages]
-* packages for [[flakes]] at [https://search.nixos.org/flakes?type=options search.nixos.org/flakes?type=options]
+:* NixOS options at [https://search.nixos.org/options search.nixos.org/options]
-* options for [[flakes]] at [https://search.nixos.org/flakes?type=packages search.nixos.org/flakes?type=packages]
+: [[flakes]]
+:* packages at [https://search.nixos.org/flakes?type=packages search.nixos.org/flakes?type=packages]
+:* options at [https://search.nixos.org/flakes?type=options search.nixos.org/flakes?type=options]
-* pros:
+; pros:
-** easy to use
+* easy to use
-** allows filters
+* allows filters
-* cons:
+* nice GUI in browser
-** requires Internet connection
+* browser extensions possible (like @nixpgs as search engine in Firefox)
+; cons:
+* always requires Internet connection
-== Using <code>nix search</code> command ==
-While this command is still experimental, you can use it to search for a package. It may be slow the first time, but further runs will use cached results.
+If you'd like to search with this web service from the command line, you may use [https://github.com/peterldowns/nix-search-cli peterldowns/nix-search-cli]. It provides exactly the same search experience by default.
-<pre>
+== Other online sites for searching ==
-$ nix --extra-experimental-features "nix-command flakes" search nixpkgs firefox
-</pre>
+These are another possible places to search
+* [https://github.com/search?q=language%3ANix+&type=code github.com] - search for regex/strings in nixpkgs, home-manager, nix-darwin and any other public github repos.
+* [https://mynixos.com mynixos.com] - search for packages in nixpkgs, also nixos, home-manager, nix-darwin options. Not foss and unofficial.
+* [https://home-manager-options.extranix.com home-manager-options.extranix.com] - search for home-manager options. [https://github.com/mipmip/home-manager-option-search foss]
+== Using the <code>nix search</code> command ==
+While this command requires [[flakes]], you can use it to search for a package. It may be slow the first time, but further runs will use cached results.
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">nix search nixpkgs firefox</syntaxhighlight>
+; pros:
+* fast
+* possible offline usage
+; cons:
+* requires disk space for caching
+* quite long command
+There are third party tools that allow searching for packages similarly to <code>nix search</code>, namely:
+* [https://github.com/diamondburned/nix-search diamondburned/nix-search]: A faster and channel-compatible <code>nix search</code> using only stable Nix tools (no [[flakes]] required) which creates a local database with a package index.
 == Using the <code>nix-env</code> command ==
@@ Line 27: / Line 51: @@
 It's possible to search for a package using <code>nix-env -qaP</code>
-* pros:
+; pros:
-** works offline
+* works offline
-* cons:
+; cons:
-** it's very slow and requires a lot of memory
+* it's very slow and requires a lot of memory
-== Interactive package browsing with <code>nix repl</code> ==
+== Using the <code>nix repl</code> environment ==
-You can start <code>nix repl</code> to load the <code>nixpkgs</code> repository and then use auto completion to search for packages.
+With the read–eval–print loop (REPL) of nix you can browse packages interactively.
-<pre>
+Starting the [https://nixos.org/manual/nix/stable/command-ref/new-cli/nix3-repl.html nix repl]
-$ nix repl
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">nix repl</syntaxhighlight>
-Welcome to Nix 2.8.1. Type :? for help.
+<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
+Welcome to Nix 2.18.2. Type :? for help.
-nix-repl> :load <nixpkgs>
+nix-repl>
-Added 16519 variables.
+</syntaxhighlight>
-nix-repl> firef[PRESS TAB]
+Loading the repository for nixpkgs
-</pre>
+<syntaxhighlight lang="console">
+nix-repl>
+</syntaxhighlight>
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">nix-repl> :load <nixpkgs>
+Added 21181 variables.
+</syntaxhighlight>Type the first letters of a package
+<syntaxhighlight lang="bash">nix-repl> neo  </syntaxhighlight>
+Press <tt>Tab ↹</tt> key<!-- {{[[mw:Template::Key press]]|Tab}} --> for auto completion
 == Reverse search: searching which package provides a file ==
-There is a third party program [https://github.com/bennofs/nix-index nix-index] to find which package provides a given file. This is particularly useful when you are looking for a very specific file but you don't know which package installs it.
+There are third party programs that make it easier to determine which package you need to install in order to obtain a specific file or program.
+These are most commonly used, and require you to create an index on your computer before you can search for a package:
+* [https://github.com/nix-community/nix-index nix-community/nix-index]
+* [https://github.com/replit/rippkgs replit/rippkgs]
+These are online tools which search an index someone else keeps up to date:
+* [https://github.com/peterldowns/nix-search-cli peterldowns/nix-search-cli]: <code>nix-search -p theBinaryIWantToInstall</code> to search the search.nixos.org elasticsearch index.
 [[Category:Reference]]
 [[Category:Nixpkgs]]