Searching packages

There are multiple ways to search for a package name in nixpkgs.

Using search.nixos.org

There is a web service to search for

• Nix packages at search.nixos.org/packages
• NixOS options at search.nixos.org/options

• pros:
  • easy to use
  • allows filters
• cons:
  • requires Internet connection

Using nix search 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.

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

Using the nix-env command

It's possible to search for a package using nix-env -qaP

• pros:
  • works offline
• cons:
  • it's very slow and requires a lot of memory

Interactive package browsing with nix repl

You can start nix repl to load the nixpkgs repository and then use auto completion to search for packages.

$ nix repl
Welcome to Nix 2.8.1. Type :? for help.

nix-repl> :load <nixpkgs>
Added 16519 variables.

nix-repl> firef[PRESS TAB]

Reverse search: searching which package provides a file

There is a third party program 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.