nix3-search(1)

    Warning
    This program is experimental and its interface is subject to change.

Name

nix search - search for packages

Synopsis

nix search [option…] installable regex…

Examples

•   Show all packages in the nixpkgs flake:

    # nix search nixpkgs ^
    * legacyPackages.x86_64-linux.AMB-plugins (0.8.1)
    A set of ambisonics ladspa plugins
    * legacyPackages.x86_64-linux.ArchiSteamFarm (4.3.1.0)
    Application with primary purpose of idling Steam cards from multiple accounts simultaneously
    …

•   Show packages in the nixpkgs flake containing blender in its name or description:

    # nix search nixpkgs blender
    * legacyPackages.x86_64-linux.blender (2.91.0)
    3D Creation/Animation/Publishing System

•   Search for packages underneath the attribute gnome3 in Nixpkgs:

    # nix search nixpkgs#gnome3 vala
    * legacyPackages.x86_64-linux.gnome3.vala (0.48.9)
    Compiler for GObject type system

•   Show all packages in the flake in the current directory:

    # nix search . ^

•   Search for Firefox or Chromium:

    # nix search nixpkgs 'firefox|chromium'

•   Search for packages containing git and either frontend or gui:

    # nix search nixpkgs git 'frontend|gui'

•   Search for packages containing neovim but hide ones containing either gui or python:

    # nix search nixpkgs neovim --exclude 'python|gui'

    or

    # nix search nixpkgs neovim --exclude 'python' --exclude 'gui'

Description

nix search searches installable (which can be evaluated, that is, a flake or Nix expression, but not a store path or store derivation path) for packages whose name or description matches all of the regular expressions regex. For each matching package, It prints the full attribute name (from the root of the installable), the version and the meta.description field, highlighting the substrings that were matched by the regular expressions.

To show all packages, use the regular expression ^. In contrast to .*, it avoids highlighting the entire name and description of every package.

    Note that in this context, ^ is the regex character to match the beginning of a string, not the delimiter for selecting a derivation output.

Flake output attributes

If no flake output attribute is given, nix search searches for packages:

•   Directly underneath packages.<system>.

•   Underneath legacyPackages.<system>, recursing into attribute sets that contain an attribute recurseForDerivations = true.

Options

•   --exclude / -e regex

    Hide packages whose attribute path, name or description contain regex.

•   --json

    Produce output in JSON format, suitable for consumption by another program.

  Common evaluation options

•   --arg name expr

    Pass the value expr as the argument name to Nix functions.

•   --arg-from-file name path

    Pass the contents of file path as the argument name to Nix functions.

•   --arg-from-stdin name

    Pass the contents of stdin as the argument name to Nix functions.

•   --argstr name string

    Pass the string string as the argument name to Nix functions.

•   --debugger

    Start an interactive environment if evaluation fails.

•   --eval-store store-url

    The URL of the Nix store to use for evaluation, i.e. to store derivations (.drv files) and inputs referenced by them.

•   --impure

    Allow access to mutable paths and repositories.

•   --include / -I path

    Add path to search path entries used to resolve lookup paths

    This option may be given multiple times.

    Paths added through -I take precedence over the nix-path configuration setting and the NIX_PATH environment variable.

•   --override-flake original-ref resolved-ref

    Override the flake registries, redirecting original-ref to resolved-ref.

  Common flake-related options

•   --commit-lock-file

    Commit changes to the flake’s lock file.

•   --inputs-from flake-url

    Use the inputs of the specified flake as registry entries.

•   --no-registries

    Don’t allow lookups in the flake registries.

        DEPRECATED

        Use --no-use-registries instead.

•   --no-update-lock-file

    Do not allow any updates to the flake’s lock file.

•   --no-write-lock-file

    Do not write the flake’s newly generated lock file.

•   --output-lock-file flake-lock-path

    Write the given lock file instead of flake.lock within the top-level flake.

•   --override-input input-path flake-url

    Override a specific flake input (e.g. dwarffs/nixpkgs). This implies --no-write-lock-file.

•   --recreate-lock-file

    Recreate the flake’s lock file from scratch.

        DEPRECATED

        Use nix flake update instead.

•   --reference-lock-file flake-lock-path

    Read the given lock file instead of flake.lock within the top-level flake.

•   --update-input input-path

    Update a specific flake input (ignoring its previous entry in the lock file).

        DEPRECATED

        Use nix flake update instead.

  Logging-related options

•   --debug

    Set the logging verbosity level to ‘debug’.

•   --log-format format

    Set the format of log output; one of raw, internal-json, bar or bar-with-logs.

•   --print-build-logs / -L

    Print full build logs on standard error.

•   --quiet

    Decrease the logging verbosity level.

•   --verbose / -v

    Increase the logging verbosity level.

  Miscellaneous global options

•   --help

    Show usage information.

•   --offline

    Disable substituters and consider all previously downloaded files up-to-date.

•   --option name value

    Set the Nix configuration setting name to value (overriding nix.conf).

•   --refresh

    Consider all previously downloaded files out-of-date.

•   --repair

    During evaluation, rewrite missing or corrupted files in the Nix store. During building, rebuild missing or corrupted store paths.

•   --version

    Show version information.

  Options that change the interpretation of installables

•   --expr expr

    Interpret installables as attribute paths relative to the Nix expression expr.

•   --file / -f file

    Interpret installables as attribute paths relative to the Nix expression stored in file. If file is the character -, then a Nix expression will be read from standard input. Implies --impure.

    Note

    See man nix.conf for overriding configuration settings with command line flags.