Nixpkgs Search

Use this skill to quickly find packages in nixpkgs.

When to use

• •You need to discover package names in nixpkgs.
• •You need the attribute path for a package.
• •You want machine-readable search output for further filtering.

Prerequisites

• •nix is installed and available on PATH.
• •Network access is available to resolve the nixpkgs flake source.
• •If your Nix config does not already enable it, nix-command and flakes experimental features may be required.

Usage

Run the helper script from anywhere in the repo:

./.pi/skills/nixpkgs-search/search.sh <query>

Examples:

# Human-readable output
./.pi/skills/nixpkgs-search/search.sh ripgrep

# Multi-word query
./.pi/skills/nixpkgs-search/search.sh "postgres client"

# JSON output for tooling
./.pi/skills/nixpkgs-search/search.sh --json ripgrep | jq .

# JSON only (suppress diagnostics from stderr)
./.pi/skills/nixpkgs-search/search.sh --json ripgrep 2>/dev/null | jq .

# Search a specific flake ref instead of default nixpkgs
./.pi/skills/nixpkgs-search/search.sh --flake github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable firefox

Arguments

• •--json: return structured JSON output from nix search (stdout remains JSON; nix diagnostics may still be printed on stderr).
• •--flake <ref>: override flake reference (default: nixpkgs).
• •-h, --help: show usage.

Troubleshooting

If search fails:

1. •Confirm Nix is installed:
   bash

   nix --version
   

2. •Try enabling required features explicitly:
   bash

   nix --extra-experimental-features 'nix-command flakes' search nixpkgs <query>
   

3. •Check your network and flake access.

Notes for agent usage

• •Start with a broad query, then narrow with more specific terms.
• •Prefer --json when results need post-processing or deterministic extraction.
• •Report both package display name and attribute path when available.