nix-search-tv

Fuzzy search for NixOS packages.

---

Installation

Nix Package

environment.systemPackages = [ nix-search-tv ]

Flake

There are many ways how one can install a package from a flake, below is one:

{
  inputs = {
    nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";
    nix-search-tv.url = "github:3timeslazy/nix-search-tv";
  };

  outputs = {
    nixpkgs,
    nix-search-tv,
    ...
  }: {
    nixosConfigurations.system = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
      modules = [
        {
          environment.systemPackages = [
            nix-search-tv.packages.x86_64-linux.default
          ];
        }
      ];
    };
  };
}

Usage

nix-search-tv does not do the search by itself, but rather integrates with other general purpose fuzzy finders, such as television and fzf

Television

Add nix_channels.toml file to your television config directory with the content below:

[[cable_channel]]
name = "nixpkgs"
source_command = "nix-search-tv print"
preview_command = "nix-search-tv preview {}"

fzf

The most straightforward integration might look like:

alias ns="nix-search-tv print | fzf --preview 'nix-search-tv preview {}' --scheme history"

Note

No matter how you use nix-search-tv with fzf, it's better to add --scheme history. That way, the options will be sorted, which makes the search experience better

More advanced integration might be found here in nixpkgs.sh. It is the same search but with the following shortcuts:

• Search only Nixpkgs or Home Manager
• Open package code declaration or homepage
• Search GitHub for snippets with the selected package/option

You can install it like:

let
  ns = pkgs.writeShellScriptBin "ns" (builtins.readFile ./path/to/nixpkgs.sh);
in {
  environment.systemPackages = [ ns ]
}

Configuration

By default, the configuration file is looked at $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/nix-search-tv/config.json

{
  // What indexes to search by default
  //
  // default:
  //   linux: [nixpkgs, "home-manager", "nur", "nixos"]
  //   darwin: [nixpkgs, "home-manager", "nur", "darwin"]
  "indexes": ["nixpkgs", "home-manager", "nur"],

  // How often to look for updates and run
  // indexer again
  //
  // default: 1 week (168h)
  "update_interval": "3h2m1s",

  // Where to store the index files
  //
  // default: $XDG_CACHE_HOME/nix-search-tv
  "cache_dir": "path/to/cache/dir",

  // Whether to show the banner when waiting for
  // the indexing
  //
  // default: true
  "enable_waiting_message": true,

  "experimental": {
    // nix-search-tv can parse and index documentation pages generated by nixos-render-docs,
    // enabling search functionality for those pages.
    "render_docs_indexes": {
      "nvf": "https://notashelf.github.io/nvf/options.html"
    }
  }
}

Searchable package registries

• Nixpkgs
• Home Manager
• NixOS
• Darwin
• NUR

You can also search any documentation page generated by nixos-render-docs. See experimental.render_docs_indexes in Configuration section

Credits

This project was inspired and wouldn't exist without work done by nix-search contributors.