NixSearch NET

NixSearch.NET

A comprehensive .NET solution for searching and exploring NixOS packages, options, and flakes using the search.nixos.org Elasticsearch backend.

[](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT) [](https://dotnet.microsoft.com/)

Overview

NixSearch.NET provides multiple ways to interact with the NixOS package and option search ecosystem:

• Library: A robust .NET client library for programmatic access
• CLI Tool: A command-line interface for quick searches
• MCP Server: A Model Context Protocol server for AI assistant integration

Projects

[NixSearch.Core](src/NixSearch.Core/README.md)

The core library providing search functionality for NixOS packages, options, and flakes.

• NuGet Package: NixSearch.Core
• Target Framework: .NET 10
• Features: Full Elasticsearch query support, strongly-typed models, async/await patterns

[NixSearch.CLI](src/NixSearch.CLI/README.md)

A command-line tool for searching NixOS packages and options from your terminal.

• NuGet Package: NixSearch.CLI
• Tool Command: nixsearch
• Installation: dotnet tool install -g NixSearch.CLI

[NixSearch.MCP](src/NixSearch.MCP/README.md)

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server enabling AI assistants to search NixOS packages and options.

• NuGet Package: NixSearch.MCP
• Deployment: AWS Lambda (ARM64)
• Protocol: Model Context Protocol

Quick Start

Using the Library

dotnet add package NixSearch.Core

using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;

using NixSearch.Core.Extensions;
using NixSearch.Core.Models;
using NixSearch.Core.Search;

IConfiguration configuration = new ConfigurationBuilder()
    .AddJsonFile("appsettings.json")
    .Build()
    .GetSection("NixSearch");

ServiceCollection services = new ServiceCollection();
services.AddNixSearch(configuration);
ServiceProvider provider = services.BuildServiceProvider();

INixSearchClient client = provider.GetRequiredService();
IReadOnlyList channels = await client.GetChannelsAsync();

Nest.ISearchResponse results = await client.Packages()
    .WithQuery("git")
    .ForChannel(NixChannel.Parse("unstable", channels))
    .Page(0, 10)
    .ExecuteAsync();

foreach (NixPackage package in results.Documents)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"{package.Name}: {package.Version}");
}

Using the CLI

# Install globally
dotnet tool install -g NixSearch.CLI

# Search for packages
nixsearch packages git --size 10

# Search for options
nixsearch options services.nginx --size 5

Using the MCP Server

The MCP server can be deployed to AWS Lambda or run locally. See the [MCP documentation](src/NixSearch.MCP/README.md) for details on integration with AI assistants like Claude.

Building

# Build all projects
dotnet build

# Run tests
dotnet test

# Pack NuGet packages
dotnet pack

Requirements

• .NET 10 SDK or later
• For AWS Lambda deployment: AWS CLI configured

Repository Structure

NixSearch.NET/
├── src/
│   ├── NixSearch.Core/      # Core library
│   ├── NixSearch.CLI/       # CLI tool
│   └── NixSearch.MCP/       # MCP server
├── tests/
│   ├── NixSearch.Core.Tests/
│   ├── NixSearch.CLI.Tests/
│   └── NixSearch.MCP.Tests/
├── .github/
│   └── workflows/           # CI/CD workflows
└── NixSearch.sln            # Solution file

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit issues or pull requests.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Built on top of the search.nixos.org infrastructure
• Uses NEST for Elasticsearch integration
• MCP protocol implementation from ModelContextProtocol

Source & license

This open-source MCP server is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: playday3008
• Source: playday3008/NixSearch.NET
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://nixsearch-mcp.playday3008.dev/info

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.