search-nix-manix

name	search-nix-manix
description	Use when working on .nix files, flakes, Home Manager configs, or NixOS configurations and need to look up options, packages, or lib functions

Search Nix Options with Manix

Overview

Manix is a fast CLI for searching NixOS options, Home Manager options, nixpkgs docs, and lib functions. Replaces web search for Nix documentation.

Repository: https://github.com/nix-community/manix

When to Use

• Editing .nix files and need option descriptions or types
• Working on flakes and need to understand mkDerivation, lib functions
• Configuring Home Manager (home.nix) and need option details
• Configuring NixOS (configuration.nix) and need type/default/example
• Searching for nixpkgs packages or lib function signatures

When NOT to use: For package installation (use nix search), for building (use nix build)

Quick Reference

Task	Command
Search all sources	manix <query>
Exact match	manix --strict <option.path>
NixOS options only	manix <term> --source nixos_options
nixpkgs packages	manix <term> --source nixpkgs_tree
nixpkgs lib functions	manix <term> (searches nixpkgs by default)
Refresh cache	manix --update-cache <query>

Usage

Basic Search

manix "firewall"           # substring match across all sources
manix networking.firewall   # finds NixOS options
manix mapAttrs             # finds lib.mapAttrs in nixpkgs

Output shows: option path, description, type, default.

Source Filtering (QUERY comes FIRST)

# NixOS configuration work
manix services.openssh --source nixos_options

# nixpkgs package search
manix "git" --source nixpkgs_tree

# Search multiple sources
manix "networking" --source nixos_options --source nixpkgs_tree

Valid sources: nixos_options, nixpkgs_tree, nixpkgs_comments, nd_options

Note: hm_options requires Home Manager channel configured. nixpkgs_doc cache often empty - use default search instead.

Strict Mode

After finding the exact attribute path:

manix --strict networking.firewall.enable

Prevents false positives in automation.

Cache Management

manix --update-cache "query"    # refresh cache for query type

Cache location: ~/.cache/manix/

Note: --update-cache requires a query argument (not standalone).

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Searching lib.mkDerivation	Use manix mkDerivation (it's in nixpkgs_doc)
Using web search for Nix options	Use manix directly
Not filtering sources	Add --source to narrow results
Expecting JSON output	manix outputs text, parse by ─── separators

Limitations

nixvim Options

Manix does NOT natively support searching nixvim options.

Workaround: Enable man page generation in nixvim config:

programs.nixvim = {
  enable = true;
  enableMan = true;  # Generates man pages for nixvim options
};

After rebuilding, try: manix <nixvim-option> (may work with generated man pages).

Better alternative: Use nixvim's Option Search in the docs sidebar.

Installation

Available in nixpkgs (unstable):

nix-env -f '<nixpkgs>' -iA manix
# or
nix run github:nix-community/manix

Add to NixOS: environment.systemPackages = [ pkgs.manix ]; Add to Home Manager: home.packages = [ pkgs.manix ];