nix-search-cli VS nixos-config

- you may want to search from the command line

`nix search` is a cruel joke which doesn't allow searching by the name/program that would be installed, only package name, and requires a flake name every time. Absolutely terrible interface.

My tool is a single-install binary that performs fast and accurate search to help you find the right package name to install a given binary. I don't understand how after years of using other package managers anyone could want a search tool that does anything other than this by default.

For more details on why this exists, check out https://github.com/peterldowns/nix-search-cli#motivation

The nix package search website is OK, but it doesn't let you filter by the names of installed binaries. A lot of the time, you have a question like "what nixpkgs attribute do i install in order to get the `python3` command". I recently wrote a command line tool that allows you to do this. It uses the same elasticsearch index as the search website, but allows more powerful filtering. If anyone is thinking of getting into nix, please consider trying it out!

https://github.com/peterldowns/nix-search-cli

I’ve been using Nix directly on MacOS with minimal issues for a few years now. Works great.

I hate using docker on Mac and have since replaced it with flakes and devenv.

My configuration with a step by step guide (600+ stars): https://github.com/dustinlyons/nixos-config

I tried to make Nix as easy to adopt as possible by creating Nix commands and a step by step guide: https://github.com/dustinlyons/nixos-config

I love Nix. I use it every day to manage multiple local dev environments. And I use devenv instead of docker for sharing project-specific environments with others.

Felt (still am, actually) this problem too. Started with the same approach (Vanilla Emacs) a few years back in order to really learn the ins-and-outs after giving DOOM and others a shot and feeling like I didn't have the faintest what was really going on with all the magic. I somehow did end up falling in love with Emacs again[^1].

Won't lie... there was a fair amount of cursing involved and, despite the love, I wouldn't recommend many to venture down this road[^2].

Now I have gone the literate config way in my dotfiles https://github.com/vidbina/dotfiles/tree/main/emacs and I jump between Cursor (vscode-based), Neovim and Emacs for different tasks on a daily. I also found dustinlyons/nixos-config (https://github.com/dustinlyons/nixos-config/blob/main/module...) just a few days ago and figured that could be a fun resource when you're building yours up.

Take it as a hobby. There are a bunch of nice things that I picked up from Emacs (a. literate configs, b. comfort around working with LISPs, c. bigger appreciation for parts of the GNU ecosystem, d. more in-depth understanding of how my editor works which helps me debug issues in Neovim or vscode when I see them) but I still think that I'm cursed by wanting to go down this road so badly. Wish I could just vscode my way through live and build dope stuff, unencumbered.

1: Used Emacs heavily in college over 12 years ago when I would boot the Windows + Novell groupware school computers into my own Ubuntu config with my Emacs and embedded dev toolchain from my pendrive.

2: The single-threaded-ness and related ocassional unresponsiveness/hangups still grind my gears.

Here is my flake using home manager on Mac: https://github.com/dustinlyons/nixos-config

What do I need to do to switch from an official Nix install to using nix-installer on macOS? Just uninstall the current nix and install using nix-installer?

My config is loosely based off https://github.com/dustinlyons/nixos-config if this matters. Using nix-darwin.

My configuration uses Nix.

Not my personal notes, but how I do my writing and organize my thoughts. This is my Nix configuration that powers my Macbook, Linux PC, and home lab server. Emacs + org-roam to capture everything. https://github.com/dustinlyons/nixos-config