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NixOS Installation (Flake)

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DankSearch can be installed on NixOS using home-manager with flakes. This guide covers the flake-based installation method for per-user installation.

Native nixpkgs Available

DankSearch is now available in nixpkgs unstable! If you're on NixOS unstable, see Installation - NixOS for the native nixpkgs installation method which doesn't require flakes.

Installation​

1. Add Flake Inputs​

First, add the DankSearch flake to your flake.nix:

{
  inputs = {
    nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";

    danksearch = {
      url = "github:AvengeMedia/danksearch";
      inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
    };
  };
}

2. Import the home-manager Module​

Add the DankSearch home-manager module to your home-manager configuration imports:

imports = [
  inputs.danksearch.homeModules.dsearch
];

If using home-manager as a NixOS module, you can also use the default module which is an alias:

imports = [
  inputs.danksearch.homeModules.default
];

3. Enable DankSearch​

In your home-manager configuration, enable DankSearch:

programs.dsearch.enable = true;

That's it! Rebuild your system (or standalone home-manager configuration) and DankSearch will be installed with sensible defaults.

Configuration Options​

DankSearch provides several configuration options to customize your installation:

Basic Configuration​

programs.dsearch = {
  enable = true;

  # Use a custom package (optional)
  package = pkgs.dsearch;

  # Custom configuration (TOML format)
  config = {
    # Server configuration
    listen_addr = ":43654";
    
    # Index settings
    index_path = "~/.cache/danksearch/index";
    max_file_bytes = 2097152;  # 2MB
    worker_count = 4;
    index_all_files = true;
    
    # Auto-reindex settings
    auto_reindex = false;
    reindex_interval_hours = 24;
    
    # Text file extensions
    text_extensions = [
      ".txt" ".md" ".go" ".py" ".js" ".ts"
      ".jsx" ".tsx" ".json" ".yaml" ".yml"
      ".toml" ".html" ".css" ".rs"
    ];
    
    # Index paths configuration
    index_paths = [
      {
        path = "~/Documents";
        max_depth = 6;
        exclude_hidden = true;
        exclude_dirs = [ "node_modules" "venv" "target" ];
      }
      {
        path = "~/Projects";
        max_depth = 8;
        exclude_hidden = true;
        exclude_dirs = [ "node_modules" ".git" "target" "dist" ];
      }
    ];
  };
};

The configuration follows the TOML format and will be written to ~/.config/danksearch/config.toml. The structure directly maps to the TOML configuration - see the Configuration guide for all available options.

Systemd Service​

The home-manager module automatically creates a systemd user service that:

  • Runs the DankSearch API server with dsearch serve
  • Automatically starts on login (when default.target is reached)
  • Restarts on failure with a 5-second delay
  • Logs output to the systemd journal

Check service status and logs:

# Check service status
systemctl --user status dsearch

# View logs
journalctl --user -u dsearch -f

# Restart service
systemctl --user restart dsearch

Example: Custom Paths Configuration​

programs.dsearch = {
  enable = true;
  
  config = {
    listen_addr = ":43654";
    max_file_bytes = 5242880;  # 5MB
    worker_count = 8;
    
    index_paths = [
      {
        path = "~/Documents";
        max_depth = 0;  # No limit
        exclude_hidden = false;
        exclude_dirs = [ ];
      }
      {
        path = "~/Projects";
        max_depth = 8;
        exclude_hidden = true;
        exclude_dirs = [ "node_modules" "venv" "target" ".git" "dist" "build" ];
      }
      {
        path = "/mnt/shared";
        max_depth = 5;
        watch = false;  # Disable watchers for network mount
        exclude_dirs = [ ".cache" ];
      }
    ];
  };
};

Rebuilding​

After making configuration changes, rebuild your system:

# For home-manager standalone
home-manager switch

# For NixOS with home-manager as a module
sudo nixos-rebuild switch

The systemd service will automatically restart with the new configuration.

Troubleshooting​

Service doesn't start automatically​

The service is automatically enabled by default. Check that the service is running:

systemctl --user status dsearch

If the service failed to start, check the logs:

journalctl --user -u dsearch -f

Port already in use​

If port 43654 is already in use, customize the port in your configuration:

programs.dsearch = {
  enable = true;
  config.listen_addr = ":9876";  # Use a different port
};

Index not updating​

The service monitors filesystem changes automatically. To manually rebuild the index:

dsearch index generate

Configuration not applied​

Ensure your configuration is valid TOML and rebuild your home-manager configuration:

home-manager switch --show-trace

The --show-trace flag will show detailed error messages if there are issues.

Advanced Configuration​

Using a Custom Package​

You can use a specific version or custom build of DankSearch:

programs.dsearch = {
  enable = true;
  package = pkgs.dsearch.overrideAttrs (oldAttrs: {
    version = "0.2.0";
    # Custom package attributes
  });
};

Multiple Index Paths​

Configure DankSearch to index multiple directory trees:

programs.dsearch = {
  enable = true;
  config.index = {
    paths = [
      "~"
      "/mnt/storage"
      "/opt/projects"
    ];
    max_depth = 8;
  };
};

Next Steps​