mcp-nixos MCP — Anwendungsfälle, Installieren & Live-Demo

Warum nutzen

Hauptfunktionen

130k+ NixOS packages + 23k+ system options queryable
Covers Home Manager (5k+ options), nix-darwin (1k+ macOS settings), Nixvim, FlakeHub, Noogle
nix_versions tool for historical versions + pinned nixpkgs commit hashes
No auth required — public API queries only
Runs via uvx, Nix flake, or Docker

Live-Demo

In der Praxis

nixos.replay ▶ bereit

0/0

Installieren

Wählen Sie Ihren Client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nixos": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-nixos"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Öffne Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Nach dem Speichern neu starten.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nixos": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-nixos"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Cursor nutzt das gleiche mcpServers-Schema wie Claude Desktop. Projektkonfiguration schlägt die globale.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nixos": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-nixos"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Klicken Sie auf das MCP-Servers-Symbol in der Cline-Seitenleiste, dann "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nixos": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-nixos"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Gleiche Struktur wie Claude Desktop. Windsurf neu starten zum Übernehmen.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "nixos",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-nixos"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue nutzt ein Array von Serverobjekten statt einer Map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "nixos": {
      "command": {
        "path": "uvx",
        "args": [
          "mcp-nixos"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

In context_servers hinzufügen. Zed lädt beim Speichern neu.

claude mcp add nixos -- uvx mcp-nixos

Einzeiler. Prüfen mit claude mcp list. Entfernen mit claude mcp remove.

Anwendungsfälle

Praxisnahe Nutzung: mcp-nixos

Find a NixOS package by fuzzy name or purpose

👤 NixOS users, flake authors ⏱ ~5 min beginner

Wann einsetzen: You remember roughly what the package does but not its nix attribute name.

Ablauf

Search

Find NixOS packages matching 'ocr command line tool'.✓ Kopiert

→ Ranked list of candidates with descriptions
Get details on the best fit

For tesseract, show me the attribute path, version in unstable vs 24.11, and which meta.platforms are supported.✓ Kopiert

→ Detail card with attr, versions, platforms

Ergebnis: The exact attribute to drop into your configuration.nix or flake.

Fallstricke

Channel mismatch — package only exists in unstable, not your stable channel — Ask explicitly about the channel you're on

Kombinieren mit: filesystem

Look up a NixOS module option with its type and default

👤 People writing NixOS modules ⏱ ~5 min beginner

Wann einsetzen: You know there's an option 'somewhere' for enabling zswap and you don't want to grep nixpkgs.

Ablauf

Query options

Is there a NixOS option for enabling zswap? Show its type, default, and description.✓ Kopiert

→ Full option card
Get an example

Give me a minimal configuration.nix snippet that enables zswap with z3fold and 20% memory.✓ Kopiert

→ Copy-paste Nix snippet

Ergebnis: A correct option usage ready to paste in.

Pin nixpkgs to an old version of a package

👤 Users needing a specific older version ⏱ ~10 min intermediate

Wann einsetzen: A newer version broke something and you want the last known-good commit.

Ablauf

Find historical versions

Show me past versions of nodejs_20 in nixpkgs with commit hashes.✓ Kopiert

→ Version→commit table
Generate a flake input

Generate the flake input pinning nodejs_20 20.15.0 from that commit.✓ Kopiert

→ Ready-to-paste flake.nix snippet

Ergebnis: A reproducibly pinned input for rollback.

Kombinieren mit: filesystem

Discover Home Manager options for a program

👤 Anyone using Home Manager ⏱ ~10 min beginner

Wann einsetzen: You want to manage a program declaratively but aren't sure what options exist.

Ablauf

List program options

List every Home Manager option under programs.neovim.✓ Kopiert

→ Categorized option list
Build a minimal block

Give me a minimal programs.neovim block enabling Telescope and LSP for TS/Python.✓ Kopiert

→ Working HM snippet

Ergebnis: A working Home Manager config without reading the full manual.

Kombinationen

Mit anderen MCPs für 10-fache Wirkung

nixos + filesystem

Find the option and write it into your config file

Find the NixOS option to enable flatpak, then add it to ~/nixos/configuration.nix with a comment.✓ Kopiert

nixos + github

Raise an issue when a package is missing

Is package foo-cli in nixpkgs? If not, open a github issue on our fork requesting it.✓ Kopiert

Werkzeuge

Was dieses MCP bereitstellt

Werkzeug	Eingaben	Wann aufrufen	Kosten
nix	action: search\|info\|stats\|options\|channels\|flake-inputs\|cache, args: ...	Any query over packages, options, channels	1 upstream API call
nix_versions	package: str	Need an older version / nixpkgs pin	1 upstream call

Kosten & Limits

Was der Betrieb kostet

API-Kontingent: Public APIs; generous limits but not infinite — don't hammer
Tokens pro Aufruf: Options with descriptions: 500-2000 tokens. Lists can be larger.
Kosten in €: Free
Tipp: Prefer info on one package over search returning 50.

Sicherheit

Rechte, Secrets, Reichweite

Credential-Speicherung: None

Datenabfluss: Calls to search.nixos.org and related public APIs

Results reflect whatever upstream NixOS search returns — re-verify against your channel.
mcp-nixos does not run Nix; it does not execute any derivation.

Fehlerbehebung

Häufige Fehler und Lösungen

uvx not found

Install uv: curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh, then re-add the MCP.

Prüfen: uvx --version

No results for a package I know exists

Spelling varies in attribute names — try a looser query or search by description.

Prüfen: Retry with partial keyword

Stale version info

The MCP caches briefly; re-query in 5 minutes or pass action=cache to refresh.

Alternativen

mcp-nixos vs. andere

Alternative	Wann stattdessen	Kompromiss
search.nixos.org directly	You're fine with a browser tab	No AI in the loop
nix-search CLI	You want local fast search and have Nix installed	Needs local Nix + an up-to-date channel

Mehr

Ressourcen

📖 Offizielle README auf GitHub lesen

🐙 Offene Issues ansehen

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