dotnet-package-search(1)

💖 dotnet-package-search — the search bar for NuGet, but make it terminal

okay bestie, welcome to dotnet-package-search(1) from the .NET Documentation manual. this one applies to: ✔️ .NET 8.0.2xx SDK and later versions — so if you're on something older, this page is not for you, sorry not sorry 🫶

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✨ NAME ✨

dotnet-package-search — Searches for a NuGet package.

like. it finds packages. that's the whole job. iconic behavior honestly.

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

dotnet package search <SEARCH TERM> [--configfile <FILE>] [--exact-match] [--format <FORMAT OPTION>]
    [--interactive] [--prerelease] [--skip <NUMBER>] [--source <SOURCE>] [--take <NUMBER>]
    [--verbosity <VERBOSITY VALUE>]

dotnet package search -h|--help

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

The dotnet package search command searches for a NuGet package. that's it, that's the vibe. she's a searcher. she searches. periodt.

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🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

• search terms — Specifies the search term to filter results. Use this argument to search for packages matching the provided query. Example: dotnet package search json.

like yeah you literally just tell her what you're looking for and she goes and finds it. main character energy fr fr.

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💅 OPTIONS 💅

• --configfile — The NuGet configuration file. If specified, only the settings from this file will be used. If not specified, the hierarchy of configuration files from the current directory will be used. For more information, see Common NuGet configurations.

ngl this is the "no actually, use THIS config, not whatever you found lying around" button 💀

• --exact-match — This option narrows the search to only include packages whose IDs exactly match the specified search term, effectively filtering out any partial matches. It provides a concise list of all available versions for the identified package. Causes --take and --skip options to be ignored. Utilize this option to display all available versions of a specified package.

okay so important: she will ignore your --take and --skip when you use this. not a bug, just her being thorough. don't come for her.

• --format — The format options are table and json. The default is table.
• --interactive — Allows the command to stop and wait for user input or action (for example to complete authentication).
• --prerelease — Allow prerelease packages to be shown.

beta girlies get to come to the party too 🎉

• --skip — The number of results to skip, for pagination. The default value is 0.
• --source <SOURCE> — The package source to search. You can pass multiple --source options to search multiple package sources.

stack them like friendship bracelets, bestie 🌈

• --take — The number of results to return. The default value is 20.
• --verbosity — Display this amount of details in the output: normal, minimal, or detailed. The default is normal.
• -?|-h|--help — Prints out a description of how to use the command.

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⭐ EXAMPLES ⭐

🍓 1. table mode, up to 20 results

Search NuGet.org for packages that match the search term "Newtonsoft.Json," and render the output as a table with up to 20 packages:

dotnet package search Newtonsoft.Json --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json

    Source: https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json
    | Package ID                                  | Latest Version | Owners | Downloads       |
    |---------------------------------------------|----------------|--------|-----------------|
    | Newtonsoft.Json                             | 13.0.3         |        | 3,829,822,911   |
    |---------------------------------------------|----------------|--------|-----------------|
    | Newtonsoft.Json.Bson                        | 1.0.2          |        | 554,641,545     |
    |---------------------------------------------|----------------|--------|-----------------|
    | Newtonsoft.Json.Schema                      | 3.0.15         |        | 39,648,430      |
    |---------------------------------------------|----------------|--------|-----------------|
    | Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.NewtonsoftJson     | 7.0.12         |        | 317,067,823     |
    |---------------------------------------------|----------------|--------|-----------------|
    ...

🧚 2. json mode, for the data girlies

Search NuGet.org for packages that match the search term "Newtonsoft.Json," and render the output as json.

dotnet package search Newtonsoft.Json --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json --format json

    {
    "version": 2,
    "problems": [],
    "searchResult": [
        {
        "sourceName": "https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json",
        "packages": [
            {
            "id": "Newtonsoft.Json",
            "latestVersion": "13.0.3",
            "totalDownloads": 4456137550,
            "owners": "dotnetfoundation, jamesnk, newtonsoft"
            },
            {
            "id": "Newtonsoft.Json.Bson",
            "latestVersion": "1.0.2",
            "totalDownloads": 655362732,
            "owners": "dotnetfoundation, jamesnk, newtonsoft"
            },
            {
            "id": "Newtonsoft.Json.Schema",
            "latestVersion": "3.0.15",
            "totalDownloads": 46062119,
            "owners": "jamesnk, newtonsoft"
            },
            {
            "id": "Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc.NewtonsoftJson",
            "latestVersion": "8.0.3",
            "totalDownloads": 372202749,
            "owners": "aspnet, dotnetframework, Microsoft"
            },
            {
            "id": "Newtonsoft.Json.Encryption",
            "latestVersion": "2.2.0",
            "totalDownloads": 113101,
            "owners": "simoncropp"
            }
        ]
        }
    ]
    }

💜 3. pagination, aka --skip + --take

Search NuGet.org for packages using the search term "Newtonsoft.Json," show only two results, and skip the first packages in the search result:

dotnet package search Newtonsoft.Json --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json --skip 1 --take 2

    Source: https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json
    | Package ID                                  | Latest Version | Owners | Downloads       |
    |---------------------------------------------|----------------|--------|-----------------|
    | Newtonsoft.Json.Bson                        | 1.0.2          |        | 554,641,545     |
    | Newtonsoft.Json.Schema                      | 3.0.15         |        | 39,648,430      |

👑 4. the exact match flex

Search for packages that exactly match "Newtonsoft.Json" and list all available versions of it, ignoring any packages that contain "Newtonsoft.Json" as a part of their name or description but don't match it exactly:

dotnet package search Newtonsoft.Json --source https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json --exact-match

    Source: https://api.nuget.org/v3/index.json
    | Package ID                                  | Version | Owners | Downloads       |
    |---------------------------------------------|---------|--------|-----------------|
    | Newtonsoft.Json                             | 13.0.3  |        | 3,829,822,911   |

notice how the column header says Version here instead of Latest Version? yeah. --exact-match gives you every version, so she switches it up. ate. 🔥

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that's the whole page bestie, no notes, she's perfect 💖 this was dotnet-package-search(1) from the .NET Documentation manual, dated 2025-06-13. go search something. slay. ✨🦋💅