NixPkgs version badge
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Description
### 📋 Description
I see the Hackage badge: https://shields.io/badges/hackage-version
Here is an example of it in use: https://github.com/haskell/haskell-language-server?tab=readme-ov-file#haskell-language-server
I assume that functions by making a call to Hackage Server.
It would be very cool to have a similar badge for NixPkgs. This is not limited to Haskell.
### 🔗 Data
* `nix search` tool; this pulls from NixPkgs directly:
https://nixos.org/manual/nix/stable/command-ref/new-cli/nix3-search
```
$ nix search nixpkgs#haskellPackages '^haskell-language-server'
* legacyPackages.x86_64-linux.haskellPackages.haskell-language-server (2.5.0.0)
LSP server for GHC
```
* Keeping a local copy of NixPkgs Git repo and searching it:
```
$ nix search .#haskellPackages '^haskell-language-server'
* legacyPackages.x86_64-linux.haskellPackages.haskell-language-server (2.5.0.0)
LSP server for GHC
```
* another example:
```
$ nix search .#haskell-language-server
* legacyPackages.x86_64-linux.haskell-language-server (2.5.0.0)
LSP server for GHC
```
* another example:
```
$ nix search .#firefox
* legacyPackages.x86_64-linux.firefox (123.0.1)
A web browser built from Firefox source tree
```
* Less usable, UI search
https://search.nixos.org/packages?channel=unstable&from=0&size=50&sort=relevance&type=packages&query=haskell-language-server
### 🎤 Motivation
Encourage the use of packages hosted on NixPkgs, and also encourage contribution to update the NixPkgs
Thanks
Contributor guide
Research direction
Start by comparing the existing Hackage version badge at shields.io/badges/hackage-version with the proposed NixPkgs behavior. Review the documented nix search examples and the NixOS package search URL to determine the supported package lookup and version source. Done means a NixPkgs version badge can identify a package and display its current version reliably.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Domain
- api, backend
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100