How do I install the Hex Docs Search skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add bradleygolden/hex-docs-search in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Hex Docs Search safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. Capability flags: makes network calls. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Hex Docs Search?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Hex Docs Search free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Hex Docs Search?

bradleygolden (@bradleygolden) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Hex Docs Search by bradleygolden — Agent Skill

Name: Hex Docs Search
Rating: 4.2 (5 reviews)
Author: bradleygolden

Hex Docs Search

Research Hex packages (Sobelow, Phoenix, Ecto, Credo, Ash, etc). Use when investigating packages, understanding integration patterns, or finding module/function docs and usage examples. Automatically fetches missing documentation and source code locally.

bradleygolden Updated Sep 10, 2026

File contents

Hex Documentation Search

Search Elixir package documentation. Prioritize local sources, fetch if needed.

Search Locations (in order)

Project deps: deps/<package>/lib/ (source with @moduledoc/@doc), deps/<package>/doc/ (HTML if generated)
Fetched docs cache: .hex-docs/docs/hexpm/<package>/<version>/
Fetched source cache: .hex-packages/<package>-<version>/
HexDocs API: Programmatic search (see below)
Web search: Last resort with site:hexdocs.pm

Fetching Locally

Determine version from mix.lock, mix.exs, or prompt user if ambiguous.

# Fetch documentation (stores in .hex-docs/)
HEX_HOME=.hex-docs mix hex.docs fetch <package> <version>

# Fetch source code (if docs insufficient or unavailable)
mix hex.package fetch <package> <version> --unpack --output .hex-packages/<package>-<version>

Mention adding .hex-docs/ and .hex-packages/ to .gitignore once per session when fetching occurs.

HexDocs Search API

# Search within a specific package
curl -s "https://search.hexdocs.pm/?q=<query>&filter_by=package:=[<package>-<version>]" \
  | jq '.hits[].document | {title, doc, url}'

# Search across all packages
curl -s "https://search.hexdocs.pm/?q=<query>" \
  | jq '.hits[].document | {package, title, doc}'

Response fields:

package: Package name
title: Module/function name
doc: Documentation text
url: Path to append to https://hexdocs.pm

Version Resolution

# From mix.lock
grep '"<package>"' mix.lock | grep -oE '[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+'

# Latest from hex.pm
curl -s "https://hex.pm/api/packages/<package>" | jq -r '.releases[0].version'

Key Behaviors

Prefer local/cached results (version matches project)
Show real usage examples from project codebase when relevant
Include file:line references for source code
Prompt user before fetching external packages
Source code @moduledoc/@doc often has more detail than HTML docs

---name: hex-docs-searchdescription: Research Hex packages (Sobelow, Phoenix, Ecto, Credo, Ash, etc). Use when investigating packages, understanding integration patterns, or finding module/function docs and usage examples. Automatically fetches missing documentation and source code locally.---# Hex Documentation SearchSearch Elixir package documentation. Prioritize local sources, fetch if needed.## Search Locations (in order)1. **Project deps**: `deps/<package>/lib/` (source with @moduledoc/@doc), `deps/<package>/doc/` (HTML if generated)2. **Fetched docs cache**: `.hex-docs/docs/hexpm/<package>/<version>/`3. **Fetched source cache**: `.hex-packages/<package>-<version>/`4. **HexDocs API**: Programmatic search (see below)5. **Web search**: Last resort with `site:hexdocs.pm`## Fetching LocallyDetermine version from `mix.lock`, `mix.exs`, or prompt user if ambiguous.```bash# Fetch documentation (stores in .hex-docs/)HEX_HOME=.hex-docs mix hex.docs fetch <package> <version># Fetch source code (if docs insufficient or unavailable)mix hex.package fetch <package> <version> --unpack --output .hex-packages/<package>-<version>```Mention adding `.hex-docs/` and `.hex-packages/` to `.gitignore` once per session when fetching occurs.## HexDocs Search APIPowered by Typesense at `search.hexdocs.pm`.```bash# Search within a specific packagecurl -s "https://search.hexdocs.pm/?q=<query>&filter_by=package:=[<package>-<version>]" \ | jq '.hits[].document | {title, doc, url}'# Search across all packagescurl -s "https://search.hexdocs.pm/?q=<query>" \ | jq '.hits[].document | {package, title, doc}'```Response fields:- `package`: Package name- `title`: Module/function name- `doc`: Documentation text- `url`: Path to append to `https://hexdocs.pm`## Version Resolution```bash# From mix.lockgrep '"<package>"' mix.lock | grep -oE '[0-9]+\.[0-9]+\.[0-9]+'# Latest from hex.pmcurl -s "https://hex.pm/api/packages/<package>" | jq -r '.releases[0].version'```## Key Behaviors- Prefer local/cached results (version matches project)- Show real usage examples from project codebase when relevant- Include file:line references for source code- Prompt user before fetching external packages- Source code @moduledoc/@doc often has more detail than HTML docs

Frequently asked questions