diff --git a/CLAUDE.md b/CLAUDE.md
index 414fe05..8b66d40 100644
--- a/CLAUDE.md
+++ b/CLAUDE.md
@@ -223,7 +223,9 @@ hm-options --version                   # Show version
 ### Development Workflow
 - **Always run `go fmt ./...` before committing Go code**
 - **Run Go commands using `nix develop -c`** (e.g., `nix develop -c go test ./...`)
-- **Use `nix run` to run binaries** (e.g., `nix run .#nixpkgs-search -- options serve`)
+- **Use `nix run` to run/test binaries** (e.g., `nix run .#nixpkgs-search -- options serve`)
+  - Do NOT use `go build -o /tmp/...` to test binaries - always use `nix run`
+  - Remember: modified files must be tracked by git for `nix run` to see them
 - File paths in responses should use format `path/to/file.go:123`
 
 ### Linting
diff --git a/internal/database/postgres.go b/internal/database/postgres.go
index a27e402..176ee1c 100644
--- a/internal/database/postgres.go
+++ b/internal/database/postgres.go
@@ -633,6 +633,12 @@ func (s *PostgresStore) GetPackage(ctx context.Context, revisionID int64, attrPa
 
 // SearchPackages searches for packages matching a query.
 func (s *PostgresStore) SearchPackages(ctx context.Context, revisionID int64, query string, filters PackageSearchFilters) ([]*Package, error) {
+	// Query includes exact match priority:
+	// - Priority 0: exact pname match
+	// - Priority 1: exact attr_path match
+	// - Priority 2: pname starts with query
+	// - Priority 3: attr_path starts with query
+	// - Priority 4: FTS match (ordered by ts_rank)
 	baseQuery := `
 		SELECT id, revision_id, attr_path, pname, version, description, long_description, homepage, license, platforms, maintainers, broken, unfree, insecure
 		FROM packages
@@ -656,10 +662,24 @@ func (s *PostgresStore) SearchPackages(ctx context.Context, revisionID int64, qu
 	if filters.Insecure != nil {
 		baseQuery += fmt.Sprintf(" AND insecure = $%d", argNum)
 		args = append(args, *filters.Insecure)
-		_ = argNum // silence ineffassign - argNum tracks position but final value unused
+		argNum++
 	}
 
-	baseQuery += " ORDER BY attr_path"
+	// Order by exact match priority, then ts_rank, then attr_path
+	// CASE returns priority (lower = better), ts_rank returns positive scores (higher = better, so DESC)
+	baseQuery += fmt.Sprintf(` ORDER BY
+		CASE
+			WHEN pname = $%d THEN 0
+			WHEN attr_path = $%d THEN 1
+			WHEN pname LIKE $%d THEN 2
+			WHEN attr_path LIKE $%d THEN 3
+			ELSE 4
+		END,
+		ts_rank(to_tsvector('english', attr_path || ' ' || pname || ' ' || COALESCE(description, '')), plainto_tsquery('english', $2)) DESC,
+		attr_path`, argNum, argNum+1, argNum+2, argNum+3)
+	// For LIKE comparisons, escape % and _ characters for PostgreSQL
+	likeQuery := strings.ReplaceAll(strings.ReplaceAll(query, "%", "\\%"), "_", "\\_") + "%"
+	args = append(args, query, query, likeQuery, likeQuery)
 
 	if filters.Limit > 0 {
 		baseQuery += fmt.Sprintf(" LIMIT %d", filters.Limit)
diff --git a/internal/database/sqlite.go b/internal/database/sqlite.go
index 6f0e786..35e033a 100644
--- a/internal/database/sqlite.go
+++ b/internal/database/sqlite.go
@@ -696,6 +696,12 @@ func (s *SQLiteStore) GetPackage(ctx context.Context, revisionID int64, attrPath
 
 // SearchPackages searches for packages matching a query.
 func (s *SQLiteStore) SearchPackages(ctx context.Context, revisionID int64, query string, filters PackageSearchFilters) ([]*Package, error) {
+	// Query includes exact match priority:
+	// - Priority 0: exact pname match
+	// - Priority 1: exact attr_path match
+	// - Priority 2: pname starts with query
+	// - Priority 3: attr_path starts with query
+	// - Priority 4: FTS match (ordered by bm25 rank)
 	baseQuery := `
 		SELECT p.id, p.revision_id, p.attr_path, p.pname, p.version, p.description, p.long_description, p.homepage, p.license, p.platforms, p.maintainers, p.broken, p.unfree, p.insecure
 		FROM packages p
@@ -705,6 +711,8 @@ func (s *SQLiteStore) SearchPackages(ctx context.Context, revisionID int64, quer
 
 	// Escape the query for FTS5 by wrapping in double quotes for literal matching.
 	escapedQuery := `"` + strings.ReplaceAll(query, `"`, `""`) + `"`
+	// For LIKE comparisons, escape % and _ characters
+	likeQuery := strings.ReplaceAll(strings.ReplaceAll(query, "%", "\\%"), "_", "\\_")
 	args := []interface{}{revisionID, escapedQuery}
 
 	if filters.Broken != nil {
@@ -722,7 +730,19 @@ func (s *SQLiteStore) SearchPackages(ctx context.Context, revisionID int64, quer
 		args = append(args, *filters.Insecure)
 	}
 
-	baseQuery += " ORDER BY p.attr_path"
+	// Order by exact match priority, then FTS5 rank, then attr_path
+	// CASE returns priority (lower = better), bm25 returns negative scores (lower = better)
+	baseQuery += ` ORDER BY
+		CASE
+			WHEN p.pname = ? THEN 0
+			WHEN p.attr_path = ? THEN 1
+			WHEN p.pname LIKE ? ESCAPE '\' THEN 2
+			WHEN p.attr_path LIKE ? ESCAPE '\' THEN 3
+			ELSE 4
+		END,
+		bm25(packages_fts),
+		p.attr_path`
+	args = append(args, query, query, likeQuery+"%", likeQuery+"%")
 
 	if filters.Limit > 0 {
 		baseQuery += fmt.Sprintf(" LIMIT %d", filters.Limit)