diff --git a/.github/workflows/build_and_deploy.yml b/.github/workflows/build_and_deploy.yml
index 0477a60fe..b6c05da9d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/build_and_deploy.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/build_and_deploy.yml
@@ -57,6 +57,11 @@ jobs:
           # Downloads to '/home/runner/work/docs/docs/html'
           path: html
 
+      - name: Build search index
+        # Consumed by napari-search-widget.js, which merges this index with
+        # sibling napari.org sub-sites' indexes at query time.
+        run: npx --yes pagefind@1.5.2 --site html --exclude-selectors ".headerlink"
+
       - name: Deploy Docs
         if: (github.event_name == 'push' || github.event_name == 'workflow_dispatch') && (startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/tags/v') || startsWith(github.ref, 'refs/heads/main'))
         uses: peaceiris/actions-gh-pages@84c30a85c19949d7eee79c4ff27748b70285e453 # v4.1.0
diff --git a/docs/_static/napari-search-widget.css b/docs/_static/napari-search-widget.css
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..77cb6e2b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/_static/napari-search-widget.css
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+/* napari brand overrides for Pagefind's default search UI.
+   Full variable list: https://pagefind.app/docs/ui/#customising-the-ui-css */
+.napari-search {
+  position: relative;
+  --pagefind-ui-primary: #4d9de0;
+  --pagefind-ui-text: #23252f;
+  --pagefind-ui-background: #ffffff;
+  --pagefind-ui-border: #d9dbe1;
+  --pagefind-ui-tag: #e9ebf1;
+  --pagefind-ui-border-radius: 6px;
+  --pagefind-ui-border-width: 1px;
+  --pagefind-ui-font: inherit;
+}
+
+@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
+  .napari-search {
+    --pagefind-ui-text: #f1f1f1;
+    --pagefind-ui-background: #1e1e21;
+    --pagefind-ui-border: #3c3e46;
+    --pagefind-ui-tag: #2c2e36;
+  }
+}
+
+/* Pagefind's stock UI leaves the results dropdown transparent, relying on
+   an opaque ancestor to back it — true when embedded in a themed navbar,
+   false when floating standalone (as on workshops), where it reads as a
+   broken translucent panel. Always give it its own solid backing. */
+.napari-search .pagefind-ui__results-area {
+  position: absolute;
+  top: calc(100% + 0.5rem);
+  left: 0;
+  right: 0;
+  z-index: 1;
+  max-height: 70vh;
+  overflow-y: auto;
+  background: var(--pagefind-ui-background);
+  border: var(--pagefind-ui-border-width) solid var(--pagefind-ui-border);
+  border-radius: var(--pagefind-ui-border-radius);
+  box-shadow: 0 0.5rem 1.5rem rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.15);
+  padding: 1rem;
+}
diff --git a/docs/_static/napari-search-widget.js b/docs/_static/napari-search-widget.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7a9bfd742
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/_static/napari-search-widget.js
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+// napari-search-widget.js
+//
+// Drop-in replacement for a site's native search box. Mounts Pagefind's
+// stock UI against this site's own Pagefind bundle, and merges in the
+// Pagefind bundles of sibling napari.org sub-sites so results span all of
+// them from one search box.
+//
+// Usage (append to a page, once at least one element matching data-mount
+// exists and a Pagefind bundle already exists for this site):
+//
+//   <div class="napari-search"></div>
+//   <script
+//     src="/_static/napari-search-widget.js"
+//     data-bundle-path="/dev/pagefind/"
+//     data-merge-paths="/workshops/pagefind/,/island-dispatch/pagefind/"
+//     data-mount=".napari-search"
+//     defer
+//   ></script>
+//
+// - data-bundle-path: root-relative path to *this* page's own Pagefind
+//   bundle directory (the folder containing pagefind-ui.js). Required.
+// - data-merge-paths: comma-separated root-relative paths to sibling
+//   sites' Pagefind bundle directories to merge into results. Optional.
+// - data-mount: CSS selector matching every element to mount a search UI
+//   into. Defaults to ".napari-search". Some themes render their navbar
+//   more than once per page (e.g. a desktop and a mobile variant), and
+//   this script tag may itself be included more than once as a result —
+//   every match gets its own independent PagefindUI instance, and each
+//   match/script pair is only ever initialized once.
+
+(function () {
+  const thisScript = document.currentScript;
+  const bundlePath = thisScript.dataset.bundlePath;
+  const mergePaths = (thisScript.dataset.mergePaths || '')
+    .split(',')
+    .map((s) => s.trim())
+    .filter(Boolean);
+  const mountSelector = thisScript.dataset.mount || '.napari-search';
+  // Directory this very <script> was loaded from — used to find its
+  // sibling CSS file without assuming any particular site layout/prefix.
+  const ownDir = new URL('.', thisScript.src).href;
+
+  if (!bundlePath) {
+    console.error('napari-search-widget: data-bundle-path is required');
+    return;
+  }
+
+  function loadStylesheet(href) {
+    const link = document.createElement('link');
+    link.rel = 'stylesheet';
+    link.href = href;
+    document.head.appendChild(link);
+  }
+
+  // Cached across multiple script instances on the same page, so the
+  // pagefind-ui bundle is only ever fetched once.
+  function loadPagefindUiOnce() {
+    if (!window.__napariSearchPagefindUiPromise) {
+      loadStylesheet(`${ownDir}napari-search-widget.css`);
+      loadStylesheet(`${bundlePath}pagefind-ui.css`);
+      window.__napariSearchPagefindUiPromise = new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+        const s = document.createElement('script');
+        s.src = `${bundlePath}pagefind-ui.js`;
+        s.onload = resolve;
+        s.onerror = () => reject(new Error(`Failed to load ${s.src}`));
+        document.head.appendChild(s);
+      });
+    }
+    return window.__napariSearchPagefindUiPromise;
+  }
+
+  loadPagefindUiOnce().then(() => {
+    const mounts = document.querySelectorAll(mountSelector);
+    if (!mounts.length) {
+      console.error(`napari-search-widget: no element matches ${mountSelector}`);
+      return;
+    }
+    mounts.forEach((mount) => {
+      if (mount.dataset.napariSearchMounted) return;
+      mount.dataset.napariSearchMounted = 'true';
+      new PagefindUI({
+        element: mount,
+        showSubResults: true,
+        showImages: false,
+        excerptLength: 15,
+        mergeIndex: mergePaths.map((path) => ({ bundlePath: path })),
+      });
+    });
+  });
+})();
diff --git a/docs/_templates/search-button-field.html b/docs/_templates/search-button-field.html
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..2b221b8ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/_templates/search-button-field.html
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+{# Overrides napari-sphinx-theme's (and pydata-sphinx-theme's) default
+   search-button-field navbar component (referenced via the theme's
+   navbar_persistent option). Mounts a Pagefind-based widget instead,
+   which also merges in results from sibling napari.org sub-sites (see
+   napari-search-widget.js). The theme renders its navbar more than once
+   per page (desktop/mobile variants), so this template — and therefore
+   this script tag — is included more than once; napari-search-widget.js
+   is written to handle that. #}
+<div class="napari-search bd-search d-flex align-items-center"></div>
+<script
+  src="{{ pathto('_static/napari-search-widget.js', 1) }}"
+  data-bundle-path="{{ pathto('', 1) }}pagefind/"
+  data-merge-paths="/workshops/pagefind/"
+  data-mount=".napari-search"
+  defer
+></script>
diff --git a/pixi.toml b/pixi.toml
index e8678bcf6..b1264dd63 100644
--- a/pixi.toml
+++ b/pixi.toml
@@ -7,6 +7,9 @@ name = "napari-docs"
 platforms = ["win-64", "linux-64", "osx-arm64"]  # Mac Intel support is not available
 version = "0.1.0"
 
+[system-requirements]
+macos = "14.0"
+
 [feature.base.dependencies]
 python = "3.13.*"
 make = "*"