macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install helixlocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install helixMacPorts ports tree · editors/helix/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew / rank 902
Install helix with Homebrew, apk, chocolatey, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper, scoop, winget, apt
Post-modern modal text editor. Version 25.07.1 via Homebrew; verified from local package data. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#helix.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add helixAlpine Linux edge package indexes · helix · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install helixFedora Rawhide package metadata · helix · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#helixnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/he/helix/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S helixArch Linux sync databases · helix · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install helixopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · helix · source: download.opensuse.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install hxDebian stable package indexes · hx · source: deb.debian.org
Windows
Chocolateyverified · 92%
choco install helixChocolatey community package catalog · helix · source: community.chocolatey.org
Scoopverified · 92%
scoop install main/helixScoop official bucket manifest trees · bucket/helix.json · source: api.github.com
Windows Package Managerverified · 92%
winget install --id Helix.Helix -eWindows Package Manager source index · Helix.Helix · source: cdn.winget.microsoft.com
overview
Package summary
Post-modern modal text editor
Project links
Commands and aliases
- hx
history
Project history and usage
Helix is a terminal-first modal editor written in Rust. Its own README frames it as a Kakoune- and Neovim-inspired editor with Vim-like modal editing, multiple selections, built-in Language Server Protocol support, and Tree-sitter-based syntax features.
For package-manager users, Helix matters because it is a modern editor packaged as a single `hx` command while still shipping a large runtime of grammars, themes, language configuration, and editor documentation.
Project history
The public GitHub repository was created in June 2020. The project developed around a Rust codebase split into editor core, terminal UI, LSP, DAP, loader, runtime, and query assets, which made the editor feel more like a self-contained toolchain than a thin terminal frontend.
Helix's editing model comes from Kakoune's selection-first approach, while its ecosystem position naturally invites comparison with Neovim. The project made built-in LSP and Tree-sitter support part of the editor's baseline rather than optional plugin work.
Adoption history
The project moved quickly from source builds and GitHub releases into operating-system package channels. The supplied package metadata lists Homebrew, Chocolatey, Debian, Fedora, MacPorts, Nix, Arch, Scoop, winget, and openSUSE packaging, which is broad coverage for a comparatively young terminal editor.
Its adoption has been helped by an easy executable name, `hx`, and by official documentation that covers installation, configuration, language setup, themes, and keymaps in one place.
How it is used
Users run Helix as `hx` to edit files in a modal terminal interface. Normal package-manager installs must provide the binary plus the runtime assets that power highlighting, indentation queries, themes, and language definitions.
Helix configuration is conventionally stored in `config.toml` under the user config directory, with per-project overrides in `.helix/config.toml`; this makes it friendly to dotfile managers and repository-local editor policy.
Why package nerds care
Helix is interesting to package nerds because it compresses several editor-era trends into one package: Rust terminal UI, Tree-sitter grammars, LSP integration, modal editing, and runtime data that must be installed in the right place.
It also provides a useful contrast with plugin-heavy editor packaging. A Helix package has to get runtime paths and grammar assets right, but it does not require bootstrapping a large external plugin manager just to provide language-aware editing.
Timeline
- 2020: Public GitHub repository created.
- 2021: Early public GitHub releases begin with the 0.0.x series.
- 2021: Helix documentation and installation guidance become part of the official project site.
- 2025: The 25.x release series appears on the official GitHub release page.
Related projects
- Kakoune supplies the strongest editing-model influence.
- Neovim is the closest modal-editor ecosystem comparison.
- Tree-sitter and the Language Server Protocol are core technologies in Helix's default feature set.
- Nix, Homebrew, Chocolatey, Scoop, winget, Debian, Fedora, Arch, MacPorts, and openSUSE appear in the supplied package metadata as distribution channels.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
Install behavior
- No Homebrew bottle metadata was recorded.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
local files
Configuration and credential file locations
These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.
Configuration files
Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.
- Unix
~/.config/helix/config.toml.helix/config.toml- Windows
%AppData%\helix\config.toml
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
hx | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-08-03
manager version25.07.1
manager updated
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:helix |
|---|---|
| Version | 25.07.1 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://helix-editor.com |
| Repository | https://github.com/helix-editor/helix |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Nix95%
helix
nix profile install nixpkgs#helix- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Helix
apk95%
helix 25.07.1-r3
A post-modern modal text editor
sudo apk add helix- License: MPL-2.0
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: helix
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Helix
apk95%
helix-bash-completion 25.07.1-r3
Bash completions for helix
sudo apk add helix-bash-completion- License: MPL-2.0
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: helix
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Helix
apk95%
helix-fish-completion 25.07.1-r3
Fish completions for helix
sudo apk add helix-fish-completion- License: MPL-2.0
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: helix
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Helix
apk95%
helix-tree-sitter-system 25.07.1-r3
A post-modern modal text editor
sudo apk add helix-tree-sitter-system- License: MPL-2.0
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: helix
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Helix
apk95%
helix-tree-sitter-vendor 25.07.1-r3
A post-modern modal text editor
sudo apk add helix-tree-sitter-vendor- License: MPL-2.0
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: helix
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Helix
apk95%
helix-zsh-completion 25.07.1-r3
Zsh completions for helix
sudo apk add helix-zsh-completion- License: MPL-2.0
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: helix
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Helix
dnf95%
helix 25.07.1-12.fc45
A post-modern modal text editor written in Rust
sudo dnf install helix- License: (Apache-2.0 OR MIT) AND BSD-3-Clause AND Unicode-DFS-2016 AND Apache-2.0 AND (Apache-2.0 OR BSL-1.0) AND (Apache-2.0 OR MIT) AND (Apache-2.0 WITH
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: helix
- 5 dependencies
- 4 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Helix
dnf95%
helix-parsers 25.07.1-12.fc45
Prebuilt tree-sitter parsers for Helix
sudo dnf install helix-parsers- License: (Apache-2.0 OR MIT) AND BSD-3-Clause AND Unicode-DFS-2016 AND Apache-2.0 AND (Apache-2.0 OR BSL-1.0) AND (Apache-2.0 OR MIT) AND (Apache-2.0 WITH
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: helix
- 6 dependencies
- 3 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Helix
dnf95%
helix-themes 25.07.1-12.fc45
Helix themes
sudo dnf install helix-themes- License: (Apache-2.0 OR MIT) AND BSD-3-Clause AND Unicode-DFS-2016 AND Apache-2.0 AND (Apache-2.0 OR BSL-1.0) AND (Apache-2.0 OR MIT) AND (Apache-2.0 WITH
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: helix
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Helix
pacman95%
helix 25.07.1-2
A post-modern modal text editor
sudo pacman -S helix- License: MPL-2.0
- Architecture: x86_64
- 4 dependencies
- 29 optional deps
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Helix
zypper95%
helix 25.07.1-1.5
A post-modern modal text editor written in Rust
https://github.com/helix-editor/helix
sudo zypper install helix- License: (Apache-2.0 OR MIT) AND BSD-3-Clause AND (Apache-2.0 OR BSL-1.0) AND (Apache-2.0 OR MIT) AND (Apache-2.0 OR MIT OR Zlib) AND (MIT OR Unlicense) AND (Apache-2.0
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: helix
- 5 dependencies
- 4 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Helix
zypper95%
helix-bash-completion 25.07.1-1.5
Bash Completion for helix
https://github.com/helix-editor/helix
sudo zypper install helix-bash-completion- License: (Apache-2.0 OR MIT) AND BSD-3-Clause AND (Apache-2.0 OR BSL-1.0) AND (Apache-2.0 OR MIT) AND (Apache-2.0 OR MIT OR Zlib) AND (MIT OR Unlicense) AND (Apache-2.0
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: noarch
- Source Package: helix
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Helix
zypper95%
helix-fish-completion 25.07.1-1.5
Fish Completion for helix
https://github.com/helix-editor/helix
sudo zypper install helix-fish-completion- License: (Apache-2.0 OR MIT) AND BSD-3-Clause AND (Apache-2.0 OR BSL-1.0) AND (Apache-2.0 OR MIT) AND (Apache-2.0 OR MIT OR Zlib) AND (MIT OR Unlicense) AND (Apache-2.0
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: noarch
- Source Package: helix
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Helix
zypper95%
helix-runtime 25.07.1-1.5
Runtime files for helix
https://github.com/helix-editor/helix
sudo zypper install helix-runtime- License: (Apache-2.0 OR MIT) AND BSD-3-Clause AND (Apache-2.0 OR BSL-1.0) AND (Apache-2.0 OR MIT) AND (Apache-2.0 OR MIT OR Zlib) AND (MIT OR Unlicense) AND (Apache-2.0
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: helix
- 3 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Helix
zypper95%
helix-zsh-completion 25.07.1-1.5
Zsh Completion for helix
https://github.com/helix-editor/helix
sudo zypper install helix-zsh-completion- License: (Apache-2.0 OR MIT) AND BSD-3-Clause AND (Apache-2.0 OR BSL-1.0) AND (Apache-2.0 OR MIT) AND (Apache-2.0 OR MIT OR Zlib) AND (MIT OR Unlicense) AND (Apache-2.0
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: noarch
- Source Package: helix
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Helix
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation