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# Installing Helix
<!--toc:start-->
- [Pre-built binaries](#pre-built-binaries)
- [Linux, macOS, Windows and OpenBSD packaging status](#linux-macos-windows-and-openbsd-packaging-status)
- [Linux](#linux)
- [Ubuntu](#ubuntu)
- [Fedora/RHEL](#fedorarhel)
- [Arch Linux community](#arch-linux-community)
- [NixOS](#nixos)
- [macOS](#macos)
- [Homebrew Core](#homebrew-core)
- [Windows](#windows)
- [Scoop](#scoop)
- [Chocolatey](#chocolatey)
- [MSYS2](#msys2)
- [Building from source](#building-from-source)
- [Configuring Helix's runtime files](#configuring-helixs-runtime-files)
- [Validating the installation](#validating-the-installation)
- [Configure the desktop shortcut](#configure-the-desktop-shortcut)
<!--toc:end-->
To install Helix, follow the instructions specific to your operating system.
Note that:
- To get the latest nightly version of Helix, you need to
[build from source](#building-from-source).
- To take full advantage of Helix, install the language servers for your
preferred programming languages. See the
[wiki](https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/wiki/How-to-install-the-default-language-servers)
for instructions.
## Pre-built binaries
Download pre-built binaries from the
[GitHub Releases page](https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/releases). Add the binary to your system's `$PATH` to use it from the command
line.
## Linux, macOS, Windows and OpenBSD packaging status
Helix is available for Linux, macOS and Windows via the official repositories listed below.
[](https://repology.org/project/helix/versions)
## Linux
The following third party repositories are available:
### Ubuntu
Helix is available via [Maveonair's PPA](https://launchpad.net/~maveonair/+archive/ubuntu/helix-editor):
```sh
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:maveonair/helix-editor
sudo apt update
sudo apt install helix
```
### Fedora/RHEL
Helix is available via `copr`:
```sh
sudo dnf copr enable varlad/helix
sudo dnf install helix
```
### Arch Linux community
Releases are available in the `community` repository:
```sh
sudo pacman -S helix
```
Additionally, a [helix-git](https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/helix-git/) package is available
in the AUR, which builds the master branch.
### NixOS
Helix is available as a [flake](https://nixos.wiki/wiki/Flakes) in the project
root. Use `nix develop` to spin up a reproducible development shell. Outputs are
cached for each push to master using [Cachix](https://www.cachix.org/). The
flake is configured to automatically make use of this cache assuming the user
accepts the new settings on first use.
If you are using a version of Nix without flakes enabled,
[install Cachix CLI](https://docs.cachix.org/installation) and use
`cachix use helix` to configure Nix to use cached outputs when possible.
## macOS
### Homebrew Core
```sh
brew install helix
```
## Windows
Install on Windows using [Scoop](https://scoop.sh/), [Chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org/)
or [MSYS2](https://msys2.org/).
### Scoop
```sh
scoop install helix
```
### Chocolatey
```sh
choco install helix
```
### MSYS2
For 64-bit Windows 8.1 or above:
```sh
pacman -S mingw-w64-ucrt-x86_64-helix
```
## Building from source
Clone the repository:
```sh
git clone https://github.com/helix-editor/helix
cd helix
```
Compile from source:
```sh
cargo install --path helix-term --locked
```
This command will create the `hx` executable and construct the tree-sitter
grammars in the local `runtime` folder. To build the tree-sitter grammars requires
a c++ compiler to be installed, for example `gcc-c++`.
> 💡 If you are using the musl-libc instead of glibc the following environment variable must be set during the build
> to ensure tree-sitter grammars can be loaded correctly:
>
> ```sh
> RUSTFLAGS="-C target-feature=-crt-static"
> ```
> 💡 Tree-sitter grammars can be fetched and compiled if not pre-packaged. Fetch
> grammars with `hx --grammar fetch` (requires `git`) and compile them with
> `hx --grammar build` (requires a C++ compiler). This will install them in
> the `runtime` directory within the user's helix config directory (more
> [details below](#multiple-runtime-directories)).
### Configuring Helix's runtime files
#### Linux and macOS
Either set the `HELIX_RUNTIME` environment variable to point to the runtime files and add it to your `~/.bashrc` or equivalent:
```sh
HELIX_RUNTIME=/home/user-name/src/helix/runtime
```
Or, create a symlink in `~/.config/helix` that links to the source code directory:
```sh
ln -s $PWD/runtime ~/.config/helix/runtime
```
#### Windows
Either set the `HELIX_RUNTIME` environment variable to point to the runtime files using the Windows setting (search for
`Edit environment variables for your account`) or use the `setx` command in
Cmd:
```sh
setx HELIX_RUNTIME "%userprofile%\source\repos\helix\runtime"
```
> 💡 `%userprofile%` resolves to your user directory like
> `C:\Users\Your-Name\` for example.
Or, create a symlink in `%appdata%\helix\` that links to the source code directory:
| Method | Command |
| ---------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| PowerShell | `New-Item -ItemType Junction -Target "runtime" -Path "$Env:AppData\helix\runtime"` |
| Cmd | `cd %appdata%\helix` <br/> `mklink /D runtime "%userprofile%\src\helix\runtime"` |
> 💡 On Windows, creating a symbolic link may require running PowerShell or
> Cmd as an administrator.
#### Multiple runtime directories
When Helix finds multiple runtime directories it will search through them for files in the
following order:
1. `runtime/` sibling directory to `$CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR` directory (this is intended for
developing and testing helix only).
2. `runtime/` subdirectory of OS-dependent helix user config directory.
3. `$HELIX_RUNTIME`.
4. `runtime/` subdirectory of path to Helix executable.
This order also sets the priority for selecting which file will be used if multiple runtime
directories have files with the same name.
### Validating the installation
To make sure everything is set up as expected you should run the Helix health
check:
```sh
hx --health
```
For more information on the health check results refer to
[Health check](https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/wiki/Healthcheck).
### Configure the desktop shortcut
If your desktop environment supports the
[XDG desktop menu](https://specifications.freedesktop.org/menu-spec/menu-spec-latest.html)
you can configure Helix to show up in the application menu by copying the
provided `.desktop` and icon files to their correct folders:
```sh
cp contrib/Helix.desktop ~/.local/share/applications
cp contrib/helix.png ~/.icons # or ~/.local/share/icons
```
To use another terminal than the system default, you can modify the `.desktop`
file. For example, to use `kitty`:
```sh
sed -i "s|Exec=hx %F|Exec=kitty hx %F|g" ~/.local/share/applications/Helix.desktop
sed -i "s|Terminal=true|Terminal=false|g" ~/.local/share/applications/Helix.desktop
```
|
