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Helix

Modal terminal editor in Rust with multiple selections, LSP and Tree-sitter built in.

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About Helix

Helix is a modal text editor for the terminal, written in Rust and inspired by Kakoune. Editing works on selections first: you select text, then act on it, and multiple cursors are a core primitive rather than an add-on. Unlike Vim or Neovim, the features most people add with plugins are built in and work with little configuration, including language server support for completion, go-to-definition and diagnostics, Tree-sitter syntax trees for highlighting and selecting functions or classes, a fuzzy file and symbol picker, project-wide search and themes. That makes it easy to get a capable setup in minutes. Helix is free and open source under the Mozilla Public License 2.0, and runs on Linux, macOS and Windows, including over SSH and inside tmux. The main gaps are the lack of a plugin system, which is planned but not yet available, and the fact that its keybindings differ from Vim's, so Vim habits need retraining.

Best for: Terminal users who want modal editing and IDE features with almost no configuration.

Pros and cons

What works

  • LSP, Tree-sitter and fuzzy finder work out of the box
  • Multiple selections as a core editing model
  • Fast native Rust binary, good over SSH

Why people leave

  • No plugin system yet
  • Keybindings differ from Vim's
  • Terminal only, no GUI

Top Helix alternatives

See all 6
  1. 1Neovim logo
    Neovim

    Has the plugin ecosystem Helix lacks, at the cost of more configuration.

    81.5
  2. 2Zed logo
    Zed

    A fast GUI editor in Rust with a Helix-style keymap option.

    73.3
  3. 3Kakoune logo
    Kakoune

    The editor that inspired Helix, more minimal and composable with external tools.

    62.6
  4. 4Vim logo
    Vim

    The classic modal editor, already installed on most servers.

    57.2
  5. 5micro logo
    micro

    Terminal editor with familiar Ctrl-S and Ctrl-C keys and mouse support, for anyone tired of modal selection-first editing.

    55.3

Why people left Helix

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Helix: common questions

Is Helix free?

Yes. Helix is free, open-source software.

Is Helix open source?

Yes. The source code is on GitHub at helix-editor/helix.

What platforms does Helix run on?

Helix is available for Windows, macOS and Linux.

What are the best alternatives to Helix?

The highest-ranked Helix alternatives right now are Neovim, Zed and Kakoune. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 6 Helix alternatives