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@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
![Screenshot](./screenshot.png)
-A [Kakoune](https://github.com/mawww/kakoune) / [Neovim](https://github.com/neovim/neovim) inspired editor, written in Rust.
+A Kakoune / Neovim inspired editor, written in Rust.
The editing model is very heavily based on Kakoune; during development I found
myself agreeing with most of Kakoune's design decisions.
@@ -37,17 +37,99 @@ All shortcuts/keymaps can be found [in the documentation on the website](https:/
- Built-in language server support
- Smart, incremental syntax highlighting and code editing via tree-sitter
-Although it's primarily a terminal-based editor, I am interested in exploring
-a custom renderer (similar to Emacs) using wgpu or skulpin.
+It's a terminal-based editor first, but I'd like to explore a custom renderer
+(similar to Emacs) in wgpu or skulpin.
Note: Only certain languages have indentation definitions at the moment. Check
`runtime/queries/<lang>/` for `indents.scm`.
# Installation
-[Installation documentation](https://docs.helix-editor.com/install.html).
+Packages are available for various distributions (see [Installation docs](https://docs.helix-editor.com/install.html)).
-[![Packaging status](https://repology.org/badge/vertical-allrepos/helix-editor.svg?exclude_unsupported=1)](https://repology.org/project/helix-editor/versions)
+If you would like to build from source:
+
+```shell
+git clone https://github.com/helix-editor/helix
+cd helix
+cargo install --path helix-term
+```
+
+This will install the `hx` binary to `$HOME/.cargo/bin` and build tree-sitter grammars in `./runtime/grammars`.
+
+Helix needs its runtime files so make sure to copy/symlink the `runtime/` directory into the
+config directory (for example `~/.config/helix/runtime` on Linux/macOS, or `%AppData%/helix/runtime` on Windows).
+
+| OS | Command |
+| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ |
+| Windows (Cmd) | `xcopy /e /i runtime %AppData%\helix\runtime` |
+| Windows (PowerShell) | `xcopy /e /i runtime $Env:AppData\helix\runtime` |
+| Linux / macOS | `ln -s $PWD/runtime ~/.config/helix/runtime` |
+
+Starting with Windows Vista you can also create symbolic links on Windows. Note that this requires
+elevated privileges - i.e. PowerShell or Cmd must be run as administrator.
+
+**PowerShell:**
+
+```powershell
+New-Item -ItemType SymbolicLink -Target "runtime" -Path "$Env:AppData\helix\runtime"
+```
+
+**Cmd:**
+
+```cmd
+cd %appdata%\helix
+mklink /D runtime "<helix-repo>\runtime"
+```
+
+The runtime location can be overridden via the `HELIX_RUNTIME` environment variable.
+
+> NOTE: if `HELIX_RUNTIME` is set prior to calling `cargo install --path helix-term`,
+> tree-sitter grammars will be built in `$HELIX_RUNTIME/grammars`.
+
+If you plan on keeping the repo locally, an alternative to copying/symlinking
+runtime files is to set `HELIX_RUNTIME=/path/to/helix/runtime`
+(`HELIX_RUNTIME=$PWD/runtime` if you're in the helix repo directory).
+
+Packages already solve this for you by wrapping the `hx` binary with a wrapper
+that sets the variable to the install dir.
+
+> NOTE: running via cargo also doesn't require setting explicit `HELIX_RUNTIME` path, it will automatically
+> detect the `runtime` directory in the project root.
+
+If you want to customize your `languages.toml` config,
+tree-sitter grammars may be manually fetched and built with `hx --grammar fetch` and `hx --grammar build`.
+
+In order to use LSP features like auto-complete, you will need to
+[install the appropriate Language Server](https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/wiki/How-to-install-the-default-language-servers)
+for a language.
+
+[![Packaging status](https://repology.org/badge/vertical-allrepos/helix.svg)](https://repology.org/project/helix/versions)
+
+## Adding Helix to your desktop environment
+
+If installing from source, to use Helix in desktop environments that supports [XDG desktop menu](https://specifications.freedesktop.org/menu-spec/menu-spec-latest.html), including Gnome and KDE, copy the provided `.desktop` file to the correct folder:
+
+```bash
+cp contrib/Helix.desktop ~/.local/share/applications
+```
+
+To use another terminal than the default, you will need to modify the `.desktop` file. For example, to use `kitty`:
+
+```bash
+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
+```
+
+Please note: there is no icon for Helix yet, so the system default will be used.
+
+## macOS
+
+Helix can be installed on macOS through homebrew:
+
+```
+brew install helix
+```
# Contributing
@@ -61,4 +143,4 @@ Discuss the project on the community [Matrix Space](https://matrix.to/#/#helix-c
# Credits
-Thanks to [@jakenvac](https://github.com/jakenvac) for designing the logo!
+Thanks to [@JakeHL](https://github.com/JakeHL) for designing the logo!