-<!--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 extra](#arch-linux-extra)

- - [NixOS](#nixos)

- - [Flatpak](#flatpak)

- - [Snap](#snap)

- - [AppImage](#appimage)

-- [macOS](#macos)

- - [Homebrew Core](#homebrew-core)

- - [MacPorts](#macports)

-- [Windows](#windows)

- - [Winget](#winget)

- - [Scoop](#scoop)

- - [Chocolatey](#chocolatey)

- - [MSYS2](#msys2)

-- [Building from source](#building-from-source)

- - [Configuring Helix's runtime files](#configuring-helixs-runtime-files)

- - [Linux and macOS](#linux-and-macos)

- - [Windows](#windows)

- - [Multiple runtime directories](#multiple-runtime-directories)

- - [Validating the installation](#validating-the-installation)

- - [Configure the desktop shortcut](#configure-the-desktop-shortcut)

-<!--toc:end-->

-

- [build from source](#building-from-source).

-## Linux, macOS, Windows and OpenBSD packaging status

-

-[](https://repology.org/project/helix/versions)

-

-## Linux

-

-The following third party repositories are available:

-

-### Ubuntu

-

-Add the `PPA` for Helix:

-

-```sh

-sudo add-apt-repository ppa:maveonair/helix-editor

-sudo apt update

-sudo apt install helix

-```

-

-### Fedora/RHEL

-

-```sh

-sudo dnf install helix

-```

-

-### Arch Linux extra

-

-Releases are available in the `extra` repository:

-

-```sh

-sudo pacman -S helix

-```

-

-> 💡 When installed from the `extra` repository, run Helix with `helix` instead of `hx`.

->

-> For example:

-> ```sh

-> helix --health

-> ```

-> to check health

-

-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 in [nixpkgs](https://github.com/nixos/nixpkgs) through the `helix` attribute,

-the unstable channel usually carries the latest release.

-

-Helix is also 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.

-

-### Flatpak

-

-Helix is available on [Flathub](https://flathub.org/en-GB/apps/com.helix_editor.Helix):

-

-```sh

-flatpak install flathub com.helix_editor.Helix

-flatpak run com.helix_editor.Helix

-```

-

-### Snap

-

-Helix is available on [Snapcraft](https://snapcraft.io/helix) and can be installed with:

-

-```sh

-snap install --classic helix

-```

-

-This will install Helix as both `/snap/bin/helix` and `/snap/bin/hx`, so make sure `/snap/bin` is in your `PATH`.

-

-### AppImage

-

-Install Helix using the Linux [AppImage](https://appimage.org/) format.

-Download the official Helix AppImage from the [latest releases](https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/releases/latest) page.

-

-```sh

-chmod +x helix-*.AppImage # change permission for executable mode

-./helix-*.AppImage # run helix

-```

-

-## macOS

-

-### Homebrew Core

-

-```sh

-brew install helix

-```

-

-### MacPorts

-

-```sh

-port install helix

-```

-

-## Windows

-

-Install on Windows using [Winget](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/package-manager/winget/), [Scoop](https://scoop.sh/), [Chocolatey](https://chocolatey.org/)

-or [MSYS2](https://msys2.org/).

-

-### Winget

-Windows Package Manager winget command-line tool is by default available on Windows 11 and modern versions of Windows 10 as a part of the App Installer.

-You can get [App Installer from the Microsoft Store](https://www.microsoft.com/p/app-installer/9nblggh4nns1#activetab=pivot:overviewtab). If it's already installed, make sure it is updated with the latest version.

-

-```sh

-winget install Helix.Helix

-```

-

-### 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

-

-Requirements:

-

-Clone the Helix GitHub repository into a directory of your choice. The

-examples in this documentation assume installation into either `~/src/` on

-Linux and macOS, or `%userprofile%\src\` on Windows.

-

-- The [Rust toolchain](https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install)

-- The [Git version control system](https://git-scm.com/)

-- A C++14 compatible compiler to build the tree-sitter grammars, for example GCC or Clang

-

-If you are using the `musl-libc` standard library 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"

-```

-

-1. Clone the repository:

-

- ```sh

- git clone https://github.com/helix-editor/helix

- cd helix

- ```

-

-2. 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.

-

-> 💡 If you do not want to fetch or build grammars, set an environment variable `HELIX_DISABLE_AUTO_GRAMMAR_BUILD`

-

-> 💡 Tree-sitter grammars can be fetched and compiled if not pre-packaged. Fetch

-> grammars with `hx --grammar fetch` and compile them with

-> `hx --grammar build`. 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

-

-The **runtime** directory is one below the Helix source, so either export a

-`HELIX_RUNTIME` environment variable to point to that directory and add it to

-your `~/.bashrc` or equivalent:

-

-```sh

-export HELIX_RUNTIME=~/src/helix/runtime

-```

-

-Or, create a symbolic link:

-

-```sh

-ln -Ts $PWD/runtime ~/.config/helix/runtime

-```

-

-If the above command fails to create a symbolic link because the file exists either move `~/.config/helix/runtime` to a new location or delete it, then run the symlink command above again.

-

-#### 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. Distribution-specific fallback directory (set at compile time—not run time—

- with the `HELIX_DEFAULT_RUNTIME` environment variable)

-5. `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.

-

-#### Note to packagers

-

-If you are making a package of Helix for end users, to provide a good out of

-the box experience, you should set the `HELIX_DEFAULT_RUNTIME` environment

-variable at build time (before invoking `cargo build`) to a directory which

-will store the final runtime files after installation. For example, say you want

-to package the runtime into `/usr/lib/helix/runtime`. The rough steps a build

-script could follow are:

-

-1. `export HELIX_DEFAULT_RUNTIME=/usr/lib/helix/runtime`

-1. `cargo build --profile opt --locked --path helix-term`

-1. `cp -r runtime $BUILD_DIR/usr/lib/helix/`

-1. `cp target/opt/hx $BUILD_DIR/usr/bin/hx`

-

-This way the resulting `hx` binary will always look for its runtime directory in

-`/usr/lib/helix/runtime` if the user has no custom runtime in `~/.config/helix`

-or `HELIX_RUNTIME`.

-

-### 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

-```