Helix
A modal terminal editor with language servers and multiple selections built in, and no plugins to install.
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4 more ways to get Helix
Package managers
- Chocolatey
choco install helix - Homebrew
brew install helix - Flathub
flatpak install flathub com.helix_editor.Helix - Snap Store
snap install helix
About Helix
Helix borrows its editing model from Kakoune: you select first and act second, which is the reverse of Vim and turns out to make multiple cursors natural rather than bolted on. Language server support and tree-sitter syntax handling ship in the binary, so a working setup for most languages is one config line.
There is no plugin system yet, which is either the point or the dealbreaker. What you get instead is a single static binary that behaves identically on every machine you put it on.
Strengths
- Language server and tree-sitter support without installing anything
- Selection-first editing makes multiple cursors a first-class tool
- One static binary, same behaviour everywhere
- Keybindings are discoverable through on-screen prompts
Limitations
- No plugin system, so anything missing stays missing
- Selection-first keys are genuinely different from Vim muscle memory
- Indentation rules only exist for some languages
- Releases are infrequent; 25.07.1 dates from July 2025
Details
- Pricing
- FreeFree and open source under the MPL 2.0.
- License
- MPL-2.0
- Developer
- Helix Editor Team
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Command line
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Account
- Not required
- Works offline
- Yes
- Best suited for
- Terminal editing with modern language tooling and no configuration project
- Categories
- Code editors
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Selected from the TechWalrus downloads catalog (Editors); facts checked against the developer's own pages, 2 sources on file.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
Neovim
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Zed
A Rust editor from the people who built Atom, written for speed and for two people editing one file.
Vim
The editor that is already on every server, with a graphical build for Windows and a licence that asks you to donate to Ugandan children.
