Getting Started with Helix: Install and Use the Rust‑Based Terminal Editor

Helix is a modern terminal‑based text editor written in Rust. It uses Tree‑sitter for syntax highlighting, which parses code into a syntax tree and is faster than traditional regex‑based highlighting. The editor supports multiple selections (inspired by Kakoune) and includes built‑in language‑server support for context‑aware completion, diagnostics and code actions.

Installing Helix on Linux

For Arch‑based distributions (Arch, Manjaro) Helix is available in the AUR as two packages:

helix-bin – pre‑built binary from the GitHub release.

helix-git – builds the latest code from the repository’s main branch.

Other distributions install Helix via Cargo, the Rust package manager. sudo apt install cargo Then clone the repository and build:

git clone --recurse-submodules --shallow-submodules -j8 https://github.com/helix-editor/helix

cd helix

cargo install --path helix-term --features "embed_runtime"

Finally add the binary to your PATH, e.g. by appending the following line to ~/.bashrc: export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH" After reloading the shell you can start Helix with hx. Use hx --version to verify the installation, and consult the built‑in help or the online documentation for key bindings.