<!DOCTYPE HTML>
< html lang = "en" class = "colibri sidebar-visible" dir = "ltr" >
< head >
<!-- Book generated using mdBook -->
< meta charset = "UTF-8" >
< title > Building from source< / title >
<!-- Custom HTML head -->
< meta name = "description" content = "" >
< meta name = "viewport" content = "width=device-width, initial-scale=1" >
< meta name = "theme-color" content = "#ffffff" >
< link rel = "icon" href = "favicon.svg" >
< link rel = "shortcut icon" href = "favicon.png" >
< link rel = "stylesheet" href = "css/variables.css" >
< link rel = "stylesheet" href = "css/general.css" >
< link rel = "stylesheet" href = "css/chrome.css" >
< link rel = "stylesheet" href = "css/print.css" media = "print" >
<!-- Fonts -->
< link rel = "stylesheet" href = "FontAwesome/css/font-awesome.css" >
< link rel = "stylesheet" href = "fonts/fonts.css" >
<!-- Highlight.js Stylesheets -->
< link rel = "stylesheet" href = "highlight.css" >
< link rel = "stylesheet" href = "tomorrow-night.css" >
< link rel = "stylesheet" href = "ayu-highlight.css" >
<!-- Custom theme stylesheets -->
< link rel = "stylesheet" href = "custom.css" >
<!-- Provide site root to javascript -->
< script >
var path_to_root = "";
var default_theme = window.matchMedia("(prefers-color-scheme: dark)").matches ? "colibri" : "colibri";
< / script >
<!-- Start loading toc.js asap -->
< script src = "toc.js" > < / script >
< / head >
< body >
< div id = "body-container" >
<!-- Work around some values being stored in localStorage wrapped in quotes -->
< script >
try {
var theme = localStorage.getItem('mdbook-theme');
var sidebar = localStorage.getItem('mdbook-sidebar');
if (theme.startsWith('"') & & theme.endsWith('"')) {
localStorage.setItem('mdbook-theme', theme.slice(1, theme.length - 1));
}
if (sidebar.startsWith('"') & & sidebar.endsWith('"')) {
localStorage.setItem('mdbook-sidebar', sidebar.slice(1, sidebar.length - 1));
}
} catch (e) { }
< / script >
<!-- Set the theme before any content is loaded, prevents flash -->
< script >
var theme;
try { theme = localStorage.getItem('mdbook-theme'); } catch(e) { }
if (theme === null || theme === undefined) { theme = default_theme; }
const html = document.documentElement;
html.classList.remove('colibri')
html.classList.add(theme);
html.classList.add("js");
< / script >
< input type = "checkbox" id = "sidebar-toggle-anchor" class = "hidden" >
<!-- Hide / unhide sidebar before it is displayed -->
< script >
var sidebar = null;
var sidebar_toggle = document.getElementById("sidebar-toggle-anchor");
if (document.body.clientWidth >= 1080) {
try { sidebar = localStorage.getItem('mdbook-sidebar'); } catch(e) { }
sidebar = sidebar || 'visible';
} else {
sidebar = 'hidden';
}
sidebar_toggle.checked = sidebar === 'visible';
html.classList.remove('sidebar-visible');
html.classList.add("sidebar-" + sidebar);
< / script >
< nav id = "sidebar" class = "sidebar" aria-label = "Table of contents" >
<!-- populated by js -->
< mdbook-sidebar-scrollbox class = "sidebar-scrollbox" > < / mdbook-sidebar-scrollbox >
< noscript >
< iframe class = "sidebar-iframe-outer" src = "toc.html" > < / iframe >
< / noscript >
< div id = "sidebar-resize-handle" class = "sidebar-resize-handle" >
< div class = "sidebar-resize-indicator" > < / div >
< / div >
< / nav >
< div id = "page-wrapper" class = "page-wrapper" >
< div class = "page" >
< div id = "menu-bar-hover-placeholder" > < / div >
< div id = "menu-bar" class = "menu-bar sticky" >
< div class = "left-buttons" >
< label id = "sidebar-toggle" class = "icon-button" for = "sidebar-toggle-anchor" title = "Toggle Table of Contents" aria-label = "Toggle Table of Contents" aria-controls = "sidebar" >
< i class = "fa fa-bars" > < / i >
< / label >
< button id = "theme-toggle" class = "icon-button" type = "button" title = "Change theme" aria-label = "Change theme" aria-haspopup = "true" aria-expanded = "false" aria-controls = "theme-list" >
< i class = "fa fa-paint-brush" > < / i >
< / button >
< ul id = "theme-list" class = "theme-popup" aria-label = "Themes" role = "menu" >
< li role = "none" > < button role = "menuitem" class = "theme" id = "light" > Light< / button > < / li >
< li role = "none" > < button role = "menuitem" class = "theme" id = "rust" > Rust< / button > < / li >
< li role = "none" > < button role = "menuitem" class = "theme" id = "coal" > Coal< / button > < / li >
< li role = "none" > < button role = "menuitem" class = "theme" id = "navy" > Navy< / button > < / li >
< li role = "none" > < button role = "menuitem" class = "theme" id = "ayu" > Ayu< / button > < / li >
< li role = "none" > < button role = "menuitem" class = "theme" id = "colibri" > Colibri< / button > < / li >
< / ul >
< button id = "search-toggle" class = "icon-button" type = "button" title = "Search. (Shortkey: s)" aria-label = "Toggle Searchbar" aria-expanded = "false" aria-keyshortcuts = "S" aria-controls = "searchbar" >
< i class = "fa fa-search" > < / i >
< / button >
< / div >
< h1 class = "menu-title" > < / h1 >
< div class = "right-buttons" >
< a href = "print.html" title = "Print this book" aria-label = "Print this book" >
< i id = "print-button" class = "fa fa-print" > < / i >
< / a >
< a href = "https://github.com/helix-editor/helix" title = "Git repository" aria-label = "Git repository" >
< i id = "git-repository-button" class = "fa fa-github" > < / i >
< / a >
< a href = "https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/edit/master/book/src/building-from-source.md" title = "Suggest an edit" aria-label = "Suggest an edit" >
< i id = "git-edit-button" class = "fa fa-edit" > < / i >
< / a >
< / div >
< / div >
< div id = "search-wrapper" class = "hidden" >
< form id = "searchbar-outer" class = "searchbar-outer" >
< input type = "search" id = "searchbar" name = "searchbar" placeholder = "Search this book ..." aria-controls = "searchresults-outer" aria-describedby = "searchresults-header" >
< / form >
< div id = "searchresults-outer" class = "searchresults-outer hidden" >
< div id = "searchresults-header" class = "searchresults-header" > < / div >
< ul id = "searchresults" >
< / ul >
< / div >
< / div >
<!-- Apply ARIA attributes after the sidebar and the sidebar toggle button are added to the DOM -->
< script >
document.getElementById('sidebar-toggle').setAttribute('aria-expanded', sidebar === 'visible');
document.getElementById('sidebar').setAttribute('aria-hidden', sidebar !== 'visible');
Array.from(document.querySelectorAll('#sidebar a')).forEach(function(link) {
link.setAttribute('tabIndex', sidebar === 'visible' ? 0 : -1);
});
< / script >
< div id = "content" class = "content" >
< main >
< h2 id = "building-from-source" > < a class = "header" href = "#building-from-source" > Building from source< / a > < / h2 >
< ul >
< li > < a href = "#configuring-helixs-runtime-files" > Configuring Helix's runtime files< / a >
< ul >
< li > < a href = "#linux-and-macos" > Linux and macOS< / a > < / li >
< li > < a href = "#windows" > Windows< / a > < / li >
< li > < a href = "#multiple-runtime-directories" > Multiple runtime directories< / a > < / li >
< li > < a href = "#note-to-packagers" > Note to packagers< / a > < / li >
< / ul >
< / li >
< li > < a href = "#validating-the-installation" > Validating the installation< / a > < / li >
< li > < a href = "#configure-the-desktop-shortcut" > Configure the desktop shortcut< / a > < / li >
< / ul >
< p > Requirements:< / p >
< p > Clone the Helix GitHub repository into a directory of your choice. The
examples in this documentation assume installation into either < code > ~/src/< / code > on
Linux and macOS, or < code > %userprofile%\src\< / code > on Windows.< / p >
< ul >
< li > The < a href = "https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install" > Rust toolchain< / a > < / li >
< li > The < a href = "https://git-scm.com/" > Git version control system< / a > < / li >
< li > A C++14 compatible compiler to build the tree-sitter grammars, for example GCC or Clang< / li >
< / ul >
< p > If you are using the < code > musl-libc< / code > standard library instead of < code > glibc< / code > the following environment variable must be set during the build to ensure tree-sitter grammars can be loaded correctly:< / p >
< pre > < code class = "language-sh" > RUSTFLAGS="-C target-feature=-crt-static"
< / code > < / pre >
< ol >
< li >
< p > Clone the repository:< / p >
< pre > < code class = "language-sh" > git clone https://github.com/helix-editor/helix
cd helix
< / code > < / pre >
< / li >
< li >
< p > Compile from source:< / p >
< pre > < code class = "language-sh" > cargo install --path helix-term --locked
< / code > < / pre >
< p > This command will create the < code > hx< / code > executable and construct the tree-sitter
grammars in the local < code > runtime< / code > folder.< / p >
< / li >
< / ol >
< blockquote >
< p > 💡 If you do not want to fetch or build grammars, set an environment variable < code > HELIX_DISABLE_AUTO_GRAMMAR_BUILD< / code > < / p >
< / blockquote >
< blockquote >
< p > 💡 Tree-sitter grammars can be fetched and compiled if not pre-packaged. Fetch
grammars with < code > hx --grammar fetch< / code > and compile them with
< code > hx --grammar build< / code > . This will install them in
the < code > runtime< / code > directory within the user's helix config directory (more
< a href = "#multiple-runtime-directories" > details below< / a > ).< / p >
< / blockquote >
< h3 id = "configuring-helixs-runtime-files" > < a class = "header" href = "#configuring-helixs-runtime-files" > Configuring Helix's runtime files< / a > < / h3 >
< h4 id = "linux-and-macos" > < a class = "header" href = "#linux-and-macos" > Linux and macOS< / a > < / h4 >
< p > The < strong > runtime< / strong > directory is one below the Helix source, so either export a
< code > HELIX_RUNTIME< / code > environment variable to point to that directory and add it to
your < code > ~/.bashrc< / code > or equivalent:< / p >
< pre > < code class = "language-sh" > export HELIX_RUNTIME=~/src/helix/runtime
< / code > < / pre >
< p > Or, create a symbolic link:< / p >
< pre > < code class = "language-sh" > ln -Ts $PWD/runtime ~/.config/helix/runtime
< / code > < / pre >
< p > If the above command fails to create a symbolic link because the file exists either move < code > ~/.config/helix/runtime< / code > to a new location or delete it, then run the symlink command above again.< / p >
< h4 id = "windows" > < a class = "header" href = "#windows" > Windows< / a > < / h4 >
< p > Either set the < code > HELIX_RUNTIME< / code > environment variable to point to the runtime files using the Windows setting (search for
< code > Edit environment variables for your account< / code > ) or use the < code > setx< / code > command in
Cmd:< / p >
< pre > < code class = "language-sh" > setx HELIX_RUNTIME "%userprofile%\source\repos\helix\runtime"
< / code > < / pre >
< blockquote >
< p > 💡 < code > %userprofile%< / code > resolves to your user directory like
< code > C:\Users\Your-Name\< / code > for example.< / p >
< / blockquote >
< p > Or, create a symlink in < code > %appdata%\helix\< / code > that links to the source code directory:< / p >
< div class = "table-wrapper" > < table > < thead > < tr > < th > Method< / th > < th > Command< / th > < / tr > < / thead > < tbody >
< tr > < td > PowerShell< / td > < td > < code > New-Item -ItemType Junction -Target "runtime" -Path "$Env:AppData\helix\runtime"< / code > < / td > < / tr >
< tr > < td > Cmd< / td > < td > < code > cd %appdata%\helix< / code > < br / > < code > mklink /D runtime "%userprofile%\src\helix\runtime"< / code > < / td > < / tr >
< / tbody > < / table >
< / div >
< blockquote >
< p > 💡 On Windows, creating a symbolic link may require running PowerShell or
Cmd as an administrator.< / p >
< / blockquote >
< h4 id = "multiple-runtime-directories" > < a class = "header" href = "#multiple-runtime-directories" > Multiple runtime directories< / a > < / h4 >
< p > When Helix finds multiple runtime directories it will search through them for files in the
following order:< / p >
< ol >
< li > < code > runtime/< / code > sibling directory to < code > $CARGO_MANIFEST_DIR< / code > directory (this is intended for
developing and testing helix only).< / li >
< li > < code > runtime/< / code > subdirectory of OS-dependent helix user config directory.< / li >
< li > < code > $HELIX_RUNTIME< / code > < / li >
< li > Distribution-specific fallback directory (set at compile time—not run time—
with the < code > HELIX_DEFAULT_RUNTIME< / code > environment variable)< / li >
< li > < code > runtime/< / code > subdirectory of path to Helix executable.< / li >
< / ol >
< p > This order also sets the priority for selecting which file will be used if multiple runtime
directories have files with the same name.< / p >
< h4 id = "note-to-packagers" > < a class = "header" href = "#note-to-packagers" > Note to packagers< / a > < / h4 >
< p > If you are making a package of Helix for end users, to provide a good out of
the box experience, you should set the < code > HELIX_DEFAULT_RUNTIME< / code > environment
variable at build time (before invoking < code > cargo build< / code > ) to a directory which
will store the final runtime files after installation. For example, say you want
to package the runtime into < code > /usr/lib/helix/runtime< / code > . The rough steps a build
script could follow are:< / p >
< ol >
< li > < code > export HELIX_DEFAULT_RUNTIME=/usr/lib/helix/runtime< / code > < / li >
< li > < code > cargo build --profile opt --locked< / code > < / li >
< li > < code > cp -r runtime $BUILD_DIR/usr/lib/helix/< / code > < / li >
< li > < code > cp target/opt/hx $BUILD_DIR/usr/bin/hx< / code > < / li >
< / ol >
< p > This way the resulting < code > hx< / code > binary will always look for its runtime directory in
< code > /usr/lib/helix/runtime< / code > if the user has no custom runtime in < code > ~/.config/helix< / code >
or < code > HELIX_RUNTIME< / code > .< / p >
< h3 id = "validating-the-installation" > < a class = "header" href = "#validating-the-installation" > Validating the installation< / a > < / h3 >
< p > To make sure everything is set up as expected you should run the Helix health
check:< / p >
< pre > < code class = "language-sh" > hx --health
< / code > < / pre >
< p > For more information on the health check results refer to
< a href = "https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/wiki/Healthcheck" > Health check< / a > .< / p >
< h3 id = "configure-the-desktop-shortcut" > < a class = "header" href = "#configure-the-desktop-shortcut" > Configure the desktop shortcut< / a > < / h3 >
< p > If your desktop environment supports the
< a href = "https://specifications.freedesktop.org/menu-spec/menu-spec-latest.html" > XDG desktop menu< / a >
you can configure Helix to show up in the application menu by copying the
provided < code > .desktop< / code > and icon files to their correct folders:< / p >
< pre > < code class = "language-sh" > cp contrib/Helix.desktop ~/.local/share/applications
cp contrib/helix.png ~/.icons # or ~/.local/share/icons
< / code > < / pre >
< p > It is recommended to convert the links in the < code > .desktop< / code > file to absolute paths to avoid potential problems:< / p >
< pre > < code class = "language-sh" > sed -i -e "s|Exec=hx %F|Exec=$(readlink -f ~/.cargo/bin/hx) %F|g" \
-e "s|Icon=helix|Icon=$(readlink -f ~/.icons/helix.png)|g" ~/.local/share/applications/Helix.desktop
< / code > < / pre >
< p > To use another terminal than the system default, you can modify the < code > .desktop< / code >
file. For example, to use < code > kitty< / code > :< / p >
< pre > < code class = "language-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
< / code > < / pre >
< / main >
< nav class = "nav-wrapper" aria-label = "Page navigation" >
<!-- Mobile navigation buttons -->
< a rel = "prev" href = "package-managers.html" class = "mobile-nav-chapters previous" title = "Previous chapter" aria-label = "Previous chapter" aria-keyshortcuts = "Left" >
< i class = "fa fa-angle-left" > < / i >
< / a >
< a rel = "next prefetch" href = "usage.html" class = "mobile-nav-chapters next" title = "Next chapter" aria-label = "Next chapter" aria-keyshortcuts = "Right" >
< i class = "fa fa-angle-right" > < / i >
< / a >
< div style = "clear: both" > < / div >
< / nav >
< / div >
< / div >
< nav class = "nav-wide-wrapper" aria-label = "Page navigation" >
< a rel = "prev" href = "package-managers.html" class = "nav-chapters previous" title = "Previous chapter" aria-label = "Previous chapter" aria-keyshortcuts = "Left" >
< i class = "fa fa-angle-left" > < / i >
< / a >
< a rel = "next prefetch" href = "usage.html" class = "nav-chapters next" title = "Next chapter" aria-label = "Next chapter" aria-keyshortcuts = "Right" >
< i class = "fa fa-angle-right" > < / i >
< / a >
< / nav >
< / div >
< script >
window.playground_copyable = true;
< / script >
< script src = "elasticlunr.min.js" > < / script >
< script src = "mark.min.js" > < / script >
< script src = "searcher.js" > < / script >
< script src = "clipboard.min.js" > < / script >
< script src = "highlight.js" > < / script >
< script src = "book.js" > < / script >
<!-- Custom JS scripts -->
< / div >
< / body >
< / html >
