Beginner-friendly, unofficial documentation for Helix text editor

Posted by Curiositry 11/1/2025

Beginner-friendly, unofficial documentation for Helix text editor(helix-editor.vercel.app)

205 points | 68 commentspage 2

frenzcan 11/2/2025|

Can any Helix users share how the muscle memory from vim is working out? I’d really like to give it a go but I’m worried I’ll pollute my memory of basic vim commands. I’m bad enough remembering cut/copy/paste keyboard shortcuts in different OS/applications.

eviks 11/2/2025||

> I’m bad enough remembering cut/copy/paste keyboard shortcuts in different OS/applications.

Change them to be the same! It's indeed a waste to have a difference for such fundamental keybinds

Same with Helix - there is a vim layout out there, no need to use a different set (unless, of course, you can use something better, but then you should also use it in vim)

bitcrshr 11/2/2025||

There’s also a fork called evil helix that uses more VIM-like bindings: https://github.com/usagi-flow/evil-helix

Helix has been my daily driver for a few years now, and it’s extremely familiar if you’re coming from the LazyVim setup for NeoVim. I make a few mistakes here and there if I have to use tools with just basic VI binds, but you learn to juggle them both.

The config is very well documented and it would be simple to rebind things too.

Hope you give it a shot!

klooney 11/5/2025||

It's mostly worked out cleanly, there's a ton of re-use of vim-isms. Now I just can't use vim anymore.

lexoj 11/1/2025||

I keep trying Helix but just got hit by wq freeze issue, opened since 2022, so I wonder sometimes if its ready.

https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/issues/2059

cadamsdotcom 11/1/2025||

Great to see so much Helix content on HN lately. Excited to give it a try!

abuani 11/1/2025|

It's the first editor since probably sublime text that I've genuinely enjoyed. Useful without any configuration, and very easy to get a productive environment.

There's a few rough edges that I'm trying to work through. I've been able to solve my "open in X" like key bindings. But I have yet to get things like "run test for current method". That's probably the biggest pain point I've had so far

hit8run 11/2/2025||

Many complain here about the helix maintainers pace and PR rejection rate. I embrace it. It’s opinionated software developed in the open and you can fork any time. I prefer this model of strict high quality governance and a “no” as default to keep their vision clear.

eviks 11/2/2025|

Who doesn't like high quality! But in reality many high quality contributions are rejected, so all you're left with is "opinionated" where the opinion doesn't match yours

hit8run 11/2/2025||

But you can always fork when you have different opinions or write your own thing. SQLite is governed in the same way.

eviks 11/2/2025||

Of course you can't, that's a common open source fantasy, in reality you wouldn't have enough lifetimes to improve quality and maintain changes in every app you use, that's why defaults/config flexibility/rejection of good ideas/core vs extensions etc. are important and discussed and can't be papered over with a "but fork"

anhner 11/2/2025|

your descriptions of what the j and k keys do in normal mode are reversed: j moves the cursor one line BELOW and k moves the cursor one line ABOVE.