Helix is a Kakoune / Neovim inspired editor.
No Electron. No VimScript. No JavaScript. Use it over ssh, tmux, or a plain terminal.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Vim-like modal editing.
- Multiple cursors as a core editing primitive, inspired by Kakoune. Commands manipulate selections which allows concurrent code editing.
- Code manipulation – navigate and select functions, classes, comments, etc and select syntax tree nodes instead of plain text.
- Built-in language server support – language specific auto completion, goto definition, documentation, diagnostics and other IDE features with no additional configuration.
- Smart, incremental syntax highlighting and code editing via tree-sitter. Tree-sitter produces error tolerant and robust syntax trees, which enables better syntax highlighting, indent calculation and code navigation.
- Modern builtin features – fuzzy finder to jump to files and symbols, project wide search, beautiful themes, auto closing bracket pairs, surround integration and more.
Website: helix-editor.com
Support: Documentation, GitHub Code Repository
Developer: Blaž Hrastnik, Michael Davis, Dmitry Sharshakov, Gokul Soumya, Ivan Tham, and many other contributors
License: Mozilla Public License 2.0

Helix is written in Rust. Learn Rust with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
Related Software
| Vim-like Text Editors | |
|---|---|
| Neovim | Vim-fork focused on extensibility and usability |
| Helix | Kakoune / Neovim inspired editor. |
| Lapce | Modern editor in Rust which uses native GUI and GPU rendering |
| NvChad | Neovim config aiming to provide a base configuration |
| LunarVim | IDE layer for Neovim |
| Kakoune | Implements Vi’s "keystrokes as a text editing language" model |
| Vis | Combining modal editing with structural regular expressions |
| vile | Text editor that combines aspects of the Emacs and vi editors |
| pyvim | Implementation of Vim in Python |
| gVim | Vim with a built-in GUI |
| amp | Vim-like editor written in Rust |
| Vy | Vim-like in Python made from scratch |
| moe | Command-line editor inspired by Vim |
| ad | Adaptable text editor |
| Levee | Also known as Captain Video |
| xvi | Portable multi-file text editor |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
| Integrated Development Environments | |
|---|---|
| RStudio | Enterprise-ready professional software for R |
| PyCharm | Integrated Development Environment for Python |
| Neovim | Continuation and extension of Vim |
| Lapce | Fast and powerful code editor written in Rust |
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| VSCodium | Binary distribution of VS Code |
| Eclipse | Java based environment combining a number of different Eclipse projects |
| Qt Creator | Cross-platform, complete Integrated Development Environment |
| Spyder | The Scientific Python Development Environment |
| KDevelop | An easy to use IDE for KDE |
| Helix | Post-modern modal text editor |
| Positron | Next-generation data science IDE |
| eric | Full featured Python editor and IDE |
| Thonny | Python Integrated Development Environment for Beginners |
| Lazarus | Delphi compatible cross-platform IDE |
| PyDev | Python Integrated Development Environment for Eclipse |
| Gambas | Development environment and a full powerful development platform |
| Leo | Python based IDE, Outliner and PIM |
| IntelliJ IDEA | IDE for Java, Groovy, and other languages |
| LiteIDE | Edit and build Go projects |
| Arduino IDE | Electronics prototyping platform |
| ZeroBrane Studio | Lightweight Lua-based IDE for Lua |
| CodeLite | Powerful and lightweight C/C++ IDE |
| Pyzo | Cross-Platform Python IDE focused on interactivity and introspection |
| DrRacket | IDE for the Racket programming languages |
| Builder | IDE for GNOME |
| Geany | Small and lightweight IDE based on Scintilla |
| Code::Blocks | Very extensible and fully configurable |
| Ecere SDK | Software development kit |
| Zasper | IDE for Data Science |
| U++ | Rapid application development framework |
| roobuilder | Vala and JavaScript IDE |
Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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