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Tutorial
The helix CLI scaffolds projects, runs local HelixDB instances, sends queries, and manages Helix Cloud resources. Local commands need only Docker or Podman; Cloud commands also need a Helix Cloud account.

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Local quickstart

macOS and Linux:
Windows PowerShell:
Then:
Local requests use the local auth-disabled runtime. The default storage is in-memory; use --disk or an S3 storage URI when persistence is required. helix chef can automate local scaffolding and agent setup without any Cloud login. When helix chef launches an installed agent, it uses this priority order: Claude Code → OpenAI Codex → OpenCode → Cursor Agent.

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Cloud quickstart

helix init cloud picks your workspace, project, and database, using the only one of each or asking you to choose, and links them in helix.toml. Later Cloud commands in the directory, such as helix database or helix logs, need no IDs or flags. Cloud commands use only the rotating WorkOS session. Query execution goes through the backend broker and requires an independent database.query.read or database.query.write grant. The CLI does not need a gateway URL, application key, service credential, or sync step. When a command cannot choose a resource on its own, pass it by ID, slug, or name, for example --project <project> or tenant:<id>. Stable links live only in the current project’s helix.toml. See Cloud resource resolution.

Local workflow

Run and query a local instance

Cloud workflow

Use the session-authenticated Cloud CLI

Command reference

See every retained command

Troubleshooting

Resolve common errors