Command Reference

This page provides a comprehensive reference for all commands available in Helix CLI v2.

Global Options

These options are available for all commands:

helix --help, -h      Show help information for the command
helix --version, -V   Display the CLI version

Project Management

`helix init`

Initialize a new Helix project with configuration and structure.

helix init [OPTIONS] [SUBCOMMAND]

Show options

--path | -p [PATH]

String

The path to the project.

--template [TEMPLATE]

String

The template to use for the project.

--queries-path | -q [PATH]

String

The path to the query files.

Show subcommands

helix init cloud

[Options]

Show options

--region [REGION]

String

The region the instance is deployed to.

--name [NAME]

String

The name of the instance.

helix init ecr

[Options]

Show options

--name [NAME]

String

The name of the AWS ECR repository. Note this will create the repository if needed.

helix init fly

[Options]

Show options

--name [NAME]

String

The name of the Fly.io app.

--volume-size

The volume size in GB.

--vm-size [SIZE]

String

shared-cpu-1x - 1 shared vCPU, 256MB RAM
shared-cpu-2x - 2 shared vCPUs, 512MB RAM
shared-cpu-4x - 4 shared vCPUs, 1GB RAM
performance-4x - 4 dedicated vCPUs, 8GB RAM
performance-8x - 8 dedicated vCPUs, 16GB RAM

--public

Make instance public.

helix init local

[Options]

Show options

--name [NAME]

String

The name of the local instance.

Note that helix init with no arguments defaults to making a local instance called dev.

`helix add`

Add a new instance to an existing Helix project.

helix add [SUBCOMMAND]

Show subcommands

helix add cloud

[Options]

Show options

--region [REGION]

String

The region the instance is deployed to.

--name [NAME]

String

The name of the instance.

helix add ecr

[Options]

Show options

--name [NAME]

String

The name of the AWS ECR repository. Note this will create the repository if needed.

helix add fly

[Options]

Show options

--name [NAME]

String

The name of the Fly.io app.

--volume-size

The volume size in GB.

--vm-size [SIZE]

String

shared-cpu-1x - 1 shared vCPU, 256MB RAM
shared-cpu-2x - 2 shared vCPUs, 512MB RAM
shared-cpu-4x - 4 shared vCPUs, 1GB RAM
performance-4x - 4 dedicated vCPUs, 8GB RAM
performance-8x - 8 dedicated vCPUs, 16GB RAM

--public

Make instance public.

helix add local

[Options]

Show options

--name [NAME]

String

The name of the local instance.

`helix migrate`

Migrate a v1 Helix project to v2 format.

helix migrate [OPTIONS]

Show options

--path | -p [PATH]

String

The path to the project to migrate.

Default: current directory

--queries-dir | -q [DIR]

String

The directory to move .hx files to.

Default: ”./db/”

--instance-name | -i [NAME]

String

The name for the default local instance.

Default: “dev”

--port [PORT]

String

The port for the local instance.

Default: 6969

--dry-run

Show what would be migrated without making changes.

--no-backup

Skip creating backup of v1 files.

Validation & Compilation

`helix check`

Validate project configuration and query syntax.

helix check [INSTANCE]

Name of the instance to check (defaults to all instances)

`helix compile`

Compile project queries into executable format.

helix compile [OPTIONS]

Show options

--path, -p [PATH]

String

The path to the project.

--output, -o [PATH]

String

The output path for compiled queries.

`helix build`

Build and prepare an instance for deployment.

What it does:

Validates configuration and queries
Compiles queries
Generates Docker configuration files
Prepares the instance workspace

helix build [INSTANCE]

The instance to build.

Deployment & Instance Management

`helix push`

Deploy or update a running instance.

What it does:

Builds the instance if needed
Creates/updates Docker container for local instances
Pushes to cloud provider for remote instances
Starts the instance

helix push [INSTANCE]

The instance to deploy.

`helix pull`

🚧 COMING SOON 🚧

`helix start`

Start a stopped instance without rebuilding.

helix start [INSTANCE]

The instance to start.

`helix stop`

Stop a running instance.

helix stop [INSTANCE]

The instance to stop.

`helix status`

Show the status of all instances in the project.

Cleanup & Maintenance

`helix prune`

Remove unused containers, images, and workspace files.

What it removes:

Stopped containers
Unused Docker images
Workspace files
Note: Preserves data volumes

helix prune [OPTIONS] [INSTANCE]

The instance to prune.

Show options

--all, -a

Boolean

Prune all instances in the project.

`helix delete`

Permanently delete an instance and all its data.

What it removes:

Container and images
All data volumes
Workspace files
Configuration entries

helix delete [INSTANCE]

The instance to delete.

Authentication & Cloud

`helix auth`

Manage authentication for Helix Cloud.

helix auth [SUBCOMMAND]

The subcommand to run.

Show subcommands

Initiates browser-based authentication flow.

logout

Clears authentication tokens from ~/.helix/credentials.

create-key

Generates a new API key for programmatic access.

Configuration & Settings

`helix metrics`

Configure telemetry and usage metrics collection.

helix metrics [SUBCOMMAND]

The subcommand to run.

Show subcommands

full

Enable full metrics collection (requires email).

basic

Enable minimal anonymous metrics.

off

Disable all metrics collection.

status

Show current metrics configuration.

`helix update`

Update the Helix CLI to the latest version.

helix update [OPTIONS]

The options to run.

Show options

--force

Boolean

Force update even if already on latest version.

Common Command Patterns

Development Workflow

# Initialize project
helix init

# Write schemas and queries
# ... edit db/schema.hx and db/queries.hx ...

# Validate changes
helix check

# Build and deploy
helix build dev
helix push dev

# Check status
helix status

Multi-Instance Setup

# Create project with local dev
helix init

# Add staging environment
helix add cloud --name staging --region us-east-1

# Add production environment
helix add cloud --name production --region us-east-1

# Deploy to different environments
helix push dev          # Local development
helix push staging      # Staging environment
helix push production   # Production environment

Maintenance Operations

# Stop all work
helix stop dev

# Clean up resources
helix prune

# Remove old instance
helix delete old-testing

# Update CLI
helix update

Getting Help

For any command, add --help to see detailed usage:

helix --help
helix init --help
helix auth login --help

For issues or questions:

GitHub Issues: https://github.com/HelixDB/helix-db/issues
Discord: https://discord.gg/2stgMPr5BD
Email: founders@helix-db.com

Getting Started

CLI

SDKs

Ecosystem

HelixQL

Global Options

Project Management

`helix init`

`helix add`

`helix migrate`

Validation & Compilation

`helix check`

`helix compile`

`helix build`

Deployment & Instance Management

`helix push`

`helix pull`

`helix start`

`helix stop`

`helix status`

Cleanup & Maintenance

`helix prune`

`helix delete`

Authentication & Cloud

`helix auth`

Configuration & Settings

`helix metrics`

`helix update`

Common Command Patterns

Development Workflow

Multi-Instance Setup

Maintenance Operations

Getting Help

Getting Started

CLI

SDKs

Ecosystem

HelixQL

​Global Options

​Project Management

​helix init

​helix add

​helix migrate

​Validation & Compilation

​helix check

​helix compile

​helix build

​Deployment & Instance Management

​helix push

​helix pull

​helix start

​helix stop

​helix status

​Cleanup & Maintenance

​helix prune

​helix delete

​Authentication & Cloud

​helix auth

​Configuration & Settings

​helix metrics

​helix update

​Common Command Patterns

​Development Workflow

​Multi-Instance Setup

​Maintenance Operations

​Getting Help

Global Options

Project Management

`helix init`

`helix add`

`helix migrate`

Validation & Compilation

`helix check`

`helix compile`

`helix build`

Deployment & Instance Management

`helix push`

`helix pull`

`helix start`

`helix stop`

`helix status`

Cleanup & Maintenance

`helix prune`

`helix delete`

Authentication & Cloud

`helix auth`

Configuration & Settings

`helix metrics`

`helix update`

Common Command Patterns

Development Workflow

Multi-Instance Setup

Maintenance Operations

Getting Help