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This guide walks through common workflows and best practices for developing with Helix CLI v2 locally.

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Initial Setup

1

Create project

mkdir my-app && cd my-app
helix init
Note that helix init with no arguments defaults to making a local instance called dev.
2

Define schema

Edit db/schema.hx:
N::User {
  name: String,
  INDEX email: String,
  created_at: Date DEFAULT NOW
}

N::Post {
  title: String,
  content: String,
  published: Boolean DEFAULT true,
  created_at: Date DEFAULT NOW
}
3

Create queries

Edit db/queries.hx:
QUERY createUser(name: String, email: String) =>
  user <- AddN<User({
    name: name,
    email: email,
  })
  RETURN user

QUERY getUserByEmail(email: String) =>
  user <- N<User>({email: email})
  RETURN user
4

Validate

helix check
5

Build and deploy

helix push dev

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Development Iteration

When making changes during development: 
# Edit your .hx files
vim db/queries.hx

# Validate changes
helix check

# Deploy changes (rebuilds automatically if needed)
helix push dev

# Check status
helix status

# View logs
docker logs helix_my-app_dev

# Stop when done
helix stop dev

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Working with Multiple Instances

Create different instances for different purposes: 
# Add a testing instance
helix add local --name testing

# Configure different port in helix.toml
# [local.testing]
# port = 7070

# Run both instances
helix push dev
helix push testing

# Status shows all instances
helix status