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Setup

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Backend:

1. Navigate to the backend directory and ensure your HelixDB is running either locally or on a cloud server
2. You then have 3 options:
   • Local introspect (default): Run cargo run or cargo run -- local-introspect
   • Local file: Read queries and schema from your local file, add your helixdb-cfg to the backend folder and run cargo run -- local-file
   • Cloud mode: Run cargo run -- cloud http://your-helix-db-url:6969

• For local introspect, you can specify a custom port for your HelixDB instance: cargo run -- --port 8888 or cargo run -- -p 8888
• For local file: cargo run -- local-file --port 8888

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Frontend:

• cd into the frontend directory and run npm install to install the dependencies
• Run npm run dev to start the frontend
• The frontend will be available at http://localhost:3000

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Query Format

• Creating or linking nodes and edges should start with “create” or “link” (e.g., “createPatient” or “linkPatientToDoctor”)
• Searching or getting nodes and edges should start with “get” (e.g., “getPatient” or “getDoctor”)
• Updating nodes and edges should start with “update” (e.g., “updatePatient” or “updateDoctor”)
• Deleting nodes and edges should start with “delete” (e.g., “deletePatient” or “deleteDoctor”)

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Using The Visualizer

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Important Notes

• Browser Compatibility: Some browsers like Brave have limitations that prevent clicking on more than 2-3 nodes. We recommend using alternative browsers for the best experience
• Performance: For optimal performance, avoid visualizing more than 3000 nodes as it may cause your browser to crash

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Setup Instructions

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For macOS Users

1. Open Finder, then press Command + Shift + G then type ~/.helix/repo
2. Right click the folder helix-db then Services and choose a terminal to open the folder with
3. Switch to the dev branch: git checkout dev
4. Then cd helix-cli then sh build.sh dev
5. Now you can deploy your existing instance using: helix deploy -c <cluster_id> --dev (dev flag allows the visualizer endpoints)
6. Start both the frontend and backend services

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For Windows Users

1. Follow the same steps as macOS, though the location of the .helix folder may differ on Windows systems