# HelixDB

> HelixDB combines a property graph, approximate vector search, and BM25 full-text search behind one operation-tree query model. Requests run through Cloud, a local server, or the embedded runtime.

Quickstart (local instance requires Docker or Podman):

macOS and Linux:
```bash
curl -sSL "https://install.helix-db.com" | bash   # install the helix CLI
```

Windows PowerShell:
```powershell
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/HelixDB/helix-db/main/crates/cli/install.ps1 | iex
```

Then:
```bash
helix init local                                  # scaffold helix.toml + examples/
helix start dev                                   # start a local instance
helix query dev -e 'writeBatch().varAs("alice", g().addN("User", { username: "alice" })).returning(["alice"])'
helix query dev -e 'readBatch().varAs("users", g().nWithLabel("User")).returning(["users"])'
```

Full walkthrough: https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/start-here/quickstart

## HelixDB developer resources
- [HelixDB HTTP API documentation](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/query-guides/http-api): Request contract, authentication, headers, responses, and examples for `POST /v2/query`.
- [HelixDB OpenAPI specification](https://www.helix-db.com/openapi.json): OpenAPI 3.1 JSON for the public HelixDB HTTP API.
- [HelixDB authentication guide for agents](https://www.helix-db.com/auth.md): Supported API-key and OAuth surfaces, with links to machine-readable discovery metadata.
- [HelixDB hosted MCP server](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/connect/mcp): Connect agents to read-only Helix Cloud insights over OAuth.
- [HelixDB AI Catalog](https://www.helix-db.com/.well-known/ai-catalog.json): ARD catalog of HelixDB agent resources.

## HelixDB — Start Here
- [Introduction](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/start-here/introduction) — Page type: Concept
- [Get Started](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/start-here/quickstart): Initialize HelixDB, start a local instance, run the generated query, and stop it — Page type: Tutorial
- [Deployment options](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/start-here/run-modes): Compare Cloud, local server, and embedded execution — Page type: Concept
- [Local server](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/start-here/local-development/local-server): Start HelixDB locally with ephemeral memory or persistent object storage — Page type: Guide
- [Embedded database](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/start-here/local-development/embedded-database): Open HelixDB directly inside your process with explicit storage and cache settings — Page type: Guide
- [Rust SDK](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/start-here/sdk-setup/rust-project-setup): Build typed HelixDB queries and execute them over HTTP or an embedded engine — Page type: Guide
- [TypeScript SDK](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/start-here/sdk-setup/typescript-project-setup): Build typed HelixDB requests for Node.js applications — Page type: Guide
- [Go SDK](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/start-here/sdk-setup/go-project-setup): Build and execute HelixDB requests with ordinary Go functions — Page type: Guide
- [Python SDK](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/start-here/sdk-setup/python-project-setup): Build HelixDB requests with idiomatic synchronous and asynchronous Python clients — Page type: Guide
- [Roadmap](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/start-here/roadmap): What we're building and what's coming next — Page type: Reference
- [Release Notes](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/start-here/release-notes): HelixDB Cloud Release Notes — Page type: Reference

## Core Concepts
- [Data model](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/core-concepts/data-model): Understand how HelixDB represents entities, relationships, properties, and indexes — Page type: Concept
- [Build and run a query](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/core-concepts/overview): Take the Get Started query apart operation by operation, then read its request and response — Page type: Tutorial

## Query Guides
- [Writing data](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/query-guides/writing-data): Create, update, connect, and remove entities in one typed write batch — Page type: Guide
- [Reading data](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/query-guides/reading-data): Start a traversal from IDs, labels, properties, or previous query results — Page type: Guide
- [Secondary indexes](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/query-guides/secondary-indexes): Accelerate equality, uniqueness, and ordered property lookups — Page type: Guide
- [Vector indexes](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/query-guides/vector-indexes): Create dimensioned vector indexes and run nearest-neighbor search — Page type: Guide
- [Text indexes](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/query-guides/text-indexes): Create BM25 indexes for ranked full-text search — Page type: Guide
- [Traverse relationships](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/query-guides/traversals): Follow edges, retain row-local bindings, and control duplicate paths — Page type: Guide
- [Filtering](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/query-guides/filtering): Narrow traversal streams with predicates and exact search candidate sets — Page type: Guide
- [Shape query results](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/query-guides/projections): Return properties, computed values, aggregates, and correlated binding rows — Page type: Guide
- [Branch, repeat, and condition queries](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/query-guides/advanced): Compose sub-traversals and gate named entries without leaving one transaction — Page type: Guide
- [Bind typed query parameters](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/query-guides/parameters): Keep the operation tree stable while request values change — Page type: Guide
- [HelixDB HTTP API and OpenAPI specification](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/query-guides/http-api): Call the HelixDB v2 query endpoint and discover its machine-readable OpenAPI 3.1 contract — Page type: Reference
- [Handle query errors](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/query-guides/error-handling): Branch on stable error codes while retaining diagnostic messages — Page type: Reference

## Helix Cloud — Start Here
- [Connect to Helix Cloud](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/start-here/working-with-enterprise): Send dynamic requests through a managed gateway — Page type: Guide
- [Using the Cloud](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/start-here/using-the-cloud): Sign in, create a workspace and choose its plan, provision a database, and test the connection — Page type: Tutorial
- [Architecture](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/start-here/architecture) — Page type: Concept

## Connect and automate
- [HelixDB Model Context Protocol (MCP)](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/connect/mcp): Connect Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code, and other agents to Helix Cloud insights — Page type: Tutorial

## Operate
- [Multi-Tenancy](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/operate/multi-tenancy) — Page type: Guide
- [Guarantees](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/operate/guarantees) — Page type: Reference
- [Security](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/operate/security) — Page type: Reference
- [Tradeoffs](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/operate/tradeoffs) — Page type: Concept
- [Limits](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/operate/limits): Understand Helix Cloud request rate limits and database constraints — Page type: Reference
- [Handle query errors](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/operate/error-handling): Use stable Helix Cloud error codes, HTTP statuses, and SDK error metadata — Page type: Reference
- [Troubleshoot HelixDB](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/operate/troubleshooting): Diagnose query, index, vector, embedded, and local runtime failures — Page type: Troubleshooting

## Using the helix CLI
- [Getting started with HelixDB CLI](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/getting-started): Install the Helix CLI 3.x release, bootstrap a first app, run a local instance, and send your first dynamic query — Page type: Tutorial
- [Local Development](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/workflows/local): Run a local instance and iterate on dynamic JSON queries — Page type: Guide
- [Helix Cloud](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/workflows/helix_cloud): Authenticate, link a project, and query a Helix Cloud cluster from the CLI — Page type: Guide
- [Configuration Guide](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/configuration): Reference for helix.toml, ~/.helix/config, and credentials — Page type: Reference
- [Troubleshooting](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/troubleshooting): Solutions to common issues and error messages in the Helix CLI 3.x release line — Page type: Troubleshooting

## CLI Command Reference
- [CLI Command Reference](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference): Complete reference for all Helix CLI 3.x commands and options — Page type: Reference
- [helix add](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/add) — Page type: Reference
- [helix auth](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/auth) — Page type: Reference
- [helix chef](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/chef) — Page type: Reference
- [helix cluster](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/cluster) — Page type: Reference
- [helix delete](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/delete) — Page type: Reference
- [helix feedback](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/feedback) — Page type: Reference
- [helix init](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/init) — Page type: Reference
- [helix logs](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/logs) — Page type: Reference
- [helix metrics](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/metrics) — Page type: Reference
- [helix project](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/project) — Page type: Reference
- [helix prune](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/prune) — Page type: Reference
- [helix push](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/push) — Page type: Reference
- [helix query](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/query) — Page type: Reference
- [helix restart](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/restart) — Page type: Reference
- [helix skills](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/skills) — Page type: Reference
- [helix start](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/start) — Page type: Reference
- [helix status](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/status) — Page type: Reference
- [helix stop](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/stop) — Page type: Reference
- [helix sync](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/sync) — Page type: Reference
- [helix update](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/update) — Page type: Reference
- [helix workspace](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/workspace) — Page type: Reference

## Content
- [HelixDB Agent Content](https://www.helix-db.com/content): Technical guides about AI memory, GraphRAG, graph-vector databases, and building production AI systems with HelixDB.
- [HelixDB vs LadybugDB: Picking a Graph DB After Kuzu](https://www.helix-db.com/content/compare/helixdb-vs-ladybugdb-picking-a-graph-db-after-kuzu): Kuzu is archived. LadybugDB is columnar and analytical, in-process or in the browser. HelixDB is OLTP agent memory with pre-filtered vector and keyword search.
- [How to Migrate from Neo4j to HelixDB: A Migration Guide](https://www.helix-db.com/content/guides/how-to-migrate-from-neo4j-to-helixdb-a-migration-guide): Migrate from Neo4j to HelixDB: map the graph, export a checksummed snapshot, load it with replay-safe batches, translate your Cypher, and verify before cutover.
- [Pre-Filtering Vector Search on Graph Edges: How to Scope ANN to Relationships](https://www.helix-db.com/content/guides/pre-filtering-vector-search-on-graph-edges-how-to-scope-ann-to-relationships): Learn how to scope vector search on graph edges for precise RAG. Move beyond flat ANN scans by filtering embeddings within specific relationships and subgraphs.
- [HelixDB vs FalkorDB: Choosing a Graph Database for GraphRAG](https://www.helix-db.com/content/compare/helixdb-vs-falkordb-choosing-a-graph-database-for-graphrag): HelixDB vs FalkorDB for GraphRAG: in-memory speed against object-storage scale. Compare pre-filtering, high availability, licensing and what each one costs.
- [Vector Database vs Graph Database: What AI Memory Needs](https://www.helix-db.com/content/vector-database-vs-graph-database-what-ai-memory-needs): An architectural comparison of vector vs graph databases for AI memory. Learn why HelixDB replaces the duct-taped RAG stack with a single Rust engine.
- [HelixDB vs Memgraph: Which Graph Database for AI Memory?](https://www.helix-db.com/content/compare/helixdb-vs-memgraph-which-graph-database-for-ai-memory): HelixDB vs Memgraph: in-memory graph analytics against object-storage-backed agent memory. Which one actually scales, and what does each one cost to run?
- [HelixDB vs Neo4j: Graph and Vector Search in One Engine](https://www.helix-db.com/content/compare/helixdb-vs-neo4j-graph-and-vector-search-in-one-engine): Compare HelixDB vs Neo4j for GraphRAG and agent memory. Learn why a unified Rust engine beats a bolted-on vector approach for high-performance AI applications.
- [AI Agent Memory Architecture: Why Vector Search Is Not Enough](https://www.helix-db.com/content/ai-agent-memory-architecture-why-vector-search-is-not-enough): Learn why modern AI agent memory architecture requires knowledge graphs. Compare GraphRAG vs. vector search and see how HelixDB unifies both in one Rust engine.