llms.txt
# Required setup for AI coding agents
Before writing HelixDB integration code or queries, install the official HelixDB skills from https://github.com/HelixDB/skills. Installing and reading the relevant skills is a required setup step.
1. Ensure Node.js/npm and npx are available. From the existing or newly created project directory, run:
npx skills add HelixDB/skills --skill '*' --yes
2. Target your coding agent with --agent when needed. Verify installation with npx skills list and confirm the installed skill files are discoverable by your agent.
3. Read the helix-cli skill and the query skill for your chosen language before using HelixDB. Also read helix-memory-system for memory or retrieval work.
4. If installation or skill loading fails, explain and resolve the blocker before writing HelixDB integration code. If your agent needs a restart to discover the skills, provide the exact resume step. Do not claim setup is complete until the skills are installed and accessible.
# 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 unified MCP endpoint](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/connect/mcp): Connect human OAuth, scoped service credentials, and agent registrations to authorized tools on one endpoint.
- [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): HelixDB is a graph database with native vector and full-text search, built on object storage — 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 memory, a persistent directory, or S3-compatible 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
- [SDK setup](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/start-here/sdk-setup/overview): Choose a HelixDB SDK and connect it to a local or Cloud server — 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): New features and changes in HelixDB, Helix Cloud, the SDKs, and the CLI — 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): Build a small write query 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
- [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
- [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
- [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
- [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 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 and run ranked full-text search — Page type: Guide
- [Prefiltered search](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/query-guides/prefiltering): Rank only the nodes or edges a traversal reaches with vector or BM25 search — Page type: Guide
- [Search consistency](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/query-guides/search-consistency): Choose whether vector and text searches include unpublished index work, and handle index backpressure — 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
- [Query error reference](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/query-guides/error-handling): Branch on stable error codes, apply retry rules, and look up every HelixDB query error — Page type: Reference
- [Troubleshoot HelixDB](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-db/query-guides/troubleshooting): Diagnose query, index, vector, embedded, and local runtime failures — Page type: Troubleshooting
## Helix Cloud — Start Here
- [Get started with Helix 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
- [Connect to Helix Cloud](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/start-here/working-with-enterprise): Connect an SDK or HTTP client to a Helix Cloud database and control request routing — Page type: Guide
- [Architecture](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/start-here/architecture): How the Helix Cloud gateway, writer, readers, caches, and object storage serve reads and writes — Page type: Concept
## Connect and automate
- [Helix Cloud MCP](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/connect/mcp): Connect users and agents to the unified Helix Cloud MCP endpoint — Page type: Reference
## Operate
- [Security](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/operate/security): Authenticate requests, handle API keys, and review encryption and enterprise security features — Page type: Reference
- [Multi-tenancy](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/operate/multi-tenancy): Isolate application tenants with row-level scoping and tenant-partitioned search indexes — Page type: Guide
- [Guarantees](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/operate/guarantees): Atomicity, isolation, durability, index activation, and read-after-write behavior — Page type: Reference
- [Limits](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/operate/limits): Understand Helix Cloud request rate limits and database constraints — Page type: Reference
- [Tradeoffs](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/helix-cloud/operate/tradeoffs): What the Helix Cloud architecture is optimized for, and where another system may fit better — Page type: Concept
- [Helix Cloud gateway 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
## Using the helix CLI
- [Getting started with HelixDB CLI](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/getting-started): Install the CLI, run locally, or link a WorkOS-authenticated Cloud database — 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 CLI workflow](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/workflows/helix_cloud): Authenticate, link, query, and manage Cloud resources — Page type: Guide
- [CLI configuration](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/configuration): Project linkage and WorkOS session files — Page type: Reference
- [CLI troubleshooting](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/troubleshooting): Recover local and WorkOS-authenticated Cloud CLI operations — Page type: Troubleshooting
## CLI Command Reference
- [CLI command reference](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference): Every Helix CLI command, grouped by what it manages — Page type: Reference
- [helix add](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/add): Add a local instance or a Helix Cloud database link to an existing project — Page type: Reference
- [helix auth](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/auth): Log in to Helix Cloud, check the session, or log out — Page type: Reference
- [helix api](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/api): Call a Helix Cloud API endpoint with your CLI login session — Page type: Reference
- [helix chef](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/chef): Bootstrap a first HelixDB app with a coding agent — Page type: Reference
- [helix cluster](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/cluster): List and inspect Helix Cloud clusters and their active indexes — Page type: Reference
- [helix database](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/database): Discover and manage Helix Cloud databases and application keys — Page type: Reference
- [helix delete](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/delete): Remove an instance from helix.toml and clean up its local state — Page type: Reference
- [helix explorer](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/explorer): Browse a running local instance in the graph Explorer — Page type: Reference
- [helix feedback](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/feedback): Open a pre-filled feedback issue for the Helix team — Page type: Reference
- [helix init](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/init): Create a local project or a WorkOS-authenticated Cloud link — Page type: Reference
- [helix logs](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/logs): View local logs or recent Cloud query errors — Page type: Reference
- [helix metrics](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/metrics): Configure CLI telemetry and usage metrics collection — Page type: Reference
- [helix project](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/project): Discover, manage, and link Helix Cloud projects — Page type: Reference
- [helix prune](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/prune): Remove Helix-owned local containers, volumes, and instance state — Page type: Reference
- [helix query](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/query): Execute a direct Helix v3 query against a local instance or a Cloud database — Page type: Reference
- [helix restart](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/restart): Restart a background local instance — Page type: Reference
- [helix skills](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/skills): Install, refresh, and list the Helix agent skills — Page type: Reference
- [helix start](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/start): Start a local instance in the background or foreground — Page type: Reference
- [helix status](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/status): Inspect local runtime or current Cloud database state — Page type: Reference
- [helix stop](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/stop): Stop a background local instance and remove its containers — Page type: Reference
- [helix service-credential](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/service-credential): Manage workspace-owned credentials for headless HTTP API and unified MCP clients — Page type: Reference
- [helix shell](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/shell): Run line-oriented Helix v3 JSON requests — Page type: Reference
- [helix update](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/update): Update the Helix CLI and refresh installed agent skills — Page type: Reference
- [helix workspace](https://docs.helix-db.com/cli/command-reference/workspace): Discover WorkOS workspace memberships — Page type: Reference
## Learning center
- [Learning center](https://docs.helix-db.com/learn/index): Plain-language answers about graph databases, vector search, full-text search, AI agent memory, and modern database architecture. — Page type: Concept
## Graph databases
- [What is a graph database?](https://docs.helix-db.com/learn/graph-databases/what-is-a-graph-database): A graph database stores things as nodes and the connections between them as edges, and answers questions by following those connections. — Page type: Concept
- [What is the difference between a graph database and a relational database?](https://docs.helix-db.com/learn/graph-databases/graph-vs-relational-database): A relational database keeps data in tables and rebuilds connections with joins; a graph database stores connections as edges and follows them. — Page type: Concept
- [What is a knowledge graph?](https://docs.helix-db.com/learn/graph-databases/what-is-a-knowledge-graph): A knowledge graph is a connected collection of facts about things and how they relate, organized by a schema so software can query and cite it. — Page type: Concept
- [What is a property graph?](https://docs.helix-db.com/learn/graph-databases/what-is-a-property-graph): A property graph stores data as labeled nodes and edges with key-value properties on both, so a relationship can carry its own details. — Page type: Concept
- [What is the difference between a property graph and RDF?](https://docs.helix-db.com/learn/graph-databases/property-graph-vs-rdf): A property graph stores nodes and edges that carry their own properties; RDF stores every fact as a three-part triple named by global IDs. — Page type: Concept
## Vector search
- [What is vector search?](https://docs.helix-db.com/learn/vector-search/what-is-vector-search): Vector search finds results by meaning instead of exact words, by comparing embeddings: lists of numbers that capture what content is about. — Page type: Concept
- [What are vector embeddings?](https://docs.helix-db.com/learn/vector-search/what-are-vector-embeddings): A vector embedding is a list of numbers, produced by a machine learning model, that captures what a piece of content means. — Page type: Concept
- [What is a vector database?](https://docs.helix-db.com/learn/vector-search/what-is-a-vector-database): A vector database stores embeddings, lists of numbers that capture what content means, and quickly finds the ones most similar to a query. — Page type: Concept
- [What is HNSW?](https://docs.helix-db.com/learn/vector-search/what-is-hnsw): HNSW is a vector search index that links each vector to its nearest neighbors in layers, so a search can hop quickly to similar items. — Page type: Concept
- [What is filtered vector search?](https://docs.helix-db.com/learn/vector-search/filtered-vector-search): Filtered vector search finds the most similar items among only those that pass a rule, such as a tenant, a date range, or a permission check. — Page type: Concept
- [What is the difference between cosine, Euclidean, and Manhattan distance?](https://docs.helix-db.com/learn/vector-search/vector-distance-metrics): Cosine distance compares direction, Euclidean measures the straight-line gap, and Manhattan adds up the per-dimension gaps between two embeddings. — Page type: Concept
## Full-text search
- [What is full-text search?](https://docs.helix-db.com/learn/full-text-search/what-is-full-text-search): Full-text search finds documents by the words inside them and lists the best matches first, using an inverted index and a relevance score such as BM25. — Page type: Concept
- [What is BM25?](https://docs.helix-db.com/learn/full-text-search/what-is-bm25): BM25 is a scoring formula that ranks documents for a keyword search by how rare each word is, how often it appears, and how long the document is. — Page type: Concept
- [What is hybrid search?](https://docs.helix-db.com/learn/full-text-search/hybrid-search): Hybrid search runs a keyword search and a vector search for the same query, then merges the results so it finds both exact terms and similar meaning. — Page type: Concept
## AI memory and RAG
- [What is retrieval-augmented generation (RAG)?](https://docs.helix-db.com/learn/ai-memory/what-is-rag): RAG has an AI model answer from documents looked up at question time, so answers can use private, current data and cite their sources. — Page type: Concept
- [What is GraphRAG?](https://docs.helix-db.com/learn/ai-memory/what-is-graphrag): GraphRAG finds context for an AI model by following links between facts in a graph, not only by matching text that is similar to the question. — Page type: Concept
- [What is AI agent memory?](https://docs.helix-db.com/learn/ai-memory/what-is-ai-agent-memory): AI agent memory lets an AI assistant store, update, and recall what it learns across sessions, outside the model's context window. — Page type: Concept
- [How do you build long-term memory for AI agents?](https://docs.helix-db.com/learn/ai-memory/long-ter
