---
title: "helix-db"
type: "tool"
slug: "helixdb-helix-db"
canonical_url: "https://www.graphcanon.com/tools/helixdb-helix-db"
github_url: "https://github.com/HelixDB/helix-db"
homepage_url: "https://helix-db.com"
stars: 5584
forks: 310
primary_language: "Rust"
license: "Apache-2.0"
categories: ["data-retrieval", "vector-databases"]
tags: ["ai", "graph-database", "rust", "rag", "database", "cli", "helix", "databases"]
updated_at: "2026-07-07T19:55:45.161038+00:00"
---
# helix-db
> HelixDB: an OLTP graph-vector database built in Rust for AI applications.
HelixDB is a graph-plus-vector database designed to simplify the development of AI applications by integrating multiple data storage types into a single platform, enabling easy management and access to various forms of company data. It supports key-value pairs, documents, relational data alongside its primary graph and vector models, providing an all-in-one solution.
## Facts
- Repository: https://github.com/HelixDB/helix-db
- Homepage: https://helix-db.com
- Stars: 5,584 ยท Forks: 310 ยท Open issues: 10 ยท Watchers: 32
- Primary language: Rust
- License: Apache-2.0
- Last pushed: 2026-07-05T22:13:26+00:00
## Categories
- [Data & Retrieval](/categories/data-retrieval.md)
- [Vector Databases](/categories/vector-databases.md)
## Tags
ai, graph-database, rust, rag, database, cli, helix, databases
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## README (excerpt)
```text
HelixDB is a database that makes it easy to build all the components needed for AI applications in a single platform.
You don't need a separate application DB, relational DB, vector DB, graph DB, or application layers to manage the multiple storage locations. HelixDB gives your agents federated access to company data, for memory, company brains, and applications.
Helix primarily operates with a graph + vector data model, but it also supports KV, documents, and relational data.
## Getting Started
### 1. Install the CLI
The Helix CLI runs and manages local instances and talks to Helix Cloud.
```bash
curl -sSL "https://install.helix-db.com" | bash
```
Already installed? Update to the latest version with `helix update`.
### 2. The quickest path โ `helix chef`
`helix chef` is an interactive, one-shot bootstrapper. It installs the HelixDB query skills and docs MCP, scaffolds a project, starts a local instance, seeds some example data, and writes a `HELIX_CHEF_PROMPT.md`. If a coding agent is available (Claude Code, Codex, or OpenCode), it can hand off and build a working app โ frontend and all โ from a one-line description of what you want.
```bash
helix chef
```
That's it โ no flags. Answer "what do you want to build?" and follow the prompts.
### 3. Manual local setup
If you'd rather wire things up yourself:
1. **Initialize a project.** This scaffolds `helix.toml`, a `.helix/` workspace dir, and a ready-to-run `examples/request.json`.
```bash
mkdir my-helix-app && cd my-helix-app
helix init
```
2. **Start a local instance.** Runs a background container on port `6969` and waits until it accepts queries.
```bash
helix start dev
```
> โ ๏ธ The default storage mode is **in-memory** โ stopping the instance wipes its data. Use `helix start dev --disk` to persist data across restarts, or `--foreground` to stream logs.
3. **Send a query.**
```bash
helix query dev --file examples/request.json
```
4. **Stop the instance when you're done.**
```bash
helix stop dev
```
## Writing queries with the SDKs
Queries are authored with the Rust, TypeScript, Go, or Python DSL and sent straight to a running instance as dynamic requests against `POST /v1/query` โ no build or deploy step. The SDKs produce the same JSON AST. The examples below talk to a local instance on `http://localhost:6969` (the default `helix start dev` port). See the [Querying Guide](https://docs.helix-db.com/database/querying-guide/overview) for the full builder catalog and the dynamic-query wire format.
### Rust
Install the crate (published as `helix-db`, imported as `helix_db`):
```bash
cargo init && cargo add helix-db tokio sonic-rs
```
Define your queries as `#[register]` functions, then run them directly through the client:
```rust
use helix_db::Client;
use helix_db::dsl::prelude::*;
#[register]
pub fn add_user(name: String) {
write_batch()
.var_as(
"user",
g().add_n("User", vec![("name", name)])
.value_map(None::>),
)
.returning(["user"])
}
#[register]
pub fn get_user(name: String) {
read_batch()
.var_as(
"user",
```
---
**Machine-readable endpoints**
- JSON: [`/api/graphcanon/tools/helixdb-helix-db`](/api/graphcanon/tools/helixdb-helix-db)
- LLM index: [/llms.txt](/llms.txt)
- Full corpus: [/llms-full.txt](/llms-full.txt)
_GraphCanon - The knowledge graph for AI development. https://www.graphcanon.com/_
HelixDB: a graph-vector database for knowledge graphs and AI memory. Built from scratch in Rust.
