cloudvoyant hx
Fast key reference for the Helix editor. Pass a natural-language query for the relevant bindings, or cheatsheet for the full terse table. Deterministic — print the matching table below verbatim; never fetch anything.
Helix is selection-first: a motion moves and selects, then a verb (d c y) acts on the current selection — the reverse of vim's verb→motion. g is the goto prefix, m the match/surround prefix, Space the leader menu.
Markdown output: soft-wrap prose, never hard-wrap — when writing markdown, write each paragraph as one continuous line; do not insert manual newlines to wrap prose at a fixed column width. Newlines still separate paragraphs, list items, headings, and code fences.
Step 0: Parse query
The raw query (filled by Claude Code / OpenCode slash commands): $ARGUMENTS. If this line is not filled in, read the query from the user's current message.
QUERY="$*" # everything after /hx
Step 1: Match query and print
Pick the first rule that matches QUERY. If QUERY is empty, or is cheatsheet / cheat / sheet / all / everything / full, print the whole cheatsheet (all tables below, in order, followed by the Docs line). Otherwise print only the matching section.
cheatsheet — full reference (no query, or cheatsheet/all)
Print every table below (Modes → Navigation → Selection → Change/Copy/Paste/Delete → Edit/Undo → Search → Files & pickers → Splits → Command palette → vim differences), then the Docs line. It is written to fit one screen.
If query mentions mode, normal, insert, select, extend:
Modes — Esc always returns to Normal.
| Key | Mode |
|---|---|
i a · I A · o O |
Insert before/after · line start/end · open line below/above |
v |
Select (extend) — motions extend the selection |
: |
Command mode |
Space |
Leader menu (pickers, LSP, windows) |
If query mentions nav, move, motion, cursor, goto, jump, scroll, word:
Navigation
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
h j k l |
Left / down / up / right |
w b e (W B E) |
Next/prev/end of word (WORD = whitespace-delimited) |
f<c> t<c> (F T back) |
Find / till char |
gg ge |
File top / end · G<n> goto line n |
gh gl gs |
Line start / line end / first non-blank (no 0/$ in Helix) |
Ctrl-b Ctrl-f · Ctrl-u Ctrl-d |
Page up/down · half-page up/down |
mm · Ctrl-o Ctrl-i |
Matching bracket · jumplist back/forward |
If query mentions select, selection, cursor(s), multi, text object, extend:
Selection (Helix selects first, then you act)
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
v |
Extend mode — motions grow the selection |
x |
Select current line; repeat extends downward |
miw mi( ma" |
Match textobject: inside/around word, pair, quotes (mi/ma + object) |
% |
Select whole file |
s S |
Select regex matches in selection / split on regex |
; , |
Collapse to one cursor / keep only primary selection |
C Alt-C |
Add cursor below / above |
If query mentions copy, paste, yank, delete, cut, change, replace, move line, duplicate:
Change / Copy / Paste / Delete
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
y · p P |
Yank · paste after / before |
d (Alt-d) · c |
Delete (delete without yank) · change (delete + insert) |
r<c> · R |
Replace each selected char / replace selection with yank |
J · > < |
Join lines · indent / unindent |
Note: Helix has no default binding to move or duplicate lines up/down — select with x then d/y/p, or bind your own.
If query mentions undo, redo, edit, insert, case, increment, indent:
Edit / Undo
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
u U |
Undo / redo (redo is U, not Ctrl-r) |
o O · ~ |
Open line below/above · switch case |
Ctrl-a Ctrl-x |
Increment / decrement number |
. |
Repeat last insert only — Helix has no vim dot-repeat |
If query mentions search, find, replace, grep, next match:
Search
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
/ ? · n N |
Search forward / for prev pattern · next / prev match |
* |
Search using the current selection |
(Multi-cursor "replace" = s to select matches, then c to change all.)
If query mentions file, open, picker, buffer, fuzzy, symbol, palette, space:
Files & pickers (all under Space)
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Space f Space b |
File picker / buffer picker |
Space / Space s |
Global search / symbol picker (LSP) |
Space ' · Space ? |
Reopen last picker · command palette (search all commands + keys) |
If query mentions split, window, pane, vertical, horizontal:
Splits (window mode: Ctrl-w or Space w)
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl-w v Ctrl-w s |
Vertical / horizontal split |
Ctrl-w h/j/k/l · Ctrl-w w |
Move between windows · cycle |
Ctrl-w q |
Close window |
If query mentions palette, command, colon, run command, ?:
Command palette: Space ? opens a fuzzy search over every command and its keybinding — the fastest way to discover a key. : enters command mode (:w, :q, :vsplit, …).
If query mentions how, why, grammar, vim, difference, differences, learn:
Selection-first grammar & vim differences
- Select, then act. A motion moves and selects (
wselects the next word); the verb (d/c/y) then acts on that selection. So "delete word" isw d, notdw. g= goto prefix (gg,ge,gh,gl,gs),m= match/surround (mm,miw,ms),Space= leader (pickers/LSP/windows).- No
0/$— usegh/gl.xselects a line, it does not delete a char. Redo isU. - No dot-repeat:
.replays the last insert only, not arbitrary changes.
Always end the printed output with the Docs line:
Docs: https://docs.helix-editor.com/keymap.html