OpenInHelix

January 29, 2026 · View on GitHub

OpenInHelix icon

Minimal macOS app that opens files in the Helix editor via Terminal when double-clicked in Finder.

Build

./build.sh

The app bundle will be created at dist/OpenInHelix.app.

Install

Copy to Applications:

cp -R dist/OpenInHelix.app /Applications/

Associate files with OpenInHelix

  1. Right-click any file (e.g., .txt) in Finder
  2. Select Get Info
  3. Under Open with, choose OpenInHelix.app
  4. Click Change All… to apply to all files of that type

Requirements

Runtime

  • macOS 12.0+
  • Helix editor installed (hx in /opt/homebrew/bin/, /usr/local/bin/, or ~/.cargo/bin/)
  • Terminal.app, Ghostty, or iTerm

Build

  • Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install)
  • librsvg (brew install librsvg)