FAQ

:toc:

== How to...

==== Collapse to single cursor after using multiple cursors / Keep only primary cursor

• Use the default keybind , bound to the keep_primary_selection command.

==== Change cursor shape on mode change (bar cursor on insert mode, block on normal mode, etc)

• Add this to your https://docs.helix-editor.com/configuration.html#configuration[`config.toml`]:

[source,toml]

[editor.cursor-shape] insert = "bar" normal = "block" select = "underline"

==== Map jk or jj to exit insert mode

• Add this to your https://docs.helix-editor.com/configuration.html#configuration[`config.toml`]:

[source,toml]

[keys.insert] j = { k = "normal_mode" }

==== Use my terminal's 16 color palette as a theme

• You can use color names like red, light-blue, etc to refer to the terminal's colors in a theme file; refer the https://docs.helix-editor.com/themes.html#color-palettes[theme color palette] documentation.

==== Perform find-and-replace

• Type % to select the entire file, then s to bring up a select: prompt. Enter your search, and press enter. All matches in the file will be selected; you can now use c to change them all simultaneously.

To make search fully case sensitive add the following to config.toml:

[editor.search]
smart-case = false

Note: If you use LSP autocomplete, only the first match will be auto-completed. If you want to auto-complete all matches, you currently have to https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/wiki/FAQ#use-lsp-autocomplete-with-multiple-selections-temporary-workaround[*use this workaround*].

==== Strip whitespace or format the buffer

If the LSP for the language is active and supports autoformat, and the auto-format option is on (check your and the repo's languages.toml), then this will happen on save. If there is an alternative command you can run in the terminal to format, you can pipe the whole buffer to it manually with %|<formatter><enter>.

==== Access the Helix config directory

[cols="1,1"] |=== | Platform | Location | Mac OS/Linux | ~/.config/helix | Windows | C:\Users\\____\AppData\Roaming\helix |===

==== Access the log file

Enable logging via the -v flag, with each use (up to -vvv) increasing the verbosity.

[cols="1,1"] |=== | Platform | Location | Mac OS/Linux | ~/.cache/helix/helix.log | Windows | C:\Users\\____\AppData\Local\helix\helix.log |===

==== Adding a language

Check https://docs.helix-editor.com/guides/adding_languages.html

== General Questions

==== How to write plugins / Is there a plugin system in place yet ?

• It's currently under discussion, with the general plan of using WebAssembly to provide plugin support. Some links regarding ongoing discussions: ** https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/issues/122[Initial discussion] ** https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/discussions/580[Pre-RFC discussion] ** https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/pull/455[Plugin system MVP]

==== When will the next release be?

We shoot to cut a release every two months. The version is in CalVer format, so if the current latest release is 22.05, the next will be 22.07 (July, 2022).

== Installation

=== Error when building tree-sitter language grammars in Fedora

Ensure that you have a C compiler installed:

sudo dnf group install "C Development Tools and Libraries"

== Common Issues

=== Alt-* key combinations do not work on MacOS iTerm2

Ensure that you have mapped the Option key to ESC+ in the iTerm2 preferences via Preferences > Profiles > Keys

Previous issues: https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/issues/773, https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/issues/1223, https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/issues/1915.