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Helix

Helix

Installation & Setup

First, the iwes binary needs to be available on your system $PATH. Please see the installation instructions and pick your preferred method of installation. I recommend the AUR for Arch users.

Next, you’ll need to add iwe as an LSP and enable it for files.

Setup Snippet 

# `$HOME/.config/helix/languages.toml`

[language-server.iwe]
command = "iwes"

[[language]]
name = "markdown"
language-servers = ["iwe"]
# You can add other LSPs here, too:
# language-servers = ["iwe", "marksman"]

# NOTE: You may consider disabling 
# autoformat if you're having issues 
# with tables!
auto-format = true

Setup IWE Only For Your Notes

You probably don’t want iwe enabled for every Markdown file you ever open. For example, you may not want its features when you’re working on README files for different projects. In that case, I recommend Helix’s project-specific configuration feature. In the root of your notes directory, you can create a folder called .helix, add a file called languages.toml and put the setup snippet in there.

Usage

Please refer to the usage guide for a quick reference.

Hover Preview

To preview a wiki/markdown-linked note without navigating away, place your cursor on the link and trigger LSP hover (Helix default: space + k).

More details: Hover preview

Common Keybindings

ActionKeybinding
Go to definition (follow link)gd
Find references (backlinks)gr
Hover previewspace + k
Code actionsspace + a
Document symbols (outline)space + s
Workspace symbols (search)space + S
Rename filespace + r
Format document:format

Code Actions

To use IWE code actions (extract, inline, attach, etc.):

  1. Place cursor on the target content
  2. Press space + a to open code actions menu
  3. Select the desired action

Helix-Specific Notes

  • Buffer management after inline: When you inline a section (merge an extracted note back), the buffer for the deleted file remains open. Use :buffer-close or :bc to close it manually.

  • Auto-format with tables: If you work with markdown tables, you may want to disable auto-format to prevent unwanted table reformatting:

[[language]]
name = "markdown"
language-servers = ["iwe"]
auto-format = false
  • Multiple language servers: You can use IWE alongside other markdown language servers:
[[language]]
name = "markdown"
language-servers = ["iwe", "marksman"]
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