Ari Seyhun

Helix vs. Vim: A Modern Showdown of Terminal Editors

Posted January 9, 2025 by Ari Seyhun ‐ 6 min read

Helix vs Neovim

In the ever-evolving landscape of text editors, Helix and Vim have emerged as powerful contenders for those who prefer terminal-based editing. While Vim has been a stalwart in the developer community for decades, Helix offers a fresh, modern approach that’s gaining traction. Let’s dive into a concise comparison to help you decide which editor aligns best with your workflow.

Background and Adoption

Although I dabbled with Vim in the past, it never became my primary editor despite me trying. Since early 2023, I've been using Helix exclusively, primarily for writing Rust code. The allure of terminal-based editors lies in their performance and minimalistic design, especially when contrasted with bloated GUI editors like VSCode. The multi-modal editing capabilities that both Helix and Vim offer are a significant draw, providing a level of efficiency that many GUI counterparts lack.

Installation and Setup

Vim often comes pre-installed on Unix systems, making it easily accessible. For those opting for Neovim, a popular Vim fork, installation can be straightforward via package managers. However, Neovim's plethora of distributions can be overwhelming, requiring users to experiment to find the right fit.

On the other hand, Helix isn't typically pre-installed but can be effortlessly installed through most package managers or compiled from source using Cargo. Setting up Helix from source involves exporting the helix runtime, but overall, Helix’s configuration is minimalistic, requiring just a TOML file for customization. For reference, my Helix config file I've settled on is 40 lines of toml. I have another guide specifically for optimizing your Helix configuration.

User Interface and Experience

At first glance, Helix and Vim share similar interfaces. However, Vim distributions often come heavily customized with plugins like Telescope for enhanced file navigation and search capabilities. Helix incorporates comparable features out-of-the-box, including a built-in file picker that rivals Telescope’s functionality.

One standout difference is Helix’s user-friendly key sequence popups, which display possible options as you begin typing a hotkey. For instance, pressing space reveals available actions like f for opening a file picker, making the editing experience more intuitive.

Intuitiveness and Customization

Helix has been notably more intuitive for me, primarily due to its cursor-based editing approach. Unlike Vim's verb-noun keybindings (e.g., dw for delete word), Helix follows a noun-verb pattern where you first select the text (e.g., w for word) and then perform the action (d to delete). This method feels more natural and user-friendly, especially for those new to multi-modal editing.

Customization in Vim is extensive, especially with Neovim, where the entire UI can be tailored using Lua scripts. In contrast, Helix offers limited customization options, focusing mainly on themes and behavioral tweaks like displaying open buffers as tabs. This simplicity ensures stability and a consistent user experience.

Features and Functionality

Helix shines with its built-in multi-cursor support, a feature that Vim lacks without additional plugins. Multi-cursors significantly enhance productivity by allowing simultaneous edits across multiple lines or sections. Additionally, Helix's integrated key sequence popups aid in discovering and remembering keybindings.

Conversely, Vim boasts a rich plugin ecosystem, offering endless possibilities for customization and extended functionality. While Helix doesn’t support plugins yet, its core features are robust and continually expanding.

Both editors handle syntax highlighting seamlessly using Tree-sitter, ensuring accurate and efficient code parsing while maintaining broad support for different languages. However, Vim retains an edge with its native code folding capabilities, allowing developers to collapse and expand code blocks easily.

Performance and Efficiency

In terms of speed, both Vim and Helix are exceptionally responsive and snappy. Vanilla Vim and Helix perform comparably, with minimal latency during editing. However, Neovim setups with numerous plugins can introduce slight delays, particularly during startup.

Resource consumption remains low for both editors, making them ideal for developers who prioritize efficiency without taxing system resources.

Learning Curve and Community Support

Helix is easier to learn for newcomers, thanks to its intuitive editing style and straightforward configuration. The verb-noun approach in keybindings enhances user-friendliness, allowing for a more visual-feedback based experience.

Vim, while powerful, comes with a steeper learning curve. Mastering its keybindings and extensive plugin configurations requires time and dedication. Fortunately, Vim’s vast community offers a wealth of resources, tutorials, and support channels, including popular YouTube educators like @ThePrimeagen.

Helix's community, though smaller, is growing steadily. The official documentation is comprehensive, and helpful content creators like @LukePighetti provide valuable tutorials and insights.

Pros and Cons

Helix Pros:

  • Stability: Minimal configuration reduces potential issues, ensuring a reliable editing environment.
  • Built-in Features: Multi-cursor support and intuitive keybindings enhance productivity without the need for plugins.
  • Performance: Lightweight and fast, offering a seamless editing experience out-of-the-box.

Helix Cons:

  • Limited Customization: Fewer customization options compared to Vim, which might deter power users.
  • No Plugin Support: Currently lacks a plugin ecosystem, though this is in development.

Vim Pros:

  • Extensive Plugin Ecosystem: Endless customization and functionality through plugins.
  • Large Community: Abundant resources, tutorials, and community support.
  • Proven Stability: Decades of development and use have made Vim a reliable tool.

Vim Cons:

  • Steep Learning Curve: Complex keybindings and configurations can be daunting for beginners.
  • Potential for Bloat: Extensive plugin use can lead to maintenance challenges and reduced performance.

Future Outlook and Recommendations

Based on my experience, I’m committed to using Helix indefinitely. Its stability, minimal configuration, and built-in features perfectly align with my workflow, especially for Rust development. The upcoming plugin support in Helix is an exciting prospect that could bridge the gap between Helix’s simplicity and Vim’s extensibility.

For beginners, I highly recommend starting with Helix. Its intuitive editing style offers a smoother transition from GUI-based editors, allowing new users to achieve productivity without the initial overwhelm. However, for those who enjoy deep customization and tinkering, Neovim remains a fantastic choice, offering unparalleled flexibility and a vibrant community.

Final Thoughts

While both Helix and Vim are formidable text editors, your choice ultimately depends on your priorities. If you value simplicity, stability, and out-of-the-box functionality, Helix is a compelling option. Conversely, if you seek extensive customization and a vast ecosystem of plugins, Vim remains a powerhouse worth mastering.

Embracing a terminal-based editor like Helix or Vim can transform your coding experience, offering speed and efficiency that GUI editors often can't match. Whatever editor you choose, the fact you're exploring these editors is awesome, and I'm very happy terminal-based editors live on in the modern world.