> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mutagent.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Standalone binary

> One command installs the `helix` binary — Helix as its own coding agent. No Node, no npm, no checkout.

Helix ships as a single binary with the whole system inside — it *is* a coding agent. Nothing else
to install.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Install">
    One command:

    ```bash theme={null}
    curl -fsSL https://install.mutagent.io/helix | bash
    ```

    Gives you the `helix` command. It's proprietary, and it runs on macOS (Apple Silicon or Intel)
    and Linux (arm64 or x64).

    <Tip>
      Don't pipe a script you haven't read straight into a shell. Download it first, look at it,
      then run it:

      ```bash theme={null}
      curl -fsSL https://install.mutagent.io/helix -o helix.sh   # read it, then:
      bash helix.sh
      ```

      Opt out of the PATH edit with `--no-modify-path` and add `~/.mutagent/bin` yourself.
    </Tip>

    <Note>
      Earlier releases installed this binary as `mutagent-helix`. The installer still creates a
      `mutagent-helix` symlink pointing at `helix`, so existing scripts keep working, but it is a
      transitional alias and will be removed — use `helix`.
    </Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Reload your shell">
    The installer places the binary in `~/.mutagent/bin` and adds that to your shell's startup file
    (it prints which one). Reload it, or just open a new terminal.

    ```bash theme={null}
    source <the file the installer printed>
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify">
    `--strict` is the real check. (The installer already runs a branded verify for you.)

    ```bash theme={null}
    helix doctor --strict
    ```

    `helix doctor` also prints which model providers it detected credentials for — useful for the
    next step. `helix smoke` runs a short end-to-end check of the installed runtime.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Sign in to a provider">
    The model catalog ships inside the binary, but a model only appears once its provider has
    credentials. A launch with no provider still renders the dashboard, then warns:
    **"No models available. Use /login to log into a provider via OAuth or API key."** — that is a
    missing key, not a broken install. (Headless runs exit instead, with
    *"No API key found for the selected model."*)

    Either sign in from inside the session — `/login` to set up your provider or subscription, then
    `/model` to pick a model — or export a key before launching:

    ```bash theme={null}
    export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=…     # or OPENAI_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY, …
    ```

    AWS Bedrock and Google Vertex credential chains are honoured too. Helix talks to the provider
    with your credentials; there is no MutagenT inference bill.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Launch">
    Run it in your project directory. You land on the Helix dashboard — the lifecycle stages, the
    skills that loaded, the command roster — and drive it in plain English from there.

    ```bash theme={null}
    cd your-project
    helix
    ```

    That is one of three ways to run it. `helix agent` gives you a plain coding agent with no
    orchestrator, and `helix --prime` the RLM-based Prime loop — see
    [Three ways to run Helix](/helix/modes).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Update

```bash theme={null}
helix update            # fetch and install the current build, verifying its checksum
helix update --check    # report only: exit 1 when a newer build is published, 0 when current
```

Re-running the installer command also works and does the same thing.

## Remove it

```bash theme={null}
curl -fsSL https://install.mutagent.io/helix | bash -s -- uninstall
```

Add `--purge` to also drop the cached runtime.

<Card title="Next: three ways to run Helix" icon="arrow-right" href="/helix/modes">
  The orchestrator, a single agent, or the Prime loop — what each gives you and what to type.
</Card>