> ## 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.

# What is Helix

> The Agentic Development Lifecycle, run inside your coding agent — spec, build, evaluate, diagnose, optimize.

<Note>
  **Research Preview** · `v0.1.0-alpha.15`. Helix is early and moving fast. The loop runs end to
  end today; expect the command surface to change.
</Note>

Helix is the **Agentic Development Lifecycle (ADLC)**, run inside your coding agent. It takes an
agent through one loop — **spec → build → evaluate → diagnose → optimize** — and holds every change
for your approval, so nothing ships until it has been re-checked against your real traces.

```mermaid theme={null}
flowchart LR
  S["① Spec"] --> B["② Build"] --> E["③ Evaluate"] --> D["④ Diagnose"] --> O["⑤ Optimize"]
  O -. "you approve" .-> B
  classDef s fill:#140d22,stroke:#7E47D7,color:#ede7f8;
  class S,B,E,D,O s;
```

## What it does

Point Helix at an agent — one you're building, or one already running — and it drives the loop: it
writes a spec, builds, scores the result against your [real traces](/helix/traces), root-causes what
failed, and applies a fix. Every change waits for your approval; nothing lands until you say so. See
[how the loop works](/helix/how-the-loop-works) for the full mechanism.

<Info>
  **No traces yet?** Building something new is fine — start at **Spec** and **Build**. Evaluate and
  Diagnose start working once you ship and your agent begins logging runs.
</Info>

## Two ways to run it

Helix comes in two forms. Choose by whether you already have a coding agent you like.

<Card title="Plugin" icon="puzzle-piece" href="/helix/install/plugin">
  Installs Helix into **Claude Code** or **Codex** as a plugin, through the `mutagent` CLI — the
  editor you already use.
</Card>

```bash theme={null}
mutagent login
mutagent install helix
```

<Card title="Standalone" icon="terminal" href="/helix/install/standalone">
  **binary · Proprietary.** A single binary with the whole system inside — no Node, no npm, no
  checkout. Helix *is* the coding agent.
</Card>

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

<Tip>
  Not sure which? Take the **Plugin** if you already use Claude Code or Codex; take the
  **Standalone** binary if you'd rather have a ready-made agent. Then run
  [your first loop](/helix/install/first-loop).
</Tip>

## How you use it

Helix is a natural-language orchestrator. Describe what you want — *"Evaluate the Refund Processing agent
against last quarter's disputes and show the pass rate per policy rule"* — and it routes to the stage
that owns the job. Nothing runs until you ask, and nothing lands until you approve.