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Setup

HelixDB Dashboard Repo

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Backend:

  1. Navigate to the backend directory and ensure your HelixDB is running either locally or on a cloud server
  2. You then have 3 options:
    • Local introspect (default): Run cargo run or cargo run -- local-introspect
    • Local file: Read queries and schema from your local file, add your helixdb-cfg to the backend folder and run cargo run -- local-file
    • Cloud mode: Run cargo run -- cloud http://your-helix-db-url:6969
  • For local introspect, you can specify a custom port for your HelixDB instance: cargo run -- --port 8888 or cargo run -- -p 8888
  • For local file: cargo run -- local-file --port 8888

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Frontend:

  • cd into the frontend directory and run npm install to install the dependencies
  • Run npm run dev to start the frontend
  • The frontend will be available at http://localhost:3000

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Query Format

The dashboard works best when your queries follow this naming convention:
  • Creating or linking nodes and edges should start with “create” or “link” (e.g., “createPatient” or “linkPatientToDoctor”)
  • Searching or getting nodes and edges should start with “get” (e.g., “getPatient” or “getDoctor”)
  • Updating nodes and edges should start with “update” (e.g., “updatePatient” or “updateDoctor”)
  • Deleting nodes and edges should start with “delete” (e.g., “deletePatient” or “deleteDoctor”)

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Using The Visualizer

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Important Notes

  • Browser Compatibility: Some browsers like Brave have limitations that prevent clicking on more than 2-3 nodes. We recommend using alternative browsers for the best experience
  • Performance: For optimal performance, avoid visualizing more than 3000 nodes as it may cause your browser to crash

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Setup Instructions

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For macOS Users

  1. Open Finder, then press Command + Shift + G then type ~/.helix/repo
  2. Right click the folder helix-db then Services and choose a terminal to open the folder with
  3. Switch to the dev branch: git checkout dev
  4. Then cd helix-cli then sh build.sh dev
  5. Now you can deploy your existing instance using: helix deploy -c <cluster_id> --dev (dev flag allows the visualizer endpoints)
  6. Start both the frontend and backend services
Important: Your HelixDB is now running on the dev branch. When updating to newer versions, either pull the latest changes in the dev branch and rebuild, or switch back to the main branch.

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For Windows Users

  1. Follow the same steps as macOS, though the location of the .helix folder may differ on Windows systems