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From VS Code to Helix

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Re: From VS Code to Helix

#81

Post by allknowingfrog »

Helix is great if you just want something fast that gets out of your way. If you want plugins and integrations and other magic, it's probably not for you. I used Vim for the past decade, because it fits the way my brain works. Helix captures that same spirit, but with some polish and friendliness that can only come from starting fresh, and abandoning years of entrenched design decisions.

Helix is a fantastic terminal-based editor. I would rather type in mittens than use a GUI editor. If that resonates with you, maybe give it a try. If you love your GUI, I don't think Helix will be the thing that changes your mind.

Re: From VS Code to Helix

#82

Post by lenkite »

jsmailes wrote: post #2

Helix and other new editors (kakoune comes to mind) always appealed to me because they seemed to have slightly more intuitive approaches to editing than vim, but I just don't think I can ever switch, purely because vim just exists everywhere I need it. It (or vi) is installed on practically every system I ever touch by default, and almost every IDE/editor under the sun supports vim keybinds either natively or via wel…

I don't understand. VIM has a visual mode too if you want it. Just press `v`, do your selection and then operate on the selection. But frankly, the operator-motion is better, esp if you have repetitive editing to do. It is easier to repeat the same or combine the into a macro.

Feel less efficient with Helix motions:

https://www.reddit.com/r/HelixEditor/comments/1h5qqg7/i_feel...

Re: From VS Code to Helix

#83

Post by KronisLV »

NoboruWataya wrote: post #20

I do almost all my development on JetBrains IDEs (Rust, Python, Kotlin). IME they are unmatched for giving you code insights and suggested fixes (combined with "click here to do that") out of the box. But they are absolute resource hogs and I don't trust that they (or their best features) will always remain free. I've tried to get into neovim a few times. It's fine for basic editing and I use it a bit when I am ssh'd…

> But they are absolute resource hogs and I don't trust that they (or their best features) will always remain free.

I use quite a few of their IDEs for various use cases (Java, .NET, Python, Go, JS projects and some DB interaction) and ended up just buying their ultimate pack. For individual use, it was like 360 EUR with VAT per year that went down to 216 EUR by year 3 of staying subscribed. Just so I wouldn't have to deal with any artificial limitations and could use all of their tools instead of some Frankenstein setup where I have to install all sorts of plugins into IntelliJ.

Their AI tools are also pretty decent (Junie was lovely to use, despite the rate limits), the idea behind the free Fleet editor was also cool but it kinda sucked in comparison to VSC. That said, if the JetBrains IDEs ever get enshittified, I'm throwing them into the trash and moving over to just VSC with a frickload of plugins and AI slop coding to make up for the lack of comparably good refactoring tools and such. Until then, I'm okay with paying for their software, same as I pay for MobaXTerm and support FreeFileSync etc., I guess my point is that I largely view them as a commercial product and wouldn't count on that much being or remaining free.

Re: From VS Code to Helix

#84

Post by bccdee »

eviks wrote: post #72

> Being a lazy person, I never bothered looking up VS Code shortcuts. Because the learning curve for Helix is slightly steeper, you have to learn those shortcuts that make moving around feel so easy. This doesn't make sense: if you were truly lazy, you wouldn't spend any effort learning a more complicated app, you'd simply not switch! > with a few knobs for minor preferences. I am subject to choice paralysis, so maki…

> And the way out is the same as with vim - just pick someone else who has done it

I think the crucial thing here is that most people don't do it, because it works out of the box. You can change any of the keybindings and any of a few hundred settings if you want, but the defaults are good, so you don't have to. My helix config sets the theme and soft-wrap and that's about it.

Re: From VS Code to Helix

#85

Post by wuhhh »

pigcat wrote: post #65
wuhhh wrote: post #8

I have a similar story but with neovim (and for the same reason as the author; growing unease with big tech). Tried and failed to make the switch a few times but made a concerted effort to stick with it throughout a specific project and now it’s second nature. I found it useful to research idiomatic (n)vim ways of doing things whenever I’d get frustrated or feel I’d be doing something more quickly in VSCode and commi…

Woah, how did I not know about that tip about omitting the search pattern? Love it and will be using that lots! As a thank you, I'll leave you with the way I learned to search/replace, just to give you a slightly different flavour: asterisk, cgn ([c]hange [g]o [n]ext), type replaced, then . (period, to repeat) until I'm done.

Right back at you, that’s super neat!

Re: From VS Code to Helix

#86

Post by dkarl »

NoboruWataya wrote: post #20

I do almost all my development on JetBrains IDEs (Rust, Python, Kotlin). IME they are unmatched for giving you code insights and suggested fixes (combined with "click here to do that") out of the box. But they are absolute resource hogs and I don't trust that they (or their best features) will always remain free. I've tried to get into neovim a few times. It's fine for basic editing and I use it a bit when I am ssh'd…

25 years ago, naive me thought we'd eventually figure out how to use text editors as components within other applications like IDEs. A protocol would evolve to let IDEs and editors work together. The same protocol would allow every text box in a browser to be your favorite editor.

LSP is much more practical, but much less than I hoped for.

Re: From VS Code to Helix

#88

Post by trostaft »

lycopodiopsida wrote: post #16
jsmailes wrote: post #2

Helix and other new editors (kakoune comes to mind) always appealed to me because they seemed to have slightly more intuitive approaches to editing than vim, but I just don't think I can ever switch, purely because vim just exists everywhere I need it. It (or vi) is installed on practically every system I ever touch by default, and almost every IDE/editor under the sun supports vim keybinds either natively or via wel…

> I'm sure I could learn to be slightly faster on dvorak/colemak, but nothing beats the convenience of always having guaranteed access to qwerty, everywhere I go. Colemak/Dvorak is not about speed, but about comfort and avoiding RSI (though I would place the actual layout somewhere far down on the list, a proper ergonomic KB is top priority). Also, in my ~8 years on Colemak lack of access to it was a problem exactly…

Do you have any opinions on ergoKB? I've begun to notice some pain, not in my wrists, but in my upper forearms and am thinking about something to fix that.

Re: From VS Code to Helix

#89

Post by milch »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #59
milch wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally I started getting wrist pain 2 or 3 years ago. I have been using Colemak anyway for more than 15 years - my original reason for switching was because the German QWERTZ layout I grew up with is not very programming friendly, symbols like [] {}/\ are hidden away behind hard to type chords. I found as a nice side benefit that my typing speed increased by 20-30 or so WPM... I did also have typing classes in sc…

> on both US QWERTY and Colemak when you constantly type [];:{}| and so on, your pinky has to reach over to do it. At least for me that meant contorting my hand a bit to reach over. On my split keyboard all the symbols are behind a layer on the home row, and I barely use the pinky for anything, which fixes the issue. On a completely standard rectangular-block keyboard, I don't use pinkies to type. Actually, I do use…

Maybe my hands are small, but to type []|\+= and not use my pinky I would either have to move my entire hand over or contort it even more to use my ring finger

Re: From VS Code to Helix

#90

Post by f311a »

NoboruWataya wrote: post #20

I do almost all my development on JetBrains IDEs (Rust, Python, Kotlin). IME they are unmatched for giving you code insights and suggested fixes (combined with "click here to do that") out of the box. But they are absolute resource hogs and I don't trust that they (or their best features) will always remain free. I've tried to get into neovim a few times. It's fine for basic editing and I use it a bit when I am ssh'd…

I was using it for 10 years, and now I'm using Helix and occasionally open JetBrains tools to do some refactoring.

I just hate the idea of opening two IDEs because my work repo is in Go and Python. Also, the IDEs are not getting faster, only slower.

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