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Helix is a local-first Linux dashboard for the host, its files, and game servers. It pairs a fast web interface with an unprivileged daemon and a narrow typed Linux broker, so useful host controls do not require a general root shell.

Helix is a private alpha. Keep it on a network you control, do not expose it directly to the public internet, and do not trust it as the only copy of important data.

The source is licensed under AGPL-3.0-or-later. Open source availability does not imply production support or a completed security review.

Why it is useful

Helix brings the common jobs for one server into one place:

• multiple exportable Home layouts with drag-and-drop/resizable status, clock, weather, paged-note, and shortcut widgets plus color controls;
• live host, storage, network, service, process, and Helix resource views;
• mounted-drive browsing, bounded text editing, recoverable deletion, and cancellable largest-file/folder analysis;
• a native Docker-backed Minecraft manager for Paper, Purpur, Folia, Fabric, Vanilla, and guarded local custom-JAR imports;
• persistent bounded console history, settings with restart guidance, backups, a compatibility-aware Modrinth marketplace, and narrow server-safe Fabric .mrpack creation;
• optional AMP discovery and control without pretending AMP instances are Helix-native;
• Hooks for exact Plex, AMP, Tailscale, Pterodactyl Wings, and Jellyfin service discovery/control, including eligible one-click Tailscale/Jellyfin installs;
• an optional current-password-gated non-root Linux PTY; and
• selected APT updates, immediate/recurring host reboot, UFW safety activation, and exact Helix start-on-boot controls with explicit preflight/confirmation.

The dashboard is the control plane, not the game process or player network path. Closing Helix does not stop a native game container. Actual player capacity still depends on the host, world, server software, configuration, and mods or plugins.

Start here

Clone the source, create an owner with your own display name, and put Helix on a private LAN by filling .env and the broker config with that host's addresses and storage roots. Nothing ships with a demo city or demo server.

• Getting Started
• How Helix Works
• Dashboard and Home
• Storage and Files
• Servers and Marketplace
• Network, Host, and Updates
• Hooks and Terminal
• Architecture
• Security and Recovery
• Game Hosting and Capacity
• Building Strands
• Roadmap and Status

Important limits

Broad/unattended package upgrades, signed Helix self-update, public-network exposure, and a third-party Strand runtime are not implemented. Exact selected APT candidates do have a guarded path but no rollback claim. Helix can inspect UFW, manage exact owned allow rules, and separately enable inactive UFW only after preserving a verified SSH listener; it cannot configure a router or prove outside reachability. It can work behind an already configured private Tailscale route and install/start the exact service on eligible Debian/Ubuntu hosts, but it does not authenticate the tailnet or widen network trust.

Modpack creation is limited to listed stable server-capable Fabric releases from Modrinth and intentionally builds a server-safe subset. Forge, NeoForge, Quilt, CurseForge, and broad/full-pack parity are not supported.

The authoritative implementation ledger is PROGRESS.md.