FAQ

FAQ

What is Helio?

An open-source, self-hostable marketing-automation and customer-engagement platform — a modern, AI-native alternative to HubSpot, Customer.io, ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo, and Brevo, and an open-source successor to Mautic/Listmonk. It unifies customer data, segments audiences, and orchestrates cross-channel journeys.

Is it really free?

Yes. AGPL-3.0, free forever — no plans, no contact caps, no metering. You self-host and own your data. (Under AGPL, modifications you run as a network service must stay open.)

What do I need to run it?

Docker + Compose, and a machine that can spare a few GB of RAM for the full stack. The one-command installer (install.sh / install.ps1) drives Docker for you. From source you also need Node ≥ 20.9, pnpm, Python 3.12, and uv. See Quickstart.

Full stack vs. core — what's the difference?

The full stack (the default) runs everything: Postgres, Redis, Mailpit, ClickHouse, Redpanda, Temporal, and MinIO — so every feature works. Core (--core / task up:core) runs only Postgres + Redis + Mailpit for a low-memory host; analytics, durable journeys, and the event backbone need the full stack.

Will I send real emails by accident in development?

No. In dev, mail is captured by Mailpit — nothing leaves your machine. In production you connect your own provider (SMTP, Postmark, Resend, Mailgun, SES) per organization.

Which AI providers are supported?

The copilot is provider-agnostic: OpenAI, Anthropic, Groq, NVIDIA NIM, or a local/self-hosted model server. You bring your own key; it's sealed in an encrypted vault and shown only masked.

Can external AI agents drive Helio?

Yes — Helio ships an MCP server that exposes its capabilities as tools, so external agents (or your own assistant) can build segments and launch campaigns programmatically.

How do journeys survive a crash?

Journeys run on Temporal, a durable workflow engine. State is persisted at every step, so a worker restart mid-flight resumes exactly where it left off — with no lost state and no double-sends.

Can I migrate from HubSpot / Mailchimp / Klaviyo?

Yes. The migration wizard pulls contacts directly from the HubSpot, Mailchimp, and Klaviyo APIs.

How do I report a security issue?

Privately — never in a public issue. Use GitHub private vulnerability reporting or the email in SECURITY.md.

Where do I ask a usage question?

GitHub Discussions. For bugs and feature requests, open an issue.