v0.8.2

Which download do I need?

Two of them, and you only ever need one.

I want to…	Download
Run a node or validator (server, headless, no desktop)	helix-cli-… for your platform — unpack it and run helix start. No installer, no dependencies.
Use the wallet on my desktop (send, stake, explorer, run a node from the UI)	helix-gui-… for your platform. The wallet already contains the node — you do not need the CLI as well.

Which wallet installer?

• Linux — .AppImage runs anywhere without installing (make it executable and start it) · .deb for Debian/Ubuntu · .rpm for Fedora/RHEL
• macOS — .dmg (Apple Silicon)
• Windows — .exe is the normal installer · .msi is for managed/automated rollout

Running a validator?

Start the node first, confirm peer_count is above zero, and only then send the stake
transaction — see the founding-validator checklist in the
README. Staking before your node is connected
gets it jailed for downtime.

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What's in v0.8.2

a wallet user can actually become a validator

0.8.1's wallet started the bundled node without a validator key, so the node
generated its own and validated as an address nobody had staked. The node ran,
connected and followed the chain while the staked address never signed a block.
Anyone setting up a validator should skip 0.8.1.

Also: the node serves RPC during the initial sync instead of answering nothing
for 36 minutes and now reports real progress; sync responses are gzipped (4.1x
less traffic, and for every node rather than only those behind a CDN); a failed
chain write exits instead of leaving the node quietly producing nothing; and the
epoch-rotation log no longer claims nobody meets the stake minimum when
candidates are simply serving their activation epoch.

Upgrading from 0.8.1 is a restart, not a reset — genesis reconstruction is
unchanged and the two interoperate.

Full Changelog: v0.8.1...v0.8.2