<!-- mobian-agent-page publisher="dailydev" canonical="https://daily.dev/posts/explore-helix-db-graph-vector-database-y63dxxowd" -->

---
title: Explore Helix DB Graph-Vector Database | daily.dev
description: HelixDB is a graph, vector and object database that uses its own query language called HelixQL rather than GQL or Cypher. A walkthrough builds a todo app with...
canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/explore-helix-db-graph-vector-database-y63dxxowd
twitter:card: summary_large_image
twitter:site: @dailydotdev
og:type: website
og:site_name: daily.dev
og:title: Explore Helix DB Graph-Vector Database | daily.dev
og:description: HelixDB is a graph, vector and object database that uses its own query language called HelixQL rather than GQL or Cypher. A walkthrough builds a todo app with...
og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/explore-helix-db-graph-vector-database-y63dxxowd
og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/Y63dxxOWD.png
og:image:alt: Explore Helix DB Graph-Vector Database
og:image:width: 1200
og:image:height: 630
og:locale: en
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Explore Helix DB Graph-Vector Database

**[Telerik](https://daily.dev/sources/telerik)** · 5 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

HelixDB is a graph, vector and object database that uses its own query language called HelixQL rather than GQL or Cypher. A walkthrough builds a todo app with the type-safe HelixDB TypeScript package, covering create, read, update and delete queries for users and todos. It shows fuzzy search via a text search index and paginated queries with offset and limit. The local setup runs an in-memory Helix instance at localhost:6969, and Helix Cloud offers auto-scaling hosting for production use.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://www.telerik.com/blogs/explore-helix-db-graph-vector-database>

## Questions this post answers

### What query language does HelixDB use instead of Cypher or GQL?

HelixDB uses its own query language called HelixQL rather than the GQL Standard Language or Neo4j's Cypher. The HelixDB TypeScript package wraps HelixQL with type-safe functions like registerRead, registerWrite, addN, nWithLabel and Predicate.eqParam, letting developers build CRUD queries without manually writing query strings.

_Developers weighing graph query languages can track HelixQL and similar tool comparisons on daily.dev._

### How do I run HelixDB locally for development?

Start the Helix CLI to spin up a basic in-memory database, which listens by default at http://localhost:6969. For disk-based local development instead of in-memory, a separate local development setup is documented. On Windows, the path to the helix binary, typically under a local .local/bin folder, must be added to the system environment variables for the CLI to run standalone.

_Those evaluating local database setups can follow HelixDB and similar tool guides on daily.dev._

### Does HelixDB support vector search alongside graph queries?

Yes, HelixDB supports vectors for AI use cases in addition to graph and object data, letting one database serve regular app data and more complex AI-related use cases without running five separate databases for one application. It also supports fuzzy text search, which requires creating an index first, using a textSearchNodesWith function for matching.

_Developers consolidating graph, vector and app data can follow HelixDB coverage on daily.dev._

## Similar posts on daily.dev

- [Top 5 Vector Databases for High-Performance LLM Applications](https://daily.dev/posts/top-5-vector-databases-for-high-performance-llm-applications-rv1svpxdf) · Machine Learning Mastery · 8 upvotes · 0 comments
- [Graph Databases Got a Massive Upgrade\!](https://daily.dev/posts/graph-databases-got-a-massive-upgrade--ymf47bapl) · Daily Dose of Data Science \| Avi Chawla \| Substack · 3 upvotes · 0 comments

---

Tags: [#architecture](https://daily.dev/tags/architecture), [#backend](https://daily.dev/tags/backend), [#typescript](https://daily.dev/tags/typescript), [#vector-search](https://daily.dev/tags/vector-search)

[View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/explore-helix-db-graph-vector-database-y63dxxowd)

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]}
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Explore Helix DB Graph-Vector Database","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/explore-helix-db-graph-vector-database-y63dxxowd","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/explore-helix-db-graph-vector-database-y63dxxowd"},"datePublished":"2026-10-30T14:08:21.501Z","dateModified":"2026-10-30T14:08:50.704Z","description":"HelixDB is a graph, vector and object database that uses its own query language called HelixQL rather than GQL or Cypher. A walkthrough builds a todo app with...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/7667e4666b23e78f06576deb1f2c59eb?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/7667e4666b23e78f06576deb1f2c59eb?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Telerik","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Telerik","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/5ee6d4bef8ac4f84886d06f5881963e7","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/telerik"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/explore-helix-db-graph-vector-database-y63dxxowd","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"architecture,backend,typescript,vector-search","timeRequired":"PT5M"}
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Telerik","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/telerik"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Explore Helix DB Graph-Vector Database"}]}
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/explore-helix-db-graph-vector-database-y63dxxowd#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What query language does HelixDB use instead of Cypher or GQL?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"HelixDB uses its own query language called HelixQL rather than the GQL Standard Language or Neo4j's Cypher. The HelixDB TypeScript package wraps HelixQL with type-safe functions like registerRead, registerWrite, addN, nWithLabel and Predicate.eqParam, letting developers build CRUD queries without manually writing query strings. Developers weighing graph query languages can track HelixQL and similar tool comparisons on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How do I run HelixDB locally for development?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Start the Helix CLI to spin up a basic in-memory database, which listens by default at http://localhost:6969. For disk-based local development instead of in-memory, a separate local development setup is documented. On Windows, the path to the helix binary, typically under a local .local/bin folder, must be added to the system environment variables for the CLI to run standalone. Those evaluating local database setups can follow HelixDB and similar tool guides on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Does HelixDB support vector search alongside graph queries?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Yes, HelixDB supports vectors for AI use cases in addition to graph and object data, letting one database serve regular app data and more complex AI-related use cases without running five separate databases for one application. It also supports fuzzy text search, which requires creating an index first, using a textSearchNodesWith function for matching. Developers consolidating graph, vector and app data can follow HelixDB coverage on daily.dev."}}]}
```

