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The Helios CLI provides commands for initializing projects, rendering compositions, managing components, and deploying to cloud platforms.

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Installation

npm install -g @helios-project/cli
Or use with npx without installation: 
npx helios <command>

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Commands

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init

Initialize a new Helios project configuration. 
helios init [target]
Options:
  • -y, --yes - Skip prompts and use defaults (React)
  • -f, --framework <framework> - Specify framework (react, vue, svelte, solid, vanilla)
  • --example <name> - Initialize from an example
  • --repo <repo> - Example repository (default: BintzGavin/helios/examples)
Examples: 
# Interactive mode
helios init my-project

# Use React with defaults
helios init my-project -y

# Specify framework
helios init my-project --framework vue

# Initialize from example
helios init my-project --example basic-react
See /home/daytona/workspace/source/packages/cli/src/commands/init.ts:1

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studio

Start the development server with Studio UI. 
helios studio
Launches the Studio interface at http://localhost:5173 for the current directory.

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render

Render a composition to video. 
helios render <input> [options]
Options:
  • -o, --output <path> - Output file path (default: output.mp4)
  • --width <number> - Viewport width (default: 1920)
  • --height <number> - Viewport height (default: 1080)
  • --fps <number> - Frames per second (default: 30)
  • --duration <number> - Duration in seconds (default: 1)
  • --quality <number> - CRF quality (0-51)
  • --mode <mode> - Render mode: canvas or dom (default: canvas)
  • --start-frame <number> - Frame to start rendering from
  • --frame-count <number> - Number of frames to render
  • --concurrency <number> - Concurrent render jobs (default: 1)
  • --no-headless - Run in visible browser window
  • --emit-job <path> - Generate distributed render job spec (JSON)
  • --base-url <url> - Base URL for remote asset resolution
  • --audio-codec <codec> - Audio codec (e.g., aac, pcm_s16le)
  • --video-codec <codec> - Video codec (e.g., libx264, libvpx)
Examples: 
# Basic render
helios render composition.html -o output.mp4

# Custom resolution and FPS
helios render composition.html --width 3840 --height 2160 --fps 60

# Render specific frame range
helios render composition.html --start-frame 100 --frame-count 300

# Generate distributed render job
helios render composition.html --emit-job job.json --base-url https://cdn.example.com

# Render with visible browser (debug mode)
helios render composition.html --no-headless

# High quality render
helios render composition.html --quality 18 --video-codec libx264
See /home/daytona/workspace/source/packages/cli/src/commands/render.ts:1

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build

Build the project for production. 
helios build [dir]
Options:
  • -o, --out-dir <dir> - Output directory (default: dist)
Example: 
helios build --out-dir build
This creates a production build with composition.html and a player interface ready for deployment. See /home/daytona/workspace/source/packages/cli/src/commands/build.ts:1

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preview

Preview the production build. 
helios preview
Serves the static build output using Vite preview mode.

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add

Add a component from the registry to your project. 
helios add <component>
Options:
  • --no-install - Skip dependency installation
Example: 
helios add button
Components are copied into your repository (Shadcn-style) and become part of your codebase. See /home/daytona/workspace/source/packages/cli/src/commands/add.ts:1

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components

List and search available components in the registry. 
helios components [query]
Options:
  • -f, --framework <name> - Filter by framework (react, vue, svelte, solid, vanilla)
  • -a, --all - Show all components (ignore project framework)
Examples: 
# List all components for your framework
helios components

# Search for specific components
helios components button

# List all React components
helios components --framework react

# Show all components regardless of framework
helios components --all
See /home/daytona/workspace/source/packages/cli/src/commands/components.ts:1

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diff

Compare local component against registry version. 
helios diff <component-name>
Highlights modifications you’ve made to a component after adding it from the registry.

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remove

Remove a component from your project. 
helios remove <component>
Also aliased as helios rm.

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update

Update a component to the latest registry version. 
helios update <component>
Merges the latest version from the registry with your local changes.

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merge

Merge rendered video chunks into a final output. 
helios merge <output> <chunk1> [chunk2...]
Options:
  • --video-codec <codec> - Video codec for output
  • --audio-codec <codec> - Audio codec for output
  • --quality <number> - CRF quality
Example: 
helios merge final.mp4 chunk-0.mp4 chunk-1.mp4 chunk-2.mp4
Used for distributed rendering workflows.

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job

Execute a render job from a job spec. 
helios job <job-file.json>
Options:
  • --chunk <id> - Execute a specific chunk
  • --merge-only - Only run the merge step
Examples: 
# Run entire job locally
helios job render-job.json

# Execute specific chunk (for distributed workers)
helios job render-job.json --chunk 0

# Merge pre-rendered chunks
helios job render-job.json --merge-only

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deploy

Manage deployment configuration.

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deploy setup

Scaffold Docker configuration files. 
helios deploy setup
Creates Dockerfile and docker-compose.yml for containerized deployment.

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deploy gcp

Scaffold Google Cloud Run Job configuration. 
helios deploy gcp
Creates cloud-run-job.yaml and README-GCP.md for GCP deployment.

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deploy aws

Scaffold AWS Lambda deployment configuration. 
helios deploy aws
Creates Dockerfile, template.yaml, lambda.js, and README-AWS.md for AWS Lambda deployment. See /home/daytona/workspace/source/packages/cli/src/commands/deploy.ts:1

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list

List installed components in the current project. 
helios list
Also aliased as helios ls.

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skills

Manage AI skills for the Studio assistant. 
helios skills
Lists available skills for the Model Context Protocol (MCP) integration.

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Environment variables

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HELIOS_BROWSER_ARGS

Custom browser arguments for rendering: 
HELIOS_BROWSER_ARGS="--disable-gpu --no-sandbox" helios render composition.html

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PUPPETEER_EXECUTABLE_PATH

Custom browser executable path: 
PUPPETEER_EXECUTABLE_PATH=/usr/bin/chromium helios render composition.html

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Configuration file

The helios.config.json file stores project configuration: 
{
  "framework": "react",
  "registry": "https://registry.helios.video",
  "directories": {
    "components": "src/components",
    "lib": "src/lib"
  }
}
Generated automatically by helios init.

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Distributed rendering

The CLI supports distributed rendering through job specs:
  1. Generate job spec:
helios render composition.html \
  --emit-job job.json \
  --base-url https://cdn.example.com \
  --concurrency 4
  1. Execute chunks on workers:
# Worker 1
helios job job.json --chunk 0

# Worker 2
helios job job.json --chunk 1
  1. Merge results:
helios job job.json --merge-only
See the distributed rendering guide for details.

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